I'm back with a Faith & Knuckles episode. Hope you all enjoy it because this has fluff, family bonding… and some foreshadowing.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters (except for my OC, Faith). All rights go to Sega.
Episode 10: An Impromptu Trip to Angel Island
"Hyah! Oompah! Hyah!"
Faith watched as Knuckles did a squat while holding a pair of dumbbells. The muscular echidna then tightened his core muscles and came back up, lifting the dumbbells over his head. Faith flexed her right arm, lips pressed together in a thin line as she felt her upper arm. No muscle, only squish. Sonic and Shadow had thin-looking arms but they were both really strong. She felt the strength of the two hedgehogs' arms every time they embraced her, surrounding her with their protective warmth.
'They'd have to be very strong in order to take down the bad guys, after all. I should exercise more so I can become really strong, too!' Faith thought as Knuckles finished his workout with the dumbbells and put them down to move on to his next one.
Seeing the dumbbells lying on the sand, Faith got up from the beach chair she was sitting on and approached them. Puffing out her chest, she gripped both dumbbells' handles and attempted to lift them…
"Hold on just a minute there, Lil' Spark."
Faith squeaked as she was suddenly picked up, losing her grip on the dumbbells. Knuckles smiled as he turned the little tenrec around so she was facing him. "Those dumbbells are too heavy for you. You gotta start small first then work your way up," he advised her.
"Can I join your workout, Mr. Knuckles? I wanna get stronger!" Faith flexed both of her arms and puffed out her chest.
Chuckling, Knuckles put Faith down and ruffled her quills. "Always happy to have a workout buddy, Lil' Spark," he said.
"You've been calling me that a lot lately," Faith observed. Ever since what Stratford and her friends in the village dubbed "The Battle of the Youth Center," Knuckles had been calling Faith "Lil' Spark" when it was just the two of them.
Knuckles' cheeks went red as his fur. "Uh… yeah. I thought it'd be a cute nickname for you. B-but if you don't want me to call you that…" he mumbled before Faith giggled and hugged his leg.
"You can call me that. I like it a lot," she said, easing the echidna's nerves.
"Alright then, Lil' Spark. You wanna build up strength in those arms, you gotta start out with mastering push-ups and planks. I'll guide you through them so watch me first, okay?"
When Sonic and Shadow returned from a meeting with Mayor Fink, the latter possessing a folder tucked under his arm, they found Faith and Knuckles doing push-ups on exercise mats the pair had laid out on the sand.
"Five! Six! Seven! Push through, Lil' Spark, you got this!" Knuckles encouraged the little tenrec as he completed his 20th push-up without breaking a sweat. In contrast, Faith was huffing and puffing as she tried to complete ten push-ups without stopping. Her cheeks puffed out as she finished her eighth one.
"Don't forget to breathe. Come on! Two more! You can do it!" Knuckles switched to a plank and watched as Faith exhaled and finished her last two push-ups. "Alright! You did it!" he whooped.
"Yay…" Faith wheezed out before her arms gave out and she faceplanted into the mat.
"How long have you two been working out?" Sonic asked, trotting over to Faith and helping her up.
"Not long. About 30 minutes." Knuckles got up and gave Faith a thumbs-up. "She did great. Taught her a few exercises to help strengthen her core and build upper arm strength and she's got excellent form," he reported.
"Will I get to lift weights soon, Mr. Knuckles?" Faith asked eagerly.
"Soon, Lil' Spark. Once you can do ten push-ups without using too much of your strength up, I'll get you your first set of weights," Knuckles told her before noticing the folder tucked under Shadow's arm. "Hey, are those the adop—"
Sonic quickly clapped a hand over his friend's mouth and smiled at Faith. "Looks like you and Knuckles had fun, huh, kiddo?" he asked quickly.
"Yup! You and Shadow are helping me get faster. And, now, Mr. Knuckles is helping me get stronger. I wanna grow up to be super strong and super fast so I can help you guys, and Tails, and Ms. Amy, and Ms. Sticks protect the island!" Faith declared, not noticing the somewhat frantic looks Sonic and Shadow were giving each other as the former continued to keep Knuckles' mouth shut.
"That's good, sweetheart. I'm sure you'll become big and strong with each passing day," Shadow said, hiding the folder behind his back. He shot Knuckles a quick look, which the echidna – after a brief moment – understood, before nodding to Sonic.
Lowering his hand from Knuckles' mouth, Sonic knelt down so he and Faith were seeing each other eye-to-eye. "Faith, Shadow and I have to go on a patrol. Do you want to stay with Knuckles while we're gone?" he asked her.
"Can I come with you? We didn't get to hang out this morning," Faith asked hopefully.
"Sorry, kiddo. Shadow and I are going to be patrolling some pretty rough areas so it's too dangerous to bring you with us. Besides, you just finished working out. You need to rest," Sonic replied.
Faith's ears drooped. "But that means you'll both be gone for the entire day at this point…" she said sadly.
Shadow sighed and knelt beside Sonic. "We know, Faith. We're sorry we didn't get to spend that much time with you this morning. We had to do something really important," he apologized, gently cupping Faith's cheek in his hand and lovingly rubbing his thumb against her soft cheek fur. He felt the folder and its contents lightly tap against his back and swallowed. Quickly, he teleported into the house and placed the folder inside a drawer where he had also stashed away the red Chaos Emerald Rouge had loaned him. For a moment, Shadow contemplated taking the Emerald with him before deciding against it.
'Sonic and I have patrolled around the island hundreds of times. In case things get rough, I can easily teleport from one side of the island to the other without using an Emerald,' he thought before closing the drawer and teleporting back outside.
Seeing that Faith was still bummed out, Sonic got an idea. "Tell you what? When we get back from patrol, the three of us will have a movie night. You get to pick the movie," he offered.
Faith perked up and nodded. She'd been wanting to watch the new Little Witch Academia movie that had just come out on Mobiflix. Plus, if Mr. Knuckles was okay with looking after her while Sonic and Shadow were away, that meant she could learn more about Angel Island and the ancient echidnas from him!
"Knuckles, you're in charge while we're gone," Sonic told the echidna.
"Keep her safe, okay?" Shadow gazed into Knuckles' violet eyes, an unspoken message being conveyed to the guardian.
"Don't worry, you guys. Faith's gonna be perfectly safe with me!" Knuckles assured them, pointing his thumb at his chest.
"I'll be okay with Mr. Knuckles, Sonic and Shadow. Promise me you'll both come back safe!" Faith piped up as she held Knuckles' large hand.
With promises to return in one piece and a few hugs and kisses, Sonic and Shadow left Faith with Knuckles.
"So…" Knuckles grinned at Faith, the little tenrec grinning back. "What should we do next, Lil' Spark?" he asked her.
"Tell me more about Angel Island!" Faith looked up at the muscular echidna in admiration.
"Okay. Let's go inside. I'll tell you about my home while we have snacks." Knuckles took Faith by the hand and led her inside Sonic's shack. He checked the refrigerator and found the ingredients to make club sandwiches as well as an unopened carton of orange juice. While Faith changed out of her damp shirt, he made club sandwiches for the two of them and poured out two glasses of orange juice.
"What's it like up there on Angel Island, Mr. Knuckles?" Faith asked when they sat down on the couch to eat.
"Well, it's mostly quiet up there. Apart from the forest critters, I was the only one who lived on the island. It's a great place to be in and bask in the beauty of Nature. Every morning, I'd wake up to see all the grass and plants sparkling with the fresh morning dew. The sun would be climbing up the sky as I head out to forage for food. The plants there have humongous leaves and you can use them like umbrellas if you have to. And the fruit! Best fruit you'll ever taste, Faith. When we go to Angel Island, I'm gonna teach you how to harvest the juiciest grapes you'll ever have," Knuckles said, smiling as he recalled his peaceful days on the island.
Faith slowly chewed a morsel of club sandwich, deep in thought. There was something that Knuckles mentioned when he first started talking about his old home that stuck with her.
"Why were you the only one living on Angel Island?"
Knuckles took a long sip of orange juice. His violet eyes filled with sadness as he replied, "My mother left me there."
Faith put her sandwich on her plate and scooted closer to Knuckles. "Did she come back?" she asked, brows knit together in worry.
"No. I don't know what happened to her. But I think she's dead now. I'm the only echidna left," Knuckles revealed to her.
Faith could feel the sadness radiating from Knuckles and hugged him. "I'm sorry… I made you remember sad things," she mumbled, hiding her face in the echidna's side.
Knuckles' face softened and he gently pulled Faith onto his lap. "It's okay, Lil' Spark. Talking about sad things can sometimes help you feel a little better, you know," he told her.
"Really?" Faith blinked at him, confused.
"Uh-huh. I don't always talk about this sort of stuff with Sonic and the others because I don't want to ruin the mood. But when they do ask me if I wanna talk about my life and my ancestors, I go for it and it makes me feel better. I get to share my culture with them and they learn some pretty important things, too," Knuckles said, smiling.
"Like Chaos Energy and Chaos Control? You and Sonic and Shadow have mentioned those two things before. Sonic and Shadow tell me that they're gonna teach me how to use Chaos Energy soon after I've made a little more progress in my training. And, this one time, while we were exploring the wilderness with Ms. Sticks, Shadow pulled out this pretty red rock and said, "Chaos Control!" And then we were suddenly back here!" Faith gestured enthusiastically as she told all of this to Knuckles, ending with a 'mind blown' gesture. "It was so amazing! One second, we were in the jungle, the next, we were here! It was like magic!" she exclaimed, her merlot eyes shining.
Chuckling, Knuckles patted Faith on the head. "Ah, what you experienced during that moment, Lil' Spark, is just one of the many powers you can use when you tap into the Chaos Emeralds and their Chaos Energy. Our entire world is filled with Chaos Energy, and the Chaos Emeralds are that same energy concentrated into physical, crystallized forms." He held his hands apart to show a rough estimate of how big a Chaos Emerald is. "The Chaos Emeralds are small, but they've got a ton of power," he said and grinned, booping Faith's nose.
"Like you! You may be small, but you've got the power to summon storms if you wanted to. That's because you're what we call 'Chaos-sensitive.'" He told her.
"What does that mean?" Faith cocked her head to the side.
"Remember when I said that our whole world is full of Chaos Energy?" At Faith's nod, Knuckles proceeded to explain some of the finer points of the mystical energy. "Well, it's not just the natural surroundings around us that have Chaos Energy. All Mobians have a little bit of Chaos Energy inside of them. But some have a lot more Chaos Energy than the average Mobian. All that Chaos Energy inside of them can cause them to develop some form of power. Take Sonic for example. He's faster than the average hedgehog because he's got a whole lot of Chaos Energy in him. He's Chaos-sensitive so, aside from having a really cool power, he can also use the Chaos Energy from both his own body and the Chaos Emeralds to do some really amazing feats like go Super and fly so he can take down bad guys like Eggman," he said, Faith's enthusiasm rubbing off of him as he really got into explaining.
Faith looked at her hands and summoned a few sparks. "Whoa…" she breathed out then looked at Knuckles with wonder. "So my e-lec-tro-ki-ne-sis," Carefully enunciating the syllables of the proper term for her power, she asked, "…it's not a bad thing? It's a sign that… I have a connection to the energy of the world?"
"Exactly. But there is a reason why Chaos Energy has the world 'Chaos' in its name. It can be influenced by thoughts and emotions. It will adapt to whatever you're thinking or feeling while you're channeling it. If you're thinking bad thoughts while feeling angry or sad, it'll become negative Chaos Energy that could hurt and destroy. But if you're thinking happy thoughts and feeling emotions like happiness, love, and protectiveness, it'll be positive Chaos Energy you'll be channeling which you can use to heal and save." Knuckles held Faith's hands after the little tenrec made the sparks disappear. "Is it a little too much to take in? I know that it's a lot…" he mumbled, sheepishly looking off to the side.
"It's a lot, but I think I kind of get it. You're really smart, Mr. Knuckles," Faith said, smiling brightly.
Knuckles' brows raised at the kid's statement. Him? Smart? He was known as The Village Idiot of Seaside Island. And while he had moments where he showed signs of being brilliant, they were few. He supposed that things were a little different about three or four years ago back when Eggman had more dangerous schemes and more malicious villains threatened Mobius. He'd had to grow up pretty fast and be the mature one in his friend group. And while he had been the commander of the Resistance during the war against Infinite, he hadn't been a good one…
Things changed after he and the gang nearly lost Sonic after the Metal Virus crisis. He learned how to chill out more and strived to be more present in both Sonic and Tails' lives as the older brother figure. After some time in therapy, Knuckles decided that he needed a break from his duties as Guardian. He'd gotten sick of being isolated from his loved ones and, when word of Eggman setting up shop on Seaside Island – far from the mainland – reached the Resistance, he'd been the first to volunteer to join Sonic in moving there.
With Seaside Island being kind of remote, not many people knew them which gave him an opportunity to kick back and relax. There was no pressure on him to be so serious all the time and Eggman, thankfully, had gotten easier to deal with. With no need to act all serious all the time, Knuckles let himself chill out. And, sure, maybe he wasn't as smart as the rest of his friends and it showed. At least the pressure was off him now. He wasn't thrust into situations anymore where it became painfully clear that half the time, he had no clue what he was doing.
The only thing Knuckles knew he was competent at was Chaos Energy and the lore behind it. But nobody on Seaside Island, with the exception of his friends and Eggman, knew about it, much less cared about what he knew about it.
So to hear Faith praise him for his knowledge on the subject, even though she was just a child who still wasn't fully aware of the potential power at her fingertips, made a tiny explosion of happiness go off in Knuckles' heart and mind.
"Mr. Knuckles?"
Knuckles snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Faith lightly patted his hands. The little tenrec blinked her sweet eyes at him, ears wiggling. "Are you okay? You got pretty quiet," she observed.
"Sorry. I got a little surprised by what you said, that's all. Not many people call me smart…" Knuckles admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I think you're smart. You told me a lot of cool things about Angel Island and Chaos Energy. It makes me even more excited to actually start learning how to use my powers more!" Faith giggled, pumping her fists in the air.
Chuckling, Knuckles held out a fist to her. "Just stick with me, Sonic, and Shadow, Lil' Spark. We'll have you wielding your powers and Chaos Energy in no time!" he promised.
Faith whooped and they fist-bumped. That's when Knuckles got an idea. "I know I've been telling you a lot about Angel Island. How about we build a sand sculpture of it outside so you can get a better idea of what it looks like?" he suggested.
At Faith's eager nod, Knuckles scooped her up and carried her out of the shack. But not before grabbing their half-eaten sandwiches and juice so they could snack on them while they built their mini Angel Island. With his superior digging skills, Knuckles carved out a shallow bowl in the sand where he and Faith arranged clumps of moss and seaweed with bits of driftwood and tiny rocks to form the forests, jungles, mountains, and ruins present on the real Angel Island.
"Wow… the real Angel Island must be huge," Faith said in wonder as their mini Angel Island took shape.
"It is. Legends say that it formed a pretty big chunk of a continent 3,000 years ago. Then, one day, the gods decided to use the Master Emerald to break the island away from the continent and make it float into the sky where it remains to this day," Knuckles told her while he carefully arranged flat smooth stones in a pyramid to serve as the Master Emerald's shrine.
"Why? Did the gods want to play a prank on the echidnas?" Faith asked.
Laughing a bit, Knuckles ruffled her quills. "That's the first time I've heard that kind of theory. It would be pretty funny if that was true." A small frown graced the usually jolly echidna's face. "But I think the gods did it to punish the echidnas. They were getting too hungry for power and wanted to conquer everyone else around them through war. The last great chieftain of the echidna tribe, Pachacamac, tried to take the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald by force. And that angered Chaos so much that he went on a rampage," he said quietly.
"Until the chieftain's daughter, Tikal, used the Master Emerald to seal both herself and Chaos inside of it. I remember you telling me this story…" Faith looked at the miniature shrine Knuckles had built. "Did you talk to Tikal a lot while you were living on Angel Island, Mr. Knuckles? Did the Master Emerald let you talk to her?" she asked.
"Lots of times. She's my ancestor and both of us have a strong connection to the Master Emerald. Sometimes, she could project her physical form to me so we could talk face-to-face. It was usually at nighttime. I would listen to her all night as she told me tales about the echidnas during the golden age, how they lived their lives, what life was like when the world was still young…" Knuckles trailed off and he looked away, holding and squeezing his left bicep.
"I…I haven't talked to her in over a year. I kind of miss it…"
Faith smiled as she arranged some tiny wildflowers she'd picked on the moss forest portions of their sand sculpture. "Let's ask the rest of the team if we can go visit. That way you and Ms. Tikal can catch up," she suggested.
Knuckles managed a small smile. "That's a good idea, Lil' Spark," he murmured.
When their miniature Angel Island was done, Faith noticed that an important element was missing.
"We need the Master Emerald," she said to Knuckles who put a hand to his chin and hummed.
"We're just gonna have to find something shiny and a little bigger than a pebble to stand in for it. I'll look around here while you search inside. Sound good?" he instructed Faith, who nodded and went back to Sonic's shack.
While Knuckles hunted around the outdoors, Faith searched inside Sonic's shack. She opened each cabinet and drawer she could reach in search of the perfect shiny thing that could substitute for the Master Emerald in the mini Angel Island she and Knuckles had built together. After searching for five minutes, Faith found an unopened drawer next to the TV stand.
Opening the drawer, Faith recognized two things. One, the folder Shadow had been carrying around earlier. And, two, the same Chaos Emerald Shadow had used to take her, Sonic, and Ms. Sticks home after their wilderness adventure. Faith reached for the Chaos Emerald before stopping, her fingers just about to brush against the sparkling gem.
'It's not green like the Master Emerald. And it belongs to Shadow. I shouldn't take it without permission…' Faith thought. Looking at the Chaos Emerald just sitting in that drawer, however, Faith felt a strange urge to just hold it in her hand. Against her better judgment, she carefully took the Chaos Emerald out of the drawer and cradled it in her hands. The small yet powerful gem was smooth to the touch and Faith could see her face's reflection bathed in crimson in all its facets as she slowly turned the emerald over and around in her hands.
She expected the Chaos Emerald to feel cold due to it being a stone that had been left in the shade of the drawer. But, instead, it felt warm. And, for some reason, her hands felt a little tingly as she held it in her hands and carried it outside. It felt a lot like the sensation she usually felt just a split second before she used her lightning – the tingly feeling of raw energy gathering in her palms and fingertips before she let it loose.
Faith didn't think much of it as she went back to Knuckles. "It's not green but it's sort of like the Master Emerald, right?" she asked, holding up the red Chaos Emerald.
"I guess we can use it…" Knuckles eyed the Chaos Emerald in Faith's hands. "But we gotta be extra careful, okay? Just keep holding it like that while I figure out how we'll put it on the shrine," he instructed, kneeling by the sand sculpture of Angel Island to inspect it.
Faith kept her gaze focused on the Chaos Emerald, making sure not to drop it. Holding it securely in both hands, she felt the tingly feeling again. Stronger, this time. And it felt like it wasn't just coming from the gemstone. She felt it from within, the lightning inside of her reaching out to the Chaos Emerald and their energies connecting. She giggled quietly for it tickled.
Then, suddenly, the Chaos Emerald started to glow, making the little tenrec smile and go, "Oooh…"
Looking at the miniature Angel Island she and Knuckles had built in the sand, Faith imagined the real Angel Island. She pictured its forests, its mountains, the rivers that ran through the valleys, and the mysterious murals and ruins left behind by the ancient echidnas and wished that she and Knuckles were there right now.
'If only I could use Chaos Control like Shadow… then me and Mr. Knuckles can go to Angel Island so we can explore and Mr. Knuckles can talk to Ms. Tikal again…' Faith thought as she held the Chaos Emerald up over her head. She knew she couldn't do it just yet, but she saw no harm in pretending that she could.
"Chaos Control!"
Knuckles' head snapped up as the Chaos Emerald glowed even brighter. The Guardian's violet eyes widened before he lunged for Faith just as there was a brilliant flash of white light. When the light faded, Knuckles first noticed Faith staring at him, her mouth slightly open. The Chaos Emerald was still clutched in her hand.
The next thing he noticed was that they were no longer at the beach.
The clouds were suddenly a lot closer to them. Grass crunched under their shoes instead of sand. And there was a very familiar weathered old stone staircase just two feet away from them.
"This is… Angel Island." Knuckles slowly turned around in a full circle, taking in the sights he'd known since childhood. "We're on Angel Island," he said before looking at Faith, who was also looking around in dumbfounded amazement.
Seeing the Chaos Emerald still glowing in Faith's hand, Knuckles figured it out.
"Faith, I think you just used Chaos Control."
"I did?" Faith stared at the red Chaos Emerald, her eyes wide. The gem was still emitting a faint glow in her hand and she still felt the tingly sensation of her lightning interacting with its Chaos Energy. She was so absorbed in inspecting the Chaos Emerald that she failed to notice that her eye markings and the tips of her quills were glowing a faint white. But Knuckles noticed as he knelt in front of Faith and held out his hand.
"How about you give me the emerald, Lil' Spark? It might be risky letting you have access to all that Chaos Energy without proper training," Knuckles told her.
"Okay." Once Faith placed the Chaos Emerald in Knuckles' hand, her quill tips and eye markings stopped glowing.
'The exact same thing happened when she lost control at the Valley of the Cubots. Maybe the glowing only happens when she's riled up or has access to extra energy…' Knuckles pondered, looking at the staircase leading to the shrine. Maybe exposing Faith to the Master Emerald's presence wasn't a good idea at the moment. Who knows what could happen if the kid got exposed to so much raw Chaos Energy all at once…
"Um… Mr. Knuckles…"
Returning to his attention to Faith, Knuckles was surprised to see the little tenrec curl into herself with her ears pinned flat against her head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to use Chaos Control to take us here… I… Sorry…" Faith mumbled, her eyes downcast.
Knuckles' face softened. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad, Lil' Spark. Just a little surprised," he said soothingly and gathered Faith into his arms to give her a hug. "I gotta admit, Faith, that you are full of surprises. You were able to use Chaos Control and teleport us all the way here. And you're only six! That's amazing!" he grinned at her.
"Sonic and Shadow can do that, too," Faith pointed out.
"Yeah. But do wanna know how old Sonic was when he used Chaos Control for the first time?" Knuckles asked.
Faith shrugged, half-expecting Sonic to have been much younger than her when he first used Chaos Control. With such a long track record of battling villains, he must have had access to the Chaos Emeralds at a young age.
"Fifteen." Knuckles chuckled at the utterly gobsmacked expression that crossed Faith's features. "If you can already use an emerald to use Chaos Control this young… you might just surpass him and Shadow one day!" he said, shaking his head in amazement.
Astonished at this revelation, Faith looked at the Chaos Emerald in Knuckles' other hand. "Should I use the emerald again to take us home?" she asked.
Knuckles hummed thoughtfully, looking up at the sky. After a minute or two, he looked back at Faith. "We can try that later. Are you feeling tired? Dizzy? Using Chaos Control for the first time can tire someone out," he asked, gently patting Faith on the head.
Faith shook her head. Quite the opposite, actually. She felt as if holding the Chaos Emerald had recharged her like a battery and she had the urge to go run around to burn off the excess energy coursing through her body.
"Well, if you're up to it, how about I tour you around the island? We might as well now that we're here," Knuckles offered, carefully hoisting Faith up so she could sit on his shoulders. But, just as Knuckles took two steps away from the shrine's staircase, loud alarms blared.
Faith squeaked and gripped Knuckles' dreadlocks as drones came flying out from the vegetation surrounding the shrine and aimed at the two of them.
"Organic sentient lifeforms detected near Master Emerald. Identify yourselves or face incapacitation and detainment," a robotic-sounding female's voice came from one of the drones.
'Crap. I almost forgot about Tails' defense system …' Knuckles thought as he cleared his throat. "Knuckles the Echidna. Guardian of Angel Island," he enunciated.
One of the drones flew closer and performed a scan on Knuckles and Faith. There was a beep before the drone announced, "Lifeform One bio-scan and voice recognition verification complete. Welcome back, Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of Angel Island. Is Lifeform Two a threat to the island's security?"
"No, she's with me. Requesting non-threat designation registration for her," Knuckles commanded.
"Understood. Please state your name so we may register your identity and status as a non-threat into our systems," requested a third drone as it hovered closer to Faith as she sat astride Knuckles' shoulders.
"F-Faith Tenrec…?" Faith practically hugged Knuckles' head as the drone scanned her, trembling slightly.
"Bio-scan and voice recognition verification complete. Lifeform Two identified as Faith Tenrec designated as a non-threat," the drone buzzed before it and the other drones flew away.
"Good thing Tails installed a voice recognition feature…" Knuckles muttered before looking up into Faith's worried eyes. "It's okay, Lil' Spark. We're okay. That was just the security system Tails set up to guard the island while I was away. Now that I'm here, they'll keep an eye out for any intruders that aren't us. You up for that tour?" he asked her, smiling gently.
Faith let out a small cheer as Knuckles started walking.
Meanwhile, on Seaside Island…
Sticks sniffed around the mass of sand, moss, seaweed, driftwood, and stones. "This is it. The trail goes cold from here," she told her teammates, who were anxiously watching her inspect the area where Faith and Knuckles' footsteps ended.
"Where could they be?" Amy wondered out loud, wringing her hands. She and Sticks had gone over to Sonic's place to check in on the two while Sonic and Shadow were out on patrol. When they found no trace of Knuckles or Faith, they'd called Sonic, Shadow, and Tails.
"Is your tracker getting anything?" Shadow looked at his boyfriend's little brother, who was fiddling with his Miles Electric. Beside him, Sonic was fidgeting and gripping his right arm. Shadow could already feel his arm going numb thanks to his boyfriend's white-knuckled grip.
Finally, a ping came from the Miles Electric. Tails looked at the red dot that represented Knuckles and his location via the tracker installed in each of the team's communicators. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen again, his mouth falling open.
"Guys… Knuckles' tracker says he's on Angel Island."
"What?" Sonic let go of Shadow's arm and zipped over to his brother's side. Emerald eyes widened as he looked at the screen. "But th-that's impossible. Angel Island is miles away!" he exclaimed.
"Unless…" Shadow's tan muzzle went pale and he teleported himself into Sonic's shack.
As he had feared, the drawer next to the TV stand had been opened… and the red Chaos Emerald was gone.
"Oh, shit," he muttered.
Back on Angel Island, two hours later…
Knuckles was right about Angel Island. It truly was a wonderful place.
Faith's eyes were wide and filled with wonder as Knuckles showed her around. The trees in the forest were so tall and their branches spread out so wide, thick with leaves, that they almost blocked out the sun. Dappled sunlight shone from gaps in the tree canopy as they walked. Every now and then, a bird would cry out and Knuckles would make a pitch-perfect imitation of the bird's cry then tell Faith what kind of bird it was.
They picked bananas, oranges, apples, and grapes to munch on and drank cool water from natural springs. Faith picked flowers to make flower crowns just like Sonic taught her, and she and Knuckles wore them as they continued exploring the island.
Then Knuckles led her to a cave that led into a series of tunnels. "There's something really cool I gotta show you, Faith. Hold my hand so you don't get lost," he instructed her as he fashioned a torch out of a fallen branch.
Holding Knuckles' hand, Faith followed him through the labyrinth of tunnels. After about half an hour of walking, Knuckles stopped and, smiling, pointed his torch up at a large wall.
Faith gasped as a large mural colored with still vibrant blue, green, purple, and gold paint looked back at her. To her left was a menacing figure with what looked like tiny rockets behind it reaching for a green jewel with one arm. And to her left…
"That kinda looks like Sonic!" Faith said as she pointed at the blue figure surrounded by a golden glow depicted on the mural Knuckles showed her. Going closer to it, she also noticed the two statues flanking the mural. "These statues kinda look like him, too!" she gasped.
"Yeah… Really strange, isn't it?" Knuckles asked, looking around the ruins of Hidden Palace Zone. He'd visited these ruins hundreds of times and read all the ancient writings both inscribed on the walls and in the few precious scrolls left behind by his people. To this day, he still couldn't find an explanation as to why this particular mural and the two statues that seemed to be guarding it resembled his speedy blue friend.
Knuckles went over to Faith and directed her attention towards the mural. "This mural tells a story about a prophecy made by the echidnas. There was going to be a time when a wicked being would come to steal the Master Emerald from this island. When that happens, a savior would arrive to keep the Master Emerald from falling into the wrong hands," he told Faith, who looked up at him with wonder.
A memory of meeting Dr. Eggman, Sonic, and Tails replayed in Knuckles' mind and he smiled wistfully. "The echidnas were right about that prophecy. Eggman tried to steal the Master Emerald and Sonic was the one who stopped him," he recalled.
"So that is Sonic up there! And that scary thing reaching for the Master Emerald must be Dr. Eggman!" Faith gasped, looking at the mural again with keen interest. "Whoa… how did the ancient echidnas know about this?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe the Master Emerald showed them a vision of the future. They didn't leave behind any explanations in the ancient texts so maybe we'll never know." Knuckles shrugged.
"Have you tried looking for more? Can I help?" Faith asked eagerly.
"Some other time, Lil' Spark. I think now would be a good time to head back. Let's see if we can Chaos Control back to Seaside Island," Knuckles replied and led Faith back topside.
As soon as they were out of the cave, Knuckles' communicator started beeping like crazy. Knuckles gulped, realizing that his friends must have been trying to contact him for hours, gingerly tapped on the button and braced himself.
"KNUCKLES!" Sonic's frantic voice came from the comm line.
"Is Faith with you?!" Shadow's also frantic (but Knuckles could hear just the slightest bit of anger in his tone) voice barked.
"Are you two okay?" Amy asked, her voice sounding worried.
"Did you use that Emerald thingy to warp yourselves there?" Sticks asked next, sounding both curious and suspicious.
"Faith's with me. We're both okay. As for the emerald, um…" Knuckles managed to say before Faith gently tugged his communicator over to herself.
"Please don't get angry at Mr. Knuckles. I took the Chaos Emerald from the house so we could use it for our Angel Island sculpture and I was thinking about going to Angel Island then pretended to use Chaos Control. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that…" she said, her ears drooping.
There was silence on the other end, save for the sound of wind turbulence. Knuckles guessed that everyone was riding Tails' plane to the island right now. Then, after about a minute, Shadow spoke.
"You used Chaos Control, Faith?" the black hedgehog's tone was no longer frantic and, instead, sounded astounded.
"Yeah… It was by accident, though. I didn't think it would work…" Faith admitted, lightly tugging at one of her quills.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Sonic coughed and said, "Okay… Well… Just stick with Knuckles until we get there, okay? We'll be landing near the shrine."
"Gotcha. See you soon," Knuckles replied before he ended the call. Extinguishing the torch and leaving it at the entrance to the cave, he hoisted Faith back up onto his shoulders. "Hold on tight, Lil' Spark," he said before taking off in a run. Faith laughed and went "Wheee!" as he ran down the path and leaped over rocks and logs. Within a few minutes, they were back at the staircase leading up to the Master Emerald's altar.
"Let's stay here until the others arrive," Knuckles told Faith. The little tenrec nodded then glanced at the stairs.
"Can we go see the Master Emerald, Mr. Knuckles?" she asked hopefully.
"Hmmm… I guess a little look won't hurt," Knuckles admitted, unable to resist Faith's cute face as she looked up at him with those sparkling merlot eyes of hers. The pair headed up the steps until they reached the very top.
"Wow…" Faith breathed out as she got her first look at the Master Emerald. Knuckles wasn't kidding when he said that it was huge. It was almost as big as Sonic's shack! You would need maybe a thousand Chaos Emeralds to equal the sheer enormousness of the Master Emerald!
"It's something, isn't it?" Knuckles chuckled, patting Faith on the head.
"It's huge! And you told me that you could carry it?! It's gotta weight a hundred tons or something!" the little tenrec exclaimed, throwing her arms up in amazement.
"That's why I got these huge muscles to help me lift it, Lil' Spark." Knuckles flexed his arms, grinning. Then his gaze softened and he approached the Master Emerald.
"It's been a long while, Tikal. I hope you and Chaos are doing alright…" he murmured, pressing his forehead against the smooth green surface.
Faith watched, amazed, as the Master Emerald glowed softly in response. She wondered if she should leave Knuckles alone and wait on the steps while he and Ms. Tikal catch up before Knuckles waved her over. "C'mon, Faith. Don't you wanna say hi?" he asked, smiling.
Nodding shyly, Faith stepped closer to the Master Emerald. Carefully, she reached out and placed her left hand against the massive gem. "Hello, Ms. Tikal and Chaos… Um… My name's Faith. Mr. Knuckles told me all about you two," she began.
In response, the Master Emerald glowed a little brighter. Suddenly, Faith heard a small voice whispering in her ears.
'Hello, Faith. Your presence feels new… but also strangely familiar… I feel like we have met before…'
"Really? That's a little strange. It's my first time here on the island," Faith replied, cocking her head daintily to the side. She heard a soft humming noise before the voice spoke again.
'I see… And what do you think of Angel Island?'
"It's one of the most amazing and beautiful places I've ever been to. The fruit growing here is so yummy and the flowers are so colorful and smell so sweet. And Mr. Knuckles showed me all these fantastic ruins and ancient artworks made by the echidnas. I love it here," Faith answered, smiling.
The Master Emerald glowed more brilliantly now. And Faith felt the familiar tickly feeling similar to the one she got when holding the red Chaos Emerald.
'I am glad you are enjoying your time here. Tikal and I are glad to see Knuckles. It has been a long time since he spoke to us both.'
"Oh, I see! You're Chaos, the god. Mr. Knuckles told me that you got a little… okay, more like really upset with his ancestors because they tried to take more than what they should have…" Faith muttered. She heard a faint hum before Chaos spoke again.
'Greed is the enemy of all beings. No matter how much has already been given, they will always want more,' Chaos said, its voice sounding disappointed.
"I'm sorry the ancient echidnas didn't listen to Tikal… And I'm sorry that there are still people out there who are greedy," Faith said sadly, her pinkish-red eyes gazing into the Master Emerald's green depths.
'I pray that man and Mobian will change one day. And I pray that you will not let yourself fall victim to the clutches of greed, Faith.'
"I won't. I'll do my best. And, right now, I'm perfectly happy with what I've got." Faith smiled, gently patting the Master Emerald. She then looked to Knuckles, the echidna staring at her, eyebrows raised way up, and mouthed, "I'm actually talking to Chaos!" with an excited look on her face.
"So what's it like inside the Master Emerald, Chaos? Are you and Ms. Tikal okay being in there all the time?" Faith asked, to which the Master Emerald's steady glow suddenly became a brilliant flash of green.
'Come in and see for yourself, Faith.'
The hand Faith had placed on the Master Emerald suddenly went right through the gem's smooth surface. The little tenrec didn't hear Knuckles' surprised yell as she stepped forward. Instead of making contact with hard stone, she felt as if she were walking through a waterfall. Her clothes and fur became slightly damp as she suddenly found herself in a chamber surrounded by walls of pure emerald. Water dripped from green stalactites and formed tiny pools on the floor below.
Faith only had a moment to gawk at the sudden change of scenery before she suddenly found herself staring into the glowing neon green eyes of a god.
Knuckles was pretty sure that this was the weirdest day of his life.
First, Faith – a completely inexperienced child – was able to Chaos Control both him and herself to his ancestral home using a Chaos Emerald with no prior training.
Second, Faith – on her first try – was able to communicate with Chaos itself through the Master Emerald. Heck, she was legitimately having a full conversation with the deity just five minutes ago!
Third – and the weirdest thing of all – he just watched Faith step into the Master Emerald like it was nothing more than an ordinary doorway.
Leaving him here at the shrine.
By himself.
At the very spot where his friends were going to land when they arrived.
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!" Knuckles clutched his head in his hands, pacing in front of the Master Emerald. Standing in front of it, he held out his hands and prayed, "Chaos, Tikal, please bring Faith out. I know she said that she wanted to see what the Master Emerald looks like from the inside but maybe now's not the best time to give her a tour…" before the sound of a whirring airplane engine filled the air.
Knuckles' heart sank as he spotted a familiar yellow plane filled to the brim with passengers landed just a few meters away from the shrine down below. Looking at the Master Emerald again and seeing that it had yet to spit Faith out, the Guardian knew that he was screwed.
"…Sonic and Shadow are going to kill me."
Chaos didn't look scary when it wasn't angry.
She'd seen the artworks depicting its Perfect form, like a fearsome sea monster with a gaping maw filled with jagged teeth made out of water, on the walls of the ruins Knuckles had shown her earlier. Faith was feeling pretty relieved as she stared at this strange blue jelly person in front of her. If Chaos had looked just like its Perfect form right now, she would be screaming. And it would be rude to scream in front of a god.
"Uh… Hi…" Waving her hand, Faith inwardly cringed. 'Maybe I should have bowed. That's a more respectful thing to do…' she thought before she heard a girl's voice coming from deeper within the chamber.
"Is that you, Faith?"
Chaos let out a soft buzzing noise, which greatly confused Faith. Looking at it, Chaos didn't seem to have a visible mouth… or maybe the noise was coming from the brain floating inside the large fin-like bulge at the top of its head…
Faith squinted an orange-furred echidna girl dressed in tribal garb emerged from the darkness. Faith thought that she was very pretty then noticed the golden band the echidna wore around her head. "Hello… Ms. Tikal?" she greeted.
Tikal smiled warmly and went over to the little tenrec. "Hello, Faith. It's nice to meet you," she said warmly, clasping the child's hands in hers. She nodded to Chaos who began walking out of the chamber. "Come. Let us show you around," said Tikal, taking Faith by the hand.
Following Chaos, the pair walked through a tunnel lit up by floating orbs of light that shimmered in seven different colors. Faith was silent throughout the short trip, focusing on the warmth coming from Tikal's hand in hers. Mr. Knuckles' told her that Tikal's tribe had been wiped out almost 3000 years ago. How did Ms. Tikal look so young then? Was it because of the Master Emerald? If she ever left, would she suddenly age so fast that she would become an ancient woman then vanish right before her very eyes?
Faith shivered at the thought, prompting Tikal to ask if she was alright. Unable to contain her curiosity, Faith blurted out, "Are you stuck inside here forever, Ms. Tikal?"
Tikal smiled serenely. "My spirit is tied to Chaos and the Master Emerald. We can never be separated. Where I go, Chaos goes. Where Chaos goes, I go. Where the Master Emerald goes, we go," she said as they reached the end of the tunnel.
Faith shielded her eyes briefly as light flooded their destination. She felt Tikal squeeze her hand then let go and she looked in front of her.
"Wow…"
Up above, the sky seemed endless and layered with colors from the bright blue of daytime blending into the oranges, pinks, and lavenders of late afternoon and twilight on top. And above those colors came the deep purples and blue-blacks of night sprinkled with stars. Lush tropical flowers bloomed all around a wide-open field of verdant grass with freshwater springs ringed around a small shrine.
Following Tikal and Chaos, Faith saw several adorable little creatures fluttering around the flowers and playing in the springs. She gasped as she recognized them. "Those are Chao! Like in the Chao in Space movie!" she exclaimed.
While Tikal and Chaos looked confused at the mention of a movie, the Chao took notice of the little visitor to their sanctuary and approached Faith. The little tenrec sat cross-legged on the grass, eyes wide with curiosity, and giggled as some of the braver Chao toddled over to her, babbling and cooing. "So cute…" Faith cooed and petted the Chao closest to her. The Chao let out a happy noise and the little orb on top of its head changed into a heart, delighting Faith.
Tikal smiled and sat next to Faith, the Chao also flocking over to her. "While it's true that I cannot leave this place, I'm not lacking in company. I have the Chao who are protected by Chaos, and they are all my dearest friends. As long as I am with them, I am happy and content," she told Faith.
"But do you ever wonder about the world outside?" Faith asked, letting one Chao curl up in her lap.
Tikal's bright blue eyes looked off into the distance. She could see Chaos helping some of the smaller Chao learn how to swim in a nearby spring and sighed. "Sometimes… but I know that I cannot linger in that world for very long. I'm not sure if I can…" she admitted.
"Did Mr. Knuckles tell you stories about his adventures with Sonic and Tails while he lived on Angel Island?" Faith asked while Tikal gently petted the Chao.
"Oh, yes. He's told me so many tales of his adventures outside the island. I'm happy that he gets to go see the world. He became a Guardian so young… He should have been allowed to go to the surface and meet his fellow Mobians, but circumstances kept him from doing so. That's why I'm so grateful to Knuckles' friends. They helped him out of his hard shell and showed him that there's more to him than just guarding the Master Emerald," Tikal said, perking up.
Faith smiled a little. "Yeah, he's pretty happy living on Seaside Island with everyone. But he told me that he misses talking to you and Chaos," she replied then blushed. "Maybe my accidental Chaos Control turned out to be a good accident…" she mumbled, catching Tikal's interest.
"You brought Knuckles here?" Tikal asked, surprised.
"I held a Chaos Emerald then shouted, "Chaos Control!" Faith stood up, clenched her right fist, and held her right arm up, posing like she did when she used the emerald's power earlier. "Then there was this big flash of light and we were suddenly on Angel Island," she explained.
The Chao babbled amongst themselves while Tikal regarded Faith with curiosity. "Incredible… A child so young capable of harnessing the Chaos Emeralds…" she murmured to herself before hearing a soft hum from a distance.
"Come, Faith. Chaos is waiting for us." Getting up, Tikal led Faith to the shrine. Upon their arrival, Faith noticed that there was a well built in the very center of the shrine. Chaos placed a gelatinous hand on the edge of the well and held its other hand out to her.
'Come, child. Before you depart, allow Tikal and I to teach you some things.'
"I can hear Chaos again…" Faith whispered to Tikal, who smiled and motioned for her to go to her friend. She went over to Chaos and took its hand, which felt soft and cool, then looked over the well's edge. Instead of water, swirls of green and white energy filled the well. Standing beside that well of energy, Faith felt all the lightning inside of her hum and vibrate. Her eye markings and the tips of her quills glowed white. It was all so strange and wonderful that she laughed, making the corners of Chaos' eyes crinkle as if it was laughing with her.
'Your spirit is kind. Your heart, pure. Yet… I feel pain in your soul. Pain both fresh… and much, much older…'
At Chaos' statement, Faith stopped laughing and looked down at her feet. "My entire life… I was told that my powers only hurt people… That I'm bad because of them…" she whispered. An image of Sonic and Shadow smiling at her entered her mind and she smiled slightly. "But, now, I've got people who actually think that I'm good, that my powers can be used to do good. I'm still feeling hurt by what happened to me before… but I think I'll be okay," she said and looked up at Chaos, smiling more brightly now.
Nodding, Chaos dipped its hand into the well. Cupping its hands, it gathered the energy into a shimmering green orb and handed it to Tikal.
"This well contains all of the Chaos Energy present within the Master Emerald. When one has a deep connection to the power of Chaos, their thoughts can be transformed into power." At the echidna princess's words, the orb changed color from green to orange to match her fur. "If you were able to tap into the power of one of the Chaos Emeralds, Faith, then it must mean that you're able to tap into the Master Emerald's power as well," said Tikal and she held out the orb to the little tenrec.
Faith glanced at Chaos, who nodded encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, Faith cupped her hands together like a little bowl and Tikal passed the orb of Chaos Energy to her. The Chao cried out in surprise as the orb suddenly crackled with electricity and changed from orange to purple tinged with pink. Faith yelped and the orb crackled and grew bigger.
"It's alright, Faith. Look at me." Tikal commanded. Once Faith's eyes were on her, she smiled reassuringly. "Remember this… The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power… Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
"The servers are the seven Chaos…" Faith saw the orb in her hands shrink a little and swallowed. "Chaos is power… Power enriched by the heart…" she chanted, Tikal's words soothing her nerves. The orb shrank until it was the same size as it had been in Tikal's hands and the lightning crackling around it disappeared. "The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos," Faith finished, and, to her amazement, the orb's pink-tinged purple turned back to green. But, this time, swirls of pink and purple surrounded it.
Tikal clasped her hands in front of her, smiling proudly, while Chaos hummed. 'Well done, Faith. You have taken your first step,' it said and gently closed Faith's hands over the orb, allowing the Chaos Energy to be absorbed into the little tenrec.
"Whoa… d-did I do that?" Faith asked Tikal.
"That was your own Chaos Energy interacting with the Master Emerald's. It has become a part of you now, Faith. In time, I'm sure you'll be able to fully tap into its power. But, in the meantime, all you need to bring that little portion out is to calm your heart and your mind. Try doing it again," she coaxed her.
Nodding, Faith cupped her hands out in front of her and closed her eyes. Repeating the words Tikal taught her silently, she felt the energy swirling inside of her. Keeping her mind clear and her heart calm, Faith imagined a new switch inside of her brain right next to the switch that let her activate and deactivate her lightning. She imagined herself labeling the switch as the 'Chaos Energy Switch' then turned it on.
Feeling warmth form in her hands, Faith opened her eyes and saw an orb of pink and purple Chaos Energy floating in her hands. "I did it! Yay!" she cheered and the Chao chirped and flew around her in happy circles.
Chaos and Tikal looked at each other and nodded. "Let's show Knuckles what you've learned," Tikal said as they stood on either side of Faith. At the same time, they dipped their hands into the well, and, in a brilliant flash of light, they vanished.
"So she's inside the Master Emerald right now?!" Sonic shrieked, looking at the gigantic gem in a panic.
"Why didn't you go with her?!" Shadow yelled at Knuckles, ruby eyes flashing dangerously.
"Well, she was standing a little further away from me and I was in too much shock to appropriately react!" Knuckles exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
"Has the Master Emerald ever done this before?" Tails asked, his chin cupped in his hand.
"No. If it did, I would have welcomed the chance to go in for maybe some peace and quiet in the past instead of having to deal with any intruders!" Knuckles put a hand to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Alright. So this is a new thing. How are we going to get Faith out?" Amy asked the others, frowning.
That's when Sticks came running up the stairs with a rock held between her two hands. "Let's just break this thing open!" she called out and prepared to throw the rock.
"NO!" the others screamed, Tails and Amy quickly intercepting Sticks while Knuckles, Sonic, and Shadow shielded the Master Emerald from the badger's aim.
"If we do that, this whole island falls right out of the sky!" Knuckles informed Sticks, the badger going, "Oh…" before throwing the rock down the stairs.
Suddenly, the Master Emerald lit up. The team cried out, throwing up their hands to shield their eyes from the bright flash. When the light faded, they found themselves joined by Chaos, Tikal, and…
"Oh! Hey, guys!" Faith chirped before she was sandwiched in a tight hug by both Sonic and Shadow.
"Faith! Oh, my gods, thank goodness. Are you okay? You're not hurt? How many fingers am I holding up?" Sonic babbled, holding up two fingers while still hugging the little tenrec.
"Two." Faith felt her cheeks getting smooshed and it was getting a little hard to breathe with how tightly the two hedgehogs were hugging her. "Um… Can you two let me go, please? I need more air…" she mumbled.
"Sorry." Putting Faith down, Sonic and Shadow looked at the little tenrec from head to toe. Once they were sure that their kid didn't have any injuries, they relaxed.
Then Shadow frowned and pulled the red Chaos Emerald out from his quills. "Faith, did you really take this from the drawer earlier?" he asked, keeping his face neutral so as not to frighten the child.
"Yes…" Faith nodded, wringing her hands.
Shadow got down on one knee so they were seeing each other eye-to-eye. "The Chaos Emerald isn't a toy you can just play around with. I know you didn't mean to Chaos Control yourself and Knuckles here to Angel Island, but you need to know that using Chaos Energy can also be very dangerous if you're not trained to handle it properly. You got pretty lucky that Chaos Control took you to a relatively safe place like Angel Island instead of somewhere dangerous," he told her, his tone just a little bit stern.
Faith nodded solemnly then glanced at Knuckles, the echidna looking equal parts relieved and nervous. Pulling at her quills lightly, Faith quickly said, "I know that I'm in trouble but please don't get mad at Mr. Knuckles! He took care of me this whole time and made sure nothing bad happened to me!"
Shadow blinked, a little taken aback. "Wha…? No. No, sweetheart. None of us are mad at you," he reassured Faith, gently placing his hands on Faith's shoulders and carefully pulling her hands away from her quills before she started yanking at them in anxiety.
"We just got really worried about you. You were inside the Master Emerald for half an hour and we had no idea how to get you back," Sonic chimed in, joining Shadow in kneeling in front of Faith. "But it looks like you're okay. Right?" he asked.
"Uh-huh! Chaos and Tikal are amazing." Faith looked at her two new friends, beaming. "Oh! And they taught me this cool trick with Chaos Energy…" she said, looking back at Sonic and Shadow. When the two hedgehogs looked at her, curious, Faith cupped her hands in front of her face and closed her eyes.
'Chaos is power… Power enriched by the heart…' she chanted in her head as she turned the Chaos Energy Switch in her brain on. Opening her eyes, Faith saw Sonic and Shadow's mouths fall open as an orb of Chaos Energy formed in her hands, shimmering pink and purple.
"Oh, my…" Amy breathed out.
"That's amazing…" Tails whispered, taking out his Miles Electric to record the whole thing.
"Wow…" Sticks stared wide-eyed at the spectacle.
Knuckles gazed at the orb in Faith's hands then glanced at Tikal and Chaos. "You taught her that in just half an hour?" he whispered, awestruck.
"She's a quick learner. I was surprised, too, at how she was able to tap into the well of Chaos Energy deep within her and the Master Emerald so easily," Tikal said before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Chaos senses something within her. I'm not sure what it is… but watch over her, Knuckles. I have a feeling that Faith is destined for great things. She'll need good mentors to guide her on her journey."
Knuckles nodded, taking his ancestor's words to heart as he watched Sonic and Shadow recover from their shock. The two hedgehogs gazed at Faith, love and pride shining in their eyes, before raising their hands and creating their own orbs of brightly-colored Chaos Energy – Sonic's shining bright blue and green, Shadow's glowing a soft gold and red.
"No way! You guys can do it, too! That's so cool!" Faith squealed with delight. After a few minutes to admire their Chaos Energy orbs, the trio then faced Chaos and Tikal.
"Thank you for bringing Faith back to us," Shadow said, bowing to the two.
"And thank you, Knux. For keeping an eye on Faith while we made our way here." Sonic winked at his muscular red friend.
"Wait, so Faith and I aren't in trouble?" Knuckles blinked at the two hedgehogs.
"Well, Faith didn't get hurt under your watch so I don't see any point in us getting mad." Sonic shrugged and looked at Amy, Tails, and Sticks who all shrugged and agreed with him.
"But, we are going to have to lay down some ground rules on using this," Shadow held up the red Chaos Emerald. "when we get home." He patted Faith on the head. "And it looks like we're going to have to amp up your training, young lady. Now that you've gotten your first taste of Chaos Energy, we'll have to train you well on how to use it," he informed her.
"Okay…" Faith smiled at Chaos, the deity's eyes glowing a soft green. "But can we come back to Angel Island every now and then to visit them? I feel kind of bad because Mr. Knuckles didn't get to go inside the Master Emerald with me. He and Ms. Tikal have a lot of catching up to do," she requested.
"I actually wouldn't mind that…" Knuckles piped up, smiling hopefully.
Sonic and Shadow looked at each other then at Tails. "Hey, just let me know your schedule and let me make sure I've got enough fuel for the plane before we go," Tails replied to their unspoken question, smiling as he shrugged.
"Yay!" Knuckles and Faith whooped. Faith then ran to Knuckles, the echidna stooping down to pick her up. "Thank you for letting me explore Angel Island with you, Mr. Knuckles. I had so much fun today!" Faith said and kissed Knuckles on the cheek.
"Awww… I had fun, too, Lil' Spark." Knuckles blushed and hugged the little tenrec gently. Faith giggled and, once she was put down, she went over to Tikal and hugged her next.
"Thank you to both you and Chaos, Ms. Tikal. I promise I'll do my best to train and get better at using Chaos Energy. And I promise that I'll only use it for good. When we come back to visit again, I hope I'll be able to show you two some new things," she promised the echidna princess.
"I'm sure you will do wonderfully, Faith. Chaos and I look forward to your next visit," Tikal laughed softly, embracing the little tenrec.
Chaos gurgled happily as Faith hugged him next. "I promise that I won't become greedy. I'll always be happy with what I already have," Faith whispered as she hugged Chaos' squishy form.
'Thank you, Faith. Please hold on to that promise… and I pray that your path will always be filled with light,' Chaos whispered to her.
Sonic approached Chaos, who handed Faith back to him. The blue hedgehog smiled warmly at the deity. "I never forgot what you told me. And I want you and Tikal to know that… I'm finally okay," he said.
Chaos hummed and cupped Sonic's cheek in its hand, neon green meeting emerald. Sonic chuckled as he held Faith. "Yeah… I guess I have," he said, making Faith look up at him in confusion.
Well, whatever Chaos and Sonic talked about, Faith figured that it was best to just let it stay between the two and not pry. She and Knuckles were the last to board Tails' plane, waving goodbye to Chaos and Tikal as they took off and left Angel Island.
"Hey, Mr. Knuckles," Faith smiled at the Guardian. "Some of the wall art you showed me in the ruins had writing on them. Can you teach me how to read your language?" she asked.
"I'd be honored, Lil' Spark." Knuckles grinned as he and Faith fist-bumped.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Faith is definitely full of surprises, being able to harness Chaos Energy at such a young age already. There's something very special about her, that's for sure…
Read and review! Let me know what you guys think ;)
-GuardianDragon98