Chapter Eight
People actually read my little story! That makes me so happy!
Josh: Tell the people who reviewed thank you!
Thank you!
Josh: Good. Now what took you so long?
What do you mean?
Josh: You didn't post anything for, like, three or four days!
I had work, and I won't post this on weekends. Weekends are me time.
Josh: ...Okay, fair enough.
The plane touched down on Angel Island with a thud. I climbed out of the cockpit, helped Amy down, then stared at the top of a large temple. A large, green glowing stone rested at the top, and a relatively smaller figure lay on the steps in front of it. I saw the red echidna stand up and make his way down the stairs. Amy, Tails and I made our way up. We met about halfway. Knuckles crossed his arms when he saw who his visitors were. He was shorter than me, but only by about and inch.
"What do you guys want?" Knuckles asked, sounding a little annoyed.
"Well that's a great way to treat a friend!" Amy angrily replied.
"Who said you were my friend?" Knuckles yelled back. The two immediately started fighting as they so often did. Tails stood on the sidelines, watching helplessly. I, on the other hand, stared up at the Master Emerald. It occurred to me that I didn't thank it for helping me and Jacob escape Eggman yesterday. I checked to make sure Knuckles was still fighting, then made my way up the stairs.
The Master Emerald was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It was at least 8 feet tall, and about the same wide. I slowly made my way up to the Emerald, and put my hand on it.
"Thank you." I bowed my head. "I don't know if I would still be alive if it weren't for you. Thank you so much." Suddenly, a power seemed to surge through my hand and travel up my body to my eyes. My vision clouded over. When it cleared, I saw my little brother... but from above, as if I were flying. Was it a vision? It had to be. Unless I'd learned to fly within the past five seconds. He was unconscious. And he looked beat up. ...Just like the way he was when he used Chaos Control. Was this a vision of the past? I saw a figure walking towards him out of the corner of my eye. Blaze. The purple feline knelt down next to my little brother and checked his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief, probably because she found the heartbeat she was looking for. She picked him up and carried him away. The scene blurred and changed to show Jacob lying in a bed with Blaze sitting on a stool next to it. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Jacob was crying. Blaze seemed to be holding back some tears as well, and was squeezing his hand. She leaned forward and hugged him. I realized that she was taller than him, because she was able to put her head on top of his. She gently stroked the back of his head, as if to calm him down. I was near tears myself as the scene changed again. He and Blaze were walking down a street, when a hooded figure beckoned them towards him. The two tried to wave him off, until something he said got there attention. The hood suddenly had two bright yellow eyes shining from the darkness. This lasted for a while as the two sat in shock. When his eyes dimmed, he handed Jacob a small necklace, with a blue diamond hanging from it. Jacob looked hopeful, and Blaze smiled and beckoned him to follow her. The vision changed once more to show Blaze and Jacob catching up to Silver. Blaze started talking to Silver, as Jacob started to wander around. Jacob looked in my direction and stopped, as if he saw me. But before I could react, I felt myself being yanked away from the vision.
"What are you doing?" Knuckles yelled angrily. I was literally yanked away apparently, as he had a hold on my shirt collar.
"I-I'm sorry, I just came up here to say thank you an-"
"Let him go Knuckles, he's with us!" Amy said angrily. "Besides, what would he do with the Master Emerald? He can't exactly walk off with it!" Knuckles glared at Amy for a bit before shoving me away. He crossed his arms and glared at her. I rubbed my neck and looked at the ground.
"...Sorry. I should have asked for your permission. I know how seriously you take your job." I said. Knuckles looked surprised and turned to me. His face softened, and he let his arms drop to his side.
"Why were you touching the Master Emerald?" He asked, this time using a much kinder tone.
"It saved me and my brother. We were kidnapped by Eggman..."
I told him about what happened to me and my brother, once again bringing myself to the verge of tears.
"And then Eggman dropped you out of a tower." Knuckles finished.
"Yeah, how'd you know? Did you catch me?" I asked. Knuckles shook his head no.
"I was there when you were dropped. You were too far away for me to catch you in time though." Knuckles answered.
"But you know who saved me? Will you tell me?" I asked excitedly.
"Uh, no, he won't!" Amy said, planting her hands on her hips. "Nice try though."
"Why can't I tell him?" Knuckles asked Amy, seeming a little angry.
"We want him to try and figure it out for himself." Amy answered back. "He'll find out soon enough, don't you think?"
Knuckles thought about this for a moment before nodding his head.
"It's still pretty mean." He added.
"That's what I keep telling them!" I exclaimed.
Amy and Tails snickered, and a small smile crept onto Knuckles' face.
"So, getting back to the topic, you were touching the Master Emerald so you could thank it?" Knuckles asked, covering his mouth so as to not let his smile show.
"Yeah... then something weird happened." I said, thinking back.
"Weird?" Knuckles questioned, tilting his head a bit.
"I had a vision or something. I saw Jacob." I smiled. He was safe. He was in good hands.
Knuckles stood in thought for a moment. His face suddenly turned into one of shock.
"What is THAT?" He yelled, pointing to my hand. I looked down to see that my right hand was glowing! Everyone backed away as if I were contagious. I held my hand away from my body, staring at it in horror. To my relief, the glow quickly faded, leaving behind it a gift. On my index finger, a small, clear ring now rested.
"A gift from the Master Emerald." Knuckles said in awe.
"A ring?" I asked, looking at Knuckles. "Why did it give me a ring?" Knuckles shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess you'll have to find out." Knuckles said. I admired the ring for a moment more before remembering the reason we were here in the first place.
"Oh, Knuckles, do you know where the Chaos Emeralds are now?" I asked.
"No. Sorry." He gave me a sad smile. "But if there's any way I can help, let me know."
"Thank you." I nodded and smiled.
Later
"Well that was helpful." Amy said sarcastically as she stared out the window of the plane.
"I'm just glad to learn that Jacob's safe." I replied, admiring my new accessory. "Hey, look, this thing changes color in the light!" I said. I slowly swung my wrist from side to side, as the ring went from red, to green, then to yellow. "That's kinda cool!" I held up my hand to the light to admire the ring better.
"Hey Tails, are you hungry? I was thinking it was about time to head to dinner." Amy asked.
"Nah, I'm good. I'll drop you off at Station Central again. Call me when you get done!"
"Where's Station Central?" I asked.
"It's where we got your clothes." Amy told me.
Oh. So it's not Downtown Mobius. Good to know.
"Amy, please, you don't need to buy me dinner." I said. "You've already bought me enough! You've spent too much money on me!"
"Josh, I don't mind! Honest!" Amy said, smiling at me. "It's sweet of you to say that though!"
"Amy, you're making me feel bad. How does one make money around here?" I demanded.
"It's fine Josh!"
"Tell me!" I said, pointing at her. "I won't stop pestering you about it until you do."
"...I won't win this one, will I?"
"Nope."
Amy sighed, then smiled.
"Take us down Tails."
…...
Me and Amy were in the wooded area close to the base. She had given me a pair of contacts. After some minor discomfort, I got used to them.
"These will let you see the Rings." Amy explained.
"Excuse me? I can see my ring without these!" I said, obviously confused.
"No, not that kind of ring. That kind." She said, pointing to a golden Ring.
"Oh, I see. Wait, so these Rings are really scattered throughout the land? That wasn't just some sort of health gimmick Sega came up with?"
"Nope!" Amy went over to the ring. Upon making contact, it disappeared.
"Cool!" I started going over to rings in the surrounding area. "So, this is how you make money? I don't see how this works... How has the economy not collapsed here?" I asked. Amy shrugged. I decided not to think too hard about it. "So, you guys just walk around and collect them?"
"Yep. It's nice, I can go out for my morning run, and I get paid for doing it!" She went over to me. "You be careful now, okay? Don't stay out too long." I nodded. She smiled, then headed back to base.
I headed off, following a trail of rings that led deeper into the forest.
…...
The landscape was beautiful. Better than anything we ever had on Earth! The trees were impossibly green! The flowers were beautiful! The animals were even friendly! (I always found that weird. I mean, you have all of these walking, talking animals, and yet the woods still had normal animals as well.) I kept following the rings towards a small clearing. I sat down on a rock in the middle, and closed my eyes. The forest was so peaceful. I heard birds chirp. I heard the wind blow. I heard the forest critters doing... whatever forest critters do. I felt something brush past my leg. I opened my eyes. Nothing there.
"Must have run off." I said aloud.
"You wish." A deep voice said from behind. I nearly fell off of the rock! Behind me was the biggest, purple, robotic snake I had ever seen! (Well, the only one I had ever seen.) I stared in horror for a few seconds, then started to turn and run off. The snake slithered and stopped in front of me.
"What, leaving so soon?" It asked. An evil smile spread across it's face. "You must stay for dinner." It said, as it quickly wrapped its tail around me. It started squeezing. Hard. I struggled against the tightening coils.
"Come on, let me go!" I cried, trying to break free.
"Hmm, let me think... NO!" It squeezed me tighter. A surge of pain shot through my body. I screamed out, while the snake simply laughed.
"S-Someone help me!" I cried out to the forest.
"No one can hear you! We're in the middle of the forest you twit!" The snake cackled.
"Are you sure about that?"
Something suddenly shot through the robot, causing it to blow up, and send me sky high.
Very sky high.
I gave out a scream. My second time falling that week. Had to be some kind of record. The familiar sensation of impending doom returned, as the ground came faster and faster. I shut my eyes. It felt like everything was on replay. I could even feel the pair of arms catching me. ...Wait, what?
Someone was catching me! I remembered what happened as I fell off of Eggman Tower. The arms were the same! The person who saved me! Saving me again! What are the odds.
I was put down.
"Don't say anything!" I said, keeping my back to my savior. "I want to see if I can guess who you are." I was answered with silence. "...Sonic?" I turned around.
"Good to see you're okay!" He answered, smiling.
End of Chapter Eight
Tada! Longer chapter, just for you guys!
Josh: See, was that so bad?
Yes.
Josh: …
Don't forget to R&R guys! ...Hmm... I'm need to change the summary to something more exciting...
