Chapter 3: The Festival of the Sun
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He felt like someone had set of fireworks inside his head. He opened his eyes, and closed them again. It was so bright! He rolled himself over, then tried to open his eyes again. Less painful. Gosh, his head hurt. Sonic tried to get on all fours, and found that his was weaker then the thought. His arms and legs trembled as they strained to support his weight with what energy they could muster. Shaking his head out, trying to regain composure, he slowing got his feet under him and slowly tried to stand up. Man, his head hurt! His arm waved about to find something to support himself and found what felt like a tree. Slowly, he worked his way to a standing position, more like leaning his back against the trunk of the tree. He opened his eyes to adjust himself to the light. Man, he must've been out for hours...

In a few minutes, his eyes finally had adjusted to the light. Looking around, he noticed one thing right away: where was the X-Tornado? Right now, he was standing near a still pond on the outskirts of a forest, which appeared swampy. He was leaning against what looked like a magnolia tree. Sonic wasn't much for botany, but he had associated pink flowers in trees to be magnolia. He looked around some more for the X-Tornado, but couldn't see it in sight. Was he even on the Floating Island?

He shook his head out one more time to clear away the cobwebs. What had happened again?

"Oh, yeah..." He muttered. "The Chaos Emerald went screwy and it blasted me somewhere...just...where? This doesn't look like anywhere I remember..."

And that says a lot; Sonic's been just about everywhere on Möbius on his many explorations of the planet.

Sonic started shouting names. "Tails!? Knuckles!? Shadow!? Can you hear me?"

No response to be heard.

"Where the heck am I?" Sonic looked side to side, trying to find something familiar, but alas, nothing looked familiar. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was going to set soon, and he didn't feel like staying out in a strange place at night. But that led to yet another problem. Where exactly to go? He couldn't just run blindly in one direction. That only worked for Columbus.

"Calm down, hedgehog, you've been in stickier situations. Heck, you could just be dreaming..." he said aloud to himself. A few seconds later, a pinch told him the contrary.

Rubbing his chin, he surveyed the terrain. To what his sense of direction told him the north, he saw snow-peaked mountains, rather extravagant-looking, but didn't look hospitable enough. Maybe, there was, but Sonic's exploring of Möbius had let him know that most cities were built near bodies of water. A few were in mountains, but were mostly mining commercial cities, and they were few and far between. His best shot was the opposite direction.

Looking in that direction, he saw the swampy forest. Sonic was not a big fan of wetlands, but if whatever water was in it had an outlet, it would eventually lead him to a settlement of some sort. He knew he had to be quick; a forest was a bad place to be at night. He fleet-footed into the forest, hoping to run into something that would provide a shelter, and perhaps a clue to where he was.

The jungle proved to be a hassle to run through, as Sonic had anticipated as he had wondered through various jungles before. Interestingly enough, this seemed familiar to him. A few years before, he, Tails and Knuckles had gotten lost in a jungle with giant frogs...and one enormous crocodile. This forest to also had "giant" animals, as Sonic soon found out as he hopped through a marsh hopping on giant rocks...which were in fact, giant turtle shells. He found this out as he hopped on one and it ducked under. Sonic had just enough wit to jump to shore. Eventually, he stumbled on a stream and proceeded to follow it downstream. Eyeing the darkness gathering around him, he quickened the pace. It felt like hours, and Sonic grew concerned about his friends. He or they were lost in a place that might be Möbius, but Sonic had a sick feeling that he wasn't on Möbius at all. So, did the Chaos Emerald warp them through dimensions? Or was it just him stuck here? He had to find his friends and soon!

The river grew wider and the current quickened or so Sonic could tell from the floating debris. Sooner then he anticipated, the forest thinned out so he could see the sky, now purple from the setting sun. Stars were coming out, and Sonic looked to find the moons. He did find ONE moon, one big bright white moon, similar to the one he remembered on Möbius. However, the second moon, Little Planet, was not to be found anywhere.

Sonic sat down on a rock and scratched his head, thinking. Think, Sonic, think! You heard of other planets that had one moon, which was it?

"Earth!" Sonic leapt up. Had he warped to the planet where the Overlanders had come from? He had always wondered what that planet looked like. He had seen a globe of Earth and it really didn't look that impressive. Besides the shape of the land masses, Earth and Möbius looked the same.

"Could the Chaos Emeralds really have warped me to Earth!? That's lightyears away from us!"

Sonic soon recalled that Chaos Control, the Relocating half of it anyway, used the life energy of the bearer as fuel to relocate. If Sonic had really relocated that far, he would've been knocked out for hours.

Wait a minute, it was morning when Sonic was with Tails and Knuckles "back on Möbius;" when he "woke up," it was evening.

Still, something didn't click. Chaos Relocate only works properly if the bearer has a picture in his mind where the teleport to, and Sonic hasn't seen pictures of Earth before at all! It was an accident after all.

Sonic got up on his feet, and began to walk further down the river. The trees continued to thin and soon he found himself on a rocky beach leading into a moonlit ocean. The sun had set and he could see the orange sky where it had set before. It was definitely a sight to behold; one that no photograph would do justice.

Something caught Sonic's eye to his left, and he locked his eyes on it. It looked like a fireworks display had just begun. Fireworks meant there had to be people watching it close by, also probably not too far to a city! Sonic didn't need convincing; he hopped the rocks over the river and ran quickly towards the radiant displays of fireworks in the distance.

- - - - -

The lost blue hedgehog was not the only stranger to wake up into a world he did not recognize. Nearby the forests the former had just traversed was a ruin of stone, what seemed to be a grand palace, abandoned to disarray. It stood high, proudly looking over the lake below, despite its faded glory. The only residents of this palace were rodents, eagles and other creatures, living amongst the stone and vines now as a monument to a treasured past of its people long gone.

It wasn't left to be undisturbed for long as what looked like a portal, laced with bolts of lightning and dark clouds grew over a bridge connecting the old castle to a stretch of plain near the marshy forest. The portal seemed to spit out the body of a white hedgehog. He nearly landed on his feet, but stumbled from dizziness from whatever trip he had just performed. Holding his head, he did not notice the portal close above him, vanishing as if it was never there. Recovering his equilibrium, he looked up at the gathering darkness. He first noticed that the markings on his hands, which also laced the gold cuffs of his gloves and boots glowed bright blue in the night. Although pretty, he found it a bit harsh on the eyes.

"Blaze? Mephiles? You guys okay? I'm a bit dizzy myself..."

No answer. Silver looked around up and down the stone bridge, but didn't see neither the black hedgehog nor the purple-furred feline.

Impulsively, he called out their names into the dark. Still, no answer. Slightly unnerved, he willed himself to calm down; they all must've gotten separated during the time travel. Blaze could handle herself fine, Silver knew, and even though Mephiles was kind of mysterious, he had the look that he would fair just as well. Silver devoted his mind away from being stranded from his friend and focus at the task on hand. First of all, where was he? Looking around, he looked at the surroundings, and was enamored at how beautiful they appeared to be. He watched as a flock of water fowl flew overhead into the dark marshy forest, calling out their calls as they flew.

"This is so...unbelievable!" Silver was spellbound by the beauty of nature that was displayed before him. "This was our past!? I don't believe it!"

Silver had lived in a day of apocalyptic circumstances, and the world was torn apart where no beauty or good thing seemed available to be salvaged. He looked up and saw the moon rise over the darkness, shedding her borrowed light onto the world. Silver had seen the moon before, clouded over in ash, a haunting orange or red, but here it was pearl white, beautiful and majestic.

He must've been staring for quite some time for his neck began to feel stiff. Relaxing, he rubbed his neck and realized how dark it really was. He could barely see anything. He wasn't here for sightseeing; he was here to stop the Iblis Trigger from releasing Iblis, by whatever means necessary.

There was a new problem though, where to begin the search? Between his time and this, they were virtually unrecognizable from the other. Nothing looked familiar at all... It wasn't long afterwards when Silver heard what sounded like a roar, not like roars from Iblis, but a deep, monotone roar, droning on and on. Whatever it was, it was loud enough and close enough to make the ground shake. Silver scanned the skies and saw the biggest ship he ever has seen! It was bigger then Iblis even! Silver froze in its immensity. From the moonlight, it was red and black, a monstrosity of metal and machinery. Highlighted by bluish lights, it seemed ghostly. He could make out the shape of it by the moonlight and the ship's lights. It was long, pointy at the end but broadened to a six-winged rear, all six wings lined with thrusters, each emitting out blue flames. Silver guessed that the thrusters were the source of the noise.

Where in the world was it going, Silver asked himself. Something that big probably wasn't out to show off. By the looks of it, it was a warship, albeit a massive one. It could probably take out a nation's entire air force barely trying! Silver watched it as it torched through the night sky, heading overhead and away from the ruins that lay behind Silver.

"I wonder what those people are up to...nothing good."

He decided to follow this monster of the skies and see what the people on it had in mind to use it for. Running over the bridge, he crossed a stone flat at the foot of the bridge, eyes switching from the ship to the terrain in front. It was a grassy plain, surrounded by foothills of the nearby mountains. Silver found he was in a mountain plain, heading away from the snowy mountains behind. Crossing the foothills would not be easy, he knew, but he got a break as he found a pass, a path through the foothills before. The ship was flying right above it. Not hesitating, he ran into the pass. Where it led? Perhaps some answers...

- - - - -

Shadow recovered first. He was lying on what felt like ceramic tiles, and judging by the light, it was approaching dusk. He gingerly got his feet under him, and noticed right away he had been laying on an incline. Further study showed he was on someone's roof!

"What happened? Where am I?" He said in his usual whisper.

From what he could see, he was in a city. However, it wasn't like any city Shadow had ever seen before. He was used to the metal, the skyscrapers, and other modern city characteristics. This one seemed entirely made of stone, carved in elegant columns and patterns. It reflected the setting sun's rays like glass, bathing the city in orange light. It had a mysterious beauty to it. Shadow had never seen anything like it, and nearly forgot how he got here to begin with. His memory was hazy, but after recalling things over and over, he soon surmised that the Chaos Emeralds had gone into a Chaos Control unbidden. He had teleported...and if he remembered right, whoever was close by. He remembered Sonic had bolted off, but Tails and Knuckles remained behind. Could they be nearby as well?

Shadow surveyed the area, and soon found Tails unconscious on a nearby roof. Leaping over the alley way below, he tried to wake the young fox. It took a few attempts, but Tails awoke. He seemed dazed.

"Tails, pull yourself together. We're in a situation here..."

Shadow left the fox to find Knuckles. Interestingly enough, he was already awake and pacing up and down the same roof, but on the same side. Being a Guardian must've made him less dull-witted. Knuckles noticed Shadow.

"Was it Chaos Control, Shadow?"

Shadow had experienced the Chaos Control more then Sonic, or anyone else he knew combined. Shadow nodded. It felt like Chaos Control.

"The Emerald is gone, however," Shadow began. "I do not know if it was taken by whoever lives in this city or it teleported somewhere else on its own."

"Have any idea where we are?" the heavy-browed Echidna asked.

Shadow shook his head.

Knuckles turned away. "It seems we're stuck here."

Shadow turned away, just in time to see Tails groggily make his way towards the two. His eyes showed the same question that Knuckles asked, and Shadow repeated his same head motion. The black hedgehog looked towards the skies, trying to see anything familiar from the stars now coming out.

"I don't think we're on Möbius at all," Shadow pointed up. "The constellations are nothing I've ever seen, nor the moon..."

"I already figured that out, Shadow..." Knuckles growled; he was not in a good mood, understandably.

Shadow looked Knuckles in the eye; he didn't take kindly to interruptions. "I'm trying to figure out where we are, Echidna. Stay out of my way..."

Knuckles glared at Shadow; tensions were high. Tails intervened quickly.

"Stop it, guys!" Tails shouted. "Fighting isn't going to help us at all!"

Shadow turned away, crossed arms and brooded. Knuckles seemed to follow suit. Tails sighed in relief from the close call. Knuckles was quick at temper, as was Shadow. A fight between these two would not end nearly as well as one between Knuckles and Sonic. All three remained in their positions when they heard a voice.

"I figured you three would be close by..."

All three turned to see Rouge the Bat fluttered down from above. She too seemed fraught with confusion at the current situation.

"The question is, are we just going to stand here?" Rouge said.

"You have any ideas?" Tails asked.

Rouge eyed Shadow, and the latter seemed to catch her drift. "The Chaos Emeralds," whispered Shadow.

"Exactly. If the Chaos Emeralds brought us here, why don't we try using them to go back?"

"Assuming they're all here in this world..." Knuckles growled.

"Since two of them did at the same time," Shadow replied. "I can assume the others followed suit, which means...we're not the only ones stuck here."

"Knuckles, do you know who had the Emeralds?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles thought for a second. "You had one. Sonic had one. Tails had two. Shadow had one. The Chaotix had one..."

"And Viper had the last one..." Shadow said.

"Viper? The Overlander bounty hunter?" Knuckles and Tails asked in unison.

"He had it to monitor it as he was looking for Sonic; that's why I was on your Island...to ask you..." Shadow pointed at Knuckles. "...or Sonic about the Chaos Emeralds erratic behavior."

Rouge counted in the tally. On the surface, over ten individuals were possibly stuck in this strange world...whatever it was.

"I don't even know if Sonic made it back in time for the Chaos Control," Knuckles added. "or if the Chaotix had the Chaos Emerald with them at the time they were gone."

"The hard part will be finding the Emeralds," Tails said subjectively.

"I'm way ahead of you, sweetie..." Rouge pulled out a circular device that looked like an oversize, glorified stopwatch. "I already have locked onto one of the beauties itself, and it's nearby."

Knuckles took the cue and took a step away from the group.

"Uh-uh, big boy. This gem is mine. I found it first and I'm a lady..." Rouge said, smiling.

"You haven't found it yet, so unless you hurry up your bat-tail, you're going to be a lady loser..." Knuckles jumped off the roof in a glide into the gathering night.

Rouge shrugged. "One of these days, him thinking with his glands will embarrass him more then I can ever accomplish," she sighed. "Oh well, I guess I have to 'hurry and find the Emerald before he shows me up.'" Smiling, she leapt out into the night and spread out her wings. Silently, she disappeared into the night.

Tails and Shadow were alone on the rooftop, but that didn't remain that way long. Shadow sniffed and leapt down onto the alley below and begun to walk away.

"Shadow! Wait!" Tails made as if to follow him. "I'm comi--"

"I'm going to find out where we are, Tails," Shadow's oily voice drifted up from below. "You can come with me if you wish, but if you fall behind, you're on your own."

Tails halted in his tracks. There was an uneasy silence.

"No?" Shadow's voiced said finally. "Fine by me..."

Tails could hear Shadow's footsteps face away. He was alone now. He felt stupid for trying to follow Shadow as if he was Sonic; they were two completely different individuals, despite looking vaguely alike. Alone now, he forced himself to do what should he do next. He longed for his plane, which also contained his gadgets like pocket radar, communicator and Chaos Emerald locator, among other things, but now, he was no better off then when he first ran into Sonic almost ten years before. He was forced to think on his feet now...

...much like Sonic.

Sonic. He seemed to find himself repeatedly separated from his friend by something, but everything turned out in the end, but it still felt lonely.

Something distracted his thoughts, crackling explosions and bright flashes of light. Tails turned and saw a fireworks display going on. It was quite pretty... From where he stood he could also see something like a parade, and large groups of people were cheering and hollering at it. At another glance, the "floats" were boats in the river, and there was one particularly majestic one that seemed to draw the attention of the crowds.

"I wonder what's going on..." Tails wondered allowed.

Bitten by curiosity, he spun his two tails and flew towards the party...

- - - - -

She was born into wealth and power. She was a natural-born leader. She was young and pretty, well known to the citizens of Soleanna and the surrounding countries. She was Princess Elise, heiress to the throne of Soleanna, soon to be Queen Elise. At only sixteen years, leaders of other countries marveled at her ability to lead her people and her nation. The only reason she was not a queen now was by constitutional law of that country that the monarchy head could not be named king or queen until eighteen years of age. Amendments to re-ratify this age standard in favor of Elise had been drafted, but were never passed by the House of Commons of the Parliament. Those failures did not shake the adornment nor the loyalty of her people, no, a title was just a title. Elise was the people's leader as a monarch. She had been, technically, representative of the throne for ten years, after her father the King, formerly a Duke, had died ten years before. Her mother died at childbirth.

The heads of monarchies by constitutional law were elected by the Parliament according to noble families if the present monarch's family ended or proved incapable of leadership. People found the election of the Duke's family to be a precinct of another golden age of Soleanna and the surrounding lands. Being the present monarch, Elise was also the ceremonial head of events. Tonight was an especially ceremonious night. It was the night on the two-day Festival of the Sun, an occasion of the celebration for their god, Solaris, the Flame of Hope. Each year, the monarch prays the Prayer of Blessing to Solaris to protect them from dangers. Soleanna was dedicated to peace and wanted to keep it that way. This particular night, Elise was on front of her royal barge, showered by yellow carnations and tulips, the traditional flowers of the festival. She was dressed in the traditional white gowns of the royalty. Her pearl-white dress was ornamented with silver and diamonds. Around her auburn locks of hair, she wore a crown of silver, lined with feathers of the white eagle, the national bird. She was the image of royalty and beauty.

Smiling and waving to her people, she stood out tall as yellow-dressed dancers performed seamlessly behind her. Hooded maids stood on either side behind her, solemn but not taking away any of the festive atmosphere. Elise was happy to see her people happy. Several times she threw bouquets of yellow and white flowers towards the people from her ship, gliding like a swan through the water canals. Fireworks lit the sky, adding to the cheer of the Festival. The military saluted the princess with rounds of gunfire upwards to the dark, starry sky. The celebrations only intensified as the white boat approached an island with six arms, all bearing torches, non-fired. In the center was an even larger torch, as large as the buildings around it. The ship docked, and the Princess, followed by her hooded maids proceeded off the ship and towards a platform. On it was a short, elderly priest looking solemn; on either side of him were two taller robed men, arms tucked away in the folds of their robes, looking equally solemn. This was a holy night after all...

Elise stepped up towards the priest, and as she approached, the priest held up to her a large, silver-lined torch, burning with flames. Also given was a talisman of silver, the wings wrapping the red jewel giving off a crimson light, which was also handed out to the Princess. Elise took the torch from him, and almost immediately, the clamour and appraisal of the crowds around died in a heartbeat. Elise paused and looked at the flames. She has done this before; no need to be nervous...

However, when he looked into the flames, they seemed to grow in front of her. Soon, they swallowed up her entire vision, burning not peacefully as before, but angrily and treacherously. She dropped the torch, but found it was already out of her hands. Looking down, she noticed she was floating above her city, but it was not the city she knew. It was ablaze, and the ground was broken like an earthquake had roared through. This frightened her; she did not understand what was going on. Then, her vision fixed onto the center of the city, where the fire was concentrated; it wasn't the fire that got her attention though. No, it was...something coming up from hell itself it seemed. It was large, and its flesh was constantly on fire. It had four arms and a maw that could devour the already-destroyed buildings. It was a demon, a demon of Elise's worst dreams. What was worse that she felt like she had seen it before, but where?

"Your Grace!" a voice rang out.

Elise looked up, finding herself back on the stone platform, surrounded by her attendants and priests and bishops.

"Are you all right?" asked the attendant to her left.

Still slightly shaken from what she had witnessed, she recomposed herself. "Yes, I'm all right. I'm sorry..."

The attendant still looked concerned, but did not press the matter. Elise nodded to the priest who gave her the Talisman. Elise approached an altar. On it was a bowl filled with fine powder, smelling of incense, wet with oil also. She held out both the torch and the talisman over the altar. As she did so, the priest, bishops, attendants and the crowds folded their hands together and knelt onto their knees towards the altar and center torch.

Elise cried out her Prayer of Blessing for all the people, her voice gaining intensity as she progressed. "We give thanks for the blessed Flames; we give thanks for Your Eternal Light. May you continue to guide us towards peace and harmony. Sun of Soleanna, continue to guide and protect us with your Eternal Light!" With that, she tipped the torch into the bowl. Instantly, flames flew up channels to each of the six unlit torches and the great torch. The people rose and cried out with joy as all torches burned with the holy flames. Fireworks poured once again into the skies, lighting up the night.

Elise still held the now extinguished torch and waved towards the crowd, smiling towards them. It was a blessed night.

In the midst of this jubilation, terror lifted its ugly head. Using the fireworks as cover, several air-to-surface missiles rained down from the sky. It wasn't until the missiles slammed into the city did people see the terror. The cries of joy quickly turned into screams of fright and terror. More missiles slammed into other buildings, gouging smoking craters in the stone. Elise dropped the torch in fright, crying out from fright briefly. Her attendants and priests surrounded her, equally frightened but willing to take the brunt of anything that would harm their Princess. Nothing came their way as far as weaponry, but all looked up as a monstrous ship loomed over the city, overcast by orange smoke. The belly of the beast opened up, and out of it twelve things fell out of it. Only when they landed on the perimeter of the platform did Elise see what they were. They were neither human nor animal. They were robots. Drones with weapons as arms, marked in white and black. One single eye on their small heads stared coldly and unemotionally at the huddled group of people. All the robots had aimed their guns at the group, but did not fire.

Elise was frightened to say the least. Who would do this to them on such a blessed evening? That question was answered sooner then anyone had expected. One larger, darker robot with large, tri-fingered arms hovered slowly down to them. It wasn't until it was at eye level when they saw it was piloted by a man. This man seemed to be over fifty years old. He wore dark glasses on his bald head, and equally noticeable was a large moustache the same color as Elise's hair; it seemed to span from shoulder to shoulder. He wore a red uniform, marked with brass buttons and gold linings on his arms. He wore white gloves and black trousers, also lined with linings, dark gray instead of gold. He seemed to stand over six feet tall, and judging by his girdle, an excess of two-hundred and fifty pounds.

He spoke with a gruff, but (presently) friendly voice, speaking each syllable slowly and articulately. "A pleasure to meet you at last, Princess Elise of Soleanna." Stepping forward on his hovercraft, he continued. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Dr. Albus Kintobor. I have come to receive from you the secrets of the Flames of Disaster from you, Your Grace. I also intend to collect the Talismans of Essence that are the key to its secret." The man, Dr. Kintobor glanced at Elise's hand, baring the glowing jewel in the talisman. Elise had forgotten about it in her hand. Impulsively, she held it to her bosom with both hands, trying to stifle its light. Too late. "Ah, the Talisman of Fire. I figured you had one of them. Now, Princess, I must take you to my fortress. Do not fret, child. You will not be harmed if you cooperate with my wishes and when I am finished, I shall personally take you back unharmed to your castle. You have my word." The doctor smiled.

Elise was still frightened, and impulsively stepped back, still clutching the red jewel as if it was vital to her. Looking around, there seemed to be no escape.

"Come now, child, don't make things difficult for either of us."

"Let's just see you try, EGGMAN!!"

All, including Dr. Kintobor, jumped at this assertive voice. None could see anyone though. Soon, the wind picked up. From a breeze, it soon jumped to a massive gale. All watched in fright and confusion as it seemed a blue-blurred tornado had spawned right around them. Just as fast as it picked up, it died.

Elise looked and saw a blue "hedgehog" thing standing on the altar right beside the burning bowl of incense.

"My, my, my, Eggman! I give you this: that sure was a flashy appearance there!"

Elise gasped. Who was that!?

She was distracted by gunfire from the drones, firing not at the crowd by at this new stranger. Elise looked, but he was gone again! There was a crash and Elise jumped as a metal body of a drone was thrown lifeless down onto the stone, followed by another and another! Elise saw the blue blur bouncing off the robots like a pinball, each strike sent each one flying off balance. Soon, there was only one left. The stranger smacked it, but it remained standing, although judging by its posture, it was inactive. All of its arms were hanging down loosely. The blue hedgehog looked at it briefly, and nudged it with his foot. The drone tipped over backwards and splashed into the water. Snickering, the hedgehog leapt at Elise, snatching her up and dashed away.

Dr. Kintobor sputtered, but found his tongue. "Drones! Attack! Get that hedgehog!"

More drones dropped the sky and fired seeker missiles towards the speeding duo.

"No, you metal-heads!" shrieked the Doctor. "Not the missiles! I need the Princess alive!"

On the other side, the blue hedgehog carrying the Princess was fleet-footing it all around the city, ducking between buildings to cause the missiles to get thrown off track, slamming into the buildings. It was a terrifying experience for Elise, who clung to the hedgehog for dear life. Contrarily, the hedgehog seemed to find this fun as his mouth was in a constant smirk.

"By the by, I'm Sonic...Sonic the Hedgehog..." he said casually as he made a sharp right turn, followed by a slamming explosion of a missile on the building behind him.