Chapter 4

The cursed jewel

When the three heroes arrived home, they were greeted with a warm welcome (And a scolding for Sonic from Amy from leaving without telling her.) Amy and Cream had observed the entire thing on T.V, but of course, to the disappointment of news stations, Sonic did not hang around for interviews. You can never really get him to stay in one place, can you? Besides, he was quite eager to dry off from all the water the robbers blasted on him.

To the disappointment of his friends, Tails did not linger long after their welcome back, rather he went to the lab with his crystal, his grief finally catching up to him again. There were no tears left to fall from his face, but there were still many elegies for his heart to sing.

Tails had been preoccupied with an invention for a month now, but he couldn't get anything done, not since… what need not be mentioned again. Yet what tore him away from his work was the diamond. He had set it out on his desk, next to Cosmo's seed, or should I say, rose? (In fact, it was in the folly of setting the diamond there that brought the painful grief back.)

There was something odd about it. For a moment, he thought he saw a dark red color on the inside, but when he looked at it again, it was a plain white crystal. Then it came again. It hadn't done anything on their journey home, but he hadn't aid attention to it much either.

All of a sudden, he felt rather fatigued. He then remembered he hadn't got any sleep the previous night, but then, when did he ever? He took one last look at a diamond before he got into bed and turned off his light. Wasn't it the legendary soul diamond? Legendary in the danger it had brought, Soul… for the color, and diamond for the type of jewel. Then he let fatigue take him, and he fell asleep.

He found himself in a room that was not his own. It was a dimly lit chamber, and in it was a few lights, and the only other person in it was a groundhog. He looked at Tails as if he had just woken up. "Eh? What's this?" He inquired. "You aren't Charles, that foolish stubborn shopkeeper." He took a long look at Tails. "It seems there is more to you than meets the eye."

"Who are you?" Tails asked him, curiously.

"I am simply a Groundhog. If you ever find out my name, and call me by it, by my old bones you'll regret it." He sure sounded like he meant it, so Tails took that threat in mind. "I am the, well, guardian, I suppose, of this cursed soul diamond. Do you know why so many people try to posses it? There are several reasons, and I shall tell you them now. The purpose of this gem was to be a gift to a king many years ago, so he could bring back his wife from death's clutches. Of course, it required half of her soul to still be on the plane of the living, and fortunately, half of it was."

"Wait, this diamond can bring back the dead?" Tails asked excitedly. The Groundhog looked at him as if he had gone insane.

"No, not unless they are half alive! That would mean that part of their soul is stuck somewhere, whether as a ghost, a lamp, a jar, a dragon's stomach, heh, that was an interesting one." Before Tails could ask another question, the groundhog continued, and he held his tongue, for now. "However, about a century later, the diamond landed in dark hands, and they used its power for evil. I suppose you could say it is the equivalent of your modern seven chaos emeralds, if you doubled that power, I might add. Because of that evil use, the diamond forever has a dark taint on it, and I need you to destroy it forever!"

"You said you could bring people back to life if their half-alive, right?" Tails inquired of him eagerly. If Tails theory was right… but if it was wrong, he had gotten his hopes up too high.

The groundhog wasn't on the same page he was, however. "What do you mean? You haven't…. yes… I understand now. His face was solemn now. Kid, I hate to brake it to you, but unless you have a piece of their soul, you can't bring anyone back."

"That's what I'm trying to say." Tails replied excitedly. "I think the seed that I've grown contains part of... someone's soul, and I wish to bring it back."

"A flower? Then that would mean it is one of those anthropomorphic plants, eh?" He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes, I can feel the being's essence, but you'll have to find the other half. And that means you'll have to journey into the celestial world of souls. A beautiful place, if you have your entire soul, anyway. Those with half feel as if they are being continually sliced, which is why it was created long ago, to save those people. But it must be destroyed, it is too dangerous to make that journey, not with the dark taint on the crystal."

Tails was angry now. "If it brings good, why destroy it? I have to see her once more, I have to!"

The Groundhog sighed. "Foolish lovesick fox! Do you not realize the world is at stake if the wrong hands get their hands on it? If you accidentally draw on its power, your soul will be tainted by evil, and that is hard to remove. And even if you use it correctly, do you no think that you shall not be followed, that someone will not try to thwart you. Do you not think of a possible failure?!"

"Then let me die on the journey, tell me how so I can be with her again!" Tails said fiercely. If he was denied this, then there would be no flame for him to continue his previous good life anyway.

"The way love drives people's hearts, I'm surprised we all don't go mad from listening to how their heart beats." The groundhog sighed again. "Find the Violet forest. It is there that you'll find the three enchanted stones that surround a pedestal. Place the diamond on the pedestal, and a warp gate will open to the celestial world. You can only enter alone along with the item that the soul is in, but realize that if the diamond is moved from its spot, the gate closes, and you are stuck there until it opens, if ever…" The groundhog was silent for a while. "But immediately after you find your dear whoever, you must destroy the diamond."

"But the only thing that can do that is… of course, that makes sense!"

The groundhog smiled. "You're quite the genius; it does not take a good eye to see that. Yes, only another diamond can. Fortunately, there is a mine about 75 miles away from the pedestal, near the mountains to the north of the forest. Be wary, the diamond's guardians are quite greedy, I'm afraid, and talking will do no good here."

"But where is the Violet Forest?" Tails asked.

"I do not know." The Groundhog replied. "Find it, do what you need to do, and then destroy it! Do not let it fall in evil hands, do not let anyone, yourself included, draw on its power, and most of all, I wish you luck, because from your strength, you'll need all the luck and friends you can find."

Then Tails awoke, just in time to see the sun rising in the horizon, and the beginning of a new chapter in his life.