Author's Note: I just want to make sure my readers/reviewers are on the same page as me. The leader of the Armada in this fanfic is the one who is calling the shots and the army. This is not exactly a remake of Sonic 2 for the Genisis, but I thought that Westside Island had a long peace without anyone trying to take it over. I want to thank Brent-Ka for pointing out the Armada's true objective in Tails' Adventure (I have not played the game before). Any questions you have concerning this fanfic; please ask in your reviews so that I can answer any you have.
Chapter Three
Emerald Lost and Rivaries Renewed
On a long, flat plain, there once stood a large chemical plant. At one point it was used as the island's exports until it was overran by an infamous scientist known worldwide Dr. Robotnik (aka Eggman) decided to use it to pollute the island's fragile environment and at the same time; try to use it as an alternative fuel source to power his weapon for world domination, the Death Egg. Currently, all the chemical plants have long since been abandoned since Robotnik left, and the island's inhabitants now use the islands native fruit as one of their exports instead of chemical energy.
On the last of the hills before the flat plains stood four figures; a blue hedgehog, a twin tailed orange fox, a red shelled armadillo, and a yellow and brown flying squirrel.
"I thought you said that you knew this island, kid, and where are the chemical plants?" the armadillo asked strongly toward the young fox.
"I do and I know the chemical plants were once here. It seems to me that they have been long since abandoned and the land is now what it was before the chemical plants were here. Do me a favor Mighty; don't call me a kid," the young fox replied angrily.
The armadillo named Mighty didn't answer.
"Where to next Tails?" the blue hedgehog asked him as the hedgehog scanned the former sight of the chemical plants. "The hills?" he asked pointing to the distant mountains.
"Since we are heading that way, we should check out the ancient ruins on the island and I should warn you. The ruins are flooded at some points plus; the current is too strong for you to swim against, and what we are looking for won't be active until later in the day."
"What are we looking for exactly?" the squirrel asked.
"It's called a 'star post' and they are our gateway to acquiring the Chaos Emeralds. There is only one catch," the fox continued.
"Which is?" Mighty asked.
"They are only active as long as the sun's rays are hitting the post and nobody can activate them until then."
"We can't accomplish anything standing around," the hedgehog said getting everyone's attention. "Lead the way, Tails."
"Sure thing Sonic," Tails said as he used his twin tails as the rotor of a helicopter as he took off toward the end of Emerald Hills and into the thick jungle with Sonic, and with his two friends holding onto him, took off with his incredible speed to catch up with his friend.
An area of the island with many ancient ruins of the past civilization on the island is known as the Aquatic Ruins. Due to the fact that the ruins appeared to have sunk into a lake that passes through the ruins. There are many dangers here; strong currents and several booby traps are hidden around this portion of the island. It is said that the ancient deities set the traps to keep the island's past a secret from others.
Deep inside the jungle near the mysterious ruins, Tails lands on the ground near a creek as Sonic makes a stop and Mighty and Ray release their grip on him.
"Why the stop?" Mighty asked.
"One reason is that the star post we are looking for is nearby and it won't be accessible for another two hours," he replied as he pick up a thick stick after he had removed his backpack and set it near a tree.
"What do we do in the meantime?" the flying squirrel asked.
"All we can do is relax and find something to eat while we wait, Ray," Sonic answered the squirrel's question. "Knowing them, their leader would want to oversee everything."
Tails meanwhile was now wadding barefooted in the water with the stick he had sharpened to a fine point.
"What are up to?" Ray asked spotting Tails in the water.
Tails didn't answer since he was looking intently at the water with his makeshift spear pointed toward the water. He then quickly speared the water and came up with a large, fat fish speared on the spears end. He then tossed the fish back to Ray and he juggled it since the fish was flapping around as it tried to get oxygen through its gills.
"Would you clean and gut the fish?" Tails asked as he repositioned himself to spear another fish.
Ray dug into his backpack for what he needed to clean and gut the fish as Tails continued to spear three more fish. Sonic meanwhile gathered fuel for their fire in order to cook Tails' catch.
"I'm not going to eat anything that is bland," Mighty angrily assumed seeing that he would have to eat a fish without any spices.
"I never said that we would eat it without spices," Tails simply replied as he speared the ground with his spear. "If you would excuse me; I am going to find some spices for our fish and some fruit to go with it." Tails continued as he put his sneakers back on and took off into the air using with twin appendages like a helicopter.
"Where did you find this kid?" Mighty asked as he helped Ray clean and gut the fish.
"His home was once here and he actually helped me on the island. From stopping me from eating unripe fruit and berries to helping me stop Eggman's attempt to get the Chaos Emerald," Sonic simply replied as he used two flint stones to start a fire.
"He seems like a little know-it-all," Ray said as he continued to gut a fish.
"That may be, but he is a very good pilot for someone his age. Correction, the only one his age that can fly a plane, build one, and a very good mechanic," Sonic replied as he successfully started a fire.
"How can you hang around a kid like that?" Mighty asked believing that something is wrong with Sonic.
"He saved my life when I was knocked unconscious when I fell into a deep lake, and he swam down to get me out. Also according to him, I was on the lakebed and it was thirty feet deep. Try telling me that he couldn't risk drowning to save another's life," as Sonic stood up with his voice slightly getting annoyed as he defended his friend.
Mighty was about to answer, but a weird sound directed his attention towards it. Sonic knew that sound too well; it was Tails and he had returned with arm load of large round fruit and some leaves in one of his hands. He set the fruit own the ground near them and proceeded toward his backpack. He took out a wooden bowl and a wooden mallet. Tails put some of the leaves in the bowl before he proceeded to grind the leaves into a powder.
"Herbs I presume?" Ray asked as he finished gutting the last fish.
"You are correct, Ray," Tails replied.
As Tails continued to crush the leaves, Mighty proceeded to talk to Sonic again.
"How can you be friends with a kid when you can have others your own age?" Mighty whispered.
"For one thing," Sonic replied also in a whisper, "his mechanic skills come in handy and also his ability to fly. I should warn you; he has excellent hearing and he may not exactly be trying to listen to us, but he can still hear every word we are speaking. He may not exactly like it if you say anything against him."
Mighty dropped his talk with Sonic about Tails as Ray watched Tails proceed to fill the fish with the rest of the leaves after he had crushed the leaves in the bowl. He filled each fish and sealed the cut on its underside with a special leaf that acts like glue when heated above a certain temperature but at the same time; it is a harmless, tasteless plant. Mighty continued to give furtive at Tails as he sat by Sonic and looked out over the lake. Ray had put the fish on sticks and put them in the fire to cook as Tails sliced the fruit to distribute them among the others.
Sonic, Mighty, and Ray each caught up as they ate fruit until the fish were thoroughly cooked. They all laughed as they retold their stories since they had departed from each other and what they were going to do next after they accomplish their mission on the island.
"I thought you were a member of the Chaotix, Mighty," Sonic asked.
"Well," Mighty began, "after an incident on Angel Island; everything was peaceful. It was too peaceful for Vector and he wanted some action. He decided to set up a detective business off the island and he enlisted Charmy and Espio for their abilities. I declined saying that all I needed was to work on my own. Vector, however; made a comment that I spend too much time working out and a fistfight broke out between us. It ended with Vector having his jaws fused shut by my hands since his jaw's power comes from when he shuts them and not by his opening power."
Tails check on the fish as his friends continued to talk and they were cooked thoroughly. He distributed one to each of them and they all began to eat. They all finished their fish and the rest of their fruit until an engine drone was heard nearby. They quickly gathered their backpacks and peered through the bushes to find the Armada's leader and several of his men near a tall, golden post with a red ring with a white star in the center of hole in the ring.
A large airship was landing near their position and a figure, a bird dressed in armor, came out of the airship alone. He was then followed by another and this one was the one our heroes recognized. It was the leader of the Battle Bird Armada. They stepped out of the airship's shadow and proceeded to the shaded star post.
"Only a few more minutes and then we will have another Chaos Emerald," the leader said in his usual deep voice.
"Yes, and then we will rule the world with the power of the Emeralds in our fortress. There is nothing anyone can do; especially that Eggman character," the armored duck added as the sun slowly started to set.
Back in the bushes, our heroes listened silently as they watched the two talk.
"What's next?" Mighty asked.
"A diversion so that we can access the star post before they enter before us," Sonic replied. "Tails, do you have anything that can give us an edge?"
"Yes," Tails replied, "a special grenade that is used by SWAT teams around the world," he continued as he pulled out a palm-sized grenade out of his backpack. "This will distract them and also temporary blind them."
The shadows slowly moved and the shaded star post became exposed to the sun's rays. The ring on its top began to flash and a ring of stars began to spin at its top. As the twin ducks began to approach the post; a blinding light erupted and a deafening thundering sound was heard. They both had their hands over their ears and their eyes shut as our heroes began to approach the post to jump into the spiraling stars.
In a strange area that defies the laws of physics, this is the home of the Chaos Emeralds. This home is unaffected by time and space; many have tried to solve the puzzle to obtaining the Chaos Emeralds, but only a very few have succeeded in getting the full set of Emeralds. Our heroes appeared on a floating platform high above the nearly infinite space below them.
"Now what's next?" Mighty asked looking over the edge.
"Looks like we jump and try to get enough rings to allow the Chaos Emerald to appear to us," Sonic replied as the walked near the edge and prepared to jump.
"What happens if we don't get the Emerald?" Ray asked scared.
"We just reappear in front of the star post like nothing ever happened, but that only happens if one of us gets the Emerald. If not, we are trapped here until we get it," Sonic replied.
They each walked to a corner of their square-shaped platform and jumped off. Sonic plunged head first and he spread his limbs out as he came to sets of rings (they vanished when they are touched by an organic body), Mighty seemed to have little finesse when he was freefalling but was able to cope, Ray used his ability to glide to slow his rate of descent get all the sets of rings he came to, Tails on the other hand was acting a little more reckless since he was at home when it came to flying. He had been practicing and fine tuning his ability to fly so that he can maximize his skills to avoid any situation.
They continued to fall as they also continued to obtain more and more rings while avoiding obstacles in their way. Then they saw it; the Chaos Emerald shimmering in the distance. It was theirs for the taking except… something hit Sonic and it caused him to loose all the rings he had gained. The same result was for Mighty and Ray. The shot came from the same bird they saw with his leader and he passed the three off them to proceed to go after Tails in the distance.
Tails knew that he was coming and he turned around as he used his twin tails to fly backwards as he prepared for what was to come. The duck fired but Tails dodged it easily. He fired again but the result was the same. He then tried multiple shots but still he couldn't hit Tails. The bird cracked a malicious smile as he fired again and Tails dodged the shot. However, Tails was hit in the back as the shot boomeranged and hit him in the back. He was only yards away from the Emerald and it just passed through Tails like a ghost.
As the bird grabbed the yellow Emerald, a blinding white light was seen and they all appeared in front of the star post. The leader of the Armada was laughing evilly as their vision became clear.
"Another Emerald ours, and I will let you live to witness our triumph over you landlubbers," he then left with his friend on the airship and it took off.
"Great," Mighty shouted as he pounded the ground, "he gets away with another Chaos Emerald, and I blame you, kid!" Mighty continued as he pointed his finger at Tails.
"Me! It's not my fault that we didn't get the Chaos Emerald. How was I suppose to know that his shots would boomerang back to hit me," Tails sounding very offended as he approached to face Mighty face-to-face.
"Break it up," Sonic said as he got between them. "Where to next, Tails?"
"There is an area that only appears at night and we need to make this quick before the sunrises again. If not, we are trapped there until the sun rises again," Tails took one last look at Mighty and took off with Sonic and his friends following.
Casino Night City, a city of endless darkness and casinos. A city that is said to never sleep and many fortunes are gained and lost here. Our heroes are lucky that they won't have to look far for their next Emerald since it is a prize in a contest held at one of the casinos.
"Looks like we need to win the contest to get the Emerald," Sonic said as he read the pamphlet on one of the casino's doors.
"Yes, and it seems to be an aviating video game competition," Ray continued as he read the rest of the pamphlet.
"This is up my alley," Tails said as he cracked his knuckles before he ran into the casino.
"Why should we trust him?" Mighty was still angry at what happened earlier.
"He can be trusted, and you are currently border lining our friendship if you cannot accept Tails as an ally in our cause," Sonic angrily said before he entered the casino with Mighty and Ray following.
Inside the casino, Tails had already signed up for the contest and took his spot in one of the hundreds of cockpit-like pods. He inserted a small disk that contained his computer generated image of the Tornado. He was waiting patiently for the start of the contest until a cruel voice whispered to him.
"Look who's back," it was another fox and he was wearing a leather jacket.
"What do you want now, Julian?" Tails asked not even looking at the fox.
"My friends and I are entering the competition," he indicated to two more foxes, also with leather jackets on, "and I don't think they would allow freaks like you to enter, Miles. Also you give foxes a bad name with those twin tails of yours."
"I suggest you keep your insults to yourselves until the contest is over, and I have no intention in being shot down by the likes of you."
"After we win, we are selling the gem to someone who will pay handsomely for it," the fox named Julian said as he pointed to someone in the audience. It was the leader of the Armada, and Tails wondered why he needed help when he can rely on his cronies to get the Emerald. "If you even can shot us down; you are just a freak and will forever be a freak. You will forever bring shame to foxes around the world. I don't even care if you were Tails; he is just a freak trying to become a hero, and he will never be a hero like Sonic the Hedgehog. He still brings shame to foxes worldwide, and he is never a hero in our books. If he was here; I would pound him for being friends with Sonic the Hedgehog before I clip off both of his tails off to bring more shame to him like he does to we foxes, and so that no one would believe him that he is really Tails." he added with a cruel, low laugh.
"Careful what you wish for; you might just get it."
Over in the audience, Sonic, Mighty, and Ray had found seats to watch the competition as they watched Julian talk to Tails.
"Looks like your friend has others he knows here," Mighty said as he saw Tails talk to Julian, who appeared to be the leader.
"I don't think so," Ray contradicted, "he's not even looking at them. I think he has issues with them and they don't look too friendly."
Sonic had been watching Tails and he could tell that Tails was not very pleased with them showing up.
"Welcome to our competition," a voice on the PA spoke, "pilots, man your planes."
Hundreds of participants entered the cockpits and waited for the start of the competition. Sonic watched from his seat as the leader Julian took his seat near Tails and made a gesture that clearly stated: "you are going down" toward Tails.
An aviator video game contest is about to begin. Can Tails win this contest with other aviator fanatics, and show Julian and his friends that he can prove himself. What about the agreement between the Armada's leader and Julian and his friends? Will the leader keep his agreement with them, or will Julian give it to the highest bidder? Can Mighty finally accept Tails as an ally instead of an annoyance?
Preview:
Yo, this is Sonic! The contest was intense, but we loose the Emerald to the Armada in a blackout. We travel to the hills to the next star post and finally get an Emerald. However, we loose it to that scheming Nack the Weasel and we loose him in the caves on the island. We must catch that weasel and get the Emerald before the Armada gets to him first. Find out next time!
Copyright: Sonic, Tails, Robotnik (Eggman), Mighty, Ray, the Battle Bird Armada, and the Chaotix are all copyrighted by Sega. Julian and his friends are copyrighted by me.
Post Author's Note: Like I said, I would put my own twist on some of the events. You have read a few of my twist in the series and I hope to have more twist later. This chapter may be long due to the fact that I didn't realize that I had incoorporated this many events into this chapter.
