The darkness of the night concealed the figure as he moved silently through
the treetops, his thoughts focused only on the task that was given to him,
to find his target. The sound of the night air rustling through the trees
of the forest and the branches swaying back and forth covered the sound of
him jumping as he leapt from branch to branch, eventually coming to a stop
on a tall oak.
"I have found what seems to be the main base, it was exactly where you said it would be." The figure said into a small, metal, radio, its crackle piercing the quiet silence
"Of course it was where I said it would be," replied a female voice from the radio, "Just make sure you keep track of that guy, it he's what you think he is this war could get very interesting soon."
"I hope so, things are starting to get a bit stale with the standstill both forces have come to."
"Well just make sure you do what you need to do, I've still got some work to do research to do on that other large emerald that was recovered from the ruins by Robotnik."
"Too bad we couldn't get to it before he did, it would've made things much easier."
"You mean that you didn't get to it, right?"
"It's not my fault it was gone when I got there."
"Now we'll have to rely on him to get it back."
"Why don't you just steal it back? You are the jewel thief after all."
"That's too big of a job, even for my skills, besides it's his purpose to get it back anyway."
"Everyone needs a purpose." The figure said as he took out a scope and examined the area ahead
"Just make sure you stay focused, just use those 'people skills' of yours to coax him along and all the pieces will fall into place." Said the female as the transmission was cut and was replaced by the sound of static.
"Guess I better get back to work." He said as he put his radio away just as two guards walked into the clearing below the tree
"Hey did you hear something? Said one of the guards shining a flashlight around into the darkness.
"Hear what?" said the other guard looking around
"I don't know, I thought I heard something." The first guard looked up into the treetops and caught a glimpse of something disappearing into the shadows, "Did you see that?" he said pointing his light upwards
"See what?"
"Up in the trees, I saw...something."
"It was probably just a bird," said the other guard as he continued walking, "Let's get going before we get too far behind in the patrol, you know how the princess is about being organized and such."
"Yeah, alright."
The guards continued off into the forest, their lights disappearing with them as they left. The figure jumped down from the higher braches of the tree to the ground and looked around to make sure it was clear.
"I must be getting sloppy, need to pay more attention." He said jumping back up in the tree and bounding through the branches.
Back inside the palace, Tik'al was busy looking out the window; Phoenix's comment about there being something outside earlier had made it hard for her to sleep. She tried to make out anything significant among the still dark forest.
"Maybe there really was something out there, maybe it was just nothing." She looked again and saw a flicker of light in the distance. "Maybe I should wake Phoenix up and have him take a look." She thought looking over at his still sleeping form on the other bed.
I, on the other hand, was having another strange dream. I could see an island with a massive temple in the middle of it. It all seemed really familiar, just like the last time; the image changed and I was standing inside of a temple, a ghost like image began to approach me and take form. It had taken the shape of a faceless figure clad in a white robe.
'Greetings young one, this meeting has been some time coming." Said the robed figure, its voice echoing all around
'Who are you?' I asked
'Who I am isn't really important right now, just think of me as a friend.'
'What do you want?'
'To tell you something important about your past.'
'My past?'
'Yes, your past as one of the last other guardians.'
'What do you mean?'
'Do you remember the jewel?'
'I don't know, I don't really remember any of this.'
'It was up to you and one other to watch over the sacred jewel, but it has been lost.'
'You're not making any sense.'
'Phoenix!' called another voice, different from the person in front of him
'What?'
'It's time for you to return to consciousness, remember what was discussed here and remember that there is another guardian other than you.' The figure said as it started to fade out of view.
'Phoenix!' the new voice was getting louder and caused me to wake with a start
"What?" I said looking around for the source of the intrusion of my dream
"I've been trying to wake you for a while now." Said Tik'al
"So, that's what that loud sound was." I said laying back down
"Don't go back to sleep, this is important!" she shouted
"Do you realize what time it is?" I said rolling over
"Would you just get up already and look out the window!"
I got out of the bed and looked outside, examining the still dark night for anything unusual.
"Hmm, no one's attacking, the worlds isn't coming to an end, and you don't seem to be in any real danger, can I go back to sleep?"
"No, I've been getting this weird feeling like there's something out there, just watching."
"I'll check again, but I don't see anything."
'Running scans for enemy forces' the computerized voice in my head droned, 'Scanning is inconclusive due to interference'
"I can't find anything out there."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." I said walking back to the bed and lying down
"Well, what about earlier when you said there was something out there?"
"What about it?"
"What do you mean? You were worried earlier and now you act like you don't care."
"Well I can't see anything out there now, so it's not a big deal."
"Maybe, but you should keep an eye out just in case."
"Are you trying to say that I should stay awake for the rest of the night for nothing?"
"It's not nothing, it's intuition."
"Like I said, nothing." I said rolling over
"I thought you were supposed to be watching out for me."
"Hmm."
"Is that all you can say? Is my safety not important to you?"
"Alright already, I'll stay awake and watch out for your scary monsters in the dark." I said sarcastically
"I don't see the humor in that."
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough." I said leaning against the edge of the window
"Have you always been so rude, or was it just something that happened from being altered the way you were?"
"Maybe a little of both."
"Hmm."
"What?"
"Well, I was wondering; have you figured out anything about who you were in your past life; you know, before Robotnik?"
"Um..."
"Anything?"
".... No of course not."
"You're lying." She said, I could feel her gaze focused on me
"Am not." I said shifting uncomfortably
"Are too."
"Well, if you must know, I've been having these weird memories and dreams lately."
"What about?" she had sat up in the bed and crossed her arms
"There's this island, with a great temple on it, and inside there was some large crystal that resembled those smaller chaos emeralds."
"An island with a temple and a large crystal? That sounds like my home; tell me something, was this island in your dream floating at all?"
"Floating? Like Angel Island?"
"Actually, I don't think it was; it was more in the water."
"Hmm, I've never heard of any other emeralds besides the Master Emerald on my island." "Maybe those random memories are clues to my past."
"Possibly, from the sounds of it your past seems to be connected with the ancient history of my people."
"That's a lot to think about." I said taking another look out the window, still seeing nothing
"Maybe when we go to the island in the morning we can consult with the Elders and see if they know anything."
"Go to the island? You mean flying though the sky to get there?" I asked feeling slightly uneasy about the whole thought
"Yes; what's wrong with you?"
"I don't think I can go up there."
"Why not?"
"That's a little too high for me, just thinking about it makes me sick for some reason."
"Oh I see, you're afraid of heights." She said laughing
"No I'm not!"
"A tough guy like yourself being afraid of something so silly is rather humorous."
"I'm not afraid, it's just some weird feeling that I can't explain."
"Could it be...fear?" she said jokingly
"That's it, I'm going for a walk outside." I said heading towards the door
"What's wrong, did I hurt your feelings or something?'
"I just need some air."
"Aren't you supposed to be watching over me? What if I get kidnapped while you're gone?"
"That'll be a bit of a problem won't it?"
"Phoenix!"
"You'll be fine." I said opening the large door and closing it rather hard
I continued down the hall and gazed around, the windows that lined the hall didn't really allow for much of a view, possibly a defensive measure in case this place were discovered. As I walked I took more notice of the scenery that I had missed on the way in; grand paintings lined the walls depicting previous rulers most likely since they all seemed to resemble the princess that ran things around here. The night air filled the palace and the cool air brushed up against my skin as I continued my journey; after a while I could hear voices echoing slightly from the central command room. I quietly walked up to it and tried to listen for what was being said on the other side. At first it was just a murmur, barely audible enough to make anything out, the sound of electronic machinery droning on persistently and footsteps from heavy boots clicking loudly over everything.
'I can't hear anything' I thought to myself
'Enhancing audio' clicked the computer voice in my mind as the sounds and voices became louder and much clearer
"What have you found so far?"
'That authoritative tone has to be Sally' I thought as I continued listening
"The instruments have been picking up strange readings since princess Tik'al and her guest arrived."
"Strange reading like what?"
"There are two of them and they seem similar to the frequencies that come from the chaos emeralds."
"Have you pinpointed their locations?"
"Well um..."
"Have you found them or not?"
"Well one of them is difficult to lock on to and its location is not yet confirmed, we've come to the conclusion that it's, well moving around outside."
'Two more of those emeralds, and they are moving?' I thought about it for a moment and couldn't possibly think of what the two sources of the energy could be.
"What about the other one?" Sally continued
"Well it seems to be inside the palace, but that's not even the weird part."
"What's else is there?"
"Ever since we had detected it we've always found it to be near princess Tik'al for some reason."
"Near the princess? How near?"
"Only a about two or three feet mostly."
"Hmm; that supposed 'bodyguard', is he possibly in possession of one of the emeralds?"
"I was just thinking that very thing."
"Check the scans again, I want to be sure before we decide to attempt to confiscate the emerald from him."
"So that we could add it to the one we already have and get the project underway?"
"Precisely."
'Project? I wonder what that could be about.' I thought for a second, at least until another thought interrupted me, "That other emerald signature must be from the one inside of me." I said out loud, but then silencing myself and looking to see if anyone had heard me.
'No one around, I hope.' I said relaxing my tense muscles and turning to walk back to the room upstairs when I heard a loud swoosh from the door I was just listening through. I turned and looked and came face to face with Sally.
"What are you doing lurking around outside of this door?" she snapped at me
"I was just taking a walk." I said as she continued glaring at me
"I doubt that."
We stared each other down for several seconds before I turned to leave.
"I think I'll go back to the room now."
"I'll be watching you very carefully."
"I would expect as much." I said annoyed as I walked back up the stairs
When I got back to the room I had opened the door and stepped silently inside. Tik'al had fallen asleep while I was gone it seemed and it was probably a good idea for me to as well, though it would be hard doing that with the idea of someone sneaking up on me at night so I stayed awake for a while longer just thinking.
'Tomorrow's going to be a very interesting day...'
"I have found what seems to be the main base, it was exactly where you said it would be." The figure said into a small, metal, radio, its crackle piercing the quiet silence
"Of course it was where I said it would be," replied a female voice from the radio, "Just make sure you keep track of that guy, it he's what you think he is this war could get very interesting soon."
"I hope so, things are starting to get a bit stale with the standstill both forces have come to."
"Well just make sure you do what you need to do, I've still got some work to do research to do on that other large emerald that was recovered from the ruins by Robotnik."
"Too bad we couldn't get to it before he did, it would've made things much easier."
"You mean that you didn't get to it, right?"
"It's not my fault it was gone when I got there."
"Now we'll have to rely on him to get it back."
"Why don't you just steal it back? You are the jewel thief after all."
"That's too big of a job, even for my skills, besides it's his purpose to get it back anyway."
"Everyone needs a purpose." The figure said as he took out a scope and examined the area ahead
"Just make sure you stay focused, just use those 'people skills' of yours to coax him along and all the pieces will fall into place." Said the female as the transmission was cut and was replaced by the sound of static.
"Guess I better get back to work." He said as he put his radio away just as two guards walked into the clearing below the tree
"Hey did you hear something? Said one of the guards shining a flashlight around into the darkness.
"Hear what?" said the other guard looking around
"I don't know, I thought I heard something." The first guard looked up into the treetops and caught a glimpse of something disappearing into the shadows, "Did you see that?" he said pointing his light upwards
"See what?"
"Up in the trees, I saw...something."
"It was probably just a bird," said the other guard as he continued walking, "Let's get going before we get too far behind in the patrol, you know how the princess is about being organized and such."
"Yeah, alright."
The guards continued off into the forest, their lights disappearing with them as they left. The figure jumped down from the higher braches of the tree to the ground and looked around to make sure it was clear.
"I must be getting sloppy, need to pay more attention." He said jumping back up in the tree and bounding through the branches.
Back inside the palace, Tik'al was busy looking out the window; Phoenix's comment about there being something outside earlier had made it hard for her to sleep. She tried to make out anything significant among the still dark forest.
"Maybe there really was something out there, maybe it was just nothing." She looked again and saw a flicker of light in the distance. "Maybe I should wake Phoenix up and have him take a look." She thought looking over at his still sleeping form on the other bed.
I, on the other hand, was having another strange dream. I could see an island with a massive temple in the middle of it. It all seemed really familiar, just like the last time; the image changed and I was standing inside of a temple, a ghost like image began to approach me and take form. It had taken the shape of a faceless figure clad in a white robe.
'Greetings young one, this meeting has been some time coming." Said the robed figure, its voice echoing all around
'Who are you?' I asked
'Who I am isn't really important right now, just think of me as a friend.'
'What do you want?'
'To tell you something important about your past.'
'My past?'
'Yes, your past as one of the last other guardians.'
'What do you mean?'
'Do you remember the jewel?'
'I don't know, I don't really remember any of this.'
'It was up to you and one other to watch over the sacred jewel, but it has been lost.'
'You're not making any sense.'
'Phoenix!' called another voice, different from the person in front of him
'What?'
'It's time for you to return to consciousness, remember what was discussed here and remember that there is another guardian other than you.' The figure said as it started to fade out of view.
'Phoenix!' the new voice was getting louder and caused me to wake with a start
"What?" I said looking around for the source of the intrusion of my dream
"I've been trying to wake you for a while now." Said Tik'al
"So, that's what that loud sound was." I said laying back down
"Don't go back to sleep, this is important!" she shouted
"Do you realize what time it is?" I said rolling over
"Would you just get up already and look out the window!"
I got out of the bed and looked outside, examining the still dark night for anything unusual.
"Hmm, no one's attacking, the worlds isn't coming to an end, and you don't seem to be in any real danger, can I go back to sleep?"
"No, I've been getting this weird feeling like there's something out there, just watching."
"I'll check again, but I don't see anything."
'Running scans for enemy forces' the computerized voice in my head droned, 'Scanning is inconclusive due to interference'
"I can't find anything out there."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." I said walking back to the bed and lying down
"Well, what about earlier when you said there was something out there?"
"What about it?"
"What do you mean? You were worried earlier and now you act like you don't care."
"Well I can't see anything out there now, so it's not a big deal."
"Maybe, but you should keep an eye out just in case."
"Are you trying to say that I should stay awake for the rest of the night for nothing?"
"It's not nothing, it's intuition."
"Like I said, nothing." I said rolling over
"I thought you were supposed to be watching out for me."
"Hmm."
"Is that all you can say? Is my safety not important to you?"
"Alright already, I'll stay awake and watch out for your scary monsters in the dark." I said sarcastically
"I don't see the humor in that."
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough." I said leaning against the edge of the window
"Have you always been so rude, or was it just something that happened from being altered the way you were?"
"Maybe a little of both."
"Hmm."
"What?"
"Well, I was wondering; have you figured out anything about who you were in your past life; you know, before Robotnik?"
"Um..."
"Anything?"
".... No of course not."
"You're lying." She said, I could feel her gaze focused on me
"Am not." I said shifting uncomfortably
"Are too."
"Well, if you must know, I've been having these weird memories and dreams lately."
"What about?" she had sat up in the bed and crossed her arms
"There's this island, with a great temple on it, and inside there was some large crystal that resembled those smaller chaos emeralds."
"An island with a temple and a large crystal? That sounds like my home; tell me something, was this island in your dream floating at all?"
"Floating? Like Angel Island?"
"Actually, I don't think it was; it was more in the water."
"Hmm, I've never heard of any other emeralds besides the Master Emerald on my island." "Maybe those random memories are clues to my past."
"Possibly, from the sounds of it your past seems to be connected with the ancient history of my people."
"That's a lot to think about." I said taking another look out the window, still seeing nothing
"Maybe when we go to the island in the morning we can consult with the Elders and see if they know anything."
"Go to the island? You mean flying though the sky to get there?" I asked feeling slightly uneasy about the whole thought
"Yes; what's wrong with you?"
"I don't think I can go up there."
"Why not?"
"That's a little too high for me, just thinking about it makes me sick for some reason."
"Oh I see, you're afraid of heights." She said laughing
"No I'm not!"
"A tough guy like yourself being afraid of something so silly is rather humorous."
"I'm not afraid, it's just some weird feeling that I can't explain."
"Could it be...fear?" she said jokingly
"That's it, I'm going for a walk outside." I said heading towards the door
"What's wrong, did I hurt your feelings or something?'
"I just need some air."
"Aren't you supposed to be watching over me? What if I get kidnapped while you're gone?"
"That'll be a bit of a problem won't it?"
"Phoenix!"
"You'll be fine." I said opening the large door and closing it rather hard
I continued down the hall and gazed around, the windows that lined the hall didn't really allow for much of a view, possibly a defensive measure in case this place were discovered. As I walked I took more notice of the scenery that I had missed on the way in; grand paintings lined the walls depicting previous rulers most likely since they all seemed to resemble the princess that ran things around here. The night air filled the palace and the cool air brushed up against my skin as I continued my journey; after a while I could hear voices echoing slightly from the central command room. I quietly walked up to it and tried to listen for what was being said on the other side. At first it was just a murmur, barely audible enough to make anything out, the sound of electronic machinery droning on persistently and footsteps from heavy boots clicking loudly over everything.
'I can't hear anything' I thought to myself
'Enhancing audio' clicked the computer voice in my mind as the sounds and voices became louder and much clearer
"What have you found so far?"
'That authoritative tone has to be Sally' I thought as I continued listening
"The instruments have been picking up strange readings since princess Tik'al and her guest arrived."
"Strange reading like what?"
"There are two of them and they seem similar to the frequencies that come from the chaos emeralds."
"Have you pinpointed their locations?"
"Well um..."
"Have you found them or not?"
"Well one of them is difficult to lock on to and its location is not yet confirmed, we've come to the conclusion that it's, well moving around outside."
'Two more of those emeralds, and they are moving?' I thought about it for a moment and couldn't possibly think of what the two sources of the energy could be.
"What about the other one?" Sally continued
"Well it seems to be inside the palace, but that's not even the weird part."
"What's else is there?"
"Ever since we had detected it we've always found it to be near princess Tik'al for some reason."
"Near the princess? How near?"
"Only a about two or three feet mostly."
"Hmm; that supposed 'bodyguard', is he possibly in possession of one of the emeralds?"
"I was just thinking that very thing."
"Check the scans again, I want to be sure before we decide to attempt to confiscate the emerald from him."
"So that we could add it to the one we already have and get the project underway?"
"Precisely."
'Project? I wonder what that could be about.' I thought for a second, at least until another thought interrupted me, "That other emerald signature must be from the one inside of me." I said out loud, but then silencing myself and looking to see if anyone had heard me.
'No one around, I hope.' I said relaxing my tense muscles and turning to walk back to the room upstairs when I heard a loud swoosh from the door I was just listening through. I turned and looked and came face to face with Sally.
"What are you doing lurking around outside of this door?" she snapped at me
"I was just taking a walk." I said as she continued glaring at me
"I doubt that."
We stared each other down for several seconds before I turned to leave.
"I think I'll go back to the room now."
"I'll be watching you very carefully."
"I would expect as much." I said annoyed as I walked back up the stairs
When I got back to the room I had opened the door and stepped silently inside. Tik'al had fallen asleep while I was gone it seemed and it was probably a good idea for me to as well, though it would be hard doing that with the idea of someone sneaking up on me at night so I stayed awake for a while longer just thinking.
'Tomorrow's going to be a very interesting day...'