-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Okay, so there's not a lot of action in this part, but it is made up for by a more reflective part leading all the way up to the final segments. The road to a return to Volcano Isle is now showing on the group, and it's time to take care of business from here on.
There are two things I may need to expand upon before going into the part, and the first of which will be the origins for Taylor Yellow, or the rescuer of the group from the mine cart wreckage. In the second of my old Power Crisis stories, he was originally one of the main Navy commanders, but that was until he got sacked because he forgot to pay his boss for travel expenses. After that he was seen on Neo's side, trying to find a way to fight back against his boss's rash decisions.
Plus the whole thing with Zephyr's origins… yes, it has been shown that he IS Cortex's "Zephyr Project" as shown at the epilogue for Galaxy of Europe. I can't help but make a reference back to there.
Anyhow, hope you like this… and the random Titanic reference floating near the end. :P
Peace out,
-Rexy-
---
The view around Neo's eyes started to take a blurred form for a while, until they started to show a clear view of a ceiling with a chandelier on it. He took a light turn to the right, and saw his face facing the cushions of a sofa. Then, he turned to the left, and saw the same figure on the back streets standing there, minus the trench coat.
"Had a nice rest?" he asked.
He gave out a smile towards him, and started to approach him. The very actions of him caused Neo to sit up rather quickly, offering the figure room to sit down. He then placed his back against the cushions gently, before looking over at him with his almost wood-like brown eyes.
"Wha..." Neo struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "...who are you, and what are we doing here?"
That remark caused the figure to widen his eyes slightly. Then, he looked towards a small cabinet to the right of the room, and walked over to it. He opened the door, and pulled out his trench coat, bringing it over his body in exactly seven seconds. Neo raised an eyebrow at the sight.
"It's a surprise that you can't remember a guy like me", the figure spoke. "Remember the name 'Taylor Yellow'?"
Taylor Yellow. Yes, that name could spring back an old memory, he thought. With Lozzy and Aiko making their way to him in the same way as him, he was almost bound to know a former member of the US Navy for sure. He then brought his mind back to reality and opened his mouth to speak.
"I think I do, although... the last time I saw him was several years back."
"Well today's your lucky day," he said with a rising tone, "because he's right back here."
He pointed over at himself, before making his way back towards the sofa, his trench coat almost spreading the whole of the sitting surface. That caused Neo to jump off and back step his way, with his back leaning against a large set of bookshelves. Once there, he looked on at him, and had eyes widened.
"You mean... you saved us? Every last one of us?"
Silence came between them, and it wasn't too long until Taylor broke it with a nod of the head and a scratch of his feet against the carpet. Neo looked on at him, with his shocked face starting to quiver. Then, it started to transform itself, into a broad smile, filled with joy and surprise.
"I'm so happy for you!"
He rushed towards him, and gave him an instant high five across his hand before patting him on the back. He then sat down next to him, almost looking like two parakeets sitting up on a high tree in a rainforest. They looked at each other, knowing that hope has come back to their hearts.
"It's a pleasure to have you back in my sight, Neo Cortex", Taylor spoke with a twinkle in his eye.
"Thanks, but... where ARE the others anyhow?"
"They're just outside, waiting for you."
He pointed towards a large set of glass doors, leading towards a stone garden behind them. Neo gave out a light smile, stood up, and gave out one last wink at Taylor before he walked out of the doors himself, with his body being eclipsed by the bright 10AM sun ahead of him. The outside of the gardens was filled with beautiful flowers and shrubs. Once there, Neo took a walk to the far left, and looked down - he saw what looked like a 50ft drop, meaning that the garden was right at the very top of the penthouse. He looked ahead again, and saw the others looking at him with excitement.
"Neo, you're here!"
"Wow, I never thought you'd survive the crash!"
Both Gary and Martha ran up towards him, with the latter giving him a warm hug across the chest. That left him to blush at the sight of it, before looking over at Gary, whom patted him on the shoulders back. He soon broke free from his grasp from Martha, and sat down in a space between Beverley and Sparky.
"It's funny to say this," Neo started, "but I can barely remember how we fell from the mine carts to the ground."
Bev gave out a light giggle. "Neither can I, but be proud that we're still here."
"Aye, there's still life in the old dogs left!" Sparky jumped with a grin. "We still have the time to restore order around here!"
He looked over at the ocean in the distance - from there, Volcano Isle can barely be seen; only its shadow seemed to pass its way beyond a view from the left. Most of the others looked on at it with determination, while... Neo's face was brought further up the garden, looking elsewhere.
"Whatif this boat only runs on happy faces?"
"What do you mean?" Martha questioned.
He pointed over at another wall, where Zephyr was seen looking down. Spike was near him too, giving him what seemed like a back massage and talking to him in an assuring voice. Without any second thoughts, he stood up and walked his way towards him, with his right hand brought out, gesturing as he spoke.
"Zephyr, what's the matter?"
There was no response from him. Spike, however, looked into his eyes, and almost immediately sat down on a wall. Neo too sat down near the pair of them, with his eyes starting to twinkle within the sun. He soon made direct eye contact with Zephyr, whom started to shake at the glance.
"Tell me about it, please", Neo said in an assuring tone.
"Okay, I'll say it to you. I wasn't born from my mother."
The remark caused Neo to respond with widened eyes. Then, he looked over at Spike, whom gave in a light nod of the head, verifying that Zephyr was telling the truth. That caused Neo to give in a twitch of the jaw, before bringing his face forward towards him, shaking in the palms of his hands.
"But if that what you said is true, then... you must have emerged here a bit differently to the rest of us!"
Spike's eyes shot open at his actions. "Neo, don't play house doctor, whatever you do!"
He made his way towards him, bringing his hands out to his chest, but... in the nick of time, the dingodino was caught by the face and was brought back to his seat, leaving them both to look at each other for a while, before they both leaned back among the grass turf beneath them.
"So, what kind of life DO you have?" asked Neo.
"A stupidly short one", sighed the blue fox.
"What did you just say to me?"
"He's a genetic experiment," started Spike, "so simply put, he's only been around here for a few months."
Neo's face froze with confusion upon Spike's words. "What's this 'genetics' stuff that you're speaking about?"
"You don't wanna know... yet..." the dingodino's smile dropped.
All that Neo could do was look down, with his face puzzling over what is the scene for "genetics". How can a figure like Zephyr be born by something he doesn't know about? Then... he looked up towards Spike, with his face starting to show a lot more confusion than he had to start with.
"So I'll probably save some of this for when I'm older, okay?"
The dingodino gave in a light nod to him, before he brought his back among the grass near him. He brought his feet in the air, and looked on at a bunch of pigeons flying overhead at them. He then gave in a light smile, and brought his head towards Neo and Zephyr, with a cheeky look on him.
"You know that whatever happens here, once Tiko's gone, be sure to let nature run its course for you."
The words started to fill Neo's mind - such strong words from a young boy. They replayed in his mind several times over, and settling in there too were several thoughts in his mind, all anonymous by the others, which he smiled at and started twitching his feet to as the cool air passed through him.
Back in the insides of the factory, N-Trance and each of Tiko's siblings were standing in a room deep in conversation... rather, all except for Lio, whom was seen indulging himself into a watermelon bigger than his body. But then... the door leading into the room opened up at its widest, and Tiko hovered his way in, keeping his black and white colors.
"Tiko, what happened to you?" Hallie squealed.
"I see it as a more natural form", said Deksta in a quieter tone. "I faced the same state when dealing with them meddling kids back at Volcano Isle."
She happened to be the only one whom smiled at his appearance, while the patterns on him and the sparks given off every few seconds seemed to scare Hallie and Lio, the latter spitting off watermelon seeds into her face with fright. Then, Tiko made his way into the middle of the group, with his hands held tightly onto one another.
"Let's just say that fighting with the cannon seemed better than dealing with the kids by hand."
He started to snicker, before he faced back outside, where the scene of the battle was nothing more than a black stained platform. The Spiro-Cannon was seen nearby, standing at a mighty posture. The others then looked on at it, with their leader's words ringing through their minds with every passing second.
"He could very well have a point", replied N-Trance with a twitch of the eyebrow. "Besides, now that we've managed to smoke the island down into ashes, what will we do with it?"
Tiko turned to face him. "You don't know what those ashes will do, don't you?"
The group remained silent, leaving them in thought for a few seconds. Then, one by one, they responded with shaken heads, with their faces pointing down on the floor. With a grit of his teeth, Tiko started to clutch his fists with fury and open up a nearby blind, showing a bright window view from outside.
"Take a look outside!"
He pointed out through the window, and that was where they all started to surround it, cramming around it. From there, the ashes from the island started to rise and form a whirlwind. Ten seconds passed, until the ashes started to fall to the ground, taking a more building-esque structure around it.
"Oh my God," shrieked Lio. "What kind of strange form is it taking?"
"Wait patiently, brother," Tiko said as his eyes shifted towards his direction, "and you will see what kind of benefits will come our way."
They looked on at the ashes of the island, starting to put itself together like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. It held the shape of a large room on the ground floor, then towers started to form around it, as well as turrets right at the top. Volcano Isle was soon turned from a lump in the middle of the sea, into a giant bastion.
A bright midday sun started to peak over the top of the penthouse, giving off a golden look down to the streets below. Then, the doors started to swing open, and the group came out of there one by one, with gestures filled with smiles and determination. As usual, Neo stood ahead, with his hair blowing gently in the wind.
"You know what this means, ladies and gents - time to head on over to the island!"
He then started to run ahead, down the widened streets beneath. He soon made a corner around it, facing the ocean lines, hoping to see a pleasurable view of the island ahead of him. But... as soon as he faced the bastion-like structure, his eyes shrunk with shock over at it, causing him to shake.
"Oh boy..."
A thunderclap was given off above the castle, which soon reflected within Neo's eyes. He gave out a gulp towards it, knowing that Volcano Isle has taken a turn for the worse. Then, the others started to rush to his side, and respond with equal surprised looks over at its new form. Snappy even seemed to hug his tail with fear.
"You ain't the only one that seems shocked by this! Something fishy's going on around here!"
"Well, if we need to find out," Brio walked right next to him, "we'd best go straight away!"
He pointed over at the island, and they were just about to head down, before... they looked at each other - it seemed that there was a figure that was missing in the group. Then, a howl was heard from the penthouse door. Sparky pointed over to it, and saw a cowering wolverine, with his paws over his eyes.
"Bad news - Boron isn't in the mood for this."
Beverley then walked ahead of the group, and saw Boron for himself. Then, she gave out a smile. "Not when I'm here!"
Smirking, she looked around and saw a few bones inside a garbage can. She pulled out the longest she can find, holding a slight bit of roasted chicken meat/skin on it. She waved it out in front of him like a pendulum, causing his attention to be cast straight onto it almost instantly.
"Here boy, go fetch it!"
She tossed it straight down the street leading to the ocean, and that caused him to dash right towards it with his limbs being close to one another. Several seconds of silence passed, until... his figure returned to the group, looking happier than ever. There was something held in his mouth, but... it wasn't a bone, but what looked like a small robotic arm.
"Okay, where did that come from?" she asked the wolverine.
Gary soon came near him and crouched to his level. "Boron, go back and see if you can dig the rest of it up."
He then ran from the group again, leaving a shadow trailing behind him. This left them standing in complete silence for a full ten seconds, before Boron returned pushing something uphill - a small machine that was only just as big as his chest. It looked like a robot - a small mech.
"er..." Sara started rubbing the back of her neck. "Okay, someone try and identify the graving on this thing!"
"That's what I'm here for!" smiled Sparky.
He crouched down towards it, with his paws going across the ground. He then brought his paws onto the front panel, and opened it with one of his paws out at its sharpest point. Inside it, an engine can be seen, holding a spiral-like shape that glowed lemon yellow.
"It has a crest that looks just like that on my stone. But... how?"
"Where did you get it from?" Crash asked as he stroked Boron's head.
The wolverine jumped, and went back down the street. The others seemed to have no choice but to follow him. They soon reached the bottom, and it wasn't long until they noticed that they stood right at the bottom of the mine cart wreckage, caused after their escape from the factory the night before.
"Okay, we take the package with us", started Aurora, "and we'll see what kind of answers we'll get on shore!"
She then looked in Sparky's direction, whom passed the small mech towards her hands. She then placed it in a backpack behind her back, and it was there when they faced the direction of the harbor towards the right of them. A dangerous path was to show right in front of them all.
(scene change)
Meanwhile, back at Volcano Isle, another flash of lightning and a thunderclap can be seen through one of the bastion windows. Through there, N-Trance looked out towards the view of the city ahead of him. With that, he cackled before walking to the darkness at the other side of the room.
(scene blurs back at the harbor)
Back with the others, the walk along the harbor shoreline seemed to last forever. Most of the ships they passed by either seemed to be too big, too complex, or they were heavily padlocked. They soon reached the end, and it was there when Neo looked down, with a face filled with cheated anger.
"Oh great, we're almost out of boats!"
He pounded his fists against the walls and soon turned around, with his back sliding against it before he brought himself into a comfortable sitting position. Most of the others faced similar expressions, but... Crunch kept his smile and pointed over at something near the end of the path.
"There's no need to panic! I think I can see a yacht to the right!"
He pointed over towards the boat, which showed a droopy sail and a few scratches on the side of the deck. Most of the group started to look at it in disgust, seeing it as one of those ships in no state to ride along. Spike went his way towards it, and... as he did so, the sail fell into his face.
"Sheesh, this thing's old and tatty!"
"Ah, but this is where some expertise in mechanics comes in handy!" Taylor winked over at him.
He jumped up onto the side of the deck, and took a hold of one of the ropes on the sail. He pulled it back, and tied it securely into position, allowing the sail to stand up straight again. He then took out a chunk of sandpaper from his pocket and rubbed it against the scratches, wiping them out instantly.
"There, good as new!"
"Wow, you work quick!" Zephyr shouted at him with a wide smile on him.
Taylor gave out a light smile towards them, before he looked on at the boat and climbed towards the cockpit, taking a hold of the steering wheel. But nothing moved. Soon, Sparky came next to him and gave off a light electric spark through where the key should slot itself into, causing it to start up. The others soon got in, bringing their faces over the sides of the ship. Near the front, Neo and Aiko went towards the mast together.
"I don't understand why an island like Volcano Isle would want to take up a shape like that", he asked her.
"Neither do I," Aiko responded in return, "but our only way to find out is to head on over there."
She pointed over at it, which started to show more shrouding dark clouds than before. She looked on at it with a light twitch of the mouth, but... that was until a stroke went through her - Neo's hands were brought around her waist, and that caused her to bring her arms out in a T position. The ship then started moving towards the dark castle in the middle of the ocean - no one knows what will lie there, but all will be revealed when they make their way inside.
-end of part 10-