Chapter 8
Saya woke up with her head pounding, she grasps the back of her head as she sits up. Her vision was blurred and couldn't recognize the strange surroundings. She wondered to herself what happened. Her vision began to focus as she sees her surrounding look similar to that of a high-class hotel with a small bathroom and small table that could seat two people. She realizes she's sitting in a massive queen-sized bed. The walls were covered in floral wallpaper with lavender colored molding throughout the entire room. Where was she? The realization hit her as the back of her head throbbed. She climbs out of the bed and looks around. She needed to think back at what happened… Dinner with parents, car crash… then Spira! But what happened after? She couldn't remember, it was all fuzzy. She looks over at a window, light was coming in, but it was dim. Saya walked over thinking the light could be from moonlight. Even if it was dark maybe she'd be able to recognize her surroundings.
"Oh man… I'm in mondo trouble…" She said to herself as she sees that the window outlooks earth, she was in space. She knew she needed to stay calm and level-headed, her first priority is to figure out how to get out. She scans the room to realize she doesn't see a door. She begins walking around to see if there was one, she didn't like this feeling of being trapped.
"It seems you're awake," Saya hears behind her as she turns around to see Spira standing in front of a doorway that wasn't there before. She completely enters and the door closes and blends back in with the walls. Saya noticed right away that Spira wasn't wearing her usual battle attire, it looked similar but more casual with no armor plating. Saya clenches her fists and backs away.
"Hey there…" She said,
"There is no need for alarm Sonic, I am not going to harm you." She said as she gestures to the table, "Have some tea with me." She said as she sits down,
"What?" Saya said as the door opens again taking Saya by surprise as she jumps back. Two Zarkon come in carrying trays of tea and finger foods. Saya looked confused as she wondered what was going on.
"Come now, we don't want the tea to get cold." She said as the two Zarkon place the trays on the table and leave the room with the door closing behind them.
"Okay, did I somehow enter an alternate reality? Saya said walking up to the table, "Or are you planning to poison me?" She crossed her arms,
"Sonic, if we were going to kill you, we would have done it already." She said, Saya could see she did have a point, what's the point taking her alive if she was going to kill her.
"You… have a point… but I'm still confused." She said,
"Sit," Spira gestures to the seat across from her. Saya hesitates but eventually sits down, "I trust you slept well?" she said,
"Oh yeah," She said sarcastically, "I always feel well rested after being hit in the back of the head."
"I apologize, but after Shadow appeared you began to resist." She said as she poured the tea, Saya rubbed the back of her head as she began to remember what happened, Shadow was there trying to save her. "It was a good thing too; she was trying very hard to save you." She handed her a cup.
"I see that failed…" Saya said picking up the cup, the cup size was larger than an average coffee mug and she had to use both hands to pick it up. She smelled the tea, it smelt of flowers she didn't recognize. She takes a small sip, the flavor reminded her of jasmine, but it has a sweetness to it.
"You have nothing to fear, your friend went off unharmed." She said placing a plate of finger sandwiches in front of her.
"Okay… this is starting to freak me out." She places the cup down, "What's up with the new neighbor hospitality? You've attempted to kill me on multiple occasions, you even froze me in a giant block of ice… And what's up with this room? I didn't realize being a prisoner made me five-star worthy." She said.
"Despite our differences, I've grown to respect you Sonic. It's difficult to find worlds that have a strong society, let alone a strong protector guarding it. And about the room, it is our custom to show the highest respect for our prisoners." Spira explained, "Also what is a New Neighbor hospitality?"
"When someone new moves into the neighborhood so you're overly nice to make them feel welcome but most of the time it just freaks people out." She explained,
"I see… Then yes, it is like the new neighbor hospitality." She said taking Saya by surprise, she didn't realize how… human Spira could act. "Please eat," Saya grabs one of the finger sandwiches and takes a bite.
"I would respect you too… if you weren't trying to take over my planet," Saya said,
"That would complicate things," she said with a chuckle,
"Spira… Why am I here?"
"In all honesty, I'm not sure." She said, Saya tilts her head in confusion,
"Um… okay?" She said grabbing the teacup and sipping the tea,
"You've seen my lovely hand, right?" she asked showing her mechanic arm, Saya nods as she begins to feel bad.
"Sorry about that… sometimes I forget my own strength…"
"You were defending your planet,"
"Still… I did take your arm… twice." Saya said looking apologetic,
"But I did get it back, I had some help getting it, and getting it repaired. As such, he's taken a specific interest in you." She said,
"He? He Who?" Saya asked trying to think of who it might be. Her first though went to Dr. Kintobor... he knew where she lived and would explain how Spira knew how to follow the car from her house.
"I'm sorry he asked to stay anonymous until you meet him in person." She said finishing up her cup of tea.
"Meet him in person?" Now she was positive it was Dr. Kintobor, he's been after Saya's blood since this first started.
"Yes, he's extremely interested to know how you transform. I have to say I am also curious about how using strange phrases change your appearance and give you the ability to best me in battle."
"Yeah… I'm definitely not telling you that." She said,
"I understand, but would you explain to me why you call yourself, Sonic the Hedgehog? We attempted to do research of what a Hedgehog is and all we found were small creatures covered in strange scales." She said,
"They're called quills," Saya explained, "they're sharp at the points to defend against predators."
"But your species is human, and you only have quills while you are Sonic." She said,
"I can't tell you how we do it…" She hesitates, would explaining that she's a reincarnation even process to her? "Sonic… is actually who I was in my past life."
"I see, your world believes in reincarnation." Spira said, "Can all of the people of earth tap into their past lives?"
"If they could, I don't think the school would have needed rescuing." Saya slightly chuckles,
"That still doesn't explain it all, you're saying that your past life was a small blue creature and now your new self can tap into that past life that has super speed."
"Mmm… I see your confusion. But telling you more might be too much." Saya said, she didn't want to talk about it too much. She was worried she may slip and give away more than she should.
"I understand, nevertheless, I appreciate you talking to me." She said standing up, Saya realized she was going to leave,
"Wait, when is this mystery person showing up?"
"A few days," She said,
"Few days? That's not awfully specific."
"Do not worry, it shouldn't be too long." Spira said as the door opens,
"But wait I still have…" Spira leaves the room and the door quickly shuts behind her. "Questions…" Saya lets out a sigh as the door quickly opens again taking her by surprise.
"This was nice," Spira said, "Would it bother you if we did this again?"
"Um…no…" Saya though about how she could keep pressing her for questions, maybe even get her to trust her. "I… I'd like that."
"Excellent, then I will join you for tea again tomorrow. And when you're done with the rest of the tea and food, just call out and my men will take it away for you." She said as the door closes again.
"This goes way past the weirdness scale…" Saya said looking back at the window. How could she contact her friends and let them know she's okay? This whole situation reeked but she couldn't place why. She knew now that her goal was to get Spira to trust her, maybe enough to slip who this mystery man is. Sonic's been in worse situations than this, she knew she'd figure a way back to earth.
Back on earth, night fell on the city and the Brandy was lying in bed feeling restless. They had spent the day training and scoping how to find the Zarkon ship but have had no luck. She decides to get up and grab some tea, she'd do anything at this point to calm her mind. Quietly walking through the hallways she gets to the gym and could hear noises, it sounded like someone was hitting something. She walks over to the room towards the lifting and exercise equipment and see a darkened figure hitting the punching bag.
"Hello?" Brandy called out as the figure stops and turns towards her, it took her a moment to adjust to the dark.
"Brandy? Is that you?" She hears Sophia's voice as she sees her walk out of the shadows.
"Sophia? what are you doing?" She asked,
"Just… trying to tire myself out." She said,
"In the dark?"
"I didn't want to wake anyone." Sophia said, "Looks like I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep."
"If we keep this up, we won't be awake enough to save Saya." Brandy said as they both chuckle but suddenly stop.
"We have to find her soon… it's been 2 days already…"
"I agree but we still haven't found any clues." Brandy lets out a sigh, "In the meantime, I'm going to get myself some tea so I can try to sleep, Care to join me?"
"Na, I'm going to work out a bit more and hopefully then I'll be able to sleep." Sophia said,
"You spent half the day training Caroline, how are you not tired?"
"Not sure, maybe being the ultimate life form gave me high stamina." She shrugs,
"I'll leave you to it then," She said walking away, she could hear Sophia punching the bag again. She walks into the kitchen to see TK sitting at the table with a pot of tea.
"You too?" TK said as they made eye contact.
"Yeah," Brandy said sitting across from her as TK pours her a cup of tea, "Guess I didn't have to sneak around after all." She hands her the cup,
"None of us can sleep…" TK said, "Sophia is beating up the punching bag and Caroline is listening to Radio surveillance in the tech room."
"Caroline's up too?" Brandy said with a sigh as she notices that TK looks upset. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's my fault… if I didn't want to keep it secret from Saya, this wouldn't have happened. I miscalculated… And now she's gone…" She said as tears welled up in her eyes,
"No one is at fault TK; you were doing what you thought was best to protect a friend. None of us blame you for that."
"But what if something happens to her?"
"We all know Sonic's been through a lot worse, that part of Saya will keep her safe. She's always been quick on her feet." Brandy said reassuring her.
"You're right… beating myself up won't help with anything… I just need to find a way to locate Saya." She said,
"If anyone can do it, it's you." Brandy said with a smile.
"Thanks," She smiled back.
"Now if you don't mind, since I've checked in on both you and Sophia, I'm going to go check on Caroline," Brandy said standing up,
"Thanks for talking," TK said,
"You can come talk to me anytime." She leaves and heads towards the computer room. She gets there to see the outline of Cream wearing headphones staring at one of the monitors.
"Is someone there?" She said removing her headphones and turns around, "Oh, hey Brandy, couldn't sleep either?"
"Sometimes I forget how crazy your hearing is now." She said sitting next to Cream, "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking all the radio frequencies to see if I can find any news." She said.
"Any luck?" Brandy asked as Cream just shakes her head, "I wish we knew where to look… Just a place to start." Thinking, gave her an idea, "Come with me," She said standing up.
"Where?"
"The Shrine, I have something I want to ask Tikal." She said,
"Okay," She said turning off the equipment as they head over to the shrine. They walk up to the Master Emerald and Tikal appears,
"Hello girls," She said with a smile, "It's quite late, what is it that you need?"
"When we first got here, I remember you telling us you knew where to find us because the Master Emerald is connected to the Chaos Emeralds. Is there any way you are able to do that to find Saya?" Brandy asks as Tikal frowns,
"Unfortunately, Sally came and asked me this question yesterday…" She said,
"She did?" Cream asked transforming back into Caroline,
"Yes and sadly I cannot sense Saya's Chaos Emerald."
"Maybe because Saya is in space?" Brandy said,
"Back on Mobius, it was not difficult for me to sense things. I was able to project myself on the Space Colony ARC where I was able to help Sonic transform into Super Sonic during his last encounter with Eggman.
"It's because the Master Emerald isn't whole isn't it?" Brandy asked as Tikal nods. "This is good though; we now have something to search for to help us get to Saya!"
"Find the missing Master Emerald pieces?" Caroline asked,
"Exactly! Thanks Tikal if you do sense Saya's Chaos Emerald let us know immediately."
"You'll be the first to know." Tikal said disappearing.
"Let's go tell the others." Brandy said as they go meet up with TK and Sophia and explain their suggestion.
"This is a really good idea Brandy, if we can strengthen the Master Emerald, we might be able to pinpoint the Zarkon Ship." TK said as she starts thinking to herself possible outcomes.
"I agree, great work Brandy. We'll run the idea by Elias in the morning, see what he thinks." Sophia said,
"For now we should try to get some sleep," Caroline said,
"Agreed, we'll talk in the morning." Brandy said as they all say their goodnights and head to bed with new determination to find their friend.
Caroline woke up that following morning with determination. She knew that with Saya gone it was just the four of them against Spira and the Zarkon. It was time for her to get back on the battlefield with her friends to help in any way she can. She quickly gets dressed and leaves her room seeing Brandy leave her room at the same time. "Morning," Brandy said,
"Good Morning," Caroline said with a smile,
"Want to head to the kitchen and make breakfast?" She asked,
"I'll meet you there, I need to go talk to Sally and Elias." Caroline said,
"What about?" Brandy asked looking concerned.
"There's only four of us now… We can't afford for me to sit on the sidelines." She said,
"Wait, you want to come back on the field?"
"That's the plan." Caroline said and Brandy gives her a thumbs up,
"Alright, if that's what you want. I'll meet you in the kitchen." Brandy said as they walk in opposite directions. Caroline heads to the Computer room and sees Elias staring as a monitor. He turns around to the sound of Caroline closing the door.
"Morning Caroline, what can I do for you?" He asked, she could tell he hasn't been sleeping well just like the rest of them.
"I wanted your approval to rejoin the team." She said,
"Are you sure? Do you feel confident enough to get back out there?" He asked,
"Yes, I know there is always room for improvement, but our priority is to save Saya as fast as possible." She said,
"Good answer, I approve of your request." He said with a smile, "Sophia told me this morning the idea to go searching for the missing pieces of the Master Emerald. I think it's a great idea, but do you all know where to look?"
"When Brandy is Blaze, she can feel the presence of the Master Emerald pieces. Unfortunately, we'll just have to look around to find them…"
"At this point, it's all we got. I already gave Sophia the greenlight to head out, so you are all clear to go whenever you want." Elias said,
"Thank you." Caroline said heading to the kitchen to meet up with Brandy. She finds her already making the batter for pancakes. "Going all out?"
"Oh hey! What did Elias say?" Brandy asked,
"He gave me the go ahead." Caroline said with a smile.
"Go ahead for what?" TK asked as she walks into the kitchen rubbing her eyes,
"To rejoin the team." Caroline said,
"Really? That's great." She said grabbing herself a cup of coffee as Sophia walks into the room overhearing the conversation.
"And we have the green light to go search for pieces of the Master Emerald." Sophia said,
"Cool! Then let's eat breakfast and get out there ASAP!" Brandy said placing the Pancakes on the table. They all begin to eat.
"Sophia, what do you think of splitting into two groups?" TK said,
"I don't like us splitting up, besides, last I checked Brandy was the only one who could sense the Master Emerald pieces." She said,
"I've been working on my Chaos Emerald locator and I wanted to try it out."
"But you don't know if it works or not." She said,
"Yeah, that's why I need to test it." TK said,
"Then make sure you bring it with us. If it works, we can split into groups of 2 after that." Sophia said as she finishes eating. "We'll meet in the hangar bay in 20 minutes." She said leaving.
"She's ready to go." Brandy said,
"Though we'd cover more ground if we split up." TK said,
"She wants us to be safe, give it some time." Caroline said as they all head to the hangar bay where Shadow and Sally were waiting for them.
"Hey Sally," Brandy said,
"Hello, Elias was in a meeting, so he wanted me to give you a message, You all can only be out in your other forms, if any of you are close to transforming return back to HQ immediately, that is an order." She said,
"That's going to limit our time if we need to come back here every time we need to recharge." TK said,
"It's to make sure to keep our identities a secret." Shadow said,
"Exactly, now please, stay safe." Sally said as they all transform. Cream gets into the second seat and holds the Chaos Emeralds tracker tablet while Blaze and Shadow stood on the wings. They fly off heading in the direction they found the three other Master Emerald shards.
"Sense anything yet?" Shadow asks Blaze, she just shakes her head as they continue to fly around. Past the mountains and over the islands near Angel Island, they found nothing.
3 hours pass by and they get no sign of a Master Emerald piece. Tails turns the Twin Tornado around and heads back to Freedom HQ. "This is going to take longer than we expected…" Tails said,
"At least we're not stuck at Freedom HQ doing nothing," Blaze said,
"Agreed, I can't stand waiting around." Shadow said,
"I feel the same." Cream added. They all get to base to see Sally waiting for them.
"How'd it go?" She asked,
"Didn't find anything," Shadow said as their transformations end, "Being so limited to time is going to make this take longer."
"But we need Blaze to find the Master Emerald pieces so we're just going to have to live with it until TK's Emerald detector is working." Brandy said,
"I'm going to go to the Shrine room and try recalibrating it again." TK said as Caroline hands her the tablet and quickly walking away.
"She seems determined," Sally said,
"We all are." Sophia said,
"I'll go make us some lunch!" Caroline said walking away,
"I'll join you," Brandy said,
"What will you do Sophia?" Sally asked,
"Check in with Elias," She said walking over to the computer room. Elias was talking to people giving orders as usual, she could also see that he looked tired.
"You're back. How'd it go?" He asked,
"Nothing yet." She said,
"It'd be too easy if we found the Emerald pieces that quickly." He said with a sigh.
"TK is trying to get her Emerald locator to work and hopefully this will go faster." She said, "Are you doing alright?
"I'll be fine, let me know before you all head out again." He said looking back at his paperwork.
"Will do." Sophia said walking away. She walks down the corridor and sees Brandy.
"Hey! Will you go tell TK that foods ready?" she asked,
"Sure," She nods and heads to the Alter room. She walks up to the Master Emerald; she stares at it for a moment. As Shadow, she can induce chaos, but she knew that she could never understand Chaos on the level that Blaze, or Sonic could.
"Sophia?" TK called out as she comes back to her senses. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just wish we could help more." She said, "How's it going?"
"I think this will work!" TK said confidently,
"Good because it's time for lunch." She said as TK grabs the tablet, and they head to the kitchen. They all sit down to eat in silence until they start cleaning up. "I'm worried about Elias," Sophia said,
"Why?" Brandy asked,
"I think he's pushing himself; he looks exhausted."
"I noticed it too." Caroline said,
"Should we tell Sally?" TK asked,
"No, I think we should just talk to him." Sophia said, "He did want us to tell him when we were leaving." They all nod and head back to the computer room but Elias wasn't there. They see Sally taking command.
"Hello girls, are you heading out again?" She asked,
"Yeah… Where's Elias?" Sophia asked,
"He's in the infirmary… He passed out not too long ago."
"Is he okay?" Caroline asked,
"Yes, Dr. Q is forcing him to take the rest of the day off. He's just pushing himself too much…" She said with a sigh.
"We'll go say hi to him when we get back." Brandy said,
"I'm sure he'll like that. Good luck!" She said as they all transform and head back out.
They repeat what they did in the morning but have no luck once again. They fly back to Freedom HQ with nothing.
"Man! I wish Knuckles were here…" Tails said as they transform back,
"Why Knuckles?" Sophia asked,
"He's the guardian of the Master Emerald, he has a deeper connection with it than both Blaze and Sonic." Tk explained.
"That connection would be very helpful right now." Brandy said,
"I know my Emerald detector works… see?" She holds out the tablet for them all to see and they see four dots on the screen, "Those are us."
"We'll find the lost pieces! I know it!" Caroline said,
"Let's go check on Elias for now, we can continue our search in the morning." Sophia said as they head over to the Infirmary to check up on Elias, they see him sitting on one of the cots talking to Dr. Q.
"Don't tell me one of you got injured." She said as she walks up looking all of them over.
"No, we came to see how Elias was doing." Caroline said,
"That's very sweet of you girls, but I'm fine, really." He said with a weak smile,
"You're fine when I say you're fine!" Dr. Q said, "Honestly! Sometimes I forget how reckless you can be! You and Saya are more alike than you care to admit."
"She does have a knack for rubbing off on people." TK said with a chuckle,
"He was like that before too." Dr. Q said rolling her eyes,
"You don't have to give them my life story," He said standing up looking annoyed, "I was a little careless that's all,"
"You haven't been sleeping, and when was the last time you had a proper meal?" She argues walking over to him, "Don't make me force you to take medical leave."
"You wouldn't dare!" he said as her eyes narrowed,
"Try me!" She points at the bed; Elias lets out a sigh and sits back down. "Good! You girls go have dinner and let Elias rest; he should be good as new tomorrow."
"Okay…" Sophia said as they all slowly walk out of the infirmary and close the door behind them.
"That was really weird…" Brandy said,
"Agreed," TK said,
"Let's go…" Caroline said as they head to the kitchen for dinner.
Back up on the Zarkon ship, Saya and Spira were having tea again. Saya believes she can turn Spira to her side, and she's been good at not giving away any real information about her friends or Freedom HQ. But she was also worried about this mystery partner. "So… Will I be meeting this guy here on the ship or are we going back to Earth?" she asked,
"We will meet him at his secret base down on earth. We will leave on a small ship down to him." She explained taking a sip of her tea.
"Let me guess, I'll be knocked out for that trip." Saya said sarcastically,
"Just blindfolded so you won't know your location," She said,
"That's better than getting hit in the head again…" Saya knew now would be a good time for her to try to reason with Spira, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Ask away, you have been very forthcoming with my questions… to an extent." She said,
"Why are you trying to conquer Earth?" Saya asked, Spira puts her cup down hesitant to answer.
"The Zarkon have been conquerors of worlds since before I was born. We were raised for battle." She said,
"But why? Don't you have a world of your own?" She asked as Spira just shakes her head.
"The Zarkon home world was destroyed hundreds of years ago. We conquer worlds to find a place of our own. At least that's how it started." She explained,
"If you just want to find a home then why not take a planet that isn't already inhabited? Like Mars for example… There's no one living there… I think."
"Like you humans, we need the resources, water and sustainable life. Your world has the minerals we need for enough fuel to get to the next solar system." She said,
"Wait, the main thing you need is minerals to fuel your ship?" Saya asks as Spira nods. "And the kind approach never occurred to you?" Spira looks at Saya confused, "Right, conquerors… a diplomatic approach doesn't make sense to you."
"You mean negotiate?" She asked,
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure asking for materials in exchange for something would be a lot easier." Saya said,
"I… never thought of it that way." She began to think, Saya knew this was her chance to get into her head, maybe even convince her to a truce.
"Why not?" Saya said, "You don't need this partner. I could negotiate for you. I could explain what you need and with the help of my friends we can get our world leaders to talk it out. They might agree to a trade of minerals for a look at your technology." Saya smiles softly, trying not to come on too strong.
"I…" Spira quickly stand up, "I need some time to think…" Spira said as she leaves. Saya instantly begins to regret her decision to try to convince her. She begins to pace around the room wondering if this will change things or if she was able to get through to her.