Chapter 6
The alarm sounds that next morning. Saya rolls out of bed frustrated about being woken up, she had just gotten out of the infirmary to what she can only assume is another fight with the Zarkon. She began to wish Spira would take a vacation as she heads over to the computer room where Elias and Sally were waiting. "Good morning Saya," Sally said,
"Morning yes, good, not so much," She said with a yawn as the others run in, "Took you long enough," She joked.
"Shut up. I'm still sleepy…" Sophia said rubbing her eyes.
"So, where's the trouble now?" TK asked,
"An island just on the outskirts of Station Square next to Angel Island is being attacked by the Zarkon." Elias explained,
"Wait, Angel Island? Maybe Knuckles is there!" Saya said with a smile,
"Did you ever pay attention in Geography?" TK joked, "I highly doubt that Knuckles would be there. It would be way too convenient."
"Who is Knuckles?" Sally asked,
"Just ignore them, is that all we need to know?" Brandy asked,
"No, this is where the real problem is." Elias said,
"Besides the Zarkon?" Sophia said,
"Yes, apparently the Navy has tried to step in, and we fear they are going to attack the Zarkon and the people in the town will be collateral damage." Sally said,
"That's horrible!" Caroline said,
"Exactly, so you need to get going as soon as you can." Elias said as they all transform, Cream gets to a computer and puts a pair of headphones on,
"We're all good to go!" Cream said,
"Alright gang, let's do it to it!" Sonic said,
"Stop saying that." Shadow said,
"You should just get used to it now." Sonic said with a grin. They all run to the hangar bay and Tails and Blaze climb into the seats of the Twin Tornado and Shadow and Sonic stand on top of the wings. "Man this brings back old times." Sonic said looking at Tails with a smile, she felt like she jumped back in time, all they needed were some animals trapped that needed to be saved.
"Alright, hang on!" Tails said, as they take off towards the islands.
With the Twin Tornado they make it to the Islands faster than they did while riding the helicopter, which worked fine for Sonic. They can see from a distance that the area looks like a war zone. The Zarkon were attacking the Navy ship and the navy are shooting at the Zarkon but it's only a matter of time before one of the missiles hit the town. "This is not a fun situation." Blaze said, but Sonic was more distracted by the water flying below them. She didn't know how to swim and being around open water had her unsettled.
"What's the plan Sonic?" Tails asked,
"Um… Shadow, you and Tails are in charge of the skies. Try to get the Navy to stop their attack. Blaze and I will be on the ground getting people to safety. Protecting the people is our top priority." Sonic said,
"Got it!" They all said as Tails Drops off Sonic and Blaze near the ground as her and Shadow head to the sky.
"Did you plan this, so you'd be away from the water?" Blaze joked,
"A little bit," Sonic chuckled, she looks around to see the Zarkon gathering up all the people. "why do you think they keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Gathering all the people, you'd think they would figure out hostages don't work." Sonic said running up to one of the Zarkon and kicking them away from the people. "Alright ugly, where's Spira hiding?" The Zarkon doesn't respond, just reaches out trying to grab her and she jumps back. "Fine, don't tell me." She spins knocking him further away from the people.
"Is everyone alright?" Blaze asked as some of them nod. She starts to hesitate, feeling the energy of the Master Emerald coming from Angel Island. One of the Zarkon take her by surprise but she's able to jump away only for the Zarkon's massive claw scratch her left leg.
"Blaze!" Sonic knocks the Zarkon away as they all begin to pull away from them, "You okay?" Sonic was quickly looking around making sure everyone was safe.
"Got my leg pretty bad…"
"Sonic!" They both hear Tails in the headset, "We have trouble!"
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked as her and Blaze look up. They can barely see the Tornado in the sky flying around. It didn't take them long to see the missiles the Navy shot at the Zarkon were heading straight for the town.
"We couldn't stop them all! You gotta get out of there!" Tails said,
"But there's no time!" Blaze said, there were too many people to transport and it would take Sonic too long to run each one of them to the boats out of the way. On top of that she knew Blaze was injured. Sonic knew she had to think quick or they would all be blown up. She had one idea that could potentially save all of them.
"Is everyone from the town here?" Sonic asked as the people look around one another and nod, "Alright, I need everyone to come around me and get as close as possible." They all follow her orders looking a little confused as they circle tightly around Sonic and Blaze.
"Now what?" Blaze asked as Sonic holds her hand up as her Chaos Emerald begins to glow.
"Chaos Sphere!" She said as a light blue colored force field surrounds everyone.
"Sonic! You can't! You'll use up all of your energy." Blaze said trying to stand up.
"Too late for that now, everyone brace yourselves!" Sonic said as the first of many missiles hit the sphere. Felling connected to the energy like echoes of the blasts through her hand. Her hand felt like it was on fire as she looks up to see a second wave of missiles impact the sphere. All she could do was pray that the force field would continue to hold up. The power of the blasts began to push the sphere down as people began to scream and children cried out of fear. Sonic was starting to feel the force push down on her hand like she was carrying a heavy weight and she was starting to lose her strength.
"Hold on Sonic!" Blaze fought through the pain in her leg as she helps Sonic hold up her arm feeling the weight of the force. "Just a bit longer!" they both fight the weight as it begins to subside as the missiles stop impacting.
"Is it over?" Sonic asked, her chest feeling heavy… she was starting to reach her limit.
"That was the last of them." Tails said through the headset. Sonic disperses the sphere and she and Blaze fall to their knees. All the people cheering being happy to be alive and thanking them for saving their lives.
"Sonic…" a little girl gets their attention as she takes off her sun hat and hands it to Sonic. "We won't tell." She said as Sonic looks confused as she brushes her fingers through her hair now realizing it was long and she had transformed back into Saya. She quickly smiles at the little girl then ties her hair back and hides it in the hat.
"Thank you," Saya said, as the little girl smiles back and so do some of the towns people. The Twin Tornado lands nearby as the people begin to disperse as Saya can now see the destroyed town. "I'm sorry about the town." She said,
"Don't worry." An old man said, everyone is safe, that's all that matters. Besides, we can rebuild." He said as both Saya and Blaze smile.
"Sonic!" Tails yelled as her and Shadow run up. "Whoa…" They look around as people start cheering for them too.
"You two okay?" Shadow asked kneeling down next to Blaze.
"it definitely hurts to walk but it'll heal." Blaze said,
"And you?"
"Oh you know, just saving all the townspeople from the missiles you missed." Saya teased as she got up to her feet. "Gotta speed it up Shadow."
"We still wouldn't have gotten them all even of all four of us were up there." Shadow said, "We should go."
"We can't leave yet." Blaze said,
"Why not?" Tails asked,
"There's a shard of the Master Emerald on Angel Island." She said,
"That's anticlimactic." Saya chuckled,
"But you shouldn't be walking like that." Shadow said,
"I'll go," Saya said as all of them look at her, "What? Did you all forget that I can sense the Master Emerald too?"
"Are you sure about that? You're not at a hundred percent right now." Blaze said,
"I'm fine! By the time I get over there my Chaos Emerald should be charged," Saya said,
"I'll go with you." Shadow said,
"Really?"
"Someone has to make sure you don't do something stupid." She slightly grinned as the old man hands Saya a set of keys,
"You can take my boat over, thank you again for saving us." He said as Shadow and Saya head over to the docks.
"Can you drive a boat?" Shadow asked,
"Yeah, when I was a kid my grandparents lived on a lake. My Uncle Chuck taught me how." Saya explained as she drives the boat to Angel Island,
"Just surprised, since you can't swim and all." Shadow said looking at Saya, "Nice hat by the way."
"Thanks, little girl gave it to me." She said parking the boat at the dock. "I knew I'd run out of chaos energy but that was the first time I didn't notice it happen. Guess I drained my Chaos Emerald completely." She said looking at her bracelet, it was barely glowing.
"Looks like you were wrong about your Emerald recharging." Shadow said as Saya could feel the energy from the Master Emerald Shard near the top of the ruins.
"We'll make this quick then, I can feel it coming from up there." She said as they start climbing up the stairs. They walk in silence for a bit before Shadow breaks the Ice.
"Did you know the Chaos Sphere would hold?"
"Honestly… no… I just held my ground and…" Shadow raises her hand in a motion to stop.
"Move!" Shadow said pushing Saya off the stone stairwell into a bush. Saya hears a loud thud as she sees Shadow at the bottom of the stairs unconscious from hitting her head on the stone. Saya was about to stand when she sees two Zarkon walk over to Shadow. In that second, she had the realization that she was in her regular form and the Chaos Emerald wasn't charged enough for her to transform let alone fight. She didn't know what to do so she stayed hidden in the bushes, watching is terror as one of the Zarkon pick up Shadow by the back of the jacket.
"What should we do with her?" The Zarkon holding Shadow asked,
"I have an idea, follow me." The other said as they climb up the stairs out of Saya's sight. She climbs out of the bush and quietly follows them up the stairs keeping a safe distance so they wouldn't spot her. They reach the top of the shrine, the alter where the Master Emerald used to stay in another life still stood. She quickly notices the Master Emerald Shard near one of the posts that surround the pedestal. Saya hides behind that pillar grabbing the shard and then continues to watch the two Zarkon who have her friend. They walk over to the edge of the cliff and drop Shadow on the ground next to the edge.
"Spira said Sonic needed to be alive, she said nothing about the others." The Zarkon said as he pushes Shadow off the edge with his foot.
"NO!" Saya screams running out towards them.
"There was another one?" he said as Saya had already run past them faster than they could react and dives off the cliff. She began to fall stretching out her hand to try to reach Shadow. Using the cliff side the kicks off it and push herself close enough to grab Shadow by the jacket and pull her close. She now had to worry about them both being crushed by the rocks below. Her Chaos Emerald wasn't fully charged… But she was holding a piece of the Master Emerald. Saya remembered back to Sonic having to use Chaos Control for the first time after being jettisoned from the Space Colony ARC and using a fake Chaos Emerald was enough. She holds onto Shadow and grips the Emerald shard tightly just as they're about to hit the rocky water below.
"Chaos Control!" Saya yells concentrating on the other Islands as a place to warp to. In a flash of green light they warp to the island and fall to the ground. Saya quickly jumps up looking around expecting more danger. "Whoa… head rush…" Saya said as Tails runs over,
"What just happened?" Tails asked as Shadow begins to come to sitting up holding her head,
"Ow… where?" Shadow looked around confused,
"You okay?" Saya asked,
"What happened?"
"Oh you know… you got knocked out, captured by Zarkon, kicked off a cliff and I saved you. Got the Emerald piece by the way." Saya said feeling proud of herself but Shadow and Tails look in fear, "What?" Saya asked,
"Where's your hat?" Tails asked,
"What are you talking about it's right…?" Saya places her hand on her head feeling that the hat was gone, "Here…" Shadow quickly takes off her jacket and covert Saya's head and pulls her towards the Twin Tornado,
"We're leaving now!" Shadow said as Blaze moves and Saya is sat in the passenger seat as Shadow holds onto Blaze as they fly off back to Freedom HQ. Shadow watched Saya the entire ride back, she could have been seen and it was her fault. But at the same time she wished Saya wouldn't be so reckless. They get back to HQ and change back.
"I should have Dr. Q take a look at my leg." Brandy said still limping,
"Good idea," Saya said as she presses her fingers against her forehead.
"Maybe you should go see Dr. Q too?" TK suggested,
"I'll go with you." Sophia said helping Brandy walk as they all three head to the infirmary, Brandy notices that Saya had become extremely pale.
"How's your head?" Brandy asked as Sophia starts to notice Saya as well, she looked like she did at school before she turned into Sonic.
"It hurts but it's not that bad." Saya said,
"You sure?" Sophia asked not sounding convinced.
"Yeah, it's just a headache it's not… that…" Saya falls to her knees, "Bad…"
"Hey!" Sophia said as she lets go of Brandy and kneels next to Saya, "C'mon, we need to get you to Dr Q." She grabs Saya's arm and it was Ice cold.
"Sophia?" She turns to see Dr. Q running up to them. Suddenly the lights begin to flicker and one of the bulbs bursts.
"What's going on?" Brandy asked,
"Hurry, you need to transform into Shadow and take Saya to the Master Emerald." Dr. Q said,
"But…"
"Now!" She demanded as Sophia quickly transforms. She lifts Saya off the ground, she had gone unconscious. Her body was unnaturally light.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow teleported them to the alter and lays Saya in front of the Master emerald. The Emerald Shard drops out of Saya's pocket. "Tikal!" Shadow cries out as she appears from the Master Emerald.
"What can I help you with Shad… What happened?" She quickly looks over at Saya.
"I don't know, she collapsed, and the lights started to flicker…" Tikal places her hand on Saya's forehead and looks her over.
"She used Chaos Control in her human form."
"Is she going to be alright?"
"Your human bodies were not meant to contain Chaos energy, that is why you transform in the first place. The Chaos Energy is ripping Saya apart." Tikal explained as Shadow stares horrified.
"You can help her, right?"
"I think I can, Connect the Emerald Shard to the Master Emerald then please stand back," Tikal said raising her hands as Saya levitates off the ground and floats over above the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald begins to glow as lights begin to come out of the Emerald and envelops Saya. The light disperses with a bright flash as Saya is lowered back to the ground.
"Saya?" Shadow said kneeling down next to her.
"She should be good as new now; the Chaos energy will not harm her in this form." Tikal said, "But under normal circumstances I'm surprised she lasted this long,"
"What would have happened under normal circumstances?"
"Her soul would have burned…" Tikal said, as Shadow looks at Saya worried, she almost got herself again. This was getting too out of hand… every mission Saya was getting hurt and Shadow wanted more than anything to stop it.
"Whoa…" Saya said quickly sitting up taking them off guard, she quickly shakes her head. "Head rush." Saya looks up at Shadow, "Hey Shadow…" She looks around, "How'd we get here?" she looked confused as Shadow notices that more of Saya's bangs are blue and her eyes were green like the Master Emerald.
"You did something stupid again." Shadow said,
"Oh, is that all?" Saya said standing up,
"How's your head feel?" Shadow said focusing on her eyes,
"Fine, actually I feel great!" She said as her eyes slowly change back into their usual light brown color. The door slams open taking them both by surprise as Sally and Dr. Q run in,
"Is everything alright?" Sally yelled up to them,
"Just great, why do you ask?" Saya asked as DR. Q wastes no time looking over Saya.
"Incredible! Just minutes ago you looked like you were on deaths door." She said,
"Wait, what?" Saya said looking confused,
"The Chaos energy was too much for your human body, so I used the Master Emerald to change your biological structure so that from now on the Chaos energy won't harm you." Tikal explained,
"Oh… okay… well, at least it all worked out." Saya said a little confused by the explanation.
"Worked out?" Shadow was starting to get angry, "You almost died."
"Yeah, but I didn't. what's your deal?" Saya asked noticing Shadows frustration,
"My deal is you are way too reckless!" She yelled, "Do you have any idea how everyone would feel if something happened to you?"
"Do you?" Saya said back throwing Shadow off, "I'm sorry that I'm reckless. Sometimes I am, but whenever I put myself in danger I do it because I care about you all so much that I wouldn't be able to stand it if anything ever happened to you." Saya said starting to get emotional, "When you were pushed over that cliff, I didn't have time to react… it was either do something, or watch you die! I can't watch another friend die! Not again!" Tears fill her eyes as Shadow realized that this wasn't Saya's words, they were Sonic's. Now she felt bad, Saya was just as worried as she was and took her anger out on her.
"I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"
"It's fine," Saya said wiping her eyes then giving her a smile, "We're both okay and that's what matters right?"
"Right…" She said transforming back, Sophia didn't know how else to comfort Saya, she still felt bad.
"If you two are done, Saya's coming back to the infirmary with me." Dr. Q said,
"What? Why?" Saya asked,
"You may feel fine, but you need my say so before you can do anything," She said,
"Aw! C'mon Doc!" Saya complained as she follows her out of the alter room.
"Are you alright Sophia?" Sally asked,
"Not really,"
"Everything's going to be fine," Sally tried to reassure her.
"I know… I'm going to go read. Hopefully, I can get my mind off all of this." She said leaving to her room.
The rest of the day was quiet, Saya and Brandy rested in the Infirmary as TK worked on taking apart Spira's robotic hand. Caroline goes to Sophia's room to check up on her. She knows on the door and waits for a response, "Come in." Sophia calls out as Caroline opens the door and enters,
"How are you doing?" She asked,
"Fine," Sophia said as Caroline sits next to her on her bed, "How's Saya?"
"Good, Dr. Q gave her the okay."
"That was fast," She closes her book, "What's up?"
"I wanted to check in on you. Brandy told me how scary it was seeing Saya like that."
"I'm just worried about her… she's too reckless. But I also need to remember that's who she is." Sophia said wrapping her arms around her knees.
"We did warn you." Caroline chuckled, "Well dinners almost ready, let's go eat." She stands up and Sophia follows.
"Sure, Saya will probably get impatient if we take too long."
"Actually, Saya went to take a walk."
"Are you kidding me?" Sophia rubs her temples, "She never stops,
"it's just around the base, besides, she was so full of energy that she wore us out." She explained as they walk into the kitchen,
"Hey Sophia," TK said as they all sit down,
"Is fried rice okay?" Brandy asked as Sophia nods,
"Sorry I'm late!" Saya said running in,
"Actually you're just in time." Caroline said handing her a plate as they all start eating.
"Good, you're all here." Sally said walking in.
"Hey Sal!" Saya said,
"What's up?" TK asked,
"Well, with all that's happened recently I wanted you all to have one of these." She hands then all small boxes that fit in the palm of their hands with a red button on one side.
"What is this for?" Brandy asked,
"It's a distress signal, if any of you are in danger or without your communicator, we'll be able to find you." She said,
"That's handy," Caroline said,
"Thank TK, she's the one who designed them." Sally said,
"They were made because of Saya," Brandy joked elbowing Saya's arm.
"Ha! You're probably right." Saya laughed, "I promise I'll be more careful,"
"Don't make promises you can't keep." TK said as they all laugh. Sophia still glanced at Saya occasionally. She knew she was better but what happened today only fueled her need to become stronger to support her friends. But she also feared what side effects there might be for what happened to Saya and she plans to keep a close eye. She's determined to beat Spira and get back to a normal life someday.
The next week was quiet, there had been no attacks from the Zarkon since the islands. TK spent most of the day in the hangar bay working on the Twin tornado. She wanted to make it faster, keeping up with Sonic was hard enough. "TK!" Saya ran up to her, "I'm going to a walk, come join me!"
"Uh… okay. Hang on." TK said finishing the adjustment she was making,
"What are you doing?" she asked,
"Just modifying the Tornado." TK explained then stood up, "There, all done."
"Great! Let's go." She said as they begin to leave.
"What made you want to take a walk? We have our own track here." TK asked,
"Because I can't be cooped up in here all the time… it's suffocating." Saya said. TK understood where she was coming from, before their transformations they lived very carefree lives. Saya was more like Sonic then she realized, needing to go where the wind took her. But being in a bunker everyday has been driving her nuts. They continue walking off base into the nearby neighborhood.
"Have you been down here before?" TK asked,
"Yeah, I like it cuz it's quiet. Not a lot of cars in the area and there's a nice park up the road we can rest at." She said,
"Oh cool," TK said as they continue walking in silence.
"Actually… I did have a reason for asking you to take a walk with me." Saya said,
"And what's that?"
"Well…" She hesitated, "It's been on my mind for a while… Ever since I got my memories back." She paused unsure if she should ask but then lets out a sigh, "What happened after I was gone?" She said and TK knew this wasn't Saya's question, but it was coming from Sonic. An internal need to know what happened to his friends. Tk could tell by looking in Saya's eyes that this question has been eating away at her. "I understand why I'm here; I mean I did die but… What about the rest of you?"
"That's hard to say…" TK said, she knew once Saya knows more she would be in pain,
"What happened to Shadow?"
"She… He went back to G.U.N. and continued protecting the planet. He came and visited all of us… even helped us on some missions." TK explained,
"And Blaze?"
"She joined the Freedom Fighters, she moved in with Cream and her mom until she was ready to be on her own."
"Did Cream join the Freedom Fighters too?" Saya asked,
"She did actually, became a great fighter."
"Ah! I wish I could have seen her grow up…" She said as they make it to the park, "What about Amy?"
"She hid her feelings for a long time. She drowned herself in missions trying to keep herself occupied until it almost broke her…" Tk said as Saya frowns,
"And you? Obviously, you were in charge of the Freedom Fighters," Saya tried to play off the pain she was feeling, how she felt like she missed so much.
"I was okay… It was really hard at first… but everyone helped me out. And Knuckles came and checked up on me… just like he promised…" Tk noticed tears well up in Saya's eyes as she smiles. But she quickly wipes them away,
"You're still avoiding the real question…" Saya said as TK lets out an exasperated sigh,
"Twelve years after you… were gone, we got a message from Knuckles to come to Angel Island. After we got there… the entire island was dead, all the trees, wild lift. Even the rivers were dry. When we got to Knuckles, he showed us the Master Emerald… it was solid black."
"What?" Saya began to try to piece it together, was it because of what happened to the Soul Emeralds? No, that wasn't the reason. They sit down at a nearby bench as TK finishes the story.
"Tikal showed up and explained why it was happening. Apparently, your death was the cause."
"What do you mean?
"She explained that your life was tied to the Chaos Emeralds, it had something to do with you turning Super Sonic so many times. And when you died the power of Chaos was put off balance and the Master Emerald became poisoned with Dark Chaos energy. Both her and Knuckles were holding it back as much as they could, but it was only a matter of time… and when it did break free… the world would be destroyed."
"Couldn't you stop it?" She asked but TK just shook her head,
"The damage was already done… Tikal said all we could do was prepare for the end, and we did just that. The Freedom Fighters disbanded, and everyone stayed with their loved ones until the end just came... then there was silence..." TK looks over at Saya who's face had turned white from shock.
"It… was my fault." She said lowering her head, "Why? My death was supposed to end all of this!"
"Hang on…" Tk started to say trying to comfort her,
"I'm…" Saya lifts her heat just as a soccer ball hits her in the face throwing her back and hitting against the back of the bench. The soccer ball lands in her lap as she just sits there.
"You okay?" TK asked,
"Alright! Which one of you punks did that!" She said jumping to her feet holding the ball in a rage.
"Ha, ha!" Some of the kids laugh,
"You should pay attention." a little boy said,
"I'm sorry," A little girl came up and apologized.
"Aw, its ok you didn't mean it right?" Saya's attitude completely changed, as she smiles at the little girl.
"It's cuz you got a big head!" one of the boys joked,
"Oh yeah!" Saya raged back, throwing the ball back towards the kids.
"Come play with us! We need goalies!" Another boy said as Saya looks at TK and smiles,
"Alright, but we're not going easy on ya!" She said as they both take the goals and play with the kids for the rest of the afternoon. TK stops playing to check her phone as it begins to buzz,
"Hey Saya! It's time to get going!" TK called out,
"Aw!" Saya and the kids wined,
"Oh stop, you'll give them bad habits."
"She's right, besides, you all need to head home too. It's getting late. We can play another time." Saya said with a smile,
"Do you promise?" The little girl asked,
"I promise!" Saya said as they say their goodbyes and head back to Freedom HQ.
"I'm glad those kids could cheer you up." TK said,
"Yeah, it got me thinking."
"About what?" TK asked looking confused,
"I keep looking to the past… But now it's time to look forward. I just have to keep running." She said with a smile.
"Yeah, and I'll be right beside you." TK smiled back as they walk back inside and head to dinner,
"You're late," Sophia said looking at them,
"We went on a walk, no big deal."
"Did you not learn from last time? What would you have done if something happened?" They all noticed that Sophia was acting strange; she was still worried after what happened with Saya.
"You worry too much, TK was with me and besides," She pulls out her distress beacon, "I always carry it with me."
"We still don't know if someone saw you." Caroline said,
"The towns people said they wouldn't tell but that doesn't mean the Zarkon didn't see you after you took a cliff dive." Brandy said,
"Okay, Okay! I get it! I'm reckless and danger prone yeesh!" Saya said rolling her eyes and sitting down and grabbing plate. Sophia lets out a loud sigh,
"You understand why we're worried right?"
"Yes…"
"Maybe take a break from the long walks away from base for a little bit… at least until we know for sure no one saw you." TK said,
"That could take days!" Saya complained shoveling food into her mouth,
"Could be months." Sophia teased,
"Nope! I choose death!" Saya said lowering her head as they all laugh.
Another week goes by, there has been no sign from the Zarkon, and it was starting to get a little stir crazy inside the bunker. Brandy decided to have a talk with Tikal. She still felt unsettled that the Master Emerald wasn't whole. She wanted to see if there was anything more to be done to find the missing shards. "Good morning Blaze." Tikal said appearing next to Brandy as she enters the Alter room.
"Good morning… and it's Brandy." She said,
"I'm sorry, I get so confused,"
"Why? It's not like we look like out old selves." Brandy said,
"your appearance might be different, but your souls are the same."
"I don't follow,"
"Each soul is different, and all souls contain Chaos energy. It's that feeling you get when you feel like you're being watched, or when you feel like something is wrong. Similar to how you feel now." She explained,
"How did you?"
"I don't see you all by your appearance, but by looking at your souls. I can tell you are unsettled because your soul is unsettled."
"So you see us as our souls which since we're reincarnations are the same." Brandy tried to make sense of it as Tikal nods to her answer.
"It's how I was able to find you all. By the light of your souls."
"That kinda makes sense."
"Now, what seems to be troubling you?" She asked,
"It's the Master Emerald… Why was it broken in the first place?"
"That's difficult to say, The Master Emerald has been broken in pieces before. But it could have been due to the burst of Dark Chaos energy enveloping the world… When it took over everything, I was almost lost to nothingness. I finally awoke when the Master Emerald was unearthed here on our new home. The pieces were already missing."
"How many pieces are missing? We already found two." Brandy asked,
"I'm not sure… it could be three pieces; it could be ten. There's no way of knowing." She said,
"Darn, well this helped. I feel a little better now." Brandy said,
"You're thinking about searching for them, aren't you?"
"Sort of, but don't tell the others. I haven't made a decision on if I'm going to go look for them or not." Brandy asked,
"Too late," They hear Sophia say behind them, they turn to see her standing in the doorway.
"Well crap,"
"I walked over to see why the door to the alter room was left open, glad I checked." She said, "Did you honestly think you wouldn't be found out?"
"Please don't tell the others." Brandy begged,
"I think we should discuss it…"
"Please? Just for today, I need some time to think." She asked again as she pauses to think.
"Alright, but if you decide to go, take someone with you." She said,
"Thanks Sophia," She said as Sophia nods in response.
"Let's go, everyone is waiting." She said as they both say goodbye to Tikal then head to the lecture room where Sally was giving a lesson.
"Nice of you to join us." Sally said with a smile as they both sit down,
"Do we have to learn math? I hated learning it in regular class…" Saya complained,
"Yes, it's important." Sally said "We should take advantage of this time since the Zarkon haven't attacked,
"Why? It's not like I'm going to fight off my enemies with math." She argued,
"Well, think of it this way. If we didn't have math, TK wouldn't have been able to build the Twin Tornado." She said,
"Tk doesn't count because she'd a genius now." Saya said.
"Hey!" Tk said throwing a wad pf paper at Saya's head at they all laugh then continue the lesson.
They spent the entire morning in the lecture hall and ended the lesson before lunch. Saya looks at her phone with a concerned look,
"What's wrong?" Caroline asked,
"My parents want to have dinner…"
"Tonight?" Tk asked as Saya nods,
"That's not all… they want it to be a family dinner…" Saya said,
"You should probably let Elias know." Brandy said,
"Good idea, I'll tell him after lunch." She said as they all go into the kitchen and eat. Brandy decided at this point that she was going to go look for a piece of the Master Emerald. She walks to the front quietly not to get noticed. Once she made outside, she turns into Blaze.
"Thought we had an agreement," Blaze hears Shadow walk up next to her,
"We did, I just ignored it," Brandy said as Shadow slightly chuckles,
"Sounds like something I'd do." She said walking past her, "You coming?"
"Yeah," Blaze said with a smile and they run towards the outskirts of the town.
Meanwhile, Saya goes over to the computer room to talk to Elias about her message from her parents, "Hello Saya, what can I help you with?" he asked looking over some paperwork.
"Well… looks like my parent want to have dinner tonight." Saya said, "And they want it to be a family dinner."
"Are you concerned about being with your parents alone?"
"A little bit… but it's more about the whole…"
"You going out on your own…" Elias said as Saya nods, he ponders for a second then lets out a sigh. "I can't approve you going to your parents by yourself, but I can request an armed escort take you there." He said,
"Armed escort? You really think I need protection?" Saya asked,
"After the amount of danger you put yourself in. Yes," he responded crossing his arms,
"Yeesh! Everyone is angry with me." Saya shakes her head,
"Not angry, just concerned. It's my job to keep you all safe. I think all this fighting has made you forget that you all are still underage."
"Only for another year."
"None the less, you will be escorted to dinner. Let your parents know you will be there around five." He said,
"Thanks Elias,"
On the outskirts of town, Shadow and Blaze were looking around for another shard of the Master Emerald, "Anything?" Shadow asked,
"No… Nothing. Both Master Emerald pieces were just outside of the city limits." Blaze said,
"Let's head out a little further." Shadow said as Blaze replies with a nod. They continue further and further until Blaze stops,
"Still nothing?" She asked as Blaze shakes her head,
"It's odd, I could sense it so easily before."
"Focus, close your eyes," Shadow said as Blaze followed her suggestion, "Think back to how you felt when you first sensed the Master Emerald piece." She remembers how she mistook the Emerald piece as a Soul Emerald and then she began to sense it coming from the west.
"This way," Blaze said running ahead as Shadow followed. They continue west until they stop in front of a lake.
"Well… this might be a problem." Shadow said,
"There won't be any problem." Blaze said holding her hands out as light slowly begins to glimmer from the water. It floats towards them and lands at Blaze's feet. The shard was smaller than the other two they had found.
"Cool," Shadow said, "Guess that counts as a job well done,"
"Agreed," Blaze said,
"Do you feel a bit better?"
"Yes,"
"Better enough to let this go for a while. At least until the Zarkon start attacking again?" she asked,
"I… can wait." Blaze knew that Shadow didn't want her going out alone, she knew if she started looking for them on her own, she wouldn't stop until she found them all.
"Good, now let's head back, it's getting late."
"I wonder what Elias said to Saya going to her parents."
"Hopefully, he didn't let her go." She said as they warp closer to the base and head inside.
"Where have you two been?" Tk asked as they both walked into the dining room, she was helping Caroline set the table.
"Just looking for some gems." Sophia said as Brandy holds up the shard,
"You found a piece of the Master Emerald?" TK said as they both walk over to look.
"Yeah, it was in the middle of a lake," Brandy said,
"How did you get it out?" Caroline asked,
"It just came to us, almost like a magnet." Brandy said as TK looks at the shard,
"I want to run some tests before we attach this back to the Master Emerald. Maybe I can make a device that can help us track the other pieces down." She said,
"Like an emerald locater?" Sophia asked,
"Yeah," Tk said as Brandy hands her the Emerald piece,
"So how was your day?" Brandy asked,
"Good, TK and I sparred with Saya." Caroline said,
"Speaking of Saya, where is she?" Sophia asked,
"Elias gave her permission to go see her parents for dinner with an armed guard. Saya wasn't happy about it at first but went along with it.
"Guess we should start eating then." Brandy said as they all sit down to eat just as Saya made it to her parents' house.