Chapter 3- The Quest
Angel Island
Tails woke up in a daze. He couldn't feel his face.
"Oh, man. I've never been hit that hard in my entire life. Heck, not even Shadow ever hit me that hard before."
The winner of the record for people who clobbered Tails the hardest was still standing before his victim. Despite the fact that he got to deal out the punishment he wanted, that face of his indicated he wasn't satisfied yet. The angry echidna walked up to the dazed fox and screamed in his face "Get up, kid! I've got a lot to say to you!"
Tails wiped the echidna saliva off his face. "Man, this is gonna suck. I'm reallt gonna have to listen to him all day. I've just gotta talk to him reasonably. That'll calm him down."
"Knuckles, is my face bleeding?" Tails asked pointing to his face.
"No. But I can arrange that for you if you like."
Tails looked away from Knuckles' face and turned his eyes towards the sky as he thought, "So much for calming him down. Maybe I should just apologize. I don't really know why he's this angry."
"Hey! Don't daydream on me now! I know that you're the one who brought these clowns to this island to make trouble." Knuckles pointed his finger at Vector and Espio, while still focusing his gaze at Tails. "After I beat the crap out of them, they told me the whole story. What's the deal with trespassing on my island, digging into places you're not allowed? And don't think I don't know about those explosions!"
"Wow, Knux is so angry, he's turning purple. If this keeps up, he's gonna look like Espio," Vector joked.
Tails didn't want to face Knuckles in this situation. Part of him wanted to burst out laughing at the scene he was displaying. Another part of him wanted to run away in terror.
"This guy is really fuming. I had no idea someone's veins could throb like that. It makes me want to poke them. But that would be stupid. Maybe if I changed the subject..."
Tails still didn't want to look at Knuckles for too long, so he turned his attention to the chaotix. "I don't get it, guys. This is the complete opposite of what was supposed to happen. I knew he was gonna act like this."
"Sorry, Tails," Vector said sadly."We were actually trying to distract him."
"Maybe you retards forgot that this is my island and I know it better than anyone else! It was easy for me to quickly make it back from Ice Cap Zone!"
Knuckles finally set his attention away from Tails towards the chaotix. He breathed a sigh of relief that Knuckles got out of his face, at least for a moment.
The echidna turned back towards Tails. "Aw, crap. He's back."
"And I bet you just thought it was hilarious to have me get shot out of a cannon and have me land in the sea of that frozen wasteland! I'll bet you wished you were there to see that, huh?"
Tails tried to be the voice of reason again. He formed a nervous smile and lifted his hands up as if they could defend against Knuckles' words. Then he explained. "Actually, I never told them to shoot you out of a cannon. All I did was I asked for them to watch you while you were sleeping so you wouldn't get disturbed and we could do our stuff without you ever knowing we were here."
Knuckles continued to rant on. "Oh, that just makes everything all better! Is that supposed to be your idea of an apology? This just makes me angrier!" Knuckles clenched his fists and shook them at the vulpine. "Remind me to slap you later, Tails. Wait. Why wait? I'll just slap you now!"
The echidna fulfilled his words and slapped the poor fox right across his cheek. Tails' body flew back several feet, spun around and landed face first into the dirt.
'Oooooh!" Tails moaned as he picked himself up.His face was all red with bruises. "Knuckles, you can't keep doing this to my face. There are a lot of girls back at Station Square who are big fans of me. They love my super cute face. It would be a crime to mangle it up."
"Don't worry, Tails," Charmy assured him. "You look even cuter when you're hurt. It makes you so sympathetic. If all those girls were here right now, they'd be all over you. They be hugging you and kissing you're face and everything." Charmy changed his voice to a higher pitch and started doing his best impressions of adoring fan girls. "Oh, Tails. Are you all right? Does Tailsy-Wailsy need a hug? Want us to rub your tummy? Scratch you behind your ears? Would that make you feel better? Ohhhh. You're so soft and cuddly. Don't worry. We'll make you feel all better." Charmy started to grope himself. He noticed everyone had such exasperated looks on their faces, especially Tails. Charmy decided to go back to his normal voice. "In fact, you should try crying. That'll really top it off."
Charmy was enjoying this. He was the only guy to be in this situation unscathed. Knuckles hadn't paid any attention to him at all.
Tails was getting real tired of this whole mess. Knuckles seemed to have cooled down a little bit so he decided this was the best time to talk to him. "Look, I was just joking about the fan girls stuff. The truth is, I actually meant to come talk to you about this, Knuckles. I'm on a very important quest. That's why we came here. In fact, to continue on, I'm going to need your help."
"A quest, huh?" That was the first thing Knuckles said today without screaming. "OK. I'm listening. But when I say I'm listening, I mean I'm also thinking about kicking your sorry ass off this island."
"This is as cooperative as he's going to get. I should count myself lucky I made it this far."
"Knux," Tails spoke, "I want to take a shard of the Master Emerald."
"YOU WHAT!"
"I knew that was going to happen."
"So you want to take the Master Emerald and for what purpose, again?" Knuckles asked.
"First of all, I said I only need a shard of the Master Emerald. Not the whole thing. I need to use it for my invention I'm going to build a device that will allow me to detect the energy signals that chaos emeralds leave off. This will allow me to easily seek out other chaos emeralds throughout the universe."
"Huh? Search out all chaos emeralds in the universe? Maybe you'd better start over, kid."
"OK. So the reason I came to this island was to find these ancient scrolls." He showed Knuckles the bag of scrolls he collected. "According to my research, these magical texts were written by kitsunes. They are my ancestors and they once lived on Angel Island. They were probably long gone before this island started floating. I feel that I have a connection to my heritage. From what I've read so far, the kitsunes were very proficient in the use of chaos energy and it all has something to do with the use of magic. These scrolls here are spell books. They contain techniques that can be used when channeling the power of the chaos emeralds. These abilities were passed down by the kitsunes for centuries. I'm trying to use these scrolls and find new chaos emeralds to tap into my hidden powers."
"That's it? You want a piece of my Emerald just so you can work on some history project about your heritage? Forget it."
"Not just my history, Knuckles. Our history. The echidnas probably lived together with the kitsunes on Angel Island long ago. It's possible that they learned a lot from each other. If we can discover the connection between the echidnas, the kitsunes, and the chaos emeralds, who knows what we can find out?"
"Honestly, kid. You were the last guy I expected to show up here and cause trouble. What got you into doing crap like this?" Knuckles asked.
Tails sighed and he closed his eyes as he thought of how to tell this story. After contemplating for a minute, he looked up and started to explain everything.
"It all started two year ago after our war with the Metarex. We defeated the enemy, but it was at the price of Cosmo's life. You know I had feelings for her, Knuckles. So after we got back to Mobius, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I really didn't know how to go on with my life. But that wasn't the last I heard from Cosmo. Now, don't call me crazy just yet, but I've been having these visions ever since that day. Maybe it was a ghost or an angel. I don't know. But I could see her. She would speak to me. She would tell me that I could bring her back to this world and that we would be together again. I would hear her say stuff like how her race was tied to the chaos emeralds. She told me that there were more emeralds out there, including other Master Emeralds. Then I…"
"Boooooring," Charmy cut Tails off.
Tails ignored him and continued. He didn't notice that Vector was grabbing Charmy's neck and chocking him while yelling at him for his rudeness. "I had this dream where there was this dragon and he started telling me about hidden magic powers that we could access. Even sonic hasn't reached his highest levels yet. And then I heard that the kitsunes knew the hidden secrets in chaos and they wrote these ancient scrolls. So then-"
"Whoa. That's enough," Knuckles held up his palm at Tails, motioning him to stop. "You're rambling. I didn't understand a single thing you just said. I swear, you may be smart, but you're useless at explaining anything."
"OK. I'll explain. Knuckles, how many forms can you transform into when using the emeralds?"
'Two. I turn into Super Knuckles, and with the super emeralds, I turn into Hyper Knuckles."
"Great. Now imagine if you could transform into a third form. I don't know. Call it "Insano Knuckles" or something. You're affected by the emeralds just like Sonic. However, you use the negative energy of the chaos emeralds, while Sonic uses the positive energy. Do I have you so far?"
"Yeah. I'm here."
"Remember that stuff about positive and negative energy. It might be important later. Anyway, one thing I was always trying to figure out is why the chaos emeralds don't work for me. At first, I thought that I was like most people who simply can't access them at all. But then, I used the Super Emeralds to become Super Tails. So that made me wonder. I looked into it and it turns out that I'm affected by both the positive and negative energies in the emeralds at the same time. However, it's impossible to channel those energies simultaneously in the normal emeralds. You need a more powerful connection, like the super emeralds."
"So you need the help of a Master Emerald to get the full use of your powers," Knuckles chimed in.
"That's right. Now if you give me just a shard of the Master Emerald, I can use it to locate a new Master Emerald, probably even more powerful than the one here."
"Kid, I still don't know what you're talking about and frankly, I don't think you know what you're talking about, either."
"Yeah, Knuckles," Tails said as he nodded. "You're right. There's still a lot going on here I don't know. But I have to find out. I'm The Chosen One and I have to do this."
"Chosen One?"
"I can't believe you forgot about that. Your own ancestors prophesied that the Chosen One would gather the chaos emeralds and bring about the great harmony. The Ancient Walkers said so."
"I'll say it again, Tails. You're full of shit," Knuckles said sharply.
"Look, from what I know so far, these scrolls contain martial arts techniques unlike anyhting the world has ever seen before. Be honest that you're not a little curious about what you can do with that."
Tails could see on Knuckles' face that he wasn't impressed. It seemed like Knuckles was using every muscle he had to form that scowl of his. Even bringing up super crazy martial arts techniques didn't seem to work on him. The smile that Tails was wearing the whole time finally wore off.
"All right Knux," Tails said as he threw his hands up in frustration. "I can tell nothing I say is going to mean anything to you, and I'm tired of talking anyway, so I'm just gonna go."
"You finally said something I understood." That was Knuckles' only response.
"Wait!" Charmy butted in again. "This is getting really interesting. Tell me more Tails."
Vector bopped Charmy over the head. "You were the one who said this was boring, remember?"
"Yeah, but then Tails mentioned something about a dragon, and I remember there were pictures of dragons in the cave I was in, so I got curious. And look," Charmy held up one of the scrolls. There was an engraving of a dragon on theseal. "I'll bet this whole scroll talksabout dragons."
Tails swiped the scrollout of Charmy's hands and started unrolling it. "Makes sense. After all, Perfect Chaos had a whole dragon thing going on. Also, I remember the Meterex also used a draconic form when we fought them. And dragons were always symbols of power and magic. If we can locate the emeralds in space, we might encounter one."
"Oh my God!" Charmy's eyes grew ridiculously wide and he pointed his finger at Knuckles and shouted, "Knux! You better give us that freakin' Master Emerald right now so we can hunt down these dragons!"
Espio finally spoke up. "What are you getting so excited about, Charmy? Dragons aren't that exciting. Besides, if you really wanted to see a dragon, you've got Vector right here. He's got the basic look and he snores just as loud as one."
"Hey!" Vector shot back. Everyone laughed. Even Knuckles let out a small chuckle.
Tails was still poring through the dragon book. "I'm thinking that dragons actually are the creators of chaos emeralds, or perhaps guardian spirits. Something like that. The thing is, if I could master the power of chaos properly, I might be able to call one to service."
"Wow! You think you can do that?" Charmy asked excitedly.
"It could be just like how I call forth flickie birds when I turn into Super Tails. It's only logical that I could call other creatures to fight for me when I control the power of chaos. Summoning arts is just one of the techniques passed down by the kitsunes."
Tails closed the book and turned towards Knuckles. His smile returned and he extended his hand towards Knuckles, hoping to get a handshake from him. "All right, Knux. What do ya say? Are you gonna help me become Mobius's Sorcerer Supreme or what?"
"Sorcerer Supreme? What a lame title. I thought you were the Chosen One." Knuckles answered.
Tails gritted his teeth. "They're not mutually exclusive. And you didn't answer my question. Yes or no?"
Vector, Espio and Charmy all tilted their heads closer to Knuckles, waiting in suspense for the answer.
"No."
"Wow," Tails said in a dejected voice. "Just like that."
"What did you expect? You want me to sing and do an interpretive dance?"
"That would be kinda funny," Charmy replied.
"It would look ridiculous," Espio muttered.
"I know. It's just…you know, you just ended a whole quest with a one syllable, two letter word." Tails said. "Just say no." Like drugs, right?"
"I think you're all high on something anyway," Knuckles replied.
"OK, Knux. You win. We're outta here. Let's go, guys. Our mission is over."
"What? That's it? You're just giving up and going? Come on! Let's work this out," Charmy pleaded.
"Don't worry, Charmy. They'll be other opportunities," Tails said optimistically. "It just might take a little bit longer, that's all."
"Didn't you say you were leaving?" Knuckles said with his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, we're going," Tails replied as he made his way towards the X Tornado.
After walking away for about a minute, the Tails stopped and turned to face Knuckles. "Wait. I just wanna say one more thing." Now he looked angry.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it is. So listen up, Knuckles. All this time I've known you, you've always treated me like a little kid. To you, I'm just Sonic's geeky little sidekick who just plays around with mechanical toys. I was always weaker, wasn't I? Well, let me ask you something. Who's the real immature one standing here? Is it me, or is it you who's such a stubborn jerk that anyone who so much as breathes in the direction of your island pisses you off? Maybe for you it's a sign of strength to refuse a request, even if it may be a little difficult."
The vulpine's behavior caught Knuckles completely off guard. "Know, hang on. I…didn't mean it that way," he said.
Tails got right up in Knuckles' face and gave the echidna a jab in the chest with his index finger then went on. "Or maybe you think it's childish to be open minded and have a desire to seek out your own potential. It's ok. You weren't the first to think this way. But you know what? Even Robotnik, who is like the most immature human being on the planet has a thirst for knowledge and knows the value of learning new discoveries. But those things don't mean a thing to you, do they? So fine. Go back to your Master Emerald. It's still early in the morning. You can go back and make love to that rock or whatever it is you guardians do there. I don't care. I'm not coming back to bother you anymore. I'm going back home to study. Maybe with a little work, I can synthesize my own Master Emerald. Oh, but that wouldn't interest you. It's just kids stuff."
Tails continued to walk away, but stopped again and turned to face Knuckles once more. "Just one more thing. Cosmo used to tell me how much respect she had for you, Knux. She never thought you were a gullible fool. She believed you were trusting and honorable. In her eyes, you were a real hero. Ask yourself. What would she say if she were here right now?"
Knuckles stood there speechless. Nobody ever spoke to him that way before. He didn't know what to think. He stood in that same spot as he watched the X Tornado blast off and fly off into the horizon. When it disappeared, Knuckles walked off to his shrine where the Master Emerald awaited. He lay down next to it, but he didn't fall asleep. He was wide awake, chewing over the morning's events. The Master Emerald continued to resonate with its glow. He continued to think and then finally he got up and stood before the Master Emerald.
"Oh, Master Emerald, what do you think I should do?"
End Chapter 2