When everyone had returned to the present of Little Planet's first Zone, they'd been pleased to see it back to being the tropical paradise they were familiar with. They didn't have long to appreciate it, though, not when Sierus' influence still affected the rest of the small world. While they knew what to expect, the contrast between the area they'd saved and the one they had to tackle next was still rather stark. The neon signs that were plastered all over had broken down and been rendered little more than sparking heaps. The nearby forest was just barren and ashy ground now, and even though the lake in the previous Zone had been purified, the river that branched from it into this one was still a polluted mess. The strange pinball structures and flippers were still intact, though none of them knew yet just how well those things worked now.
"It was scary, Cream!" Amy complained to the rabbit as she concluded her story about the T-Rex, "Miles made me act as bait and I almost got caught!"
The fox scoffed at her claim while he checked the Radar on the Miles Electric. "I had everything under control, and the plan worked as intended." He shot her a knowing look. "Besides, I didn't forget my promise. You now owe me 80% of what you did before."
"It should be half," the hedgehog grumbled as she crossed her arms.
Miles chose to ignore the pouting and went back to adjusting his device. The changes he'd made in the past had given him a good idea of how much to tweak to get similar readings in the present. Several seconds later, he was able to separate the Stones from the more prevalent Temporal Energy given off by Little Planet. There were the four that were in their possession, and then one more showed up when Miles expanded the search area, locating it a good ways away from them.
"I found one," he informed the others, a grim expression on his face, "but it's pretty far, and I'm not sure it's a good thing that one's here in the present."
Khal studied the image for a moment and hummed in concern. "It's somewhere on the Stardust Speedway. That's the closest Zone to the Crystal Citadel, which is where I last saw Sierus and Shai. It could be an opportunity, but it could just as easily be a trap, too."
"I'd say it's the latter," Miles theorized, "I doubt that it's unaware of us after what we've done."
"Fair point." The hyena went to see if he could detect the presence of another Stone. As he walked away to give himself the space, he harmlessly tapped his fist to the teen's shoulder. "It might loathe you for it, but I appreciate it."
Miles didn't quite expect thankful words from someone who'd been in his face earlier that day. Even if he wasn't doing this specifically to get on the warrior's good side, he still felt humble about it.
"Just doing what was right," he replied, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.
If Khal felt strongly one way or the other, he didn't give it away. He went up onto a ledge, one of the few that had any greenery remaining, and searched for any discrepancies in the flow of time, excluding those on him and Miles. There were disturbances in both the past and the future of this place, but they weren't related to the gems they were looking for. Even so, they stood out enough that he didn't feel right leaving them alone. If anything, it was likely that those were related to how Sierus reduced this Zone to its current state.
"There aren't any here on this side of the world," he reported, jumping down from where he'd been perched, "but there's something in both the bygone era and the one yet to come that doesn't belong in either. Seems we'll have to split up once again to investigate and tackle this problem."
Amy almost immediately went over to his side, much to the amusement of the fox. Miles didn't mind, though, as that meant that he would get to be partnering with Cream and Cheese this time. He was, however, hesitant to let her see the horrors that the future held in store, and he had a feeling the rabbit shared his sentiments.
"We'll head to the future this time," the fox volunteered, "we might be able to gather some more clues about what Sierus is up to."
At that moment, though, the hedgehog among them decided to voice a different, snarkier suggestion. "Wouldn't the past be better for a date?"
"Amy, please, you know that's not what this is about," Cream admonished her, "we're going so that you don't have to. Not that I don't trust Mr. Khal to keep you safe, but it's much more dangerous in the future."
Amy folded her arms and gave the older girl a doubtful look. "More dangerous than being chased by a T-Rex made out of rocks and lava?"
"Potentially," the hyena answered her bluntly, "like running into the being that made said monstrosity."
After hearing that, the young hedgehog did appear to falter for a moment, but she quickly found her courage. Or perhaps, it was better to call it stubbornness, just like another certain spiny child the fox knew.
"I'll just stick close to you, then!" she swore, taking the Pikkon Hammer out from seemingly nowhere and giving it a few swings, "and I've got this to help protect me!"
Miles let out a sigh and turned to Khal. "I guess Cream, Cheese, and I will go to the past, then. I've been through this enough times with someone else that I know arguing is pointless. I hate to ask, but could you please make sure she comes back in one piece?"
"So long as she stays close and does exactly what I say," the other male replied assuredly, "then you have nothing to worry about. Just focus on finding out what's been going down in the past while we figure out what's wrong in the future."
After a moment of preparation, Khal opened a gateway to the future. He stepped in first, just in case anything nasty awaited them on the other side, then Amy followed after. Once the portal closed, the remaining three went on their way to find a Future Post somewhere in this mess of a Zone. They began by flying up to the ledge that Khal had been on, finding a gap that was filled in by a pair of tarnished blue and yellow bumpers. Miles used them to boost himself up to a higher point in the bizarre architecture, skipping over a couple more minor chasms until he came to a space that required him to Roll through. A half pipe on the other side of the hole sent him up onto a platform, where a red spring popped up behind him and bounced him up the slope of another hill. He landed on a gray flipper with a yellow star encircled in red and blue, and was launched high into the air over the top of the next "peak" in the terrain.
When Cream and Cheese caught up with him, they were about to move forward when the latter babbled something to the former and gestured below them. Close to the edge of a drop, next to another tunnel that curved straight down, they discovered a Time Post. And once the group got closer, they saw that it was exactly the kind that they had been looking for. The problem was that they needed to maintain their speed in order to enter the Time Warp when using one of these things, and their surroundings weren't exactly conducive to pulling that off. He backtracked to see if there was a place better suited to the task and was nearly propelled up an incline by a second spring that shot up behind him. The fox tested its proximity detection by backing up and moving forward, soon getting a feel for the approximate distance.
"That could work," he mumbled, glancing at the steep quarter pipe and back at the spring, then the Past Post.
Miles walked back over to the other two and gave the sign a whip with his tails. After it was activated, he brought Cream and Cheese over to the red spring, scratching at his ears a bit bashfully.
"Okay, I've got an idea that should get us where we need to go," he told them, "but it'll require some close cooperation." He turned to the rabbit specifically. "We're going to have to do a Joint Rolling Attack and keep it steady until we exit the other side of the Time Warp. It's a little tricky with two people close in size, so do you think you can manage it?"
Cream nodded and smiled confidently. "I do have some experience with Amy, so I'll be fine. I just need to account for your size, right?"
"Yeah, and then leaving enough space between us for Cheese to tuck in and grab on," he added.
The Chao chose to cling to the fox's fluffy chest, and chirped its readiness to him. He twirled his two tails and let his legs dip down for the bunny girl to grab onto. She took hold of his ankles and swung her legs up so that he could do the same with hers. Once he was sure everyone had a firm grip, Miles curled in and used his twin appendages to give them a head start on building up a Roll. Cream copied his movements, minus the obvious ones she couldn't replicate, and in a flash, there was an amber and cream colored sphere dropping to the ground. It spun back towards the red spring and was subsequently sent up the quarter pipe, white stars in its wake. Rather than move ahead, the trio let themselves plummet back down into the path of the spring.
After repeating this one more time, they found themselves hurtling through the Time Warp, and before long, they'd arrived in the second Zone's past. The faded pink, rocky ground in the present was a golden yellow here, and like in the first Zone, there were prehistoric plants and trees, coincidentally in place of the structures in the present. The calm and clear water of the river reflected the orange glow of the setting sun at this time, and it lendedt a warm aura to the green-studded mounds and hills close by. There were still the odd floating platforms present, but they were entirely natural in composition, which the hedgehog assumed was due to Little Planet's influence. And it seemed that pinball transcended civilization itself, as there were bumpers and flippers even here in this archaic age.
"I'd be lying if I said a part of me isn't glad this Zone wasn't always as crazy as it was in the present," Miles remarked, eyeing up some of the structures. He stopped when he saw pink girders sticking out of a cliff side. "That doesn't make sense, though, not unless there were people living on Little Planet before sapient life existed on Earth." Saying that out loud made him ponder a bit more. "Then again, we don't know much about it, so I guess that's possible?"
Cream giggled and found herself more taken by the positive change in scenery. "It could be. Is this like what you saw with Amy when you went back in the last Zone?"
"Yeah, it's pretty similar, so I wager we're in the same era," he assumed, "I wonder if it's like that in all of the other regions?" He shrugged and stretched his limbs. "Food for thought to save for later. We need to get moving."
Returning to the task at hand, the fox led them through the passage next to where the Past Post had been. After Rolling down the slope, he was bounced back up by a spring at the bottom, then Jumped off the wall onto an earthy platform. Once Cream and Cheese had caught up with him, the three of them hovered down to a short stretch of land and used the Spin Dash to get up the slope at the end. They continued on beneath an alcove where a Future Post was sitting, and were momentarily startled by a few giant ladybugs that fluttered their way. The big bugs proved just as harmless as their tiny descendants, though, merely slowing their flight out of curiosity before moving on. If only all the creatures they met were that amiable.
At the end of the path, there was a red spring that propelled Miles and Cream into groups of star bumpers, giving the fox some Casino Night vibes. A bit of haphazard ricocheting eventually brought them to the bottom of the area, where a multitude of springs were propped up. A couple of platforms provided some rest from the chaos, though there were far more of the bumpers just above them, and unlike the ones they'd just dealt with, these objects moved on a fixed path. Not wanting to develop a headache from dealing with such obstacles, Miles guided Cream and Cheese up to an even higher outcropping. From there, it was a simple matter to hover over the topmost bumpers and get to the ledge on the other side, where a steep drop awaited them.
From there, it evened out into a long and flat field that was topped with plentifully thick grass and more of those ancient trees and flowers. There was no sign of the anomaly that Khal had warned them about, which was both good and bad. Good because it hadn't reached this far, and bad because they didn't know exactly what to look for. The hyena had mentioned being able to sense something that didn't match with the Temporal Energy, so perhaps it could be detected with the Radar. After all, it had been able to pick up Gil when it was tuned to the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
'I still don't know what he's all about,' he thought as he fished out the Miles Electric, 'him, Khal, Shai...I wonder if there's any connection?'
His deliberation was interrupted by a loud ping from his device, and the display zoomed in on a set of coordinates that wasn't too far away from the trio. It definitely wasn't a Time Stone, as the signal was weaker, yet also more erratic than that given off by the gems. It also wasn't moving, or at least it hadn't since Miles had started checking, so he couldn't tell whether it was alive or not. Regardless, he knew they would have to check it out if there was any possibility of it being linked to Sierus. And even if it turned out it wasn't, it still warranted an investigation due to the fact it was picked up by the Radar to begin with.
"Miles?" Cream asked him, Cheese echoing with an inquisitive chirp.
The fox glanced up from his multitool. "Yes?"
"I don't mean to sound doubtful about whether we can do this," the bunny girl began to say, "but...part of me wishes we had some more help."
Miles hummed softly. "I do too, Cream, but at the same time, I don't want to put more people in danger. That's why I haven't contacted Sonic, or Charmy, or my siblings; I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to them due to me getting them involved." He put away the Miles Electric and went over to lay a hand on the rabbit's shoulder. "But, if things really do get out of hand, I'll call in the cavalry. I'm not as stubborn as those pink and blue hedgehogs you and I have to babysit."
That got Cream and Cheese to laugh a little, which made him happy in turn. A little bit of levity here and there was nice to break up the doom and gloom surrounding their task. He just hoped that there would be more moments like this after everything was said and done.
Bearenger, while not quite as bloodthirsty as Focke-Wulf, was more than eager to get a lick in on Witchcart. Even during the time he was under her control, it hadn't been complete like it'd been with the other two. He'd maintained some freedom through sheer force of will, or maybe it was because he was too temperamental to be fully brainwashed. Whatever the case, it had built up immense resentment, as while he didn't always mentally obey her, he'd been physically hard-pressed to resist. Never had he felt weaker than when his body did things against his wishes, and he'd hated it. He never wanted to experience that again, and he was going to make sure of that by breaking this old crone over his knee.
"You think some glowing rock is gonna save you from me?" he snarled at the sorceress, "fat chance!"
Witchcart sighed like a mother reaching the end of her patience with a troubling child. "You always did have the hardest head, dear Bearenger. Too bad that it didn't leave much room for a good brain."
"Shove it, hag!" he snapped back, "you think my head's hard, wait until you feel my fists!"
The grizzly lumbered forward, winding up one arm as he prepared to deliver a devastating blow. As he'd predicted, Witchcart used her free hand to form a translucent crystal barrier directly in front of her. What he didn't expect was that instead of shattering, or at least cracking from his punch, the manifested mineral wall was barely even chipped. Then there was the pain that came with all that force turning back on him, since it couldn't penetrate into his target. He growled and held his hand with the other one, flinching a bit as he tried to flex his fingers, but even that was bothersome.
Witchcart giggled and shook her head, then made a shoving motion with her arm, directing the crystal wall to ram into the bear while he was still reeling. While he was bowled over, Focke-Wulf leapt above him and went in for a dive kick, only for his attack to be stopped in the same manner. Being much more agile than his bulky partner, he flipped out of the way of the barrier and lunged once again, feinting to one side as Witchcart brought up more crystal. When he saw his opening, he brought his left arm forward in a rend, intent on gutting the old woman. She wasn't fast enough to block it, but what the sorceress did instead was arguably even worse for the wolf than if she had. Witchcart had managed to lace her fingers with his own, hissing as those claws dug into the back of her hand. However, she was soon grinning when her magic went to work, and the lupine's limb was entirely encased in crystal up to his shoulder within just a couple of seconds.
"Agh, shit!" he cursed, kicking himself away before more of him could become trapped. He peered over to Silver, who was still rather taken aback at the sudden brawl. "Don't just stand there, buddy, help us out!"
The hedgehog snapped out of his daze, summoning his cyan aura and hovering into the air. The woman appeared surprised at this display, but she soon started slinging spells that brought forth bolts of energy, as well as mineral chunks to bash him with. He maneuvered around the former with little difficulty, and then used his powers to halt the latter projectiles in place. Silver, however, did have a limit to the number of targets he could focus on, which Witchcart soon figured out was quite a lot, possibly up to several tons! She wanted to see what he would do with all of them first, though, as it couldn't have been easy to focus on so many targets.
The teen gathered all of them up and clumped them together into a massive crystalline boulder, which he hurled at the human. She let out a bit of a shrill shriek, which tapered off into an amused chuckle. With a snap of her fingers, all of the crystal that Silver had chucked her way vanished in a puff, leaving the hedgehog a bit dumbfounded.
"What? But I turned them against you!" he protested, his frustration pushing out a kinetic wave that disturbed the rocky surroundings a tad, "you shouldn't have been able to do that!"
Witchcart wagged a finger at him. "How silly, thinking you could completely control my crystals just because you put your psychic mitts on them. Your power is certainly strong, yes, but it seems you lack experience in dealing with magic, little boy."
Silver decided to challenge her on that notion by using his abilities to seize the woman herself. She grinned up at him as her eyes flared brightly, and for a moment, he thought it was some sort of bluff. That was until he felt the biggest migraine ever pounding at the back of his skull, forcing him to release his hold on Witchcraft. It got so bad that he also had to come down to land, deactivating his levitation and clutching at his head spines, his eyes shut tightly in pain.
"Guh, what did you do!?" he groaned, swaying and nearly taking a spill as he fought the agony in his head.
Witchcart hummed a little disappointingly. "Seems your mind is too strong for me to control directly, even with the Mystic Orb's assistance. Quite impressive, but troublesome. It's a good thing I have contingencies for things like this."
She cackled dryly and blasted him with a prismatic ray, which he tried to block with his powers. But it was futile, as he couldn't properly focus due to what she'd done to him. Silver looked on in horror as crystal spread from the base of his neck down the rest of his body, solidifying everything below that point in only slightly more time than it had taken for Focke-Wulf's arm.
"There, that should keep you in place while I dole out these dearies' punishment for defying me," the sorceress crooned, returning her attention to her former minions.
The bear and the wolf didn't feel as confident about their chances, but they weren't going to just give up. The former of the pair charged at Witchcart with a bull rush, then stopped just as he came within a couple meters of her. Bearenger drove his fists into the ground, cracking it and nearly causing the woman to lose her footing. Focke-Wulf used this moment to close in from behind and pounce, swinging his body so that his disabled arm could slam into her like a club. Witchcart undid the crystallization, and the sudden shift in weight had the wolf lose his own balance and trip before he could connect with his intended blow.
A few small but still noticeable cracks formed in the Mystic Orb as she used her gaze on the blue canid. Focke-Wulf stood up, his head bowed down as subdued, but demented chuckles rose from him, flexing his fingers and brandishing his claws. He whipped up and giggled madly, revealing that his eyes now had a magenta sheen like the artifact in Witchcart's grasp.
"Wulfy, no!" Carrotia cried out.
She went to run in and help snap him out of it, but Witchcart blocked her path with a crystal wall, leaving her with little else to do except watch.
"Sic that bear, Wulf!" the old crone commanded.
The maniac lunged for Bearenger and clipped him across the face with a slash. The grizzly stumbled back and snarled in anger, swinging a meaty fist in retaliation that the brainwashed wolf dodged by dropping to all fours. Like a savage, he moved in and grabbed one of the bigger guy's legs, then sunk his teeth into it with a vicious bite. Bearenger grunted, trying to shake off the piercing pain, but all he could manage to do was soften his fall onto his backside and catch himself with his good hand.
He kicked his comrade away and moved one arm over his eyes to block the domination spell, but Witchcart had been predicting he would do that. A few more fractures formed in the Mystic Orb as she let loose another colorful bolt of energy and struck the bear's uninjured leg. Like with Silver, his body began to mineralize within moments, but unlike the hedgehog, it didn't stop with his neck, soon leaving him as a crystal statue. That left only the rabbit and the hedgehog free from her control, and the latter couldn't do much of anything about his predicament.
"Now then, for the last one," Witchcart murmured, stepping around the cracked ground and slowly strolling over to the bunny. Focke-Wulf loped in from another direction, an almost hungry look in his eyes. "Now, Wulf, don't get overexcited. I'd prefer that dear Carrotia be able to serve me once we've taught her a lesson."
Carrotia kept her eyes on the woman's feet and her companion as she backed away, now having serious doubts about their ability to win. The rabbit may not have been the brightest or most attentive of the bunch, but even she could see how badly this was going. It was worse than getting humbled by Miles again, because he at least had the decency to make it quick so that they weren't too humiliated. Witchcart was taking her time dismantling them, showing that even with Silver's mighty psychokinesis, they didn't have much of an edge. The way she'd handled him showed that she'd been seriously holding back against Bearenger and Focke-Wulf; she could've crystallized them or taken control of their minds easily. But maybe, since his head was still free, if he focused on that thing in her hand...
"Silver, the Orb!" she shouted at him, yelling out as she was wrestled to the ground by the wolf and did her best to keep him from flaying her.
The hedgehog squinted through the pain, which was thankfully easing up, and caught sight of the Mystic Orb. There was now a significant spider web of cracks all over its surface, and it seemed Witchcart hadn't noticed. If he could get it out of her hands, or possibly shatter it with a blast, then it should weaken her powers. He wasn't sure if it would free Focke-Wulf from her control or allow him to bust out of his casing, but it was worth a shot.
Ignoring the migraine as best he could, Silver concentrated his psychokinesis on the Mystic Orb. It was more difficult to do without using gestures, but as long as he was conscious and had the will, he was far from helpless. A cyan glow subtly wrapped around the spherical object, and with a quick jerk of his head, it was wrenched from the witch's hold. He gritted his teeth as he visualized crushing it into powder with his hands, and the aura around the Orb started to dimple, the fissures in the gem growing larger.
"No! You foolish child!" Witchcart screeched at him, turning to the enthralled wolf, "Wulf, stop him before he shatters the Mystic Orb! Kill him if you have to!"
Focke-Wulf sprang back to his feet and prepared to do just that, but was brought to the ground by Carrotia grabbing his heel. The pain of Silver's migraine subsided, which he figured was due to the human's own loss of concentration in addition to her diminished magical power. With that, he charged up a large chunk of his reservoir of psychic energy and sent it out in a pulse. A lot of it was absorbed by the crystal encasing him, but that was the whole point, as its integrity weakened enough to where he could break free with his own physical strength. It had taken a bit out of him, and he'd definitely need to grab some Rings later to help recuperate. However, he still had enough left in the tank to do what needed to be done.
"Take this!" he yelled, pressing and squeezing his gloves together as tightly as he could.
The Mystic Orb deformed from the psychic compression, audible crackling filling the air as it became riddled with countless grooves and rifts. Its pulsating light reached a crescendo, as though protesting what Silver was doing, though he didn't heed it. With a resounding crick and a visible bisection of the gem, black and purple flames erupted from the breach, startling the hedgehog and causing him to drop it. The Orb shattered like glass upon hitting the ground, and the majority of the chamber was soon swept up in the mysterious and foreboding fire.
The furnace churned and roiled, eventually coalescing into the vague shape of a human. It chose a tall and powerful form, though the fluctuations of the flames made it difficult to determine the true height and "bulk". The outline and features appeared primarily masculine, such as the proportions of its upper body relative to the lower. Its "hair" was curly and came down to its shoulders, with a likeness of lush facial hair to compliment it. It had no visible nose, mouth, or ears, but it did have ocean blue eyes with magenta sclera and reptilian pupils.
"The Fire of Lunaren walks the Earth once more," it said in a deep and smoldering tone, though the voice seemed to echo from all around the chamber, rather than the entity itself. It gazed upon the stunned Silver and now shivering Witchcart, and while it had no means to smile, they had a feeling that it would grin if it could. "Thanks to the two of you, the seal on my prison was broken far sooner than my captors had anticipated. Even if releasing me was not your intention, you shall be rewarded."
The hedgehog wasn't sure he wanted to know what kind of boon a being like this would grant. Something about being made of eerie dark flames just didn't instill a lot of confidence, even in someone as trusting as the young teen. The human appeared to be of the same mind, though she was just as quick to veer around and show her ire.
"Stupid boy," she growled, her red eyes visibly shimmering in concert with her mood, "this is precisely why I tried to stop you. Had you just let me keep the Orb, I would've used my crystalmancy to fortify its integrity before this could have happened!"
The simmering figure's lower body stretched and spread out in a circle around the sorceress, one hand reaching out and seizing her by the collar. Despite its makeup and the intense heat surrounding her, her clothing didn't catch fire, nor did she feel pain or discomfort at its close proximity.
"Repairing the cracks would not have strengthened that which had bound me," it said with an intimidating gnarl, "you overestimate your power, though you are still useful. I was drained of my might before I was locked away, and so I am still in a feeble state."
Witchcart had no time to react as the entity closed in around her, reforming into a compact sphere. For a moment, Silver thought that she'd been consumed by the flames, but after a few moments, he was proven wrong. They instead had molded the woman's form, making her look even less human than her features already did. The nose was sharper, the ears were longer, her hair whipped and crackled like an uncontrolled blaze, and her eyes had changed to a deep magenta with vertical pupils. Her outfit now sported the same colors as the creature, with some sections here and there having been singed and tattered.
"Until I have adequately recovered," came a combination of both the voice from before and Witchcart's own, "this body shall serve as a host for my essence." It brought its attention over to the hedgehog. "As for you...I see that you do not belong here. With this one's magic as kindling, I will send you back to your time, to a place I shall soon grace with my touch. Be thankful that Sierus the Damned has shown you mercy."
The possessed Witchcart waved her arms around, and a portal much like the one created by the abnormal Past Post appeared. Silver felt it drawing him in, which he fought against as best he could with his psychokinesis. He couldn't go back yet, not when he hadn't even had a chance to try and make things right! But try as he might, even his power couldn't hold out against the gravity of the gate, especially after all he'd expended. He dispelled his aura out of exhaustion, and was subsequently sucked inside of the Time Warp, which closed behind him with an unceremonious pop.
"It seems that took quite a bit out of this body's reserves," Sierus noted, "unfortunate, but there is plenty remaining for other purposes."
With that dealt with, Sierus directed its focus to the three remaining Animals.
"I will keep the rest of you alive, for now," it rumbled.
Even though Witchcart was no longer in direct control, Focke-Wulf still appeared to be subservient, as the magenta glow in his eyes hadn't faded in the slightest. With a small gesture, the crystals around Bearenger dissipated, though before he could react, a ray of dark energy streamed forth from the sorceress's finger and struck him in the chest. The grizzly grunted, slowly pushing himself to stand as he panted and clutched at his heart, his eyes now the same shade as his lupine partner. Carrotia was ready to run, only to be yanked by her ears and whipped around by the two guys, leaving her exposed to an identical blast to her bosom. It didn't take long for her to cease resisting and join them as another servant.
"Come, my mortal thralls," Sierus commanded them, "there is much to do."
Khal and Amy had arrived at what marked the second half of the region in the future. The air was dark and smoggy, leaving a black-gray mist hanging over the region. All bits of exposed metals had rusted over, the few buildings that had been intact were now totally collapsed, and there were gaps in the lower path that spewed volcanic steam. The nearby riverbed had gotten much lower, and the grimy water had been replaced with what appeared to be bubbling tar. And yet even here, some of the pinball equipment seemed to be just as functional as it had been in their time.
"I kinda understand now why Miles and Cream weren't happy about me coming here," she mused, gagging and covering her snout, "it's dark, it's sad, and it smells really bad."
"Altogether unpleasant, for sure," the hyena concurred, "but we'll have to bear it. Our quarry isn't too far away, so hopefully it won't be for long."
The two of them started their journey to the disturbance by Rolling down a long tunnel that emptied them out into a room full of red springs, as well as many strange orange glass orbs with green cores. Fortunately, the pair's spinning forms were able to shrug off any shards that fell their way when breaking through them, coming to a narrow passage that opened up at the top. There, they ran into a tall insect made of igneous rock that resembled a preying mantis, armed with pincer-like claws, an elongated abdomen with a horned tail, a similar horn on its forehead, and an otherwise thin and streamlined body. It also had five magenta eyes arranged in the same X pattern as one side of a playing die, with the central one being larger than the rest.
"Eww! Normal mantises are creepy enough!" Amy said squeamishly, gripping the Pikkon Hammer tightly.
The creature let out a shriek upon spotting the two, and with surprising speed, it charged at them with its claws poised to slash. Khal put himself between it and Amy, blocking its attacks with his khopesh, but finding himself pushed away and nearly knocked off his feet. The mantis reared its head back and clicked its mandibles, ready to follow up until it caught the noise of the Gear closing, tilting its head in the direction of the girl riding it. It lunged forward to force the warrior back, then fired a spray of strands from its maw, which affixed themselves to Amy like adhesives and yanked her from the board, causing her to drop her weapon and fall towards it. It all happened so fast that the hyena knew he wouldn't be able to close the distance and save the young lady from a rather gruesome fate. Not unless he employed some tricks of his own.
"Hrosh!" he shouted as he thrusted his other palm forward, the blue Time Stone in hand.
The ticking of a clock filled his ears, and the entire world around him was drained of color, leaving everything as shades of black, white, and gray. Amy, the mantis, and all else in the region appeared to have stopped moving, but truthfully, they were still in motion, just incredibly slow. What would have taken a mere second or two would now drag on for several minutes, and the warrior wasn't going to give his foe that kind of time. With a quick flourish of his khopesh, he rushed forth and went into a Rolling Attack with his blade outstretched. Like a hot knife through butter, he cut the mantis cleanly in half, then circled back around to lop its dangerous forelimbs off.
He finished by severing the threads binding Amy, just as the world regained its proper hues. When time resumed its normal pace, the mantis let out a guttural noise before falling to the ground in pieces. The hedgehog, meanwhile, found herself hoisted over the hyena's shoulder in a fireman's carry, confused as to how she ended up like this.
"W-what happened?" she stammered, "you were moving so fast that I couldn't see you!"
Khal set her down on the Gear after it returned to them. "That's how it appears to others when I use that power." He glanced down at the blue Stone. "But for me, the flow of time becomes 300-fold slower, with a significant trade-off: the longer I stay in slowed time, the greater the energy requirement becomes to do it again. While I don't need a Time Stone to perform it, using one does help overcome that particular issue."
"Well, thank goodness you have something like that," Amy remarked, sighing and sitting down on the board, "I thought I was a goner for a second."
The hyena puffed out a bit of air. "Next time we encounter something like that, hang back and wait for my okay before trying to take it on."
The hoglet nodded meekly and got back to her feet. From the top of the quarter-pipe, they coasted down to a ledge and then cleared the top of a hill, riding down a sharp decline to an outcropping above several dips and divots. From that position, they could see two more mantises on a pair of platforms lower down.
Khal quietly descended upon the first one with a Rolling Jump, slamming into the back of its thorax and causing its legs to collapse beneath it from the force. He catapulted towards the second one with his blade in hand while gesturing with his other arm for Amy to move in. She pounced from the Gear with the Pikkon Hammer held high, the end of it enlarging as she brought it down on the stunned mantis's head. It snapped and crumbled like chalk, the rest of it falling lifeless to the ground while the girl was boosted up into the air. At the same time, the hyena slashed the remaining monster across the chest, interrupting it before it could do the same to him, then promptly decapitated it while it was flinching.
With those foes taken care of, the two sped up another quarter-pipe, with them sharing the hoverboard to bypass a few pillars with rusty metal spikes topping them. A couple rising platforms brought them to a chamber with more of those glass orbs, breaking through a few of them to continue on. A steep half-pipe beyond that point launched them up to a giant cylinder with a teal and blue checkerboard pattern, and numerous platforms attached as well. The structure tilted and rolled from their weight, so they were quick to get up and over the top, avoiding a Past Post on the way and Rolling down to a hovering bit of land. It levitated higher up in response to them landing on it, stopping close to the upper side of another platform-studded cylinder.
Meanwhile, Miles, Cream, and Cheese all arrived at the final hurdle. The direct way forward was barred by a strange outcropping, though there was a tunnel they could Roll through. If they'd needed further incentive to take that route, the signal on the fox's multitool provided it for them, as the source of the temporal disturbance was a little ahead, yet a couple dozen meters below as well.
"Alright, I don't know what to expect," he told the other two as he replaced the Miles Electric with the new Boomering, "but considering what Amy and I ran into last time, be ready for anything."
The rabbit and the Chao nodded to him, letting him take the lead. The fox ducked into the winding space, picking up speed and smacking into a star bumper after a couple of seconds, which nudged him down another hole. He uncurled and used his tails to hover past a red spring at the bottom, peering up behind him and wincing at the sight of sharp stalactites on most of the ceiling; bouncing into them would not have been fun.
"Watch yourself, guys!" Miles called up to Cream and Cheese.
They seemed to get his message, as they emerged from the path he'd taken unscathed and out of the way of the spring. Looking around, they saw a few pink girders that were connected to the ceiling of the low and short hallway they'd entered, and a few blinking floor panels that matched their color. At the end of it, the older teen broke through a fragile layer of rock and ushered himself into a shaft with a red spring at the root. He propelled himself up into a Rolling Attack, coming out onto the middle of an archaic pinball table. There were numerous glass orbs placed at specific points, along with star and wedge bumpers, four pairs of flippers, several signs with that unknown language from the present, and various nooks and crannies he could go into or rest on.
He'd barely had a chance to land atop one of the "arms" attached to the lower-middle set of flippers, when a sharp and fiery tendril lashed out at him. Miles flipped back and ricocheted off a nearby star bumper to retreat to an alcove, getting a better look at what attacked him. An immense, bulbous core made of unidentifiable and searing plant matter was affixed to the top of the pinball board, with seven flesh pink petals rimmed with that same black-purple fire that the T-Rex had. An equal number of stamens extended from the base of the petals, five of them sporting vicious thorny clubs at the end of their filaments, while the other two had hollow tubes not too dissimilar to conical hose nozzles. Seven more pistils grew from the center of the flower head, each dripping a hot and corrosive tar-like sap from the stigma.
"First it was megafauna, now it's megaflora," Miles muttered, "and here I am without any weedkiller." He paused at that and groaned. "Great, now I'm sounding like those old cartoons I used to watch with the twins."
The fox saw Cream and Cheese pop out of the tube he'd just gone through, and noticed the Sierus spawn about to attack her like it did him. He flung the Boomering at the limb, knocking it off course so that the rabbit didn't end up beaten and shredded by the spine-studded anter. They flew up to meet him, swerving around a couple more swings on their way to the safety of the alcove.
"Do you have an idea of how to defeat it?" Cream asked him, rather off-put by the appearance of the thing.
Miles pondered on the question. "Well, I'd say remove it from where it's rooted, then destroy the main body. As for other options, I might be able to use its tentacles against it with my Boomering." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I hate to ask, since I know you don't like fighting, but could you back me up?"
"It's okay, Miles," she assured him, with the Chao pumping one arm confidently, "we'll do what we can to help."
Thankful for the assistance, he went in first by hopping from a glass ball to a star bumper, which sent him across the board. A tendril came down to smack him, but a quick whirl of his tails pushed him out of harm's way and onto one of the upper flippers. He Rolled into a ball and flung himself up at the plant monster, striking its main body and momentarily lodging it from its place at the top. The fox broke a couple more brittle orbs as he dropped to the third pair of flippers, while Cream and Cheese chose that moment to make their move. The former cupped the latter in one hand and used it to bean one of the tentacles, while she herself took a page out of Miles' book and used a flipper to slam into the other side of the bulb.
The creature positioned several of its stamens to defend itself, while the two with the nozzle tips came down, each of them aiming for one of the two Animals. The fox picked up the scent of petrol, and not a moment later, those barreled antlers unleashed streams of fire more concentrated than any flamethrowers he'd encountered. Cream and Cheese both split up to avoid the one gunning for them, while Miles fished into one of his pouches and dug out his trusty ESP. He activated the widget with the Flame setting, bringing up the barrier just in time to render the incoming attack ineffective.
"It's times like this I'm glad I brace for the worst, even when expecting a nice, relaxing getaway," he said, wiping away a little sweat from the close call, "kind of wish I thought to use this against the first guy." He shrugged after a moment of consideration. "Eh, I probably would've gone with the live bait plan anyway."
As he considered what to do next, he spotted his friends still under attack by the other limb. He flung the Boomering at one of the clubbed stamen and affixed the golden object around it, then went into a Fireball Spin Dash while "tugging" the limb along for the ride. It smacked into the fire spitting nozzle that was harassing Cream and Cheese with a meaty thunk, the damage producing an unnatural squeal from the Sierus spawn. Not only that, but it seemed that it had been enough to put that tentacle's primary purpose out of action, at least for the time being.
Now aware of the effectiveness of such a strategy, Miles called his weapon back as he soared off of the other top flipper, smacking into one of the parts guarding the main body. He twisted his body and narrowly avoided getting hammered, locking the Boomering around the tentacle as he began to fall. The monster struggled as gravity and the tether of Chaos Energy between the ring and the fox dragged it down, a few of its roots losing hold of the walls around it. Right when he touched down on the third pair of flippers, Miles recalled his creation, watching as that stretched limb sprang back up and rammed right into the spot it had been shielding just moments ago. It produced an even louder shriek this time, and while the blow didn't dislodge it, it had done a fair bit of damage to that part of the bulb.
Defense switched to offense, the five club-like tendrils swinging around with almost wild abandon while the one functioning flamethrower changed targets. Cream followed Miles' example, though since she couldn't replicate it exactly, she had to improvise. She dropped below the flames onto a star bumper, bouncing over a stamen swinging her way and twirling around so she could chuck Cheese at it. The little Chao proved once again to pack quite a punch, redirecting the thorny branch into skewering the one with the nozzle. This prompted the plant to lend a couple more limbs towards trying to swat her, giving Miles the opening he needed. He propelled himself into the base of one of the stamen, then dragged the other down with the Boomering before releasing it and letting it whip the base of the creature. It jerked a few meters down from its position, which threw it off balance, the tar from its pistils splattering everywhere in a wide radius.
As Cream went to land and rest her ears, she unwittingly stepped into some of the substance, and was startled that her shoe wouldn't budge. That left her vulnerable to a tentacle as it went in to lash her, only for a fiery orange blur to grab her and yank her out of the way. Miles' Fireball Spin Dash had been just quick enough to reach her, and while the heat didn't harm her, it had seared away the tar that had been affixed to her sole. However, he accidentally flew into the path of another tendril, knocking the three of them apart and exerting enough force to break the fox's fire barrier. He pinged off a glass orb while the other two hit a slope and tumbled down onto one of the flippers, grabbing the edge and avoiding the pitfall at the bottom of the board. Miles righted himself and threw the Boomering their way, drawing Cream and Cheese out of the way of an attack and slipping into the nearby alcove. Fortunately, they didn't seem too hurt, just a bit dazed. Even so, he didn't want them pushing themselves too hard.
"Thanks, guys, but let me handle the rest," he said appreciatively, "it just needs one more good hit to knock it loose, then I can finish it off!"
Miles led with the Boomering this time, but headed up rather than down. A narrow gap had opened up in the roots anchoring the monster to the upper walls, which he slipped through and brought the attracted stamen along with him. He could see the end of the shaft and daylight just ahead, turning around right as he reached the border and grabbing the edges of that ring. The fox hurled it down into the top of the plant as hard as he could, which had been the final straw, just as he'd expected. The Sierus spawn crashed and deformed as it fell from its perch, squeezed through the bumpers and flippers until it broke through the base of the board.
Miles coated himself in a cyan sheen of Chaos Energy, then dropped straight down with a Drop Attack. The ball of fur and power tore through the demonic flower like it was wet paper, soon striking through the core of the bulb. This triggered the plant into violently bursting apart, rotting and searing vegetable matter showering the chamber. The rabbit and Chao were safe from most of the mess, but having been at the center of it, the fox hadn't been so lucky. He flew up to see them, covered in nasty bits of tar and detritus with an unamused expression on his face.
"Well, that was disgusting," he grumbled, tilting his head up at the exit, "let's head back to the present and see if that did it. If so, I'd really like to go wash off in the river."
Cream and Cheese both giggled, but dutifully followed after him as he flew on ahead. They'd let him have all the time he needed after the way he'd fought and did his best to look out for them like they did for him.
"Ahh, what's happening!?" Amy cried out as the entire region was engulfed in a white light.
"Just stay close to me," Khal replied calmly, "the past has been altered, so the future is changing accordingly."
After a few long, tense moments, everything came back into picture for the two. The odd structures from the pre-ruined present were back again, this time with a fresh coat of pale, but pleasant green. The hills in the distance were a much darker and richer shade, while the rocky orange mountains stood bright and tall once more, now with shining light blue buildings and towers fitting for a futuristic setting. Fresh and beautiful blue water flowed through the Zone in a way that impeded neither nature nor whichever inhabitants made all this, with the nearby forest perfectly preserved in turn. At many points throughout, they could see decorative plants adorning the grassy paths, and the neon signs weren't as harsh on the eyes. It all still seemed a little wacky, but the combination of colors and aesthetics gave it a calm and enjoyable atmosphere.
"Wow, it's so pretty!" the hedgehog exclaimed, taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh of relief, "and the air is so much cleaner."
The hyena grunted affirmatively. "Which means they found and eliminated the Sierus spawn that corrupted this Zone." He glanced down at the patch of flowers that had sprouted around them. "Meanwhile, our own quarry was here, but not anymore. It's moved on to the next Zone, from what I can feel."
"Well, why don't we go after it?" Amy suggested.
Khal shook his head and opened up a gate to the Time Warp. "We need to rendezvous with the others first. Once we assess the situation, then we can resume the search."
The girl puffed out her cheeks, but didn't argue, choosing to quietly slip through the portal. The older Animal took note of where he last felt the presence, then swiftly went in after his companion.
Not too far away, the landscape was radically different. The dark skies were lit up by the periodic eruptions of several volcanoes among miles of smaller mountain peaks. They cast enough illumination to put attention on a labyrinthine hole in the earth. Hovering close to it was none other than Silver, who was switching from staring down into it to up at the sky. There was the familiar icy landscape of Glacia's work above him, while his surroundings were much the opposite. It was like a bit of the fire and brimstone Hell had thawed and reclaimed ground from what had frozen over.
"No different from the last two places," he thought out loud, taking in everything around him for the umpteenth time, "I don't know where this is, but it's like this because I set that thing free." The hedgehog shook his head and lightly slapped his cheeks with his palms. "I won't let it get me down, though! I know there has to be a way to fix all this."
The glow of magma from deep in the caverns below wasn't exactly inviting, but there wasn't much choice when it came to proceeding. There did seem to be a path that went through the place anyway, so it seemed worth checking out. He'd searched the previous two Zones top to bottom, though he'd abstained from using the Time Posts. He didn't want to risk running into Sierus again before he knew of a way to defeat it. However, he was determined to do just that, and get to the bottom of how exactly his world could be totally saved. His conviction clear, Silver used his psychokinesis to levitate down into the catacombs that made up Little Planet's third Zone.