Chapter 15
The Race for the Color Emeralds
"First stop, Europe!" said Tails. Amy, Pink, Cosmic, and Apple, this is your stop!" Tails yelled to them.
"Alright, where are we landing?" asked Amy.
"Italy."
"What?! Not the city of love?!" cried Pink. She crossed her arms angrily at Tails.
"Look on the bright side! We'll get to experience the place where pizza was made! We all like pizza don't we?" asked Cosmic to Amy and Pink. They both nodded brightening up a little.
"Okay! Let's go!" said Apple as they landed.
Amy, Cosmic, Apple, and Pink left the ship. Amy looked around and breathed in deeply. She then slowly released it as she let the new air sink in.
"We're here! Let's go to a pizzeria or something! I'm starving!" exclaimed Apple as the Blue Typhoon flew away. Everyone agreed.
"I love pizza! After the pizza, we'll go see the Leaning Tower or something!" Pink said excitedly.
With Shadow, Rouge, and Jack.
"Why are we supposed to be going to Antarctica? It's too cold there! I hate treasure hunting in the cold!" cried Rouge.
"Think of it this way! You three are going to a cool continent. That means that you selected people are just as cool as it is!" Tails chirped in reply.
"You are always there with an answer that will get you out of trouble," Rouge replied.
They landed and Shadow immediately picked up a force from the color emerald. It was weak, but still fairly close by. Rouge and Jack shivered as they started walking.
"Rouge, where did we pick this guy up from?" asked Shadow when he looked back at Jack. Jack was no longer his normal color. He was white from cold. Rouge shook her head.
"Even Zaira was better!" Rouge exclaimed.
Aw… I am loved after all…
Zaira was hovering a little ways away. She could have swore she saw Shadow's ear twitch as if he had heard something. He continued walking. He knew that there was a color emerald close by. The three of them ran in the direction of the emerald.
Tails dropped off everyone else and got back to Sonic. Sonic, Knuckles, and Kaira already had a plan all worked out. Tails learned of the plan and agreed to it.
"Hey Tails! Good to see you! Alright, you said that Zaira could potentially attract all of the color emeralds to her if she has enough power?" asked Sonic.
"Precisely. She can only do it though if she has the right amount of power and the right conditions. However, after her little meeting with Shadow and stealing the color emeralds, she can't possibly have enough power to draw them all to her. This is the time to act. She probably gave the color emeralds to Blue Sycamore. I now know where the base is now thanks to Sonic getting kidnapped. We just have to sneak in and get them," Kaira explained to everyone. They each nodded.
"Then we just have to stop her before she gets enough power to attract all of the color emeralds! When'll we go?" asked Tails.
"Okay, even Drayans need rest. She will have to rest up to get power. Drayans aren't nocturnal, so she should be taking a nap tonight. That is when we will attack!" Kaira said.
"Okay! Wait, what about you?" asked Knuckles.
"Are you kidding?! I've been recovering for days from a curse that can only weaken a Drayan. I'm pumped!" she replied.
Sonic was glad to know that at least she was energized. He wasn't so keen on returning back to the base. That could result in having another fight with Blue Sycamore. Black Maple was nothing. Dark Oak wasn't at all scary. Blue Sycamore was crafty and smart. If Zaira was his leader, she must be even more crafty and smart.
"Alright, Tails we may need some help with getting technology for our mission, so I'll stay and tell you what I need. Knuckles and Sonic, you guys should rest up. No point in wasting your energy. You need every last bit of energy. Meet back here at nine tonight. Got it?" asked Kaira. They nodded and left for the Blue Typhoon.
Rouge and Jack were still following Shadow to try to find the color emerald. He could feel it for sure. The directions for where it was were clear to Shadow. Cold temperatures could never stop him. He raced forward a few more feet. Then he looked around.
"What is it?" asked Rouge curiously.
"T-t-the color e-e-emeralds-s-s?" Jack chattered.
"It should be right beneath our feet," Shadow replied. He began spinning into a spin attack. He spun into the ground. Down, down, down, down… Finally, he stopped and hopped back out with the gem in his hand. It wasn't quite what anyone expected.
"It's gray? Why is it gray? It looks… dead!" Rouge exclaimed. She had never seen a gray jewel before.
"This is it. The power coming from it is powerful. There is no doubt in my mind that this is it," Shadow stated.
"H-h-how are y-you n-not cold?!" cried Jack.
"Put a sock in it! Who do you think it's for?" asked Rouge.
Zaira was observing in the distance. The color emerald Shadow found really did look dead. Shadow was looking deep within it. Zaira thought she could detect a hint of surprise from his mind. She tried to read it the best she could.
This gem… It does have a color. It's just like her eyes on the inside. Could this be-? No. It just can't be! Is she the chosen?!
As much as Zaira wanted to believe it, she didn't think that it was right. She was the villain! She was the one who was going to destroy the world to get revenge for what the world did to her. All she ever got was rejection. Only the metaltrons would accept her, but even they seemed to hate her. No she was gone. Nobody liked her. Rouge didn't understand the whole story, she couldn't give them the full story, and only Shadow had a slight idea. He could detect even the slightest changes in the universe. What if he actually knew everything about what was happening. No. His thoughts don't match up. Maybe he was just really smart.
"Shadow…?" asked Shadow.
"This is unlike any gem I've ever seen. Not like a chaos emerald. It's related to the gem that's as black as a storm, but clear as ice. Only this, is the lost heart that is going to be found. The gray that wasn't really gray. The dead that wasn't forever dead you could say… This is something that belongs to someone who's powers are starting to overcome. I've heard the legend. The color emerald seemed to tell me. Although, my question is… Who is the hero of wind and spirit? Everyone would think it would be Sonic, but why? Isn't there more than one hedgehog that could compete for that spot?" asked Shadow.
"Why are we saying stuff like this that has nothing to do with anything?" asked Rouge.
"Who said it wasn't related to the topic?" asked Shadow.
"What?" asked Rouge.
"...Nevermind. You'll find out all in good time. Now,we need to find our way back to Sonic," Shadow replied dropping the subject.
Shadow's words confused Zaira. Wasn't Sonic the hero of spirit and wind? There's also Runner, but he's only a pipsqueak! Could he have been referring to himself? Shadow was the hero and spirit of wind? Who said that couldn't be so. Zaira thought longer and harder.
If Sonic were to go against me, he'd be squished like a bug. Who would be my weakness?
Suddenly, she got why Shadow was thinking it. The only hedgehog she would never be able to defeat would be Shadow. She likes him too much to finish him off herself. Although, he knows that Vivilock is not me. We're going to have the final confrontation be against the wrong person! There also wouldn't be one if she were still in control of her own body through… Zaira sighed in her mind and glided after Shadow.
That night, Sonic, Kaira, Tails, and Knuckles were outside the well hidden base. Sonic opened a way in through an air vent. The four crawled inside.
"How many color emeralds do we need?" asked Tails.
"Two. I think that one is dark blue and the other is red. Scarlet red to be specific," Kaira replied to Tails' question.
"Okay. I built these to get past the laser lights. Also, the cameras won't detect us. The only way we won't be getting through is if we run into a guard. It doesn't look ridiculous. It's a bracelet. Highly advanced technology we're using here. Be careful!" Tails warned everyone. Sonic gave him a thumbs up.
"Knuckles you will distract them by going that way, the way we're not going. Sonic will go down the other way first to clear out the guards. Then, me and Tails will come in. With our intelligence, we should be able to shut down the metarex temporarily. It should give us enough time to escape. Knuckles, my only rule for you is don't die. Tails, you will follow me the entire way. I think I've located where the color emeralds are. Everybody understand?" asked Kaira. When everybody nodded, Kaira smirked.
"Phase one will now commence!" commanded Kaira to Knuckles. He nodded to her and jumped out of the air vent. Instantly, he ran into a couple of metarex only in sky blue armor to show that they worked for blue sycamore. Their eyes were royal blue.
"Look at this. We have a visitor. What is your purpose for being here?" they asked Knuckles. Two other metarex appeared behind Knuckles. They had him surrounded.
"I'm looking for the color emeralds! There is no way that you're going to stop me!" yelled Knuckles darting between the metarex before they could react.
"After him! Don't let that red echidna get away! He's after the color emeralds!" yelled the metarex over a speaker that rang all throughout the base. Metarex came flocking after him.
"They don't know that I'm going the wrong way," Knuckles mumbled to himself. He laughed at them. They were so slow!
Kaira, Sonic, and Tails waited for a second. The hallway was clear. Kaira nodded to Sonic. Sonic nodded back at her. He hopped out of the air vent.
"Time to go trash some metarex!" Sonic chirped. He raced down the hallway in the opposite direction Knuckles went. A few metarex were guarding down that way. Sonic had to grin.
"Hey guys! Down here! You may be blue now, but you're not the blue blur!" Sonic taunted. The sky blue metarex charged after him. Sonic hopped around. He was never in the same spot for more than a second. When he had gotten behind the hopeless metarex, he spun into them. Their parts flew everywhere. Sonic gave Tails and Kaira a thumbs up. They nodded back and hopped out of the air vent. The two of them raced after Sonic.
"Sonic! Through that door should be the color emeralds. Can you take out gold armored metarex?" asked Kaira.
"No sweat! I'm going to beat that thing with my eyes closed!" Sonic replied. He spun into a spin attack and ramped into the metarex. He bounced right off.
"Or not…," Sonic sighed. He stood up and ran around in small circles around the metarex. The robot began to get a headache, so it tried to land a blow on Sonic, but it only got Sonic's blue tail of light. Sonic stood right next to it.
"Oh…, just missed me!" Sonic chirped with a hop, skip, and a jump away. The other metarex followed him.
Kaira took this chance to break into the room with Tails. It was completely dark. There were two color emeralds being stored in capsules full of water. The water probably preserved or stored the power of the color emeralds. Between the two emeralds was the Drayan whom was Kaira's worst enemy. Zaira was asleep in mid air somehow. She didn't awake.
"What's she doing?" asked Tails.
"She's trying to store up enough power to summon the rest of the color emeralds to her. She can't do that without at least one however…," Kaira whispered. She made her way to one of the emeralds. Due to not stepping carefully, she set off an alarm in the base. It rang loudly. Zaira's eyes opened. This time, they were red rather than neon green.
"What are you doing here? You don't deserve these emeralds!" Zaira snapped.
"I can't say you deserve them either! You want to destroy the universe because you lived such a pathetic life!" Kaira snapped back.
"Oh, it's much more than that now. You wouldn't understand. If you want these emeralds, you'll have to fight me for them," Zaira told her. She glided to the floor.
"Bring it."
The two Drayans raced towards each other and Zaira shoved Kaira two the ground. She gave her wings a hard tug. Kaira hissed and forced herself back to her feet. She landed a punch on the side of Zaira's face and they took to the air. They grabbed at each other and pulled each other's hair. Tails looked on fearfully from the floor. Kaira struggled to keep in the air, but Zaira looked as if she was hardly trying. She circle threw Kaira across the room, against a wall, and she flopped onto the floor. Zaira glided back to the floor with ease. She didn't catch Tails trying to sneak around the room to the controls.
"Is this really all you've got?! Hah! You're not even good enough to be my fake!" Zaira laughed.
"I can only try to stop you, but you were always clever and better at fighting, but I still won't back down. Not for all of eternity! I will fight!" Kaira shouted.
"You say these things, but you are still weak! You'll never be able to compare to my power!" Zaira shot back.
"Well, I might one day. I'm better at seeing things you can't," Kaira replied with a smirk.
"What?"
"It's just that Tails has deactivated everything in the base and is now hacking into the capsules to get the color emeralds," Kaira said.
Tails grabbed the two emeralds and bolted for the door. It was wide opened. He had deactivated all of the metarex in the base (other than Blue Sycamore) and took down the security system. Zaira grabbed Tails with her power.
"Do you really think that I'd let you get away?! This is going to be my victory. Speaking of victory… Ugh! The final battle… Fine. I'll just leave you with a warning. The final battle is close at hand. According to the legend, there is no changing you getting the color emeralds, but I can still win against you! Goodbye, until then!" yelled Zaira sending Kaira, Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic back to where they were when they started planning to get the color emeralds.
"What happened?" asked Sonic.
"I think we were teleported out of the base by Zaira. Now, I'm not sure what to think…," Kaira sighed.
"How long has it been?" asked Sonic.
"About thirty minutes. The sun is rising. Day two is over. How long will it take to pick everyone up?" asked Kaira.
"About a day," Tails answered.
"That should be enough time, but how long will it take to find them is the question," Knuckles replied.
"With the help of my scanner, two days," Tails answered.
"If they don't have the emeralds?" asked Sonic.
"About five days more."
"And the time it will take to send us back?" asked Kaira.
"To make the reaction will take a day," Tails answered.
"That is our time limit. If we don't get back with two days left to spare, we, more than likely, will tear apart the very fabric of the universe. That's because there are two Drayans in this world, so things may get a little bad. You may encounter space-time rifts. Don't fall into the tears! If you do, nobody will remember you existed and you will never again have any hope of escaping unless if somebody pulls you out through another rift. Understood?" asked Kaira. The only person who understood what she said was Tails.
"Oh whatever. We just need to get everyone through a portal back to our world! Let's go!" Tails yelled hopping into the X-Tornado. Sonic and Knuckles got that at least. They jumped onto it and Tails launched the ship. They were off on their mission in minutes.
Back in Antarctica.
Shadow, Zaira, and Jack had found a small cave to take shelter in. They were able to light a small fire and huddled around that. Shadow sat more isolated from them and began to think to himself.
Why does the emerald look dead. Does it really belong to Zaira? That would explain a lot of things about it.
The dead that came back to life…
Zaira thought about what Shadow had said and thought about that. She understood it all perfectly. She had tried to communicate to Shadow somehow. He had read her mind about three times now. Did they have some sort of connection?
Rouge stabbed at the fire with a stick. It crackled and popped when she did. Jack was returning to his normal color at long last. Shadow rolled his eyes. Why Tails assigned him to go with them was a mystery. He went back to thinking.
"Shadow, when will you finally talk to us? You haven't said anything I understand all day! Say something!" Rouge said.
"I wouldn't mind a friendly conversation myself…," Jack said.
Shadow looked at them for a minute and away. He knew far more than they did. He couldn't talk to Rouge with Jack sitting there hearing everything he would say. Maybe that's why Tails sent him with them. To act as a spy.
"Well, even if you don't tell us anything, we're still stuck here until Tails gets us which will probably be a while…," Rouge replied.
"I'm not sure of how much more I can take of all of this silence! I don't even want to be here!" Jack whimpered.
"Quit being such a cry baby!" Rouge sighed.
"I'm not!" Jack objected. Rouge only rolled her eyes in reply to him.
"Quit your fighting… I don't want to get physically involved with anything at the moment. If you start anything, you will regret it," Shadow told them with a stern glare.
"Well, at least he said something."
The three of them sat in silence. Shadow closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn't sure why, but he felt he had to. It felt like he was connecting with everything.
Shadow! Shadow!
"What in the-?!" Shadow hopped to his feet. Did someone just speak to him? Who was it? Rouge and Jack looked up at Shadow curiously.
"What's wrong?" asked Rouge.
"It's this voice… In my head… I think I've been hearing it everywhere… Or am I going mad?" Shadow asked still staring off into space.
Zaira looked at him alarmed. He could hear her mind! But how? Were they somehow connected? The two people in the universe who don't get along, but still could occasionally read each other's thoughts. How weird is that.
He can hear me!
"A voice?" asked Rouge.
"It's always speaking to me and… I can't…," Shadow's voice faded. He collapsed onto the ground.
"Shadow?! Wha-?! Shadow!" Rouge yelled.
Shadow?
"Jack get him nearer to the fire! I have no idea what's going on, but I intend to find out," Rouge exclaimed.
I didn't do anything, but why do I feel that I'm connected to everything now?
Everything that happened in that cave was unclear. Nobody knew what was happening. Zaira could only guess what was happening. The world was shifting. Shadow could feel it. Two Drayans in one world takes a lot of power. It was amazing that the Earth was still holding on. The world was either going to end, or the final confrontation was going to happen.