There was a tense feeling in the air as the 'Freedom Fighters', as they
were so called, looked over us. I could tell that they didn't trust me just
from looking at their facial expressions. I decided to play it safe by not
doing any talking if it wasn't necessary.
"So who's this guy?" Sonic finally asked
"Like I told the person on the radio, he's my personal bodyguard." Tik'al answered
"He looks like a spy for Robotnik if you ask me."
"Well no one asked you, besides he's been protecting me and helped me escape."
"I don't remember you having a bodyguard when you left the island." He replied
"Well maybe I should've since I was captured due to a lack of escort; someone of my status shouldn't be left alone like I was."
I would've thought a comment like that would've ended that conversation, but unfortunately I was wrong.
"Well it's not my fault that you wandered off without telling anyone."
"Um, Sonic?" The young fox child, Tails, had interrupted
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think that we could move this along? Reports say that there might be some wandering patrols sweeping through here soon."
"I wonder why." He said staring directly at me
A more easily intimidated person's blood might have run cold from the look I was getting from him; but I was far from being affected by such things
"Are you two going to just stare at each other or are we going to just stand around and get caught or something?" Tik'al said with a bit of stress in her voice
We all boarded the transport, all but Sonic and myself. I had walked back over to the truck. I opened the door and gently placed the bomb on the drivers side seat, then picked up a nearby medium sized rock and placed it on the gas pedal. The truck slowly began to roll in the direction of the cliff.
"What are you doing?" Sonic asked me
"Putting a bomb inside of this truck and blowing it up."
"Why?"
"That's not important." I said walking back towards him to get on the transport, only to stop at the door
"Something I can help you with?" I said annoyed by the constant glaring he was doing
"Yeah, what's you name anyway?"
"Phoenix."
"Well then Phoenix; I'll be keeping an eye on you, so watch your step."
"I'll try and keep that in mind." I said sarcastically as I pushed past him into the vehicle
The truck drove for quite a while, and all of us rode without saying a word. The inside was no better than the outside, it was too close quarters for me, and I felt very uncomfortable. More time passed; the deafening silence was getting on my nerves. I looked around and was unable to find something to relieve my boredom. I decided to just doze off for a while and get some rest since we could be traveling for a while; I began to dream.
I could see a temple sitting on a small island-like plateau in a valley, it was surrounded by several other bits of land, and each connected by a long wooden bridge. I saw others that looked exactly like me walking around; the scene changed to the inside of the temple. Again I could see more of the others and, a large black crystal sitting in the center of the chamber. Around it everyone was chanting something, I couldn't figure out what was being said; it seemed to be some strange language...then I was awakened
'Memory error detected, initiating mental blocks and correcting'
'What the hell was that?'
'Memory error'
'That didn't seem like an error to me'
I didn't get an answer back, which didn't seem surprising. The entire thing felt like just a weird dream, but also very familiar. Another hour passed and we finally came to a stop. The steel gray door hissed open and we disembarked from the vehicle; the first thing to hit me was the blinding rays from the mid-day sun. I stepped forward somewhat blindly as my eyes adjusted to the light, which was a change from the dimly light truck I was just in. As my vision cleared I could see group walking off and I began to follow. I took in my surroundings as I walked; we were inside of a seemingly large village where what looked like hundreds of 'rebels' were taking up residence. The sounds of voices and work being done filled the air, conversations about supplies and construction—and of Dr. Robotnik's harsh rule. We continued walking past the ramshackle huts and other structures which consisted of gun emplacements weapons storage and the like.
"Tik'al" I whispered
"Yes?"
"This is Knothole correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well I expected to see something more, well impressive."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic said as the group stopped in the shadows of some trees
"Well forgive my rudeness, but from the records I have read state that this place is the nerve center of all rebel activity."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well it doesn't make sense that this place hasn't been found and leveled by now."
"We have scouts constantly patrolling the area around the forest," Tails said "besides that there's a..."
"Don't tell him that stuff." Sonic interrupted him, "We don't know if he's a spy or not yet."
"I already made that clear, I'm not a spy and I have no real interest in this little war that's going on."
"Well anyway I still think that you can't be trusted."
"Whatever you say..." I said as we continued on towards the center of the village; it was at this point I realized that this place could've passed for a small city with all the buildings, or maybe a somewhat heavily defended outpost. As we continued, I saw a massive building coming into view; this must have been the central area where all the operations were organized and supervised.
"What would this place be?" I said examining the surprisingly elegant structure, a single flower among a field of weeds so to speak.
"That is the operations center, where princess Acorn oversees all resistance activity." Tik'al said
"Another princess? There's an awful lot of royalty around here." I said trying so see if there was any information in my memory about any of what she was saying
"Well this entire planet used to be like that at one point, covered with vast cities and such."
"Sounds like it used to be really something around here."
"It was, until Robotnik ruined it."
We came to a large, bronze gateway surrounded by numerous armed guards. High walls and what seemed to be security cameras surrounded the operations center, and from a closer look I was able to see gun emplacements all over the buildings. The
'This must be where most of the resources have been allocated to'
"Good afternoon Sonic." One of the guards said as he and the others came to attention and the gateway opened.
"The princess is expecting you." He said as he led us all inside
I looked out of the corner of my eye and noticed that the guards were all staring at me coldly as I followed the rest.
We walked the main path leading to the doorway of the building; the afternoon sun peered from behind the clouds and shone down, the radiant light reflecting off the polished material of the center. We continued into the foyer, and walked up to a set of stairs that led to a room filled with computers. Technicians and other workers were busy working at different stations and discussing the progress of the rebellion and other resistance activities.
"Princess Sally, Sonic and his group have arrived." Said our escort guard
A chair in the middle of the room turned and revealed the princess; once again I was at a loss for any type of information regarding this person.
'The database needs to be updated greatly' I thought
"Very good, you are dismissed." She said with a commanding voice
"Hi Sal!" Sonic said cheerfully
"Sonic you know you're not supposed to call me that, it's so informal." The princess said
"Hmm? Oh sorry. Ahem, forgive me princess." He said with a slight bow
"That's all right, but anyway what news do you bring?"
"Well we found princess Tik'al outside in the forest, she said she had escaped from a prison facility with that person." He said nodding towards me
She stood up and walked towards Tik'al.
"It is an honor to have you as our guests, princess."
"Thank you very much, the honor is mine for retrieving us."
"Speaking of which, who is that?"
"That would be my new bodyguard." She said
"Oh really?" she stepped towards me and looked me over
"And who might you be?"
"Phoenix." I said flatly
"And you're supposed to be a bodyguard of some sort?"
"That's what she said, so yes."
"Hmm, where are you from then?"
I had thought about it for a second and decided it wouldn't be the best idea to say I was from Robotnik's research facility.
"I have no idea."
"You don't know where you're from? That doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't have to."
"Hey watch you mouth." Sonic said angrily
"You should show some respect, my family has ruled this land for generations."
"Well with Robotnik around that changed pretty quick didn't it?"
"How about I have you detained for insubordination?"
"I don't think so, I'm not one of your subjects so you can't do something like that; especially a little thing such as yourself." I said
The room got very quiet all of a sudden, aside from the beeping of controls and the hum of machinery.
"Is that a fact?"
"It is." I said defiantly
"Phoenix." Tik'al said pulling on my arm
"What?"
"Stop being rude, we're guests here."
I said nothing and just sighed and nodded my head in agreement.
"Well then, I hope we've come to an understanding about who's in charge here." Princess Sally said glaring at me
"Whatever."
"Anyway, how goes the resistance on the ground?"
"Well things could be going better, we've been seeing more of Robotnik's armies swarming around these days; It's a shame that your people don't want to be involved with what's going on down here."
"Well the elder council had said it was best not to change the old ways and not get involved with land dweller affairs since the Master Emerald protects us."
"It must be nice to float above everyone else's problems and stay in your own little world." Sally said
"Believe me I want to help; but the way things work, I just don't have any real influence up there." She sighed, "I'm just a figure head to represent in for the peace treaty that was made decades ago between our people." Tik'al said sadly
"Sometimes clinging to old ways isn't the best thing to do."
I had been thinking about this entire conversation as it went on; Master Emerald was the main thing that kept ringing in my mind, it sounded so familiar but so strange. I wonder if it had anything to do with that vision I had inside of that vehicle. Before I could try and piece any more of the mystery together someone calling my name interrupted my thoughts.
"Phoenix!" Tik'al shouted pushing me
"What?"
"You've been standing there in a daze what's wrong with you?"
"I was thinking about something."
"Well you can do that later, it's getting late and I'm tired." She said walking off with another guard out the door.
"We'll have transportation to the Island tomorrow." Sally said as the doors opened
"Well that was certainly interesting." I said as we walked down a hallway
"It could've gone better if you weren't so rude." Tik'al said over her shoulder
"I wasn't being that rude."
"Hmm."
"That's enough about me, what about you?"
"What about me?"
"From what I heard you aren't really in charge where you come from."
"Yeah."
"And supposedly a group higher up on the chain of command is pulling all the strings, correct?"
"Yeah."
"I'm pretty sure that united, your two peoples could possibly bring that madman down."
"We need more than superior numbers to do that."
"That's true, sometimes what's needed is just one person and a whole lot of skill and luck."
We continued down the hallway and came to a large wooden door; its polished surface reflected the light of the hallway. The guard opened the door and we walked in, I examined the room and saw that it was quite elegant.
"I bid you good night, princess Tik'al." The guard said as he closed the door and left
"This must be a special room for royal guests, huh?"
"It's where I usually stay when I come here for visits."
It was at this time I had another one of those strange feelings, like I was being watched or something. I walked over to a bed that was sitting next to a window and began staring outside; through the reinforced glass all I saw was darkness.
"What are you doing?" She asked me lying down on a different bed
"Do you feel like we're being watched or something?"
"Um, no."
"Well I do." I said looking more carefully into the dark shroud that was the night and managed to catch a glimpse of something, a glint of light reflecting back towards me.
'What was that?'
'Unable to determine, scans are inconclusive'
'I'll just assume that was an I don't know'
"Maybe I should go and check that out." I said standing up
"Relax, there are guards patrolling at all times so you don't need to go outside to do anything; now go to sleep."
"I'm telling you I saw something off in the distance."
"It's just you imagination."
"I don't even know if I have an imagination anymore."
"Just go to sleep already."
"Alright," I said lying down, "but I'm pretty sure that trees don't light up at night." "Light up?" Tik'al whispered out loud
Well I finally got another chapter up and around, sorry that took so long but I haven't been able to get to a computer long enough to do any real typing, but I'm back and better than ever, btw I'm writing my stories by piecing together descriptions from other stories and altering them for my own personal view.
"So who's this guy?" Sonic finally asked
"Like I told the person on the radio, he's my personal bodyguard." Tik'al answered
"He looks like a spy for Robotnik if you ask me."
"Well no one asked you, besides he's been protecting me and helped me escape."
"I don't remember you having a bodyguard when you left the island." He replied
"Well maybe I should've since I was captured due to a lack of escort; someone of my status shouldn't be left alone like I was."
I would've thought a comment like that would've ended that conversation, but unfortunately I was wrong.
"Well it's not my fault that you wandered off without telling anyone."
"Um, Sonic?" The young fox child, Tails, had interrupted
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think that we could move this along? Reports say that there might be some wandering patrols sweeping through here soon."
"I wonder why." He said staring directly at me
A more easily intimidated person's blood might have run cold from the look I was getting from him; but I was far from being affected by such things
"Are you two going to just stare at each other or are we going to just stand around and get caught or something?" Tik'al said with a bit of stress in her voice
We all boarded the transport, all but Sonic and myself. I had walked back over to the truck. I opened the door and gently placed the bomb on the drivers side seat, then picked up a nearby medium sized rock and placed it on the gas pedal. The truck slowly began to roll in the direction of the cliff.
"What are you doing?" Sonic asked me
"Putting a bomb inside of this truck and blowing it up."
"Why?"
"That's not important." I said walking back towards him to get on the transport, only to stop at the door
"Something I can help you with?" I said annoyed by the constant glaring he was doing
"Yeah, what's you name anyway?"
"Phoenix."
"Well then Phoenix; I'll be keeping an eye on you, so watch your step."
"I'll try and keep that in mind." I said sarcastically as I pushed past him into the vehicle
The truck drove for quite a while, and all of us rode without saying a word. The inside was no better than the outside, it was too close quarters for me, and I felt very uncomfortable. More time passed; the deafening silence was getting on my nerves. I looked around and was unable to find something to relieve my boredom. I decided to just doze off for a while and get some rest since we could be traveling for a while; I began to dream.
I could see a temple sitting on a small island-like plateau in a valley, it was surrounded by several other bits of land, and each connected by a long wooden bridge. I saw others that looked exactly like me walking around; the scene changed to the inside of the temple. Again I could see more of the others and, a large black crystal sitting in the center of the chamber. Around it everyone was chanting something, I couldn't figure out what was being said; it seemed to be some strange language...then I was awakened
'Memory error detected, initiating mental blocks and correcting'
'What the hell was that?'
'Memory error'
'That didn't seem like an error to me'
I didn't get an answer back, which didn't seem surprising. The entire thing felt like just a weird dream, but also very familiar. Another hour passed and we finally came to a stop. The steel gray door hissed open and we disembarked from the vehicle; the first thing to hit me was the blinding rays from the mid-day sun. I stepped forward somewhat blindly as my eyes adjusted to the light, which was a change from the dimly light truck I was just in. As my vision cleared I could see group walking off and I began to follow. I took in my surroundings as I walked; we were inside of a seemingly large village where what looked like hundreds of 'rebels' were taking up residence. The sounds of voices and work being done filled the air, conversations about supplies and construction—and of Dr. Robotnik's harsh rule. We continued walking past the ramshackle huts and other structures which consisted of gun emplacements weapons storage and the like.
"Tik'al" I whispered
"Yes?"
"This is Knothole correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well I expected to see something more, well impressive."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic said as the group stopped in the shadows of some trees
"Well forgive my rudeness, but from the records I have read state that this place is the nerve center of all rebel activity."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well it doesn't make sense that this place hasn't been found and leveled by now."
"We have scouts constantly patrolling the area around the forest," Tails said "besides that there's a..."
"Don't tell him that stuff." Sonic interrupted him, "We don't know if he's a spy or not yet."
"I already made that clear, I'm not a spy and I have no real interest in this little war that's going on."
"Well anyway I still think that you can't be trusted."
"Whatever you say..." I said as we continued on towards the center of the village; it was at this point I realized that this place could've passed for a small city with all the buildings, or maybe a somewhat heavily defended outpost. As we continued, I saw a massive building coming into view; this must have been the central area where all the operations were organized and supervised.
"What would this place be?" I said examining the surprisingly elegant structure, a single flower among a field of weeds so to speak.
"That is the operations center, where princess Acorn oversees all resistance activity." Tik'al said
"Another princess? There's an awful lot of royalty around here." I said trying so see if there was any information in my memory about any of what she was saying
"Well this entire planet used to be like that at one point, covered with vast cities and such."
"Sounds like it used to be really something around here."
"It was, until Robotnik ruined it."
We came to a large, bronze gateway surrounded by numerous armed guards. High walls and what seemed to be security cameras surrounded the operations center, and from a closer look I was able to see gun emplacements all over the buildings. The
'This must be where most of the resources have been allocated to'
"Good afternoon Sonic." One of the guards said as he and the others came to attention and the gateway opened.
"The princess is expecting you." He said as he led us all inside
I looked out of the corner of my eye and noticed that the guards were all staring at me coldly as I followed the rest.
We walked the main path leading to the doorway of the building; the afternoon sun peered from behind the clouds and shone down, the radiant light reflecting off the polished material of the center. We continued into the foyer, and walked up to a set of stairs that led to a room filled with computers. Technicians and other workers were busy working at different stations and discussing the progress of the rebellion and other resistance activities.
"Princess Sally, Sonic and his group have arrived." Said our escort guard
A chair in the middle of the room turned and revealed the princess; once again I was at a loss for any type of information regarding this person.
'The database needs to be updated greatly' I thought
"Very good, you are dismissed." She said with a commanding voice
"Hi Sal!" Sonic said cheerfully
"Sonic you know you're not supposed to call me that, it's so informal." The princess said
"Hmm? Oh sorry. Ahem, forgive me princess." He said with a slight bow
"That's all right, but anyway what news do you bring?"
"Well we found princess Tik'al outside in the forest, she said she had escaped from a prison facility with that person." He said nodding towards me
She stood up and walked towards Tik'al.
"It is an honor to have you as our guests, princess."
"Thank you very much, the honor is mine for retrieving us."
"Speaking of which, who is that?"
"That would be my new bodyguard." She said
"Oh really?" she stepped towards me and looked me over
"And who might you be?"
"Phoenix." I said flatly
"And you're supposed to be a bodyguard of some sort?"
"That's what she said, so yes."
"Hmm, where are you from then?"
I had thought about it for a second and decided it wouldn't be the best idea to say I was from Robotnik's research facility.
"I have no idea."
"You don't know where you're from? That doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't have to."
"Hey watch you mouth." Sonic said angrily
"You should show some respect, my family has ruled this land for generations."
"Well with Robotnik around that changed pretty quick didn't it?"
"How about I have you detained for insubordination?"
"I don't think so, I'm not one of your subjects so you can't do something like that; especially a little thing such as yourself." I said
The room got very quiet all of a sudden, aside from the beeping of controls and the hum of machinery.
"Is that a fact?"
"It is." I said defiantly
"Phoenix." Tik'al said pulling on my arm
"What?"
"Stop being rude, we're guests here."
I said nothing and just sighed and nodded my head in agreement.
"Well then, I hope we've come to an understanding about who's in charge here." Princess Sally said glaring at me
"Whatever."
"Anyway, how goes the resistance on the ground?"
"Well things could be going better, we've been seeing more of Robotnik's armies swarming around these days; It's a shame that your people don't want to be involved with what's going on down here."
"Well the elder council had said it was best not to change the old ways and not get involved with land dweller affairs since the Master Emerald protects us."
"It must be nice to float above everyone else's problems and stay in your own little world." Sally said
"Believe me I want to help; but the way things work, I just don't have any real influence up there." She sighed, "I'm just a figure head to represent in for the peace treaty that was made decades ago between our people." Tik'al said sadly
"Sometimes clinging to old ways isn't the best thing to do."
I had been thinking about this entire conversation as it went on; Master Emerald was the main thing that kept ringing in my mind, it sounded so familiar but so strange. I wonder if it had anything to do with that vision I had inside of that vehicle. Before I could try and piece any more of the mystery together someone calling my name interrupted my thoughts.
"Phoenix!" Tik'al shouted pushing me
"What?"
"You've been standing there in a daze what's wrong with you?"
"I was thinking about something."
"Well you can do that later, it's getting late and I'm tired." She said walking off with another guard out the door.
"We'll have transportation to the Island tomorrow." Sally said as the doors opened
"Well that was certainly interesting." I said as we walked down a hallway
"It could've gone better if you weren't so rude." Tik'al said over her shoulder
"I wasn't being that rude."
"Hmm."
"That's enough about me, what about you?"
"What about me?"
"From what I heard you aren't really in charge where you come from."
"Yeah."
"And supposedly a group higher up on the chain of command is pulling all the strings, correct?"
"Yeah."
"I'm pretty sure that united, your two peoples could possibly bring that madman down."
"We need more than superior numbers to do that."
"That's true, sometimes what's needed is just one person and a whole lot of skill and luck."
We continued down the hallway and came to a large wooden door; its polished surface reflected the light of the hallway. The guard opened the door and we walked in, I examined the room and saw that it was quite elegant.
"I bid you good night, princess Tik'al." The guard said as he closed the door and left
"This must be a special room for royal guests, huh?"
"It's where I usually stay when I come here for visits."
It was at this time I had another one of those strange feelings, like I was being watched or something. I walked over to a bed that was sitting next to a window and began staring outside; through the reinforced glass all I saw was darkness.
"What are you doing?" She asked me lying down on a different bed
"Do you feel like we're being watched or something?"
"Um, no."
"Well I do." I said looking more carefully into the dark shroud that was the night and managed to catch a glimpse of something, a glint of light reflecting back towards me.
'What was that?'
'Unable to determine, scans are inconclusive'
'I'll just assume that was an I don't know'
"Maybe I should go and check that out." I said standing up
"Relax, there are guards patrolling at all times so you don't need to go outside to do anything; now go to sleep."
"I'm telling you I saw something off in the distance."
"It's just you imagination."
"I don't even know if I have an imagination anymore."
"Just go to sleep already."
"Alright," I said lying down, "but I'm pretty sure that trees don't light up at night." "Light up?" Tik'al whispered out loud
Well I finally got another chapter up and around, sorry that took so long but I haven't been able to get to a computer long enough to do any real typing, but I'm back and better than ever, btw I'm writing my stories by piecing together descriptions from other stories and altering them for my own personal view.