Chapter III - Silence
The universe is not small.
You've all heard that one before, so here's something you probably haven't: the universe isn't large, either. Maybe you think "large" is a drastic understatement, but that, too, would be incorrect. If you were to say that calling "large" a drastic understatement is itself a drastic understatement, you'd begin to scratch the truth. Iterate on that statement enough times, and eventually you'll get it.
Here's the problem: this language is just like everything else your people invented before they first calculated the speed of light. It wasn't designed to work on the same scale as most of reality. You may have heard that one before, too, which is why you don't really believe it. Even now, some of you expect me to continue talking about sizes and distances and durations, however pointless that would be – and again, you would be incorrect. I'm going to leave it at that.
Mostly.
If you are absolutely determined to understand the dimensions of my story, try to remember the last location I told you I was in, when I was there, and what I was doing.
...Okay, I get it, we can't all have solid-state memory. I was in the Large Magellanic Cloud – a very, very not-short way from Möbius, but still in the same galactic neighborhood. It was Year 160,000-something of the old Metarex calendar, which began in the negatives – a countdown, or count-up, with the final stage of Forestation marking the start of Year 0. That was my original vantage point, and my tools, however advanced, were nothing more than powerful telescopes. (I mentioned the speed of light for a reason, you know.) The last you heard of me, I was on my way to a front-row seat for a better view of the action – and since I didn't want to miss anything on my way there, I made sure to obey the speed limit.
I hope that's enough explanation for you curious ones, because I have a story to tell. Really, it's best if you just take my word for it: the universe is not small.
A flash of red and yellow hit Shadow's eyes like a gunshot. He reversed his body and fired the thrusters mounted to his shoes, slowing to a tiny fraction of his former speed. Two mismatched stars grew rapidly in his vision, spinning around their combined center of gravity at a dizzying rate. The image slowed to its natural pace as the Ultimate Life-Form emerged from a dreamlike state of hibernation, cycling his mind back up to full speed and regaining a normal sense of time. The final approach seemed to pass by in seconds – far more slowly than the rest of Shadow's flight through deep space.
The metal bands on his wrists hummed in unison, directing him just a few degrees away from his current path toward the center of the small binary system. Shadow cast his mind out, following the rings' link to the object they had detected.
I am here, the object said.
Shadow offered a sample of energy that took the place of his name. I am also here.
The Chaos Emerald – for the source of the voice was exactly that – answered him with a glimmer of recognition and lowered its barriers. In an instant, all of the gem's power and awareness melded seamlessly with Shadow's mind. The small thrusters lit up bright blue as a surge of energy hit them, sending their owner into a broad out-system turn toward his target.
From the corner of her eye, Cosmo spotted a new glow that seemed far too strong to be a star. Her Emerald's inner lights spun with excitement as the spark approached rapidly, growing larger every second. Though nothing else around her seemed to move, she felt the Emerald's power extending toward the spark, as if it were pulling her own mind along with it.
Without warning, the familiar aura of the Emerald became something else entirely. It became – and somehow, Cosmo knew this with absolute certainty – someone she knew, and immediately she understood what was happening. A wave of such immense relief swept over her that she barely noticed the black, imposing silhouette of the nearby planet rocketing away into the distance. "Shadow!" she called out.
The Chaos Emerald moved with blinding speed, snapping to a spot on Cosmo's right side and aiming its tip straight out into space. A ripple passed through the Emerald's consciousness, but her link with the gem was fading quickly, and she couldn't tell what the feeling meant. In less than a second, the spark rushed into the Emerald's light and resolved into the outline of Shadow himself.
"Time," he said simply, tugging on a trailing length of fabric tied behind Cosmo's lower back. The improvised harness unwound and pulled apart in a single movement; the Seedrian stretched her stiff arms, smiling as widely as if she had just remembered how to do it. He was here, he had found her, he had been telling the truth all along! They were saved!
Even so, Cosmo couldn't shake the feeling of otherness that had nagged at her ever since waking up face to face with a planetary eclipse. She had only spent a few days on Möbius, it was true, but she couldn't remember ever seeing more than one star in the daytime sky. "Shadow," she repeated, "where are we going now?"
Shadow traced an arc with his hand, accompanied by a flicker of cyan. Cosmo felt an invisible pressure against her shoulders, turning her around until she drifted parallel with the hedgehog and could see what lay ahead of them. A distant point of light became a bulging right gibbous, breaking away from the surrounding stars and expanding rapidly into view before her eyes. It was a planet – not another churning cauldron of gas and clouds, but solid and compact, a rugged patchwork of dark reddish-brown and cobalt blue and vibrant emerald green. It was a world of firm ground, deep water, and life.
And it was not Möbius; Cosmo was certain of that much. Her home – the Typhoon's home, rather – had more of a dusty yellow color to its landmasses, and dense clouds of plankton gave its oceans a much darker shade of green.
"Stop number one," Shadow spoke up just as Cosmo opened her mouth to ask. "Our task now is to stop moving. Any suggestions?" Surprised by the question, the Seedrian glanced to her left and saw what looked like a smirk leaving the hedgehog's face. She wondered what would be more out-of-character for Shadow – sincerely asking for her advice, or speaking just to make a joke.
"Remember, we're inside a shielded air pocket," the hedgehog continued, "so the wind shouldn't be hitting us directly. If something seems wrong to you, say so right away. No exceptions."
"Alright," Cosmo replied simply. She wondered if she ought to be more nervous at what they were about to attempt, then decided there was no need. In light of everything she and Shadow had already survived, becoming this planet's next shooting star didn't seem like anything to worry about.
The Chaos Emerald rotated slowly, leading them toward one side of the planet like the needle of a compass. As they approached, Cosmo felt a sudden wave of vertigo. Before she could decide whether to mention the feeling to Shadow, it changed into a familiar sensation of stability and balance: the planet's gravity had taken hold. More accurately, some force other than gravity had taken hold, slowing their descent, and she could feel her own weight tugging against it.
The world shifted to a deep scarlet; Cosmo looked around just in time to see the smaller sun drop past the horizon after its twin, plunging them into the dead of night with only the pale glow of the Emerald to light the way.
"Do you think they can see us from down there?" Cosmo wondered aloud, imagining a streak of blue tracing a path across the night sky.
"What makes you think anyone down there is looking?" Shadow inquired, not taking his eyes away from the skyline ahead of them. The planet stretched out below them, inky black all the way to the horizon in every direction. Cosmo couldn't think of an answer; it hadn't occurred to her that they might be the first intelligent beings to set foot here. The idea was more than a little unsettling.
The Chaos Emerald pulsed brighter for a second or two and began to spin, leaving a trail of azure mist behind them as they fell. Its tip pointed directly toward the horizon ahead, where already the first rays of dawn were creeping into view. As the gem picked up speed, Cosmo noticed a faint whirring sound that seemed to come from somewhere very close – barely audible at first, but certainly louder than the depths of interstellar space that she had become used to.
"This is normal," Shadow spoke up, as if to forestall a question. "I'm trying to shed speed before we reach the cloud layer. That's where we might have some trouble."
Once again, Cosmo didn't reply; every new sensation triggered a dozen half-forgotten memories, and it was all she could do to stay focused on what was happening. A flash of yellow lit up the horizon, and in moments they were in broad daylight again, as first one, then two suns climbed into the sky overhead. The glow from the Emerald intensified by the second, almost masking the wave of white-hot air being forced aside as the gem burned its way through the atmosphere. Through the haze, Cosmo could just make out the shapes of clouds and landmasses below, appearing larger with each passing moment.
"What happens when we get to-" Cosmo's question was interrupted by a loud whup that sucked the air from her lungs. The Seedrian's stomach lurched, as if the ground she wasn't actually standing on had dropped out from under her. At a lightning-fast gesture from Shadow, the Chaos Emerald flashed yet again, surrounding its two passengers in a cyan aura; the sensation of falling vanished as quickly as it had come. The fiery trail around them parted to reveal clouds on every side, towering white shapes flashing past in the blink of an eye – and below that, the glimmer of sunlight on the surface of an alien ocean.
"Shadow!" Cosmo called desperately, without the slightest idea of what she was trying to tell him. They were less than a mile above the surface now, and still moving far, far too fast to land safely. If Shadow didn't already have a plan, they were as good as dead.
"Hold still," the hedgehog called back, his voice clearly audible despite the now-deafening roar of the wind – or perhaps it wasn't a sound at all, but a thought. Cosmo obeyed without question.
The ocean leaped up to meet them, swallowing the horizon and the sky with a blue-green mass of water and steam. The sunlight from the surface faded rapidly; the sound of the wind vanished, replaced by a deep vibration that seemed to press inward on every side. The Chaos Emerald flickered almost imperceptibly, and a spray of mist pierced its protective energy field, bringing with it the familiar scent of salt water.
"How long-" Cosmo started to ask, falling abruptly silent as her voice, loud and oddly distorted, echoed within the small air pocket. Shadow gave no sign of hearing her; his eyes were shut tightly in concentration, his hands and arms suffused with the same cyan glow emitted by the Emerald. The Seedrian decided to simply wait out the rest of the descent, hoping fervently that Shadow knew what he was doing. They were barreling through the depths of an alien ocean at meteoric speeds, and somehow they were still alive. She had no choice but to trust him.
The vibration eventually began to swell into a hollow, echoing roar, like the sound of water rushing through a pipe. Cosmo looked up toward the sky just as they erupted through the ocean's surface, the sudden brightness of the two suns blinding her after minutes of darkness. She could just make out a broad expanse of green stretching out below her in place of the sea.
"Don't wander off," Shadow called over the whistling wind. "I'll come back and find you." Before Cosmo had time to register his instructions, she felt the power of Chaos Control take hold of her. With a brilliant flash and a deafening CRACK, Shadow and the Chaos Emerald vanished. All at once, Cosmo became aware of something solid beneath her feet. Sudden dizziness overwhelmed her, and she fell backward onto the ground.
For the next few moments, she did nothing except lie on her back and breathe.
"Very bright." "Blue and very bright." "Fast wind." "Shaking." "Blue and very bright."
Cosmo blinked, watching the branches above her swaying back and forth. It was a sight so familiar that her mind forgot to question it. A combination of scents and tastes flowed around her like the gentle murmur of a crowd, individual voices occasionally rising above the background.
"Wind gone, no shaking." "No more shaking." "Yellow and red, back to work." "Yellow and red." The noise died down slightly, as did the swaying of the branches. Whatever had gotten everyone so excited seemed to have disappeared by now.
"Shade." "Heavy shade." "Too dark, can't see." "Heavy, no air." The voices nearby grew more and more insistent. "No air." "Heavy shade." "Can't see." With a start, Cosmo realized they were talking about her. She rolled over and found herself surrounded in a bed of ivy, its broad leaves elevated a few inches above the forest floor. She could see a distinct indentation where her body had been a moment before; some of the leaves must have been squashed flat when she fell.
"Sorry," the Seedrian murmured to the ivy, shifting around to lie between most of the leaves rather than on top of them. Propping herself up on her elbows, she returned to thinking about nothing in particular, letting her mind catch up with her senses. She had a solid surface to support her, gravity to hold her in place, a sky overhead to light her way, an atmosphere to breathe, and a forest to keep her company. For the first time in quite a while, everything felt natural.
"Free now." "Fixing." "Shade gone, back to work."
Cosmo's second ears – two ruby-red flower buds poking through the leaves that comprised her "hair" – tingled in response to the variety of chemical signals. She couldn't listen to every single plant at once, any more than she could hear every individual voice in a crowd of thousands. Only the strongest and closest voices rose above the gentle hum of activity. The canopy of trees overhead – were they trees? They looked more like giant clusters of ferns – swayed in a gentle breeze, filling the air with their slow, ponderous thoughts.
One voice in particular caught her attention: "Ripe and ready." Almost immediately, Cosmo felt her stomach rumble. She hadn't eaten in... how long? Days? Too much time, that was for sure. She got to her feet, brushed away a few dead leaves clinging to her dress, and set off between the fern-trees in the direction of the wind. Every step stirred up a wave of renewed activity. Small creatures jumped, crawled, and flew out of her way, including one species that seemed to weave through the air on a dozen pairs of iridescent wings.
Before long, the light exercise began to pull Cosmo out of the fog of bizarre memories that surrounded her mind. She had a lot to think about – too much, at least for the moment. Realizing she couldn't afford to drift off again, she forced herself to focus on what she needed right now.
Something to eat, she began. That shouldn't be a problem; the gaseous promise of food was getting stronger every moment. Even if this turned out to be a false trail – some plants knew how to lie, after all – the dense jungle showed no sign of getting any thinner. There was bound to be something edible nearby.
She paused for a moment, listening to the voices of the forest. Water, she thought – it had been quite a while since she'd had any of that, though oddly enough, she didn't feel thirsty yet. She could tell it had rained recently, and there had to be something keeping all these plants hydrated. Water would be no problem.
Some kind of shelter, she thought next. Her dress wouldn't protect her from more than a little wind or rain, even if Shadow hadn't used a large chunk of it to make her harness. Cosmo peered around at the nearest plants, checking the size and density of the leaves. One rather decrepit-looking specimen had a number of flat, rust-red ridges extending from its stout trunk, each more than two feet across. She shied away from the parasitic growths on instinct, but noted that they might protect her from the rain if nothing else.
"Ripe and ready." The plant's voice was much closer now. Tilting her head to let one bud catch the breeze, Cosmo turned and followed the pheromone trail around a dense cluster of reedy upright plants. Ahead of her, branches from some of the fern-trees hung low over a small clearing. The spiral tip of each frond had turned from green to a vivid yellow-orange, and hung straight down under its own weight. In addition to the chemical message Cosmo had followed, the plants emitted a tart, spicy scent.
Tentatively, Cosmo grasped one of the fiddleheads in both hands and, when nothing sudden or unexpected happened, tugged downward. It came away with very little force, much like a ripened fruit. The rest of the frond sprang upward from the decrease in weight, showering her in tiny yellow grains. She jumped away, startled; the granules seemed to cling to her dress, resisting her attempts to brush them off the fabric.
These must be seeds, she realized as the surprise wore off. Leaving the rest of the yellow specks alone, she retrieved the fiddlehead from where she had dropped it and inspected it more closely. Like many of the plants around her, the coiled fruit was segmented; a piece broke off easily when she pulled, releasing more of the spicy scent she had noticed before. She peeled back the rind and took a small, hesitant taste. The flavor was equal parts sour and savory, with a hint of sweetness – a little alien, perhaps, but not unpleasant. More importantly, Cosmo couldn't taste anything poisonous; it should be safe to eat.
Cosmo turned to the fern-tree. "Thank you!" she said cheerfully, inclining her head, then set off back through the forest in the direction she had come, making a mental note of the clearing's location.
A way to get around, she thought, returning to her list. As far as she could tell during their descent, there were no cities or traces of civilization for hundreds of miles. Surviving for a few days in the wilderness was one thing, but trekking halfway around an alien planet was quite another. It could take weeks to travel such a long distance in this kind of terrain, even if the good weather and edible fruit lasted long enough to reach the nearest settlement. They might only have a short time to contact Tails and the Typhoon, or-
Cosmo froze.
The Blue Typhoon wasn't here. Neither were Tails, or Sonic, or anyone else she knew aside from Shadow. They had left the starship behind at the galactic core, and neither group had heard from the other since. Where would they have gone? After her and Shadow? But how would they have known which direction to search? How would they track them through the utter emptiness of deep space?
Tails fired the cannon, Cosmo realized, a cold lump of dread sinking into her stomach. He thinks he killed me. He doesn't even know there's anyone to search for.
To the young Seedrian's eyes, the trees suddenly looked much taller. The pale blue of the sky seemed to stretch into infinity as she remembered the hundreds of thousands of stars hidden from view behind it. Unbidden, Shadow's words came back to her: What makes you think anyone down there is looking?
I'm alone, she realized. I'm on a planet I've never heard of, and the only people who care about me are on their way home because they think I'm dead.
The wind rustled the fern-trees overhead, the insects in the undergrowth hummed and chittered and buzzed, but none of it could block out the sheer, oppressive silence that blanketed the strange world like a shroud. There were no cities, no lights, no intelligent eyes to look up at the stars and dream of someday joining them. There were no ships to depart on, no radios to call for help, no friends to guide and protect her on her way.
"Is anyone there?" Cosmo asked, her voice trembling. She couldn't muster the nerve to shout.
The silence did not reply.
Cosmo ran. She didn't know why. She didn't know where or how far or from whom. She ran so that she couldn't hear the voices of the plants. She ran so that her feet crashing through the underbrush would push the silence away for a little longer. She ran so that she wouldn't have to think.
She ran until she couldn't run another step.
The silence followed her.