"...Rain. Why out of all of the weather patterns it could've done today, nature chose rain?"

Sonic stumbled a little as Knuckles elbowed him as they wandered the path. "I thought you said you weren't afraid of water anymore..."

"I'm not afraid of water." Sonic adjusted his hood as a few drops fell onto his nose. "...Doesn't mean I like being wet..."

"I don't think anybody likes being wet against their will." Amy added. "Or cold... Or both at the same time."

"Oh stop your complaining." Tails replied, not even looking up from his tablet. "We're almost there."

Sonic shook more water from his coat. It had been three days since he'd beaten the trio of Obsidians sent to kill him for being the vessel of an ancient power, the Amethyst Autumn Wind. So far, he hadn't felt any more attacks on the immediate horizon. However, he had been injured in that fight, and he knew that they would come back better prepared. He needed to prepare and learn more about them, as well...

...It was time to talk to Howlite again.

As they reached the top of the ridge and saw the village down below, he couldn't help but sense the sadness Autumn Wind felt when he saw this place. He put a hand on his own shoulder, as if it could somehow comfort the second consciousness now residing in his body.

"It looks so...depressing." Amy mumbled as they made their way forward. This was her first time entering the ruins, and she clung to Sonic's arm as they walked down the ridge into the clearing.

"It is..." Sonic murmured. "...Personally, I think we should make a memorial here somewhere for the previous roster."

Amy held his arm a little tighter. "I think that's a great idea..."

"What I don't understand is if they were all killed, then why aren't there any bodies lying around?" Knuckles asked.

Tails looked up from his tablet. "It's been a thousand years, Knux. They've most likely decomposed and been reduced to dust by now."

"Or maybe some kind soul buried them somewhere..." Amy suggested, though it seemed like it was very unlikely.

Sonic pulled away from Amy, walking up to the obelisk and placing his hands on it. The symbols glowed once again, the light passed over Sonic, and the door opened. "Down we go."

"Good time for it, too. The rain's picking up." Knuckles replied as he passed the hedgehog and walked down the stairs into the darkness.

Sonic took up the rear as they walked down the steps, and Amy paused a few times to look at the murals as Tails gave her a short explanation of what the murals were portraying.

After a few minutes, they entered the room at the bottom, and Sonic placed his hands on the stone in the center. This time, there was no shock to his hands, and the light once again lit up the space.

The only place untouched... Wind's voice murmured in Sonic's head. ...It's like it never happened.

Sonic put his hand on his shoulder again as he looked around. The person they'd come to see was not here. "...Howlite?"

"Where'd he go?" Tails murmured.

"It's not like he could've left." Knuckles muttered, then raised his hands to his mouth. "Yo Howlite, where'd you go!?"

They then all covered their ears as his voice echoed off of the walls.

Ah...! Good heavens, Red! A familiar voice complained. Easy on the volume!

They turned to the wall, where the fox was stumbling out of one of the houses in the painting, also covering his ears.

"Howlite!" Tails came up to the painting. "Sorry, you just weren't out here like last time."

Yeah, yeah... Howlite muttered, then he looked up at Sonic and grinned. Well hello, Autumn Wind!

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... About three days ago. Got ambushed by Jasper, Onyx and Tourmaline."

All three? Wow, good job on surviving. Howlite rubbed his chin. They always attacked solo before, though... Dominus must want to finish the Amethysts off quickly...Can't say I blame him, it took them twenty years last time, enough time for the Amethysts to get married and have kids, and-

Wind took over for a moment as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we know..."

Howlite sighed, It's been such a long time since I last saw the flip-flopping between Amethyst and host...

"Flip-Flopping?" Amy asked.

Howlite nodded. Over time, the minds and memories of host and Amethyst merge into a single entity. That's why the slaughtering of the previous took such a toll on the Amethysts. Had their previous hosts died naturally, the Amethysts would have had time to split from the host, but they were ripped free instead, and it left them seriously weakened.

Amy took Sonic's arm. "So...Sonic won't be himself anymore...?"

"It won't happen for a while..." Wind murmured. "...But yes."

Amy looked at the floor, "Suddenly I'm not on-board with this..."

Sonic took Amy's hands, squeezing them a little. "I'll still love you, Amy. I promise."

"Thanks for the comfort, Sonic..."

"Howlite, what's the Obsidians' weakness?" Tails asked. "What can we do to defeat them?"

The number one advantage the Amethysts have is that they can fly while the Obsidians cannot.

"Wind mentioned that before..." Sonic murmured. "How do we fly?"

Sonic jumped as Wind took over, then a flash of light washed over him for a moment. When it vanished, Sonic had regained control, but was now wearing brown boots, gloves and vest, and on his back was a pair of large, feathered wings.

Like that. Wind replied.

"Cool...!" Tails reached out and felt the wings. "They're real!"

"Of course they're real!" Sonic replied, flapping them a few times before folding them against his shoulders. "But I'll need to go back up to the surface to practice with them."

"The rain will let up eventually." Knuckles replied. "And then we can see just how fast you can fly with those things!"

Amy giggled. "My angel of Air."

Sonic blushed. "I'm no angel, Ames...Just a hero with wings..." He kissed her forehead, then turned back to Howlite. "I'm going to find the other Amethysts, and we will stop Lord Dominus and his army."

Good man...Don't hesitate to come and ask for advice, Sonic... I have a feeling you will need it...

"...Tails, what is this for?"

Tails looked up from the screen. "I figured that since the other Amethysts were made by the same person, they most likely have a similar energy signature to Wind. So if I scan in the signature from you, then I should be able to scan for any other pockets of similar energy and locate the other Amethysts."

"Can you do that?" Sonic murmured, though really to Wind.

Wind gave a shrug, "We didn't have this kind of technology a thousand years ago, so who knows?"

"Okay, now hold still."

Sonic didn't move as Tails ran a device over him, "What if the others are dormant and aren't giving off a signature?"

"Then we'll pick it up when they do!"

"So would I, theoretically..."

"Chill, I'm just trying to simplify the process."

Sonic rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Sometimes I think your dependence and fascination with tech is going to get you into trouble one day, Tails."

"Tell me that again when I win a prize for making a machine that results in World Peace."

"How about a cannon that blows Eggman up? That'll provide lots of peace!"

Tails smirked, then went back to his screen. "Okay, you can go out and practice with your wings now. I'm gonna take a trip back up to the ruins."

"Why?"

"Take a look around, see if there's anything left besides that chamber under the obelisk." He grinned, "Don't you want me to get into other hobbies besides technology?"

Sonic smirked, and then ruffled his little brother's hair. "Alright, just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay..." The two walked out into the yard, and Tails climbed onto his bicycle. "I still can't figure out how nobody found those ruins before."

"Maybe someone did and they just kept it a secret... I'm more surprised that it wasn't turned into a gangster hangout."

"Yeah...See you later, Sonic."

Sonic waved as Tails hurried off down the road, and he took off at a run in the opposite direction, towards downtown. "So...Where do we go...? Ooh, I've got the perfect plan! Just wait, Wind, this'll be fun...!"