Sonic X: Season 3: Shuffle Edition
The Spelunking Game(pt. 1)
-Cosmo's Flashback-
Man, do I love riding on these walking escalators! They're just so fun! I can just stay on these things all day without being bothered by anyone. Honestly, I don't think that I'm needed by anyone on this ship. Sure, I may have been assigned to being a gatekeeper, but...if you ask me...it's actually a pretty boring job. I don't think that anything exciting will happen to me in the future. Why couldn't someone else be assigned to this job? Sure, my mom gave me the job because she trusts me the most out of everyone here, but even still, nothing had ever happened yet! But...I do wish that something could happen that could spice up my boring life. Something like...an adven-Cosmo pondered to herself with a smile as she stood on the walking escalator of her mother's spaceship.
"Enjoying the ride, Miss Gatekeeper? Teehee!" Starry teased playfully with a smile while she rode on the other walking escalator.
Oh no...Not again...Why can't I enjoy my rides in peace? Cosmo brooded in annoyance with a little frown.
"Keep up the good work, Cosmo! We certainly need you to keep 'moving forward' in life! Ahahaha..." Comet replied brightly yet a bit teasingly with a smile while she rode behind the younger Seedrian.
"Yeah, Cosmo! Keep those intruders out from riding on your escalators! That'll show them! Teehee!" Celestial teased jokingly with a sweet smile as she turns her head to look at Cosmo while waving her hand at her.
"Uhh...Heheh...Yeah...thanks for the encouragement, guys. Hahah...Uhh..." Cosmo replied awkwardly with a forced smile as she waved her hand back at Celestial before moving her head back ahead of her. Cosmo then frowned in sadness and looked down as she brooded. Ugh...Do they always have to tease me about that? I was like three when I had innocently said, "I love these moving floors!". Do they have to keep reminding me about that? It's so embarrassing! But then again...
Cosmo frowned even further as she finished her broodings. ...There's nothing else noteworthy about me. Other than my job as a gatekeeper, I'm just an average person with plain features and hobbies that every other girl likes. Nothing stands out for me for being interesting or amazing. I'm just...just someone who belongs in the background and nothing else. Sigh...
Cosmo then looked back up and had beamed when she saw her older sister at the end of the escalator ride. "Ah! Galaxina! It's good to see you!" Cosmo exclaimed brightly with a grin as she got off the escalator and walked towards Galaxina.
"It's always wonderful seeing you, Cosmo. But how are you feeling? You were looking down a while ago. Were you being teased again?" Galaxina replied calmly with a smile.
"Oh...Uhh..." Cosmo muttered awkwardly and sadly as she looked down again in shame. She then replied quietly, "It's...It's fine, Galaxina. That happens to me almost every day".
Galaxina smiled sadly in sympathy for Cosmo as she replied calmly, "I know, Cosmo. But surely, you've developed some thick skin by now from that sort of thing, right? You know the saying, 'Keep a stiff upper lip', right? How many times do I have to remind you of that? It's the only thing that you could do for now".
"I...Ugh...I know...D-Don't remind me..." Cosmo muttered in quiet annoyance as she looked back up at Galaxina and had crossed her arms while frowning.
"Aww, don't look so upset, Cosmo. The people who tease you don't understand how important your role is as a gatekeeper. As long as you keep doing your duty, they will soon learn to respect you and appreciate your efforts," Galaxina encouraged gently with a smile.
"But why can't I be appreciated now?! How much longer are they going to keep teasing me?! I want it to stop and have them treat me like an adult!" Cosmo complained with an annoyed look on her face.
Galaxina frowned in sympathy for Cosmo as she replied gently, "I...I wish that they could stop too, Cosmo. Sure, I can tell them to stop teasing you. But even then, they can keep doing it behind my back, and I would be none the wiser. It's going to take a long time until they will see you as an adult, Cosmo. I'm sorry...".
Cosmo sighed in sadness and in frustration as she put her arms and head down again. She then replied sadly, "It's alright, Galaxina. I understand".
Galaxina then smiled gently again as she grabbed Cosmo's shoulder and replied, "Hey, why don't we go see your mother, Cosmo? Talking to her a little will cheer you up".
Cosmo looked up at her and nodded slowly. Galaxina beamed as she replied, "Good! Now, let's get going then!".
…
Cosmo and Galaxina were then in the main engine room. They soon stood before Cosmo's mother. Which is...a humongous tree. They stared up at the tree in silence.
...
"...Well, Cosmo? Go on ahead..." Galaxina encouraged quietly after breaking the silence. Cosmo nodded to her and looked up at her mother with a smile.
"How are you doing, Mother? I was busy riding the walking escalators again," Cosmo spoke gently yet happily to her mother.
"Yes, you know, the very strange thing that has become a source of teasing for Cosmo," Galaxina added with an amused smile.
"Hey!" Cosmo exclaimed with a little frown as she looked at Galaxina.
"But it's true though..." Galaxina replied sheepishly with an awkward smile. Cosmo frowned a bit at her before smiling playfully as she nudged her sister at the side. Galaxina chuckled at this and had patted Cosmo on the back.
"It's okay, Cosmo. Just because it's strange, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing to have. I'm sure that's something that your mother would've said," Galaxina replied gently with a smile. Cosmo nodded to her and had looked back at her mother. Sigh...I think so too. I've heard that my mother was very wise when she was alive. She would probably have said that to comfort me. But...I guess that looking at her comforts me too. I don't know why, but it does though. Cosmo thought calmly with a smile.
…
After staring at her mother for a minute, Cosmo then turned her head to look at Galaxina again while saying, "Do you think that my mother would enjoy riding the walking escalators too?".
"Hmm...Well...I guess that she would be surprised on how advanced our spaceship is now if she was still alive. But I'm not sure if she will get as much joy into riding the escalators as much as you do, Cosmo," Galaxina replied calmly with a smile as she looked at Cosmo.
"True, but it would be a relief to me if she does enjoy them as much as I do. Because that way, people won't tease me anymore if they found out that my mother likes them too. By then, they would have to treat me with more respect since we like the same thing," Cosmo replied calmly with a smile.
"Yeah. That would have been nice..." Galaxina replied sadly with a smile before she looked sad as she stared at the tree and continued saying, "But ever since your mother had died nearly at the beginning of the war, she was in no position to comfort you or help you stop the teasing from happening to you. I'm sure that your mother would've helped you deal with your problems if she was still around. She loves you that much, Cosmo. I'm very certain of it".
Cosmo sighed quietly before she replied with a frown, "I suppose so, Galaxina. It would've been great if I had grown up with her around. I would have loved it if we could live together back in our home planet. Why did she have to die when this war had started? Why did the war even start in the first place? And why couldn't we go back home already? I want this to be over with now!".
Galaxina sighed sadly before she replied solemnly with a frown, "Trust me, Cosmo. We all want this to be over. It's not just you who is suffering here. Many lives and planets have been lost thanks to the Metarex, but we need you to do your job as a gatekeeper to prevent the Metarex from coming into other galaxies of the universe. We don't want any more people to suffer because of them, and we don't want any more planets to be destroyed. Your mother doesn't want any of that to happen, and that's the reason why she had entrusted you to protect the universe, Cosmo. She believes that you will protect it in the end. Even after she's gone".
Cosmo frowned sadly at that. Does my mother really think that I can protect it? I'm very weak and accident prone. To protect something as huge as a whole universe? ...That's...That's just too much of a burden for me to handle. I...I can't do it. Couldn't my mother choose someone that's more dependable and stronger here? Why me? What's so unique about me? What do I have that others don't on this ship? I...I...Sigh...Cosmo brooded sadly with a frown. She sighed and replied weakly, "...(Sigh)...Galaxina? Could you take over my gatekeeping job for me? I...I'm not sure that it's a good idea to leave the job in my hands. I mean...This has got to be a mistake, right? Surely, this job is more suited for someone with more experience, right?".
Galaxina looked at her and smiled in amusement of that. She replied calmly, "Hey, don't you go doubting yourself now, Cosmo. You are capable into protecting the universe. Don't let your weaknesses cloud your judgement. After all, your strengths will come through for you when you eventually get cornered by adversity".
"Ah! ...Are...Are you sure that I can do it, Galaxina?" Cosmo asked in curiosity and in surprise as she stared at her friend.
Galaxina nodded and replied calmly yet wisely, "I believe in you, Cosmo, and so does your mother. Besides...that's how life is in general, Cosmo. Even if your mother didn't assign you this job, you will still struggle with your weaknesses in other aspects of your life. As long as you believe in your strengths, you can do anything that you want to in your heart. So, keep your chin up and keep doing your job, Cosmo. The safety of the universe is dependent on you".
Cosmo blinked her eyes at Galaxina in shock. She didn't know what to say to that, but she nodded slowly to her in understanding. Galaxina smiled warmly at her and replied brightly, "There! That's the spirit, Cosmo! And speaking of jobs, we have to clean the ship for today! Come on, Cosmo! Let's finish our chores for today so that we can hang out together!".
Cosmo beamed at that and replied happily, "Oh, yeah! I forgot about that! Let's go then!".
"Alright then," Galaxina replied calmly with a nod before she walked away from Cosmo's mother.
Cosmo looked at her mother one last time and replied happily, "Sorry that we can't stay any longer, Mother. But we have to leave to finish our chores. Don't worry, Mother. We're going to make this ship extra clean so that it will sparkle! All for you, Mother. Anyways, goodbye! And...".
Cosmo then smiled sadly as she added, "...I love you...".
She then walked out of the main engine room with Galaxina. The main engine room was quiet and empty again. But even when no one was there...a voice still ranged out.
"...I love you too, Cosmo...Farewell...my beloved daughter...".
…
…
...
-Meanwhile On The Blue Typhoon-
Cosmo was still reminiscing as she sat in her seat on the bridge of the ship. in her room. As Cosmo reminisced quietly, the others were busy by either checking up on the ship or were just talking to each other. They were all on the bridge as this was going on.
"See anything, Tails?" Chris asked with a smile as he typed onto his computer.
"Nope. Still nothing," Tails replied calmly with a frown and a headshake.
"That's a bummer. I wonder how much longer it'll be until we reach the next planet," Chris replied with a disappointed frown as he scratched his chin in thought.
"Pfft! Perhaps three more months then since Knuckles still refuses to make his move," Sonic quipped playfully with a smirk as he had his arms crossed while leaning against Chris' seat. He was staring at Knuckles as he was sitting in the middle of deck while having his arms crossed too. Knuckles turned his head towards his right and glared at Sonic after hearing him say that.
"Sonic...I thought that you'll be fine with me taking my time as much as possible. Why are you complaining?" Knuckles replied sternly with a frown.
"Hey, I'm not complaining or anything. I'm just...joking about it. But seriously, how much longer that you're going to delay playing the game? You do want to finish the game at some point, right? So, why not start right now?" Sonic replied playfully with a smirk and a shrug.
Knuckles narrowed his eyelids at Sonic as he replied lowly, "...Sonic...I know what you are doing. So, stop it. Now...".
"Heh. What are you talking about, Knuckles? I'm not doing anything. …...So, the game's going good, right?" Sonic replied teasingly with a playful smile and with lowered eyelids.
"Sonic...Stop..." Knuckles replied lowly through gritted teeth as he glared harder at Sonic.
"...Making progress yet?" Sonic asked teasingly with a smile.
"No...Now, shut up..." Knuckles replied curtly with a grimace as he looked away from Sonic.
"...Thinking about making your turn yet?" Sonic asked teasingly yet again.
"No! Cut it out! Stop asking me about it!" Knuckles yelled in irritation as a vein bulged in his head.
"...(Sigh)...Not again..." Chris muttered tiredly with a sigh as he shook his head at this. Sonic, your impatience is astounding to me. Chris thought with a little smile.
Sonic smirked deviously as he knows something that will get Knuckles motivated to keep playing the game. He then closed his eyes and asked teasingly, "...Do you want to go back home, Knuckles? You know...back to Angel Island where you belong?".
That...had easily gotten Knuckles' attention right away.
"...! What?!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock as he gasped and looked at Sonic with a surprised look on his face.
"Yeah, Knuckles. Don't tell me that you had forgotten about your home. I know that you want us and yourself to stay safe, but you still want to go back home and live peacefully in that remote island of yours again, right? So, what are you waiting for? Make your move so that we can go back home..." Sonic replied calmly with a knowing smile as he opened his eyes again and stared at Knuckles.
"..." Knuckles was speechless as he stared at Sonic with a shocked look on his face. Of course! How could I forget about my home?! I...Wait a minute...Knuckles pondered in shock before in realization of what Sonic is doing. He frowned deeply again and narrowed his eyes at Sonic.
"...Nice try, Sonic. But sentimentality isn't going to work on me..." Knuckles replied calmly with a frown.
"...But Knuckles...Angel Island..." Sonic replied teasingly with a grin.
"...But Sonic...A fist..." Knuckles replied in a mocking tone of voice as he raised one fist at Sonic for emphasis.
Sonic then lowered his eyelids halfway and smiled smugly as he whispered, "...Angel Island...".
"..." Knuckles was quiet as he glared at Sonic's smug face with narrowed eyelids. He hated that he's being played yet again, but unfortunately for him, there isn't much that he can do about it. ...I hate you so much, Sonic. Knuckles brooded with a grimace on his annoyed face.
"...(Sigh)...Fine. I'll play the stupid game again," Knuckles muttered weakly in defeat as he sighed and opened the board game again.
"I knew that you couldn't resist going home, Knuckles. You should know that by now due to how much you wanted to go home when we were stuck on Earth for a while in the past. You were so dead-set into going home that you would cooperate with Dr. Eggman in order to make that happen. You were so-" Sonic replied calmly yet amusingly with a grin as he looked away from Knuckles while closing his eyes.
"Don't remind me!" Knuckles yelled in irritation as he gritted his teeth again while pushing the red button again. The spinner started to go after Knuckles pushed the button. Meanwhile, Knuckles was irritated that Sonic had reminded him of that humiliating incident. I...I couldn't help it. I just had to go back to my home. I...I don't know why I felt the need to go back, but...I knew that it was important. After all...maybe...someone...will be there to greet me back home...I...Sigh...I'm having those crazy thoughts again. Stop thinking about that, Knuckles! There is no one on that island! No one...but yourself...Knuckles brooded with a grimace as he watched the spinner spun for a while.
"...Any minute now..." Knuckles muttered calmly with a frown as he waited for the spinner to stop. Meanwhile, Cosmo kept reminiscing as this was going on.
-Back In Cosmo's Flashback-
"Aaaaaah! I'm falling! I...Oh, wait, that wasn't so bad. Why was I yelling then?" Cosmo yelled in shock before muttering quietly to herself after landing on her bottom. She then opened her eyes and gasped loudly in shock as she saw the yellowish-green Metarex ship flying across from her mother's spaceship. Okay! Now's a good time to be yelling! Cosmo thought in panic as she yelled after seeing the Metarex ship firing more lasers at her mother's ship and damaged it. Rubble had fallen inside the ship, and the Seedrians were either being solemn or are panicking at the sudden Metarex attack.
"Aaaaaaaaah! Why are they here?! How did the Metarex get here?!" Celestial screamed in panic as she saw the Metarex ship attacking their ship on screen.
"I don't know! But take cover!" Starry screamed in fear.
"This doesn't make any sense. The Metarex would have no way into entering this universe without going through the portal. How did they manage to get through that?" Comet said solemnly with a grimace as she looked at the screen too.
"Yeah! That's right! The portal should've been closed! Just who opened it up and why?! …! Ah!" Celestial exclaimed in shock as she stared at the screen and gasped when she saw another laser being fired at the ship.
BOOOOOOOOM!
While more rubble was falling within the ship, Cosmo was running for her life as she thought to herself in panic. Oooooh! How did this happen?! I hope that Galxina and the others are safe! I...I just don't understand why the Metarex came into this universe! It's impossible for them to come here! Unless...Ah! No! No! That can't be it! Because if it is, then...Ack!
KAAABOOOOM!
Another explosion went off inside the ship after being hit by another laser, and Cosmo shrieked in surprise of this. She covered her face with her arms as smoke appeared after the explosion in the wall.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Cosmo screamed in fear as more lasers struck the ship.
"COSMO! SAVE YOURSELF!" Galaxina shouted in fear as the ship blew up a lot.
-Cosmo's Flashback Ends-
"Ah! I'm sorry that I failed you, Galaxina!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she snapped out of her flashback.
"Huh? Who's Galaxina, Cosmo?" Tails asked curiously with a frown as he looked at Cosmo.
"A-Ah..." Cosmo muttered in awkwardness as she realized where she's at now. She thought that she was back on the Blue Typhoon, but now she saw that she's outside and on another planet. She figured that she must've been on autopilot as she had reminisced about the tragedy of her people yet again. Oh...Not again...I've been sidetracked by remembering my painful past again. I...I don't know how long I've been lost in thought during all that. It must've been a long time then since we're on another planet currently. Cosmo brooded with a sad frown as she looked down to the ground.
"Cosmo? Is something wrong?" Knuckles asked curiously as he was standing in front of Tails while holding the board game in his hands. He was also staring at Cosmo with a frown.
"...Umm...Never mind, you guys. Carry on with what you are doing prior. Don't mind me...Please...I...I need some time to think..." Cosmo muttered quietly with a sad frown as she kept staring at the ground in shame.
"Hmmm..." Tails and Knuckles mused with intrigued yet concerned frowns on their faces. They stared at Cosmo for a bit before looking back at each other.
"...Hey...Something seems off with Cosmo today, Tails. Do you think that she's still thinking about that Metarex ship that we destroyed a while ago?" Knuckles whispered to Tails with a solemn frown.
Tails grimaced at this as he thought to himself. That's possible. Cosmo didn't seem as her chipper self as of late. I don't think that she even talked to anyone today. This is not good. I hope that I can talk to her about it sometime and cheer her up a little.
"Hmm...Maybe. But I think that we should keep focusing into finding the next Chaos Emerald on this planet," Tails replied quietly with a solemn frown and a nod before he looked at his wrist communicator and typed into it.
"...Yeah. I think that it's best that we do that first. Anyways...Hmm...Just what does this riddle mean for us?" Knuckles replied calmly with a frown and a nod before he pulled out the card again and looked at it. He then read the card out loud again, "...'A vast treasure you want to take but is it worth it for your health's sake'?".
"Honestly, I think that it's telling us that we're approaching a trap. I mean. Look at this! The emerald radar is going bonkers over here! It's like there's a billion Chaos Emeralds here! Because of this crazy energy frequency, I can't pinpoint the emerald's exact location on this radar! This is hopeless!" Tails replied solemnly with a frown before exclaiming in frustration as he tried to adjust the radar on his wrist communicator.
"Ugh. You think that with all this high energy being around that the rest of Chaos Emeralds are here, but no, that would be a good thing. And we all know that nothing good ever comes from my rolls. So, yeah, I think that it's safe to say that this planet is nothing but a big scam. Let's just leave this planet instead," Knuckles replied calmly with an annoyed frown on his face with narrowed eyelids.
"We can't just leave. We just got here," Tails replied calmly with a frown as he looked up from the screen.
"Tails, it would be a huge waste of our time if we searched high and low for a fake treasure that we think is the real deal. How could that not be suspicious?" Knuckles replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown.
"W-Well...I suppose that it would be best that we'd leave this planet behind and find another planet instead. However, I don't think that Sonic would be thrilled with that. After all, we all saw him do a victory dance after seeing this planet. He wanted to get out of the ship as soon as possible so that he can have a good run again. Telling him that we're going back into space will be like telling him that he needs to swim. So..." Tails replied calmly with a worried frown on his face as he stared at Knuckles.
"...(Sigh)...Let me guess. We need to keep ourselves busy and let Sonic have some fun before we can leave, right?" Knuckles replied calmly yet tiredly with a sigh as he narrowed his eyelids at Tails in annoyance.
Tails then looked sheepish as he smiled a little while answering, "...Umm...Exactly...".
"You have got to be kidding me..." Knuckles muttered quietly in annoyance as he face-palmed himself while holding onto the board game with one hand.
"Hey, come on now, Knuckles. It can't be that bad. Maybe we could solve the mystery behind this strange phenomenon of the emerald radar by finding the source of its problem," Tails replied calmly with a sheepish smile as he stared at Knuckles.
"That sounds more like a chore than a mystery, Tails, and I don't want any part of it," Knuckles replied calmly in annoyance as he stared solemnly at Tails.
"But Knuckles...What if we somehow find a Chaos Emerald amid our search? Perhaps out of the hundreds of the fake Chaos Emeralds, there is one that is real. The real treasure," Tails replied coyly with a grin.
"You're sounding like that bat girl, Tails. So, stop while you're ahead," Knuckles replied with a deeper frown as he stared at Tails in annoyance.
Tails then grinned smugly as he replied coyly, "...You could get to be the leader of the emerald search party, Knuckles. What do you say? Do you want to lead the search?".
Knuckles then lowered his eyelids at Tails and frowned deeper at this. ...Ugh...Not again...Why do my acquaintances always manipulate me into doing things for them? I feel like I'm a toy to them at times. Knuckles brooded with a solemn frown on his annoyed face.
"...You owe me big time for this..." Knuckles muttered tiredly with a frown. Tails smiled sheepishly at him before looking at Cosmo again. He can see that Cosmo was still looking down on the ground with a sad frown on her face. He frowned in sadness too as he wondered at what's on Cosmo's mind right now.
I'm...I'm such a failure. For all the people that I wanted to protect...I couldn't do it. I couldn't save anyone, and the worst part about this...I couldn't even stop the curse for even happening in the first place. I'm...I'm stuck within this curse along with everyone else. Everyone in the universe will eventually and inevitably die...and...and...I'll be the one responsible for it. All because I...because I...Cosmo brooded with a sad look on her face as some tears formed in her eyes. She then covered her eyes with her sleeve and cried silently for a bit.
"...Cosmo..." Tails whispered sadly with a grimace. Knuckles noticed Tails' expression and looked at Cosmo too. He shared Tails' expression as he stared at Cosmo. Poor kid...Knuckles brooded in empathy as he sighed a bit before looking at Tails again
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Oh! ...This is Tails speaking. Come in with your report," Tails replied quickly as he opened his wrist communicator again and looked at it.
"Tails, this is Chris. I'm here to tell you that I've finally pinpointed the exact location of the strong energy source in this planet. Apparently, it's underground. I'm not sure if the real Chaos Emerald is underground, but it's for the best if we try to search around there. This is going to be our toughest search yet," Chris replied calmly through the wrist communicator while flying the X-Tornado.
"Then search your heart out, guys! As the leader of the search party, I say that we don't stop searching until we find the real Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed passionately with a solemn frown as he moved over towards Tails' wrist communicator and looked at Chris. The screen on the communicator changed as Sonic was speaking now.
"So, what you're saying is that we party our hearts out until we find the Chaos Emerald! Got it!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a grin and a thumbs-up.
"That's not what I-! Ah!" Knuckles exclaimed in irritation before in shock as he saw that the X-Tornado is flying over him. He, Tails, and Cosmo looked up into the sky as wind blew at them. Chris kept flying the X-Tornado ahead of the group while having a calm look on his face.
"Look everyone! We're having a head start in our search! (Chao! Chao!)" Cream exclaimed happily with a smile and a wave as Cheese chirped happily too. She and Cheese were sitting at the back of the plane while Sonic was crouching at the back end of the plane. Sonic looked back at the group with a smile too.
"Yeah, guys! Step it up! Stop being slow pokes and start searching with us!" Sonic exclaimed enthusiastically with a smile.
"We'll get there! We'll get there! Hmph!" Knuckles yelled back in annoyance with closed eyes as he crossed his arms while holding the board game at his chest. Tails just waved at the X-Tornado as it went farther away from him, Knuckles, and Cosmo. And there goes my plane. Sigh. Looks like we're traveling on foot this time. But then again, the energy source is underground, so...it's not much of an issue anyway. Tails pondered with a little frown as he kept waving at the plane while the wind kept blowing at him, Knuckles, and Cosmo.
Cosmo stared at the plane with a frown as he pondered calmly. Please find the Chaos Emerald, guys. It's our only hope that we have to stop the Metarex. We need them...to rectify my horrible, irreversible mistake. I'm sure that...Galaxina would want that.
"Poor Cosmo. She hadn't smiled even once today. (Chao Chao...)" Cream said sadly with a worried frown. Cheese chirped sadly too with a frown. Sonic frowned at this as he saw Cosmo's frown too. I hope that she'll smile again. I'd hate to see her all gloomy the entire trip through space. Maybe Tails or Knuckles could cheer her up. Sonic pondered calmly with a frown as he kept crouching.
"You couldn't blame her since that Metarex ship had triggered her bad memories. We all get sad and depressed whenever we're reminded of our painful past...and Cosmo is no different from us..." Chris replied solemnly with a frown as he kept flying the plane forward. He frowned even deeper when he brooded. I know that from experience. Just like when Sonic was about to leave my home planet to get back home. Bad memories can resurface at the most unexpected times.
-20 Minutes Later-
"...Geez, look at this place. It's like a ghost town in here. This planet may have sunshine, but it's just as creepy as that graveyard planet we went to a while back," Tails muttered with a frown as he walked through the empty, barren ruins of an ancient city. Knuckles and Cosmo walked with Tails through the ruined, ancient city with Knuckles being the lead. Knuckles still carried the board game under his arm as he walked forward. Cosmo looked around at the city with a frown and a sigh.
"...The curse..." Cosmo muttered quietly with a frown as she stood still and looked at barren, ancient city.
"Huh? What curse? Our curse?" Tails asked curiously with a frown as he stood still and looked at Cosmo.
"No, Tails, the Witches' Curse. Of course, it's about the board game! What else would Cosmo be talking about?" Knuckles replied in slight annoyance with some sarcasm while rolling his eyes as he walked a bit further from Tails and Cosmo.
"Uhh...Oops...Sorry..." Tails muttered awkwardly with a sheepish frown as he looked at Knuckles before looking at the ruined city at his right.
"...(Sigh)...It's no big deal, Tails...Don't worry about it..." Knuckles replied tiredly with a sigh as he looked at some ruins too.
"Hmm..." Tails mused with a frown.
Cosmo looked even more sad as she replied, "...This is very normal for planets to be looking like this after being affected by the curse. All the people did was play a board game without knowing the irreversible consequences for playing it. All those poor children...friends...lovers...parents...and grandparents were completely unaware of the destruction of the board game's curse".
She then looked solemn as more flashbacks come to her mind. She had her head down while adding, "...This whole situation could've been completely avoided if I...I...".
She grimaced as she brooded this sad thought. ...if I wasn't born.
"Huh? Cosmo? What were you going to say? 'It could've been avoided if you' what?" Tails asked curiously as he looked up from his wrist communicator after typing into it a bit. He stared at Cosmo with a curious look on his face.
"Ah. Umm...Never mind. Forget about it," Cosmo muttered sadly with a frown after looking at Tails for a moment before looking back down at the ground.
"Okay, if this isn't the jackpot of all underground entrances, then I won't know what is! Just look at this abyss! It's huge!" Knuckles exclaimed in the distance.
"What?! An abyss?!" Tails exclaimed in shock as he looked at Knuckles. Cosmo looked surprised too as she walked towards Knuckles to see the abyss. Tails followed Cosmo to look at the abyss too. Knuckles stood next to the cliff and stared down at the abyss below him. He still had the board game in one arm while he stared at the abyss with a frown. Tails and Cosmo soon got to where Knuckles was at and stared at the abyss with him.
"Well, I mean. You can't really see the bottom if it's so deep, and this abyss goes waaay down," Knuckles replied calmly with a frown as he kept looking down at the abyss.
"Oh my..." Cosmo muttered in awe as she stared at the abyss. Maybe it would be best if we turned around. Who's to say that the Chaos Emerald is down ther-? Cosmo thought with a worried look on her face as she stared at the abyss.
"Whoa! Check it out, guys! The emerald radar is picking up the strongest signal right down there!" Tails exclaimed with a shocked look on his face as he noticed his radar blinking rapidly on the screen.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Ugh...Cosmo thought with a sigh and a worried look on her face as she and Knuckles stared at the radar too.
"Huh. Imagine that. Even when the energy is like all over the place, the radar still picks up its strongest one when we're close to the source. Cool! Looks like I've optimized these radars to their highest quality after all!" Tails replied calmly with a surprised look on his face before exclaiming with a smile.
"Tails, your geekiness is showing," Knuckles muttered with an annoyed look on his face as he waved his left hand at Tails.
"Uh. Oops...Got a little carried away," Tails replied awkwardly with a sheepish smile as he looked at Knuckles.
"Umm...I don't think it's that bad, Knuckles. It's rather amusing on how passionate Tails gets when it comes to technology. There are some things that we can't help but gush about, you know?" Cosmo replied meekly with a little smile as she stared at Tails and Knuckles.
"Uhh...Umm...I knew that, Cosmo. Umm...S-Sorry..." Knuckles replied awkwardly with a frown and a blush as he looked away from Tails and Cosmo while rubbing the back of his head.
"It's alright," Cosmo replied calmly with a nod and a smile.
Tails blushed a little at that and stared at Cosmo with a sheepish smile. "Umm...Thanks, Cosmo. Hey, look! You're smiling again!" Tails replied calmly yet brightly with a smile as he noticed that Cosmo was smiling.
"Ah! Uhh...I...I guess that I was..." Cosmo muttered in shyness as she frowned and blushed at that while looking away from Tails.
Tails frowned at that and thought. Sigh...Nice going, Tails. You just had to point that out.
"Umm...Anyway, guys. I think that we need to leave the board game behind. We need to either climb or fly down there, and I don't think that we have enough hands to carry it unless..." Knuckles said calmly with a frown as he looked back at Tails and Cosmo while carrying the board game in his hands. He then stared at Cosmo in particular as he asked, "...Cosmo? Could you float down to the ground while carrying the board game?".
"Ah! Uh! No! I can't do it! I don't want to be the one responsible for losing the game if I drop it! I'm..." Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she stared at Knuckles with wide eyes and a wide mouth before frowning sadly and looking down as she added, "...I'm too clumsy, and...I can't see what's down there...".
"Oh...Uhh...I guess that we're leaving the game behind then," Knuckles replied awkwardly with a little frown and a shrug.
"But we can't just leave the board game behind like this! What if the Metarex will come by and steal it? They could use the board game as bait so that we can get stuck into their trap!" Tails exclaimed with a worried look on his face as he stared at Knuckles.
"Oh...Umm...Didn't think of that..." Knuckles replied awkwardly with a little frown and with wide eyes as he saw that Tails was right. Well, this is a pickle. If we can't leave the board game behind without the risk of it being stolen, then how will we-? Knuckles pondered with a little frown as he stared at Tails and Cosmo in awkwardness.
"Give me that," Tails replied calmly with a frown as he took the board game and...dropped it into the abyss.
"Tails!" Knuckles yelled in shock as he looked freaked-out by this while staring at the abyss. He had his hand out towards the board game as it went down towards the abyss.
"...!" Cosmo gasped in shock of this as she stared at the abyss too.
"Wait for it..." Tails muttered calmly with a frown and with crossed arms as he stared at the abyss too.
…
…
…
THUMP! (THUMP!) (THUMP!)
Th echo of the board game landing onto a little ledge halfway into the abyss can be heard. Knuckles and Cosmo gasped in shock when they heard the loud "THUMP!". Tails smiled calmly as he saw that he got his calculations right.
"See, guys? That's how you optimize," Tails said calmly with a confident smile as he looked down at the abyss.
"Are you crazy, Tails?! We could've lost the board game by doing that!" Knuckles yelled in irritation as he glared at Tails while frowning deeply at this.
"True, we could. However, I saw the ledge when I looked down at the abyss, and it's very easy to drop it down there since it's next to the cliff anyways," Tails replied calmly with a smug smile as he stared at Knuckles.
"But we still could've lost it!" Knuckles argued back with a frown.
"We could, but we didn't," Tails replied smugly with a smile.
"Grrrrr..." Knuckles growled a bit at that. Watch it, Tails. You're slowly becoming like Sonic. I just hope that you don't become even more reckless too. Knuckles brooded with a frown.
"Hehehehehehe..." Cosmo giggled a bit at that as she covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Tails and Knuckles. Tails and Knuckles stared at Cosmo with surprised yet curious looks on their faces.
"You guys can be so silly at times. Hehehehe...I've certainly hadn't met players who are this funny and silly before. Hehehehehehe...You really do make this 'gaming experience' a lot more enjoyable that way. Hehehehehe..." Cosmo replied calmly yet amusingly while giggling quietly.
Tails and Knuckles raised their eyebrows at that and looked at each other. They soon smiled a little as they saw that they had made Cosmo giggle a bit with their nonsense. I guess that we're no different than the Chaotix. It's a good thing that we're able to make Cosmo laugh or giggle like this because she really needs it right now. Tails and Knuckles pondered with little smiles on their faces.
"Hehehehe...Ah. Sorry. I don't...laugh or giggle often. So, it's...rather rare for me to do that especially what...I had gone through in the past..." Cosmo replied calmly yet sadly with a frown after giggling a bit. She even looked down as she said that.
Tails frowned when he heard that and had looked at Cosmo in empathy. I also thought that I would never giggle or laugh again after being bullied a lot. Going through a rough part of your life isn't easy and definitely not the most amusing time of your life. But if there is one thing that Sonic taught me, then it's that time keeps on going, and the bad moments will remain as moments of time. It's not forever. It's just...a moment. A really, really, REALLY long moment. And in the end...you'll be laughing and giggling again once it's finally over. Tails brooded with a solemn frown as he stared at Cosmo in empathy.
Knuckles frowned even deeper than Tails after hearing that too. He stared at Cosmo in empathy as he brooded. I share your pain, Cosmo. You don't even know the half of what I had gone through in the past. Being the sole guardian of your clan's treasure isn't the happiest job in the world. It's really miserable, and I wouldn't wish it onto anybody. Not even to my enemies. You certainly can't laugh or giggle when the world could end by your own negligence. Honestly, I don't want to keep doing my job, but...I have to. I have no choice. I certainly can't abandon my duty when...there's a possibility of it being used against the world...no...the entire universe. I certainly mustn't fail that. I...I mustn't.
"...So...Uhh...Guys? Are we...going down into the abyss together?" Cosmo asked curiously with a frown as she stared at the abyss with her hands on her dress.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Sure, Cosmo. Let's get going already," Tails and Knuckles replied at the same time with slight awkwardness as they blinked and nodded their heads at Cosmo. Cosmo looked at Tails and Knuckles and nodded too.
Eventually, Tails had told Cosmo that he will be holding onto her hands, and Cosmo agreed to let Tails hold her hands while blushing a bit in embarrassment. Knuckles already grabbed down onto the ledge of the cliff and started to climb down from it. Tails quickly started to fly upward before flying over the abyss and descending towards the ledge within the abyss. Cosmo looked a bit worried as she stared at the deep abyss, but she knew that Tails won't let go of her and make her fall. Besides...he has a good grip. He must've carried people a lot in the past if he can carry me like this. Cosmo thought with a little smile before she looked surprised again as she saw the ledge in the distance.
"Ah! There's the ledge! And look! There's the board game! It had landed in front of the cave!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she stared at the board game.
Tch. Tails is rather lucky that he had dropped the game right there. I couldn't imagine what we would do if it had fallen into the abyss. Knuckles brooded with a frown as he climbed even more downwards before stopping and looking at Tails and Cosmo.
"You guys keep on going without me. Check in the cave and tell me if the Chaos Emerald is nearby," Knuckles replied calmly with a frown as he stared at Tails and Cosmo.
"We got it, Knuckles," Tails replied with a nod.
"Oh, and another thing," Knuckles replied calmly with a solemn look.
"Oh? What is it?" Tails asked curiously with a frown.
Knuckles narrowed his eyes a bit as he added sternly, "...Don't you dare drop the board game into the abyss. Understood?".
Tails had a sweat drop on his head as he replied sheepishly, "Uhh...Y-Yeah...Sorry about that, Knuckles. I guess that was a bit too careless of me to do that...and pretty stupid in hindsight".
"Oh, really? You think?" Knuckles replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"Guys, please focus. We need to search for the Chaos Emerald," Cosmo replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown as she looked at Tails and Knuckles.
"Ah. Right. Sorry, Cosmo. Carry on then," Knuckles replied calmly with a nod in understanding.
"Yeah, let's keep on moving," Tails replied calmly with a nod too as he descended even lower towards the ledge. Knuckles stared at Tails and Cosmo as they went lower into the abyss.
Soon, Tails and Cosmo had reached down towards the ledge, and Cosmo lets go of Tails and picked up the board game. "Here you go, Tails. Here's the game," Cosmo replied calmly with a frown as she lifted the board game and offered it to Tails after he landed onto the ground too.
"Thanks, Cosmo. Hmm..." Tails replied calmly with a frown as he grabbed the board game and held it in his hands.
"Is something the matter, Tails? Why are you staring at the game?" Cosmo asked curiously with a little frown as she had her hands together.
"I'm just thinking...We might run into some bad luck if we go into the cave. Who knows what might jump at us?" Tails replied calmly with a solemn frown as he stared at Cosmo.
"...! You don't mean that...the Metarex could ambush us the moment we step into the cave?" Cosmo asked curiously in shock as she gasped a bit.
"That's what I'm thinking. But maybe if we use the board game, we could retroactively counter the bad luck with our good luck! A lucky turn in the game could change a lot, you know. So, why not we use the game to our advantage and create some good luck for us?" Tails replied brightly with a smile as he opened the board game while looking at Cosmo.
"Ah! Tails! That's brilliant! You really are starting to use some strategy on this game!" Cosmo exclaimed brightly with a smile.
Aww, look at her. She's smiling again. Tails thought with an amused grin. He then closed his eyes as he replied calmly, "Well, what can I say? Sonic kinda did rub off on me. He was the one who had said, 'never doubt the board game', so, I'm going to do what he says and believe in what the board game can do for us. Bad luck isn't the only thing that comes out from this game. Good luck can also come through too, and I think that this time...good luck will happen to us!".
Tails opened his eyes and grinned a lot at Cosmo at that last sentence. Cosmo smiled sweetly at Tails as she placed her hand on her chest. Tails is right. Good luck can still happen despite the board game being cursed. I'm sure that we'll be lucky this time. We just have to be at some point! Cosmo pondered with a smile.
"I agree, Tails. Just try it, and maybe it'll work out for us," Cosmo replied calmly with a smile and a nod.
"Right. Now, keep your fingers crossed because here we go," Tails replied calmly with a determined smile as he pressed the red button. The spinner started to spin after having the button being pressed. Tails and Cosmo stared at the game in silence while having hope in their hearts that something good will happen.
Meanwhile, Knuckles kept climbing down towards the ledge and had frowned when he saw that Tails and Cosmo hadn't gone inside the cave yet. Just what are they doing? …...Oh no...Knuckles pondered in confusion before he frowned deeper when he saw Tails holding the opened board game.
...He's not doing what I think he's doing, is he? Ugggh...Sonic, you're a bad influence on Tails. Now, you've gotten him to rely on that stupid, troublesome board game. I just know that nothing good is going to come from this. Because nothing ever does with that horrible game. Knuckles brooded some more with an annoyed frown on his face.
KACHING!
The spinner had stopped, and the card had popped out from the board game. Tails smiled a bit in amusement when he saw that his orange spaceship had passed Knuckles' by one. Tails' spaceship was on space 32 while Knuckles' spaceship is on space 31. Ha! Beat that, Knuckles! I'm ahead of you! Tails thought gleefully with a smile as he took out the card and read it out loud.
"'A journey can be short, long, or even tall, but the destination may lead to a great fall'? Huh? 'A great...fall'?" Tails read calmly with a smile before looking confused and worried as he looked down at the ledge and at the abyss. ...Ah! This ledge must be a trap! We need to get away from the ledge! Tails thought in panic with a worried face.
"Cosmo! Get inside the cave! Quick!" Tails exclaimed in panic as he looked around the area and at the ledge below him to see if there are cracks or not.
"Huh?! But why?!" Cosmo exclaimed in alarm as she saw Tails looking panicked.
"No time to explain! Hurry!" Tails exclaimed with a solemn frown on his face as he closed the board game again.
"Oh! Uh! Okay!" Cosmo exclaimed in surprise as she quickly walked inside the cave and had felt along the rocky wall. Tails soon put the board game under his arm and stepped a bit inside the cave too. He kept looking at the ledge and the abyss to see if something bad is going to happen to it. Come on...Come on...Do something already! I'm ready this time! Come on, Metarex! Show yourselves and your devious traps! I'm ready for you! Tails pondered with a solemn look on his face as he kept backing away from the ledge.
"T-Tails...It's too dark in here. I can't see a thing," Cosmo muttered in worry as she walked slowly inside the cave while feeling the rocky wall on the left.
"Don't worry, Cosmo. I'm right behind you. Just keep on going. I'll protect you," Tails replied solemnly with a frown as he stared at the ledge while walking backwards. He looked at Cosmo for a bit before looking back outside. I don't get it. Why isn't the trap setting off right now? It has to at some point, right? Tails thought in confusion while looking serious.
Just as Tails had thought that, Cosmo had accidently pushed a security button on the rocky wall. Soon, a small beep went off.
Beep!
"Oh, dear!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she flinched back from the wall.
"Ah! Did something happen?!" Tails exclaimed in surprise as he looked back at Cosmo.
"Yes! I think that I had activated a tr-aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" Cosmo exclaimed in alarm before she screamed in panic as she felt the ground shaking and rumbling.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" Tails screamed in panic too as he felt the ground shaking and rumbling too.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Rocks and the ground were breaking apart and had fallen inside the cave as the rumbling continued.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Cosmo lost her balance as she walked forward, and the ground beneath her had broken apart too. She still was screaming in panic along with Tails. But Tails gasped in shock when he saw a ton of rocks falling towards Cosmo.
"I got you, Cosmo!" Tails exclaimed in panic as he threw the board game behind himself before he leapt at Cosmo to protect her from the rocks collapsing onto her. Cosmo gasped in shock of this as she felt Tails' body onto her. Luckily, Tails had saved Cosmo in time as tons of rocks had fallen towards the ground, however, as lucky as that was, he and Cosmo had fallen into a large, dark hole in the cave.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Tails and Cosmo screamed in panic as they fell together into the dark, deep hole.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! … …
Eventually, the rumbling and shaking had stopped, and the cave was completely barricaded by rocks. Despite this, the board game was unharmed as it had landed outside onto the ledge yet again.
"Ah! Tails and Cosmo are caved in!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock as he had reached the ledge while staying on the rocky wall. He stared at the rocks with a grimace before looking at the ledge where the board game is at. He grimaced even deeper as he glared at the cursed board game.
How much do you want to bet that board game was the cause of this? I'm betting a hundred. Sigh...Knuckles brooded with a grimace as he hopped off from the rocky wall and stood on the ledge. He picked up the board game and sighed while closing his eyes. He then muttered tiredly with a grimace as he held the board game in his hands.
"Sonic...You ruin everything for us...".
Whoa! That was a trip! It certainly had been a long while since I've updated this story! About three months to be exact! Now normally, I'd finish each episode fully, but since it's been a long time that I had made any updates and that I wanted to upload a chapter on Christmas, I figured that separating this episode into parts will be ideal. By the time this chapter goes up, I'll be in the middle of writing the second part of the episode. Also, maybe I do want to make the rest of the episodes into parts, but I'm still on the fence on this one. But anyways, I hope that you had enjoyed part 1 of this episode as your Christmas present! See you all in the next part!