Isis slowly got to her feet, all the while keeping a close eye on the mad blue hedgehog in front of her. When standing up she was a good two feet taller than the other occupants in the room, but Isis knew size didn't truly matter when it came to a fight.
Sonic took a step closer to the psychic, unfazed by his larger opponent. "You – hurt – my – best – friend," Sonic growled, "You – will – pay!"
Isis held up her hands in front of her, hoping to keep the hedgehog from striking, "Wait a minute, Sonic! I'm on your side!"
"On my side? Then why is Tails in a coma, near death!" Sonic pointed to the fox on the bed, "Allies don't do that to one another!"
"I…um…I can explain?" Isis stuttered, a little surprised at how mad Sonic was.
"You've got ten seconds before I rip you to pieces!" Sonic snarled.
Knuckles came up beside Sonic and placed his hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, "Chill, Sonic. Let's give her a chance."
Sonic whipped his head around and snapped, "Tails is dying because of her! How can I give her a chance?"
"Because we're going to need all of the help we can get fighting Mephiles," Blaze replied, "Let's hear her out."
"I don't care what she can do! I'll defeat Mephiles myself!"
"Sonic, just listen…" Amy whispered.
"No, he's right. You guys can't trust me." Everyone looked at Isis, who had lowered her arms to her sides, "I should just go. Tails will be alright, I promise you that. Besides, it's not like you guys care that Mephiles is a master of illusions and that he's tricked all of you and others into believing disturbing things…"
"Whoa, hold on a second! What are you talking about?" Silver tipped his head to the side, confused.
"Like I said, it doesn't matter. I'll just go…"
"Oh no, you don't!" Shadow grabbed Isis' arm as she tried to exit the room. He shut the door and then turned her around, "We need to hear this too. Every bit of information we can get counts."
Isis sighed, and then leaned against the door, "Alright, I'll tell you. But really now, let me say this from the start – I'm on your side now, honest! We just got off on the wrong foot, so…" Isis took a deep breath, "I'm Isis, and I use psychic abilities and some darker magic as my main powers. I'm thirteen and live on Starlight Isle. Nice to meet you all."
"I'm Amy, and this is Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, Silver, Shadow and Blaze." Amy pointed to everyone in turn, "And the fox is Tails."
Isis nodded, "I'll remember that. So, you guys a team or something?"
"Friends, really. We don't always team up in a big group like this."
"So Mephiles must really be a big deal to you all, right?" Amy nodded. "May I ask why?"
Amy sighed, "It's classified information."
Isis said nothing, but seemed to accept the explanation, "Alright, then…so, you want the short version or the long version?"
"That depends," Knuckles replied, "What's the short version?"
"Mephiles is one fucking perverted monster who is planning to take over your world with illusions and wants to get my friends to join him – that's the short version."
"Um…maybe you should give us the long version…"
"Right…" Isis ranted off her expedition into Mephiles' base and what she read in the book. Once she got to the part about Sonic being raped however, she knew she had made a mistake. Sonic changed from angry to scared, and the others looked worried. Rouge, however, was shocked.
"Sonic…you were raped by Mephiles?" Rouge whispered, looking at the blue hedgehog.
Sonic turned away from everyone and stared at the wall. "Yeah…and I don't like to talk about it," he whispered.
Isis winced, more guilt piling up in this mission, "Sorry, Sonic…but I thought you would want to know everything…"
"It's alright," Sonic said, cutting her off, "Just go on."
Isis then told the group about thought swapping and how it failed with Sonic, but not with others. Silver and Blaze were stunned when they heard that Mephiles had tricked them, and everyone was confused when Isis spoke of her friends. When the psychic finished, Rouge asked, "So…why are you here when your friends aren't?"
The psychic sighed, "It's complicated…"
"We're not going anywhere, hon. Feel free to keep chatting."
Isis smiled, "I like you already. Well, there are nine of us, and we're a team, so we save our part of the universe and stuff…no need for details. Anyways, in our latest mission we're trying to stop this ancient ritual known as the 'Tortured Angels' Conjuration of Damnation', but it requires spells on these scrolls known as 'Distant Arch-angel's Tomes' to stop it. But they went missing a long time ago and no one knows where they are…except for this one person. Her name is 'Theifsoul The Crafty' and she, well, steals souls…look; long story short she'll only give us the location of the scrolls if we each go out and get one hundred people to spin a little wheel. When bad things happen, her psychic eye grows stronger and she'll be able to locate the scrolls we need. I know I seem like a complete asshole because I'm running around making people miserable, but if we don't stop this ritual there won't be anybody left around to be miserable!" Isis took a deep breath after the long rant.
"Ok…so, why this planet?" Silver asked.
Isis shrugged, "Meh, they're all the same to me! I just chose this place at random! Everyone else is in other random places. We didn't pick and choose."
"So you're not in league with Mephiles?" Sonic questioned.
"I already told you – I'm not! He wants Sun, and he'll probably hurt her. She's my friend. He'll only get her over my dead body!"
"What about Meteor? Your…father, you said?" Shadow asked.
Isis nodded. "Yep, my dad…he's a speedster like Sonic and you, but neither me nor my sister inherited the ability. He reminds me a lot of you Sonic," Isis turned to face the blue hedgehog while she spoke, "Both of you are carefree, wild and with just the right amount of stupidity. Although in his case, it's probably insanity. You'd like him. As soon as he hears of you, I bet he'll come and challenge you to a race."
Sonic finally perked up for the first time in two days, "I like the sound of that."
"I thought you would." Isis looked around the room, "So…is the interrogation over now, or what?"
"One last thing…" Sonic pointed to Tails, "Is he really getting super powers?"
Isis shrugged, "He should be – in fact, he should have woken up hours ago. I don't know what's going on…"
"Why bother actually handing out powers? You could just trick people – you seem to be good at that."
Isis moaned, "Because I don't want to seem like a bigger asshole than I already am. I'm quite nice – to my friends, anyways. I'm not as cruel as I seem to be."
"What kind of powers are they?"
"Psychic, I'd assume. Perhaps illusion, ghost, necromancy or fire powers – some of my minor abilities. I doubt dark powers because he seems more of a light type to me, but you never know."
Sonic nodded, and then looked back at Tails. Shadow then spoke, "Do you really know what went wrong with Mephiles' spell?"
Isis laughed, "Hardly! I just made that up so I could bullshit my way out of the situation. I honestly don't really know…although…" Isis frowned, "If I had more time to explore that library, perhaps I could come up with a logical conclusion. I don't know that much about thought swapping – that's Sun's territory, not mine."
"Then go back and look! I want to know what he's doing!" Sonic snapped.
"I can't! I don't know where the base is – I was only teleported there the first time. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that…but I think I can break the illusion over Blaze and Silver."
Blaze shook her head, "It doesn't seem like an illusion to me."
Silver shuddered, "Yeah…I can still remember how he –"
"No, you can't! It's all fake! Here, let me show you…" Isis stepped towards Silver and placed her hands on either side of his head, "Now, just relax." Purple sparks snapped off her fingers into Silver's fur, and her Isis' eyes began to glow a dark purple. Silver's eyes became foggy, and he seemed to go into a trance. Isis whispered something under her breath, and then stepped away from Silver.
The white hedgehog shook his head back and forth and blinked, his eyes normal again. "Hey…it…it was fake! Unbelievable!"
"See? I told you!" Isis turned to Blaze, "Want me to show you?" Blaze nodded, and Isis did the same thing to the cat. "There," Isis said once she was finished, stepping back, "That's all over with. Now, my turn for a question…" Isis pointed to the white gem sitting on a small table beside Tails, "What is that thing?"
Everyone followed Isis' pointing. "That's a Chaos Emerald," Sonic answered, moving to pick it up, "There are seven of them, and the power changes based on the desires of the one who uses them."
"Interesting…" Isis mused, "Can everyone use them?"
"Yes, but some are better at drawing out their power than others."
"So, if someone like Mephiles got his hands on them…?"
"If he uses their power, it would be a disaster." Sonic put the gem back on the table, "Mephiles is looking for the Chaos Emeralds – I'm sure of it. He attacked the store, which was hiding this one…"
"Wait a second…wait a second! That's it! This is Plan Two!" Isis began to pace and mumble to herself, "Yes, yes…using their power…I'm sure of it!"
"What are you blabbing about?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms.
"Plan Two! Mephiles had a back up plan, in case Sun wouldn't agree to work with him. The answer is the Chaos Emeralds!" Isis pointed to the white jewel, "Even with my conscience I was able to feel how much power that thing contained. If one was able to harness that power, and use an illusion, it would be unbreakable! The combination of power of gems and power of the mind, and then twisting reality! With one Chaos Emerald, a good illusionist probably could break the spell, but with all seven…he'd be able to completely warp all of your minds into working for him! With no heroes left, Mephiles will take over! And he won't stop there, oh, no no no…especially since I refused to work with him, he'll come after me, Sun, Meteor and the others!"
Isis slammed her hands on the wall, startling the group, and her back shook slightly. She then turned to face everyone with a fire in her lavender eyes, "This battle used to be only yours – but now, it's personal! Whether you like it or not, I'm with you!"
"Awesome!" Amy cheered, "You can dispel Mephiles' illusions, can't you?"
"Right now, I can, but if he gets all seven Chaos Emeralds then only Sun could stop him."
"How long should it take you to destroy one of his illusions now?" Shadow asked.
"Not long, I think. Less than a minute; depends on how complex it is and if I'm under attack. And how long it's been summoned…there are lots of factors, but I've had tons of practice. You can count on me! That ok with you, Sonic?" The last part was directed at the blue hedgehog.
Sonic nodded, "I guess you're with us…we need to get our hands on those Chaos Emeralds before Mephiles does. I wish Tails was awake…" Sonic looked sadly down at his unconscious friend.
Isis shook her head sadly, "Honestly, I don't know what's going on. By now he should have woken up…but he'll be ok – I know it. But let's get started on jewel hunting…how do we find these Emeralds?"
"Tails should have a tracker back at his lab…try there," Sonic replied.
"Why not just take the other Emerald?" Blaze asked.
"Why would that make a difference?" Isis snorted.
"Chaos Emeralds react to one another…"
"Oh…man, I wish Moon was here…he's an expert on gems. He'd come in real handy right now…"
"Your team certainly has its variety," Knuckles commented.
Isis giggled, "We're all one of a kind!"
"It's better if I stay with this Emerald. Mephiles must still think Amy, Shadow or Isis has it. He'll probably try looking for the others first," Sonic said, picking up the jewel again.
"Point taken…so, you're staying with Tails?" Knuckles asked.
"Yeah…the rest of you go and find the other Emeralds. I'm staying with him," Sonic whispered, taking a seat again.
Everyone glanced at one another, silent, and then someone knocked on the door. Isis then turned to Sonic and said, "Take care." She let the nurse into the room, and everyone except Sonic left to go on the jewel hunt. Sonic took Tails' hand once the nurse left and whispered, "Less than an hour left, Tails. Since that panther came, the time has been shortened for some reason…I wonder why…"
XXXXXXXXX
"So…this is it, right?" Isis asked, staring at the little device. It looked like a watch, in blue plastic-like material, except that instead of showing the time a little screen flashed up with green squares, and a blinking red arrow pointed north east.
"This isn't the first time we've searched for the Emeralds," Amy said, attaching the device to her wrist, "Tails is used to creating devices to help us."
"He must be quite the inventor, huh?" Isis looked around the workshop, crammed with machine parts, plans and tools, "Makes sense why he's so handy."
"So, where to first?" Blaze asked once the two came outside.
"Um…" Amy studied the map, "Looks like the one closest to us is about twenty miles from here…in a forest."
"Seriously? I think I camped out in those woods for a week and I didn't sense a thing!" Isis scratched the back of her head, "Maybe I'm not a very good jewel tracker."
"But this is," Amy said, tapping her wrist, "Even if you can't find the Emerald, this will!"
XXXXXXXXX
It was almost eight-thirty now. Sonic's eyes were getting heavier, but he forced himself to stay awake.
A shadow flickered in the corner of his eye, on his left. Sonic whirled to face the direction, but there was nothing. Then the shadow appeared near the window…but when Sonic turned to face it, there was nothing.
"I'm tired…I need to sleep…" Exhaustion was about to take over, but then Sonic saw a shadowy hand wrap around the Chaos Emerald. Sonic snapped awake and snatched the jewel away. Now he could clearly see something – a dark figure that looked like a human in structure, except there were no facial features or details – nothing that made a person a person. It was just pure blackness.
"You're with Mephiles, aren't you?" Sonic growled, "And you want the Emerald."
The figure hissed, even though it didn't have a mouth, and then snatched the gem away from Sonic and slipped out the door. Sonic was on his feet and chasing the monster within milliseconds.
XXXXXXXXX
"How much longer?" Isis asked, yawning.
"Be patient! We can't all run as fast as you," Blaze replied.
"Then why can't I go on ahead?"
"Because you don't really know what a Chaos Emerald looks like or how to deal with Mephiles…and if we get into trouble, it's better if we're in a group," Silver replied.
"Ok, first off I can sense the Emeralds when I'm close, second I know how to fight in any situation, and third I can take on whole armies by myself, and the rest of you will still be in a group."
"You sure knew how to fight Mephiles in his library…" Shadow smirked.
"I only teleported away because if that place got destroyed I would have no way of finding out information! Mephiles was so focused on killing me that he wouldn't care what happened to his books!"
"Oh, sure…that's what they all say…"
"You want to put your money where your mouth is, hedgehog? I'll fight you!"
Rouge stepped in between the two, "Hey now, we're supposed to be on the same side…no fighting."
"Fine," Isis sighed, "So, why doesn't Shadow go on ahead?"
Shadow smirked again, "Can't. I give off energy very similar to the Chaos Emeralds – I'd mess up the tracker if I moved at a high speed."
"Why do you do that? Aren't you just some ordinary hedgehog…with super powers and stuff?"
"Actually, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform…created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik."
"….so?"
"I was created, not born."
"…so?"
"It makes me different from other beings, ok?"
"…so?"
"You really don't get it, do you?"
"Oh, I get it – I just don't see what the big deal is. Or care, for that matter." Isis then let the conversation drop, but she wondered, "Created by a scientist, but not a monster? That's new…while I look at these Emeralds I want to learn more about Shadow too."
XXXXXXXXX
Doctors and nurses pressed themselves against the wall and carts of supplies were sent flying as the blue hedgehog chased the dark figure down the hall. While the figure was fast, it wasn't near Sonic's speed, and it was only Sonic's exhaustion that kept him from catching up right away.
Sonic chased the jewel thief down to the first floor and then outside the back entrance to an empty lot across the street. The dark figure halted once it found that it was surrounded by a tall wooden fence on every side, and its only escape root was blocked by a blue hedgehog.
"Alright…now give me back that Emerald!" Sonic pounced of the figure and wrapped his arms around its shoulders while his hands latched onto the Emerald. The dark thing shook back and forth, trying to throw Sonic off, and it succeeded – with the Emerald in Sonic's hands, though.
Sonic landed on his feet and then turned to face the dark figure, "Time to finish this off!" With the Emerald, one spin dash sent the creature flying.
"Ha! You'll have to do better than that, Mephiles!" Sonic turned to head back into the hospital, but then he found himself surrounded by a couple dozen of the dark humanoids, effectively blocking his path.
"Ok…that's definitely better…"
XXXXXXXXX
Tails was still enjoying the scenery Isis had created for him. Right now he was content, and didn't want to wake up just yet…he knew he had to, and he would, but right now he was happy where he was…
The fox sighed and stretched out on the soft green grass, watching the blue sky overhead, "What a nice place…just a few more minutes and then I'll try these powers out…whatever they are…"
The sky suddenly turned dark in a second, and a bolt of lightning flashed down. Tails rolled out of the way just before it struck the spot he had been lying on. The wind picked up and howled in his ears, and it began to pour. Leaves and branches were hurled around by the violent winds, and thunder boomed up in the dark clouds.
"What's going on?" Tails shouted, more to himself than the sky.
"Tails, help!" A voice sounded in the distance.
"Sonic?" Tails whispered.
"I can't do this alone! Help me, Tails! He's going to take me away again!"
Tails sat upright in his hospital bed, not acknowledging where he was, "I'm coming, Sonic!" He ripped out the IVs and took off the oxygen mask, and when his careless actions knocked over a glass of water by his bed he picked it up – without touching it – and lightly settled it back on the table.
The fox then leaped out of bed and ran out of the room, not even caring that the door opened just with his thoughts.