ORIGINS - CHAPTER VI
"Hello new friends." A six year old tan rabbit girl in an orange dress said as she brought food to a group of kids seated under a tree. Around noon when everyone was somewhat more comfortable and a lot more hungry, people were being brought food provided by the Acornians. A lot of the adults were trying to get answers while keeping the kids out of the loop, so most of the kids got together to feel less alone.
In doing so Nicky's entire class had collected out of familiarity. Due to South Island's population, the education system was different from other places. Most classes had an average of six to eight students, and there weren't that many teachers so it had to be set up to accommodate this. How it worked was one teacher taught the same students for three years, covering three years worth of material before transferring them to a higher level. Level 1 covered first, second, and third grade and was the level Amy was currently in. Level 2 covered fourth, fifth, and sixth grade and was the level Nicky and Mina were currently in, and so on until graduation. Sonia, Manny, and Tania were forced to wait to enroll so they were homeschooled until a class opened up.
Nicky's class had eight students in it, counting him. Mina, Anton, Tommy, and Hershey were four of them, and the remaining three were seated with them. One was Patty Potts, an orange fox mobian who loved to be the center of attention. Another was Monica Popper, a purple mouse mobian who was always hanging out with Patty. The last was Carlos Sacapuntos, a parakeet mobian who transferred to the island from Spagonia at the beginning of the year, but everyone just called him Sharps.
"Thanks." Tails said, accepting some sandwiches and passing them around. He was the only person there that wasn't part of the class, sans the rabbit girl providing the food. "What's your name?"
"I'm Cream, and this is my home."
The weird blue creature from before flew by and stayed close to Cream, surprising those that did not see it before.
"And this is Cheese, my Chao friend."
"Chao." Cheese said with a wave, landing on the grass and helping himself to an apple.
"What's a Chao?" Patty asked, drinking some orange juice.
"It looks like a fairy." Monica stated, offering Cheese some celery which he took.
"Chao are wonderful little guys. They make nature healthy again, everywhere they go gets better and brighter. The world would be a nicer place if there were more Chao in it." Cream explained.
"So they are fairies." Monica repeated, this time with more certainty.
"Can they fix people?" Tommy asked.
"I think so. Is someone hurt?" Cream asked.
"A lot of people are hurt." Nicky claimed.
"People got turned into robots. Can the Chao turn them back?" Mina asked.
Cream blinked. "I… I don't know."
"Even if they can't, someone still saved us." Patty chimed in.
"Yeah, someone who moved really fast." Monica added.
"Fast?" Nicky repeated, looking nervous. He could tell that Mina did too, even Anton and Tommy looked concerned, though Nicky didn't think that was a good thing.
"Yeah, one moment I'm stuck in some dirty building and the next I'm outside. It happened before I could even blink. I couldn't see who, but I could see a blur." Monica explained.
"I saw that too. A blur going back and forth in and out of that warehouse, taking people one at a time." Hershey added. "It happened so fast I barely knew it was happening in the first place."
"Same here." Sharps noted. "It was muy rápido."
"And yet they stopped." Anton pointed out, glancing towards Nicky for a moment in an accusatory way.
"No one saw who it was?" Mina asked cautiously.
"Nope, not a clue." Patty said, with everyone else shaking their heads. "But whoever it was, I'm glad they were there. I hope they'll help us again."
"Help us with what?" Tommy asked.
"There's no way that man who invaded our home won't try and find us all." Patty insisted.
"She's right." Mina jumped in. "According to the adults, this man is trying to usurp the Kingdom of Acorn and came to our island looking for something to help him. But the rest of the world thinks he's the good guy, so no one will stop him. So he's going to silence us all to make sure everyone keeps thinking that."
The kids went silent as that sank in. It seemed so hopeless.
"Then we're going to take him down first." Nicky declared, clenching a fist.
"Are you loco Slowpoke?" Sharps asked in disbelief. "This man has robots and all sorts of weapons. No one in town even has a gun. Running away is the only option we have. At least, those of us who can run away."
"He got here didn't he?" Anton pointed out, surprising everyone because it almost sounded like he was defending the blue hedgehog for once.
Feeling bold, Nicky stood up. "Look everyone, I know I'm not the fastest thing alive, each one of you reminds me of that fact every day like you think I forgot it. But if that ball of blubber shows his ugly face again I'm not going to just sit there and let him turn me into a machine. If I go down, I'm going down fighting. If you're not going to help me, then stay out of my way."
All the kids just stared at Nicky in awe. They had never seen him act so… confident before. He had always been a wallflower, the kid who didn't want attention and avoided confrontation. And now he was talking about going on the offensive? What could have happened that could bring out this side of him?
"Whatever happens Nicky, I'm with you." Mina claimed.
"Thanks Mina."
"Need I remind you that we're just kids? Leave the fighting to the adults." Monica chided.
"I've dealt with these robots, trust me they don't care how old you are." Mina warned.
"You expect us to believe you dealt with these robots without getting a scratch?" Patty remarked skeptically.
Mina adjusted her shirt to show some scabbed claw marks on the side of her stomach, making the fox go silent.
"Was that from when those bird robots got us?" Nicky asked, concerned.
"I think so." Mina answered, putting her shirt back in place.
"Can we talk about something more pleasant?" Hershey requested.
"Like what?" Anton barked. "We lost our homes, some of us lost our families, and it looks like none of us are getting to go to Robotropolis anymore. So what do you want to talk about? The weather?"
Hershey got up and quickly walked away.
"Nice going jerk." Nicky said.
"Hey we're all unhappy. There's no point in pretending not to be. Though you would know a thing or two about pretending, wouldn't you Slowpoke?"
Nicky frowned, not liking the look or sound the lizard was giving him. So he decided to follow Hershey's example and got up. "I'm not hungry anymore."
The hedgehog walked away with Mina and Tails joining him. No one tried to follow them or make them come back.
Night came and for the most part people were asleep or settling down. All day people had been asking questions, mostly what was going on and where was everyone going from here, but no one had any real answers. Though the Acornians did explain the set up to everything to those that didn't already know. But knowing was a small comfort.
When it got dark enough Nicky went outside and acted as if he was just getting some fresh air while looking at the stars. His siblings stayed in the tent, checking out the weird medallions that Nicky had retrieved from their home.
"Hey!"
Nicky stopped and resisted the urge to facepalm. "What do you want Anton?"
"We need to talk." The lizard said as he approached the hedgehog who turned to face him.
"No, we really don't."
"Yes we do. You were fast back there. And you're never fast."
Nicky shrugged. "Is there a point to this Anton? What, do you think I owe you something?"
"You lied to us all. You've been lying this entire time. Why?" Anton asked, sounding less like he was curious and more like he was accusing the hedgehog of something.
"Why do you care Anton? Do you think me being fast puts you in danger? Or are you just upset that you can't call me slow anymore?"
Anton grumbled and glared at him but didn't respond.
Nicky turned away and sped up. Still in the habit of thinking he was faster and tougher, Anton tried to stop him. But Nicky sped up more, forcing the lizard to actually make an effort this time. Nicky smirked a little, somewhat proud that for once he was messing with the bully, then dashed off leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Anton could do nothing but stop and watch.
Once free, Nicky kept running. The real reason he was outside in the first place was to get a better idea of where he was now. Sure, according to Cream they were on her family's land and it wasn't on an island, but she also said she was told by her parents to not say exactly where that was. Better to 'hide from the bad man' as she put it. Which Nicky couldn't blame her for. Still, he wanted to see for himself.
The land around the Lightfoot Ranch was flat with a couple of hills in the distance. There was grass in all directions but it wasn't a normal shade of green. Instead it looked like desert grass the further they got from the ranch itself. It was almost like the ranch itself was an oasis.
'Maybe those Chao things do affect wherever they live.' He thought, heading for the hills. They were the highest point of elevation he could see so they were the best place to get a look.
Atop the hills he just saw more of the same. Grassy meadow as far as he could see, with a road leading away from the ranch but no idea where it led to. Compared to the diverse ecosystem of South Island, this was very unusual to him.
"I guess we can't go home again. But I don't think they plan on making this place our new home." Nicky thought, looking at the stars. "Speaking of home, I should get back to them."
He ran back to the camp, slowing down and resuming a normal pace when he got to the tents and just walked. No one saw him, just like he wanted it, and he returned to the tent where everyone was awake and waiting for him.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, there's nothing around for miles. Wherever we are, it's the middle of nowhere."
"Nicky, what's this?" Sonia asked, holding up the velvet box.
"Oh, remember how Mom said she had something very important to hide?"
"Oh yeah, this is that box?" Manny asked.
"What did Mom have?" Tania asked.
Nicky opened it and showed them the amulets. Mina's parents looked in to see the contents too.
"What are they?" Isabella asked.
"Some kind of family heirloom I assume."
"I like this one." Sonia said, picking up the amulet that resembled a keyboard.
Manny picked up the drum amulet and the horn amulet, then after comparing the two put the horn down. "I don't know why, but this one feels better to me."
Nicky held his hand out and he noticed that like last time there was a strange sort of tingle coming from these medallions, but not all of them. Moving his hand he felt it get stronger towards the guitar one, which had the same feeling the last time he touched it. To compare, when he touched the ring amulet, it just felt like polished cut stone. But the guitar one felt… different. Like it was warmer somehow, but in a good way.
So Nicky took the guitar, and Tania did the same with the ring amulet.
"We should keep these with us, to remember our parents better and make sure we always try to bring them back to normal." Nicky declared.
"Right." Sonia, Manny, and Tania replied in unison, then the four hedgehogs put them around their necks..
"What about the rest of them?" Mina asked, feeling like it would be disrespectful to touch the amulets again with the other kids here now.
"When we can, we'll need a place to hide them. Until then, will you guys help us keep our mother's heirlooms safe?" Nicky asked the mongoose family.
"No problem son, we understand." Arthur said while his wife nodded.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Mina did you ever open the gift we found in your house?" Nicky asked.
"No, I never did."
"Go ahead dear." Isabella gently said.
Mina pulled out the wrapped box and unwrapped it, then opened the container. Inside was another box, an ornate one with a lockable lid and four small stubby legs to support it. The sides were painted in a yellow and light brown checkered pattern, the lid was green with small quartz stones in the four corners.
"Looks nice, but what is it?" Mina asked, moving it around to get a better look.
"Open it." Her mother told her.
Mina unlatched the lock and opened the lid. Inside was a figure of a maned golden mobian of undetermined species with their arms out like they were holding something, or accepting something given. Seven small painted orbs, each a different color, rotated around it while a melody played. One that sounded peaceful yet energetic.
"This used to be my mother's music box, which she got from her own mother." Isabella explained, enjoying the sound of the music. "I'm not sure where it came from or who made it, but my mom said this was no ordinary music box. She said it was 'the voice of the universe'."
"Hey, something's happening to our necklaces."
The mongoose family turned to the hedgehog triplets, seeing their heirloom pendants slightly glowing along with the one Nicky wore. Mina closed the music box and the glow faded.
"These must be connected." Nicky said, carefully holding up his medallion.
"But what are the odds that our families have connected heirlooms?" Mina asked.
"It does seem to be too much of a coincidence, but unfortunately we have no answers." Arthur said. "Let's just keep these items safe, and hopefully in the future we'll learn what the connection is."
"Right Dad, and thanks you guys for the present. The tune really is nice." Mina replied, hugging her parents.
In the morning everyone was called together for an announcement. A crowd formed close to the barn with numerous chaos flying around.
"Okay everyone, we managed to save more of you, but the problem isn't solved yet." Rosie announced. "We have at least figured out one of the reasons that Robotnik is invading your home and kidnapping people. Mr. Eggman, if you would."
"Certainly, Miss Oak." Eggman said with a slight bow as he stepped forward. "I'm assuming all of you who were brought here last night have already been informed of the situation. In case you haven't, an employee at Robotropolis named Ivo Robotnik has weaponized some of the park's resources and is trying to take over the Kingdom of Acorn, all while framing Princess Sally Acorn as a traitor to divert attention away from his own actions. He brought an army of robots to South Island, which he has dubbed 'badniks', to invade and capture everyone he could. Until last night, we had no idea what his motive was, but now we know."
Antoine and Rotor came up with a girl using crutches to walk. It was the teenage rabbit girl from last night, and everyone with a clear view could see her mechanical limbs.
"This here is Miss Bunnie Rabbot." Eggman introduced, silencing the 't' in her last name so it was pronounced 'rabbow'. "She's an unfortunate victim of a process that Robotnik has dubbed 'roboticization'. In essence, it's transforming a flesh and blood lifeform into a mechanical being, or in laymen's terms, it turns people into robots."
Everyone looked horrified and somewhat skeptical. That was a natural reaction after all.
"I don't know how he came up with this process, but we saw him do it in Acorn to a few helpless captives. I think he relocated the machine that does this to South Island in order to have more freedom and victims to use."
"Actually sir." Nicky called out, stepping forward and waving.
"Yes son?" Eggman asked.
"Last night when they did a test run and turned that girl's parents into robots, there was a man there who said that it proved the machine could be recreated. Then they used it on my parents to make sure it could work more than once."
A lot of the adults and even several kids whispered among themselves about this.
"Interesting. So Robotnik didn't move the machine, he just built a new one. Maybe he's planning on making more to build up his army quicker." Eggman thought, rubbing his chin.
"Someone has to stop him!" An adult shouted.
"Which is why I asked you all here." Eggman replied. "We thought Robotnik just moved the roboticizer, but apparently he's actually making more of them. We need to stop him now. We need to go back to South Island and destroy his machine."
The crowd was too surprised to even gasp at this claim. Everyone was silent, even the chao weren't responding. Only the wind made any noise.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Isabella shouted, prompting others to yell similar things.
"Everyone, please!" Longclaw attempted to settle them. "I know you're worried, but it's the only way to take your home back."
"Why do you need any of us to do this?" An adult asked.
"We are few in numbers, only a handful of fighters are on our side." Rosie explained. "We need your help, but not to fight. We need to scout the island, make sure Robotnik is not setting up extra surprises or doing more that we do not know about. We could use your help to explore the parts of the island where he would most likely make changes. We need people who will most be able to recognize anything that doesn't belong. We won't make any of you do anything you don't want to, but please, will anyone help us save your home?"
The citizens of South Island looked around each other, wondering who would be crazy enough to join in on this potential suicide mission.
"I'll go." Miss Wing said, stepping forward surprising a lot of people. "I'm quite the outdoorswoman, I spend a lot of my free time camping and hiking. If anyone can see something different in the wilderness of South Island it's me."
"We'll be glad to have your help." Eggman stated, gesturing for her to step up with the rest of them, which she did.
"I'll help out." A tall male gray rabbit mobian spoke up next.
"Thank you." Longclaw said as the rabbit stepped forward.
"Me too." Another male rabbit offered, this one yellowish-brown instead.
"Uncle Beauregarde?" Bunnie asked, surprised. "No, what if they git yah too?"
"Don't worry about it Squeaker, I owe it to the man that turned my brother and sister-in-law into tin cans." Beauregarde insisted, adjusting his cowboy hat a bit.
"I've got something." Ellidy spoke up, reaching into a bag and pulling out some kind of handheld device. "I'm no fighter or explorer, but I do know a thing about machines. If someone uses this, maybe you can hack into Robotnik's controls and take him down that way."
"That would be very helpful. Thank you." Sally said, taking the device.
"Take good care of Nicole." Ellidy said.
"Nicole?"
"That's the name I gave it. She'll be very helpful." Ellidy said, stepping away.
Sally went back by Rosie, and then there was a moment of silence.
"Anyone else?" Rosie asked.
The silence persisted.
"I'll go." Nicky stepped forward.
"Thanks, but we're looking for grown ups here." The woodchuck assured.
"And I don't see any others signing up."
"Nicky?" Sonia asked, nervously while tugging his arm. "Are you really going back there?"
"I handled these robots before, I can do it again. Besides, I still need to get our dog back."
"Let him come along." Eggman said, surprising Rosie. "We do need help, and unfortunately we can't afford to be picky."
"But-" Rosie started.
"Are you not taking the princess along? Is she not the same age as him?" Eggman challenged. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll be personally responsible for him."
With a soft sigh, Rosie nodded. "Alright then young man, you can come. Anyone else?"
"I'll go." Mina chipped in.
"No, I'll go. You stay." Arthur butted in, staring down his daughter.
"Arthur, you're needed here." Isabella insisted.
"I know, but if I don't do this, you know Mina will and I'm not letting her run off again." Arthur stated, giving his daughter another firm look.
"Sorry Nicky, looks like I've got to sit this one out."
"It's fine, just keep an eye on my siblings until I get back." Nicky asked, which she nodded.
Arthur joined the group of volunteers and Nicky followed. A few complained but no one offered to take his place. Cream and a tall female rabbit who most likely was her mother went to hug the gray rabbit, while a Chao joined him.
"Alright everyone, we'll try to be as quick as we can but this mission will take some time. In the meantime, relax here at the Lightfoot ranch and please be courteous to our hosts. They're taking a risk by letting us stay here while the country thinks we're traitors to the crown. Do not make them regret it please." Rosie warned, sounding like a grandmother you did not want to disappoint.
"Everyone ready?" Rosie asked, getting nods. She pulled out a scepter from her pockets, one that looked like a handheld version of the star poles, along with a ring. She touched the ring to the pole, making it glow, then threw it into the air, making it grow and become a portal. Everyone jumped through and it disappeared.
"Be careful." Mina whispered.
Everyone showed up on one of South Island's beaches. Nicky recognized it as the one closest to his hometown where a lot of people went to swim or play. His own family did so often, Sonia loving the ocean while he was unwilling to get near it.
"Why are we here?" He asked, edging away from the water.
"Sorry my boy, it's how the rings work." Eggman said. "The star poles work as anchor points between warping from one place to another. You need to be near one to start it, and it will take you close to another. But it won't take you to an exact location, just the general vicinity."
"I don't understand."
"Here, let me draw a diagram." Eggman knelt in the sand and made two dots. "Let's say these are two star poles, you can use rings to go from one to the other." He then drew a circle around one of the dots. "To open the portal, you need to be right at the pole, and once you do you will end up somewhere within the circle, but you don't get to decide exactly where. Just somewhere in the area. So right now we're close to the pole that we used to get everyone off the island the first time, but it's just random chance that we ended up right in this spot."
"Why can't you control the arrival point?" Nicky asked.
"We just haven't figured that out yet. In time though we hope to."
"Can I have everyone's attention?" Rosie requested, silencing them. "Alright, we don't have a lot of people so we will unfortunately have to split up. I'm thinking five teams of two. The robots appear focused in the residential area recently but hopefully that has died down. Mr. Eggman, can you and the boy check that area to make sure nothing was left behind or bring hiding citizens to safety?"
"I believe we can do that." Eggman agreed.
"Sally and I will check the local power plant. If nothing else we can delay Robotnik's machines by denying them a power source. Miss Wing, you said you know the wild areas. Are there any areas on this island that Robotnik might take an interest in?"
"There's this place we call the Marble Ruins, and the underground labyrinth. Perfect place to hide things, though the labyrinth is prone to being flooded this time of year." The teacher explained.
"Alright, in that case Rotor will check out the labyrinth while you focus on the ruins." Rosie suggested.
"I'll go with Miss Wing." Arthur suggested.
"I'll go into the labyrinth. I've got some experience with being underground." The gray rabbit offered.
"Okay, then that leaves Antoine and Mr. Rabbot to explore… what's another important area?" Rosie asked.
"Spring Yard. There's a lot of machinery there Robotnik could use for spare parts." Nicky suggested. "Oh, that means they might go after my dad's plane. I need to check that first."
"Works for me." Beauregarde nodded.
"We need a map to get to zees places." Antoine pointed out.
"I've got one." Eggman said before pulling out some paper from his pocket and unfolding it. "I knew this would come in handy."
Everyone looked it over, getting an idea of where they were now and where they had to go.
"So is everyone clear?" Rosie asked, and everyone nodded. "Alright, stay out of sight and take care of anything that looks wrong. Since we don't know what to expect, just use your best judgment in solving the problem."
"How do we get back?" The gray rabbit asked.
"With these." Rosie replied, taking out four more star poles. "Plant these in the area you'll be going to and give them about an hour to properly activate. Once that happens, we can use rings to warp back to your home Mr. Lightfoot."
"My name's Johnny, but friends call me Ice." He replied.
"Chao!" The Chao added.
"His name is Shaved." Johnny/Ice added.
"His name is Shaved?" Nicky repeated.
"Chao prefer names that pair up with those they consider partners. My wife Vanilla has a Chao named Chocola and my daughter Cream has a Chao named Cheese. If Eggman had a Chao, I imagine it would answer to Yolk or Sheldon or something of that nature. Oh, by the way, what's your name?"
"I'm… you know what, call me Sonic."
"I asked for your real name." Ice insisted.
"Relax, I understand the boy not wanting to tell us his real name. There's a reason I go by Eggman and why you said we could call you Ice." Eggman interjected.
Ice reluctantly nodded.
"If you get caught out in the field, use these." Eggman added, reaching into another pocket and pulling out what looked like watches. "They'll alert the rest of us if anyone's in trouble, and while I can't promise anything, they do have some EMPs built in that could disable some robots and hopefully prevent you from being turned into one. But each can only do it once, so don't use these unless absolutely necessary."
Everyone accepted the watches and put them on.
"Do we have a meet-up spot?" Sally asked.
"We won't need one. Once we're done we'll use the rings to return to the Lightfoot Chao Ranch and wait for the others. With Mr. Eggman's watches we can keep in touch so that helps. We could be here until tomorrow, but as long as we finish the job it'll be worth it." Rosie claimed.
"Right." Arthur agreed.
"Alright, let's take back South Island."