Sonic's Chaos
Chapter 9: Trials of the Temple
As Sonic tumbled down into the pyramid, he saw that the only sources of light seemed to be coming from torches lit along the walls. They illuminated his surroundings just enough for him to make out a pit of spikes beneath him. Thinking fast, Sonic quickly spun into a ball and used the momentum to push himself just far enough so that he could land on the ground above the pit. As he fell, he just about managed to grab the edge, his feet barely touching the spikes that would have certainly killed him. Sonic took a moment to acknowledge the previous events, looking up to where he fell from, seeing the starry sky through the opening that was created. Looking around, there was no apparent way for him to directly return to where he fell from. Behind him, Sonic saw an unlit corridor. He carefully grabbed one of the torches off the wall and proceeded down it, hoping that no more traps would await him.
Walking down the corridor, the light from the torch illuminated strange drawings and carvings on the walls. Holding the torch closer, Sonic saw drawings of what appeared to be some kind of land mass. Further along, he saw a race of people that he could not recognise – they seemed to have spines, but they were not those of a hedgehog's. The drawing seemed to depict them worshipping some kind of large Emerald – a Chaos Emerald, Sonic theorized. Maybe these drawings depicted the society that built these structures. Sonic continued down the corridor, occasionally checking the walls again only to see similar drawings. At the end of the corridor, his pathway branched through two stone doors. Sonic saw no indication for where they led to, nor if there was a "correct" path to go down. Randomly, he approached the door on the left. Sonic opened it and walked through when suddenly sharpened wooden spikes shot through the wall in front of him before retracting again. After that moment, the corridor seemed to come to life, the sound of the spikes sliding out of the walls echoing down the corridor. Sonic waited a few seconds, allowing the hazard in front of him to repeat itself a few times to get an idea for its pattern and how long he would have to pass it. As the spikes retracted once more, Sonic darted past them. Sonic now realised that getting this Emerald would be no easy task. He had no Badniks or foes to face, but puzzles to overcome.
Sally could not quite rest that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, hoping that at any moment the radio was buzz and Sonic and Tails' voices would come through, but no matter how long she waited, it wasn't happening. If they were gone, it would mean two of the Freedom Fighters' most valuable members are lost, and that the Chaos Emerald in Knothole is completely unprotected. Sally jumped a little when she heard a noise; initially thinking it was coming from the radio, she soon realised it was the sound of feet shuffling somewhere outside. She tried to focus on the sound, to work out where exactly it was coming from or where they were going, but the sound faded away, too quiet to hear.
Outside, Fang waved two people over. Bean snuck out from behind some garbage nearby, Bark lumbering behind him, accidentally knocking a trash can over but managing to stop it mid-fall before it could make any noise. The two approached Fang.
"So, this is the place, huh?" Bean whispered excitedly before eyeing up the base and analysing its shoddiness. "Not gonna lie, Fang, I was expecting a little more from these people..."
"So what if it's a little makeshift?" Fang retorted, "The treasures this place is gonna hold will bring us unimaginable riches!"
Bean went all giddy, barely containing his excitement. "So, when are ya gonna give us the call?!"
"As soon as they've got all the Emeralds," Fang replied calmly. "Now make sure ya remember the way here!"
"Yeah, I'll try," Bean said, looking around. "But the place don't exactly stand out!"
"Well it wouldn't be a very good secret base if it did, huh?" Fang sarcastically replied. As the two went to leave, Fang grabbed them both by their arms. "Now fellas, before ya go, make sure ya don't tell anyone about this place, or this whole plan is kaput, ya hear me?"
Bark nodded while Bean reassured him. "C'mon, Fang – me and you go way back! It'll be like we've never heard of this place!"
"That's what I like to hear!" Fang patted both of them. "Now you get home; if there's anything important, I'll let ya know!"
Fang watched as the woodpecker and the polar bear snuck away, remembering their past jobs together. This heist could be the most profitable in all of Team Hooligan's history, and Fang was determined not to let it fail. Fang snuck back inside, shutting the door behind him, but as he pulled it to he heard some noise coming from down the hall. He quickly ducked into his room before whoever it was could see him.
Sally walked out into the main entrance area, looking around. She was convinced she heard the sound of footsteps again, only there was no one here. Maybe she was imagining it, or maybe Espio was sneaking around. Either way, there didn't seem to be anything around. Not wanting to investigate further in case it woke the others up, Sally returned to bed.
Sonic had passed through the spike corridor, successfully navigating through the openings provided when the mechanisms paused. He had already come to the conclusion that the temple was built to protect something; namely, the Chaos Emerald. "Why else would all these traps be in place?" Sonic thought to himself as he continued down the dim corridors, lit only by his torch. He saw drawings again on the walls, depicting the same unknown race, an island rising into an air, a large Emerald – in Sonic's travels, he had never seen anything like this. The only drawing that seemed familiar to Sonic were some birds, which he assumed to be Flickies.
Back outside, Tails came to. His vision was a little blurry, but he could make out that it was still night time, meaning he can't have been out for too long. He struggled to sit himself up as he recognised Flickies surrounding him. Tails tried to speak.
"What... what happened?" he asked weakly. Looking around him, he saw that Sonic was missing, as well as the Chaos Emerald Locator. Tails began worrying; where did Sonic go – is he safe? Where is the locator and who took it? He looked to the Flickies. "What happened?" he asked again, this time sounding more concerned and panicked.
"Your friend is safe," the Flickies said reassuringly. "You have not recovered yet. You must rest."
Tails admittedly did not have the energy to go out and look for Sonic – the blow from that hammer had seriously injured him, and he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to walk without getting winded. Tails slumped back down, his vision blurring again before blacking out.
Sonic heard a click as his foot touched the floor. He had been walking for a few minutes through maze-like corridors, not seeming to get anywhere, however he realises now that he has activated a trap. Suddenly, arrows begin firing out of the walls on both sides. As one bounced off the wall, Sonic bent down to pick it up and saw that the heads of the arrows were made of sharpened stone. He looked back up as the arrows continued firing across the corridor, thinking that maybe if he waited it out the arrows would eventually stop firing. However, Sonic had began to notice that the fire on his torch seemed to be getting dimmer and dimmer; the longer he spent down here, the higher the chance he'll be forced to navigate this temple in complete darkness. Looking on warily, Sonic knew that it's in his best interest to try and pass this trap as soon as possible.
Robotnik was back in his lair, the Egg Hammer commissioned for repairs after its failure in battle. Furious that his opponents got the best of him again, he distracted himself by continuing with his latest project; redesigning Metal Sonic. When Metal was brought under control upon his arrival at Wing Fortress, Robotnik had ordered him to be deactivated, and since that day Metal had been lying idle in Robotnik's lab. Robotnik understood that a full roboticization of Metal was in order, as his animal features had seen serious damage as a result of the explosion. While that much was clear, an effective design was necessary for Metal to be of any use. Robotnik brainstormed; it needed to be sleek and slim so that it weighed less and thus would not slow Metal down. He suggested to himself that through full roboticization, further powers and abilities could be installed. This idea excited him, and he quickly went to work designing new attacks to implement. He heard the doors to his lair open as his servant Snively walked in.
"My lord, I have troubling news..." the servant said anxiously as he approached the Doctor. Robotnik sighted, spinning in his chair to face Snively.
"What is it, Snively?" the Doctor sighed, irritated that Snively was interrupting him while he was in the flow.
"We've received information, sir," Snively said, clearing his throat. "The Freedom Fighters have been active in Robotropolis."
Robotnik's eyes widened with anger. "Where are they?!" he demanded angrily, scaring Snively.
"W-well, we aren't sure yet, sir," he replied, voice shaking slightly. "But several known members have been sighted across the city. What do you suggest, sir?"
Robotnik paused for a moment to think. "We can't let them sway the influence of Robotropolis. It was unwise of me to leave it. The city needs its leader; I must reassert my dominance over Robotropolis!" the doctor shouted, banging his fist on his arm chair and rising to his feet. "Snively, prepare the Badniks. Once they are ready, the Wing Fortress will fly over Robotropolis to quell any rebel pests!"
"Very good, sir!" Snively said, approving out of fear. "They shall be mobilized right away!" the servant left the lair. Robotnik turned back to the designs he had been working on before talking to himself.
"The sooner you are complete, the better," Robotnik said quietly, staring eyes wide at the design. "My perfect weapon; you will secure my dominance not only over Robotropolis, not only over West Side Island, but over the whole planet of Mobius!"
Sonic crawled along the floor, arrows whizzing by overhead, narrowly avoiding his blue spines. Carefully raising his head to look up and raising the torch ahead slightly, he saw he had almost passed the trap. After a few more seconds of crawling, Sonic was able to safely stand up, dusting himself off. The fire on his torch was small now, worrying the hedgehog – would he be forced to traverse the rest of this maze in pitch black? While the screen of the Emerald Locator provided some light, it was nowhere near enough for him to be sure that he wasn't walking into a trap. Sonic just had to navigate his way through the following corridors as quickly as possible in order to find the Emerald – even then, he'd still have to find the way out. Not wasting any time, Sonic began running as fast as he could down the stone corridors while still being cautious of any traps.
After several minutes of running, the flame on Sonic's torch was almost completely burnt out, providing very little light. However, Sonic noticed there seemed to be some light coming from up ahead. Running further, the light grew stronger and stronger; the light from his torch was gone now, but he no longer needed it. He tossed the stick aside as he came upon the room, the Chaos Emerald in the centre, nestled in some kind of display. Sonic approached it with caution, looking around to see if there was anything that could be triggered, but no – the room seemed completely void of any hazards. Sonic squinted slightly as the silver Emerald produced a bright aura before stepping right up to it and picking it up with his gloves. Sonic sighed in relief before realising he'd have to try to find a way out. Before this worry could bother him any longer, Sonic heard some kind of rumbling before hearing deep booms coming from across the temple. The room began to shake as Sonic realised that finding the Emerald didn't mean he was off easy; in fact, finding it set off the biggest trap in the place. Sonic started running desperately as bangs and booms sounded around him, shaking dust off the stone walls as they started to crack and crumble; soon, the roof too would start cracking and as Sonic sped around a corner, the stone ceiling behind him collapsed under the weight of the rubble sitting atop it. Panicking, Sonic kept running, hoping that if the temple was falling apart it might mean there could be an opening up ahead. He kept going as the walls behind him cracked and collapsed under the pressure. There was so much dust in the air that it was hard to breathe; if Sonic didn't die from falling debris, he might die from suffocation. But Sonic was no ordinary hedgehog – he had a strong will and purpose, and he was getting out of here with that Emerald no matter the cost. Darting around a corner, he came upon a long corridor, at the very end of which he saw the trees and vegetation outside. He ran as fast as he could, the silver Emerald gripped tightly in his hand as his red shoes kicked up dust behind him. Halfway down the corridor now, getting closer; and then, the ceiling in front of the door collapsed. To anyone else, this may have spelled certain death, but not Sonic. As he ran, he leaped forward, spinning into a ball and smashing through the rock out into the other side. Sonic collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out, as the temple finished caving in behind him, reduced to pieces of rock like all the other ruins here. Sonic got to his feet, tired, catching his breath, finally breathing fresh air. Finally cooling down, he remembered the reason he went into the temple in the first place. "Tails," Sonic said out loud before running back the way he came.
Sonic ran over to his friend, barely awake on the ground, still being watched over by the Flickies.
"Hey!" he shouted, waving the Emerald in the air to get their attention. "I got the Emerald – now you can fix him up, like you said you would!"
As Sonic lifted the Emerald in the air, it floated towards the centre of the circle the Flickies formed around Tails. The Flickies continued flying in circles as the Emerald appeared to release that same grey aura again, the same that illuminated the room in the temple Sonic found it in. The light grew stronger, getting brighter and brighter by the second, forcing Sonic to shield his eyes for a few moments, but when he looked back, the Emerald had stopped glowing so violently. Tails woke up, gasping, and the Emerald dropped onto his stomach. Tails sat up, holding the Emerald in his hands.
"Wh-what..." Tails said groggily, observing the Emerald before looking up. "Sonic! You're here!"
"See! I found the other Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed, happy to see his friend in good condition. "Hey, you better thank me – getting that back here almost cost me my life!"
Tails carefully got to his feet, throwing the Emerald up into the air before catching it again. "That's two of 'em down! Only one more to go, then we find Robotnik!"
"You got it!" Sonic cheered. Looking up, he saw it was still dark. He had no idea what time it was. Looking at his friend, he could see the burst of energy from the Emerald was starting to wear off. "Hey bud, I don't know about you but I could really crash right now. We'd better get back to Knothole!"
"Right..." Tails yawned. "Let's head back; we've got a lot to tell Sally in the morning!"
The two ran back across the fields and through the woods, the journey completely tiring them out. Upon return to Tails' workshop, the pair flopped onto their beds – out like lights.
"Sonic! Wake UP!"
Sonic felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake. Immediately he assumed it was an attacker; maybe Robotnik realised that Sonic and Tails were still in Knothole. Sonic was about to retaliate until he opened his eyes and saw who it was – Amy, the pink fur an instant giveaway.
"So you ARE alive!" she shouted, standing back and putting her hands on her hips. "You two owe Princess Sally an explanation, big time!"
Sonic sat up in bed and looked over at Tails, seeing him yawning and stretching. In the doorway, he saw Mighty chuckling to himself.
"See?" Mighty spoke to Amy. "Told you they'd be fine!"
"That's beside the point!" Amy retorted before looking back at Tails. "What happened to you guys?"
"Don't ask me..." Tails stretched once more before jumping out of bed. "I wasn't awake for most of it!"
"What?!" Amy exclaimed, looking at Sonic. "Tell me!"
Sonic also got out of bed. "Well, it's a long story..." he began, stepping back towards the Emerald Container, concealed by blankets. "We went to answer a distress call, then Robotnik turned up, Tails got hurt, and I had to go through this deadly maze, but it's all okay! Because in the end, look what we found!"
Sonic pulled the cover off of the Emerald Container, revealing the silver Emerald placed neatly next to the red one.
"You found some!" Amy exclaimed, jumping for joy. Mighty came over to look.
"How many left now?" the armadillo asked, staring at the two Emeralds in the box.
"Unless Robotnik has beat us to it, there's one more Emerald out in the wild!" Tails replied matter-of-factly. "After that, we just have to find a way to take the four Emeralds that Robotnik already has!"
"Should be a piece of cake!" Sonic joked before standing back up and stepping over to the radio. "I guess we'd better get back in touch with Sally!" With the turn of a few dials, Sonic was on the frequency the princess had arranged for communication.
In Robotropolis, Sally immediately jumped to her radio when she heard the voice of Sonic buzzing through.
"Oh, Princess?" Sonic teased. "You there?"
"You!" Sally screamed down the radio, making Sonic jump on the other end of the line. "Where the hell have you been?!"
"Finding you another Emerald, thank you very much!" Sonic shouted sarcastically. "We were just in for a little more than we bargained for – anyway, don't worry, Amy and Mighty made very good alarm clocks!"
"Don't be such a jerk!" Amy pushed Sonic. "Come on, explain everything to her!"
"No, it's fine," Sally said, calming herself down. "Obviously whatever you met out there was too much to handle for the fastest thing alive..."
Sonic went quiet, finally getting a taste of his own medicine.
"So you have another Emerald," Sally continued. "In all seriousness, great job, but we need to find the other one fast. I want Robotnik out of this Kingdom as soon as possible, understand?"
"Gotcha," Sonic replied.
"And I was thinking, since you obviously need backup," Sally carried on. "Maybe Amy and Mighty should stay out there to help you find it."
Mighty jumped in. "Are you sure? Will you be able to defend yourself there?"
"We're more than capable," Sally replied reassuringly. "Let's pray it doesn't take as long as this time, huh?"
"We'll have that Emerald in no time!" Sonic retorted.
"Jokes aside, there are legitimate reasons that I'd like Amy and Mighty to stay..." Sally said. "Tails, do you still have those blueprints for the Tornado?"
Tails ran across the room to the radio. "Yeah, they're safe with me! Why do you ask?"
"I'm thinking it will make travel easier," Sally responded. "I don't know where Robotnik is, but for all I know it could be way far away. Flying there will be a lot quicker than running."
"You got it!" Tails exclaimed. "I'll get to work on it right away!" Immediately, he scrambled through his drawers and filing cabinets, flicking through blueprints.
"As for you three," Sally addressed Sonic, Mighty and Amy. "Stay safe and let me know when you find the other Emerald." Sally buzzed off as Sonic put his arms around Amy and Mighty.
"Well, what d'ya know?" Sonic remarked, looking at them both. "I think us three will make a pretty good team!"