Violet Dreams

Part II

Chapter 29: Dawn, Part 1

"The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain."

Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins – 11:30 am

Birds flew off in haste from the sudden opening of the front door to the workshop. The flock shifted in the sky and perched once again on the cliff side nearest to where Tails house occupied. Sonic stretched his arms above his head, letting out an incredible yawn. While never being a heavy sleeper, he felt like he had slept for ages! The blue hero quietly eased the door shut, making sure not to wake anyone inside. The blue hero walked further out onto the cliff behind the building, the same cliff that Tails had used for a runaway many times. Nearing the edge, Sonic peered down at the calm ocean water lapping up against the rocks. Ignoring the fall below, the blue hero turned his attention to the floating isle not far in the distance. Almost all of his adventures involved Angel Island in some form, due to the Master Emerald. Seeing it in the water made Sonic realize the beauty of the island, since it wasn't often he looked at it. Rising from all sides up to the center, a snow-capped mountain was the first noticeable trait, then, the lush forest surrounding.

Sonic could almost swear the island was torn right from the Mystic Ruins – the vegetation looked identical!

Backing up a few paces to insure he didn't lose his balance when he turned around, Sonic stretched his legs tiredly. He felt rusty after not doing anything for so long. In some ways, it was nice to have something to do again. He felt rekindled; his thirst for action sparked once more. An age of peace is nice once in a while, but Sonic lived for action, and he just knew there would be plenty of it for the next while. Green eyes darted over to the door to the workshop, his ears flickering from the sudden movement. From within the shop, everyone slowly piled out either yawning or still drowsy. Last to walk through the door, Tails came walking through with his hand held computer. Sonic could tell his brother had barely slept by the marks under the young kitsune's eyes. Dismissing the fact for later, Sonic tucked his hands behind his head, as everyone gathered around lazily. Amy and Cream took it upon themselves to sit on the ground against Vanilla's legs – it was clearly still early.

"I've come up with a plan everyone," Tails announced tiredly, but at the same time in excitement. "It's clear that whoever attacked Station Square and Empire City last want the Chaos Emeralds."

"When isn't that clear?" Mighty snickered.

"Anyway, since they've gained two Emeralds as of last night," the young fox explained, digging out the Yellow Emerald from the back pack on his shoulder. "That leaves three unaccounted for. One emerald was given to Antoni Pedrara Museum for safe keeping under the Presidents order. So if I'm correct, the other three are in government safe houses in the United Federations."

"How are we supposed to find out where?" Knuckles interjected bluntly. "It's not like the government will just give them out like balloons!"

"Well, those cloaked thieves will without a doubt know where they are!" Tails replied quickly.

"So we just wait until they show up," Mighty asked with a frown. "And then pounce on 'em?"

"Not necessarily," Tails explained, shaking his head. With a few taps on his computer, a holographic map of the country popped with two pulsing dots on two sides of the country. "I've managed to track down two of the Emeralds. One is at the White House in Capital City, while the other is on Prison Island."

"Yeesh, not that place again," Sonic mumbled, memories of being imprisoned there flooding his mind.

"Don't worry, Sonic," Amy chirped up with smile and a wink. "If you get caught again, I'll rescue you like last time!"

"Last night I programmed the same software I put into my computer onto tracker, so that we can split up into two groups," Tails explained, pulling the device from the bag as well, replacing his computer inside. "That way we can get them both before anyone else, and find out what's going on!" Tails exclaimed, yawning briefly.

"What about the Master Emerald!" Knuckles piped up angrily.

"They're most likely holding it in a safe house or a base," Tails replied, rubbing his head in thought. "If we can find all the Chaos Emeralds, I should be able to lock onto the Master Emeralds energy signature. Then, you and Sonic and use Chaos Control to go right there!"

"You've really been thinking up a storm, huh Tails?" Sonic joked, and winked at his little brother. "So what're the teams, head honcho?"

"Well, we should even them out as best we can." Tails nodded, and pointed over to Mighty and Knuckles. "Since you two are the strongest, you'll be on separate teams. Mighty, you go with Cream and Amy. While Sonic, Knuckles and I will go to Prison Island, since we have the most experience together as a whole."

"What!" Amy hollered, jumping to her feet. "Why don't we get to have any fun like you three!"

With a sigh, Tails handed Amy the tracker and a communicator. "Because no one else here knows how to pilot the Tornado. Capital City is only a two hour train ride from here, so it'll be easy to get to."

Snagging the communicator from a disappointed Amy, Mighty scanned it, making sure he knew how to use it in case of emergency. "What do we do once we have the Emerald?"

"Come straight back!" Tails announced. "We can't risk them getting any leverage on us!"

Hearing the whistling steam engine in the distance, Sonic sniggered. "Looks like your ride is here."

Though still tired, Cream and Cheese hugged Vanilla goodbye with enthusiasm. Of course, after the elder rabbit gave a stern lecture on safety to her thirteen-year-old daughter. Noticing Amy's glum expression, the blue hero quickly sped up behind her before she followed her teammates to the train station. With a warm smile, Sonic grabbed her hand, giving her the bracelet Chip had left behind.

"If anything goes wrong, this'll protect you," Sonic reassured calmly. "Call if you guys get into a jam, and I'll be there in the blink of an eye, alright?"

Nodding through teary eyes, Amy hugged the blue hero tightly before running off after her fellow heroes, leaving Team Sonic to prepare the Tornado for take off. Per usual, the cliff side lifted upwards to form an extended, titanium runaway, pushing the snow off into the ocean below. Tails tapped a button on his device, opening the hangar doors. Slowly a tow hitch pulled the cobalt bi-plane from the depths of the Workshop, and out onto the runaway. The trio quickly made their way over to the aircraft and took their positions – Sonic on the wing as usual. Before long, the planes thruster burst to life thanks to the Chaos Emerald within its console, causing the jet to inch forward along the runaway. Finally, the tow hitch keeping it in place launched along the runaway, bringing the plane with it and effectively throwing the aircraft into the sky like a slingshot.

Location: En Route to Capital City – 1:52 minutes until Arrival

"Look Cheese!" Cream called ecstatically, staring out of the window on the train.

Once the train had left the station at the Mystic Ruins, it had made its way onto the country's longest bridge – almost seven kilometers long! The sparkling water seemed to flash by due to the speed the locomotive moved. Dolphins jumped from the tides every so often, flipping in the air before becoming submerged once again. Cream watched in awe at the creatures, while Amy sighed and fiddled with the communicator in her hand. While the two females of the group stayed awake in their own worlds, Mighty dozed off in the comfort of an unoccupied bench. His gentle snoring didn't seem to affect Amy in the least – she was too fixated on the task at hand. Her gaze left the piece of equipment in her palm, and trailed around the train car, finding that no one else was in it except for her team. The consistent giggling of one of her best friends served to keep a smile on her face, but she was preoccupied within her own mind.

What if she messed up? She always ended becoming a nuisance one way or another. With a sudden spark of confidence she gripped the device in-between her fist, as she nodded to herself, vowing to make everyone proud. The train slowly began to ascend a slope, leaving the bridge and moving up a mountainside. Pine trees began to come in clusters, until finally the train was moving through the forest just outside the Capital. Amy turned her attention to Cream, who had spotted a couple of mountain goats.

"Look!" the rabbit exclaimed with a giggle. "They have beards!"

"You're right!" Amy laughed. "Their eyes kinda droop like Professor Pickles!"

The two friends laughed between themselves, oblivious to the two thuds against the roof of the train. Mighty snorted in his sleep, as a bump in the track threw him onto the floor, waking him up. The armadillo groaned, and slowly eased himself up, feeling the need to find the little boys room. Scrambling over to the door to the next car back, Mighty inched across the connecting piece and scurried through the hall of the seated passengers, unaware of the figure rising from their seat. The black armadillo hurriedly knocked on the door, only to find the bathroom occupied.

"Uggghh," he groaned, shifting in his place when suddenly he noticed the cloaked figure draw neared.

"Mighty?" a voice came from behind the hood, the same voice that belonged to the female figure that had attacked the Chaotix. "Mighty, is that you?"

Blinking once to make sure he had heard correctly, his mind now distracted from natures calling, he stepped towards the female with surprise. "Crush?"

The girl quickly brought her hood down, her silvery white hair hung loosely around her face, while some of it was pulled into a ponytail past her pointed fox ears. Her metallic-blue eyes shone with happiness as the two embraced tightly in the hall of the train car. Pulling away from the female with astonishment, Mighty rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correct.

"Where's Ray?" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, as to not disturb the other citizens.

With an adverted gaze, Mighty sighed, tears beginning to brim in his eyes once again. "Well, he was killed, actually."

Gasping in surprise at the news, Crush hugged her long lost friend once again, consoling him. "I'm so sorry to hear, Mighty…"

"No, it's okay," the armadillo nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "He died at peace."

"I'm glad to hear that," Crush smiled warmly, but was replaced quickly by a look of suspicion as she glanced behind her. "Listen, Mighty you need to get off of this train, it's going to explode!"

With a confused look, Mighty turned to the man just leaving the stall, a putrid odor trailing from the lavatory. "Gee, I don't think the smell is that bad…"

"No!" she exclaimed, trying to keep quiet. "My partner and I were sent to stop the ones who are going to get one of the Chaos Emeralds. I can't stay for long, but please, try and get away!"

With a sudden realization hitting him like a ton of rocks, Mighty's face went pale. His eyes scanned the robe like cloak draped around the girls' small figure. Sure enough, it was identical to the ones he had seen in Station Square. With a solemn frown, Mighty shook his head with a sigh.

"So you're one of them, huh?" he questioned rhetorically. "I'm sorry, Crush. My friends are in the next car, and we're the ones you were sent here for. Why would you join a band of thieves like that? You're better than that!"

Trying to shush her friend, Crush frantically covered his mouth, attempting to calm the armadillo down. "What do you mean? They're trying to bring a revolution! If they succeed, the world will be transformed into a utopia, Mighty! Join us, you still have time!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Mighty replied quietly, his stomach sinking. "I can't let you hurt these innocent people. I'm going to have to stop you, Crush."

Firmly grasping the females wrist within her cloak, Mighty stared at her eyes, causing her to snap her arm back. The girl backed up slightly with narrowed eyes and look of disbelief. By now, people had begun to whisper a theory about what was going on, staring at the two anthro's. With a sigh, the armadillo turned his attention to the scanner in his hand, the pulsing circle of light growing closer. Turning his attention ahead of him again, his heart began to pound like a drum.

She was gone.

"Everyone, please remain calm!"

Suddenly a rough bump knocked everyone about within the car. Mighty shot his attention ahead, finding that the last two train cars had been unhitched, and allowed to fall back from the rest of the train. The young armadillo quickly ran to the door, swinging it open. The wind screamed in his ears, as he watched Crush moved about atop of the train with another much larger cloaked figure. Thinking quickly, the traveler jumped onto the hitch, the bumps of the train tracks making it hard for him to balance. Hoping in the back of his head he was doing the right thing, Mighty thrust down on a red lever, activating the emergency breaks and allowing him to jump between the rail cars before the distance became to great.

With a thud he landed behind his former friend, a stern look on his face. The duo ahead turned around curiously, their cloaks flapping in the wind, yet somehow the hood remained over the larger figures head. Tightening his hands into fists, causing a green light to envelope them, Mighty spoke up, managing to break through the howling wind.

"I can't let you win, Crush," he explained. "You can still come back."

"You don't understand, Mighty!" she yelled in a cracking voice, close to tears. "He has such big plans for this world! He's leading us all to an unending age of peace! He..he told us that nothing can become great until something has become destroyed. He described it like a phoenix rising from its ashes. Mighty, don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt you!"

Noticing the larger figure continue running down the train car, Mighty quickly punched the air in front of him, sending a circular burst of pulsating white light past his friend. The blast collided with the figure just as he was preparing to jump one train car ahead, sending Crush's accomplice smashing through the tarp-like cover between the connecting section of the train cars. Shaking his head, Mighty walked closer to the sobbing female, making sure the bumps didn't knock him off.

"You have a chance, Crush!"

A pillar of rushing water exploded from in front of him, knocking him off of the train, and into the ground. His world spun round and round, as he slid down the cliff side. He clawed at anything he could find to stop his descent down the mountainside, but found nothing but roots and rocks, which tore up his gloves. Adverting his eyes upwards, he found Crush running down the side of the mountain either after him, or for him – he wasn't sure. The armadillo suddenly grunted and everything came to a stop, the tree he had collided tilting slightly from the impact. Though in pain, Mighty turned his attention to the incoming fist being thrown at his head. The traveling hero quickly tilted his neck to the side, avoiding the blow. Wood chipped away from the impact, cracking the tree. Using the split second he had, Mighty rolled away from his attacker, quickly jumped back to his feet and sliding down to a plateau on the mountainside, avoiding a wave of water.

"It didn't have to turn out like this," Crush screamed, water shooting from beneath her feet.

Using the elements around him, Mighty punched a boulder, shooting it up through the sky towards Crush. However a thin burst of water split through the massive obstacle, slicing it like paper. The two halves dropped back into the ground, cracking the soft forest soil. Throwing his arms up in front of his face, Mighty deflected a mighty kick from Crush, allowing himself to push her back.

"I don't want to hurt you," Mighty called out.

Meanwhile…

Screaming with surprise, Amy jumped away from her seat, pulling Cream and Cheese with her. Twisted metal and chipped wood slid across the ground as the huge figure rose from the debris, a shining material slowly forming around his hulking fists. The young hedgehog glanced at the ground in worry, as it began to bend and creak from the weight of whatever was standing in front of them. Then, without any warning the figure charged forwards, leaving cracks and gaping holes in the floorboards with each step.

The girls quickly jumped in opposite directions in order to avoid the charging figure, each landing on their own padded bench. Glass shattered from one of the train cars windows breaking, and the figure quickly twirled around, causing the train to sway dangerously. A flash of light lit up the room, giving way for Amy's mallet. The figure huffed and glanced behind him at the open door. With unusually fast reflexes, the large figure smashed through the doorway, and grabbed onto the edge of the train as he dropped onto the ground. The train began to screech from the sudden weight it was pulling, causing sparks to fly from its wheels. The figure chuckled and dug their rock-encased feet into the dirt, smashing through the railway ties in the process. Before long the train came to a screeching halt, throwing Amy, Cream and Cheese against the far wall.

"Sorry," the figure called out, heaving the entire train to the right.

As if the entire locomotive were simply a toy, the large figure ripped the partially moving train from the trains, and sent it sliding down the side of the mountain. However, having not finished just yet, the bear from Empire City jumped over the edge of the railway, and slid down the Cliffside after the barreling train cars.

Fortunately, a cluster of trees had stopped the passenger cars, save for one. Amy, Cream and Cheese spun around within the tumbling car, glass shattering with each hit. The large bear jumped from his position behind the rolling car, and soared over top of it, landing on the shore of a lake. His feet dug into the rocks, and with a mighty swing of his fist, rock shot outwards from the impact. The rock washed across the rooftop of the car like water, obliterating the walls and the entire left side of the train car. Glass smashed to the ground, as steam rose up from the heated steel. Smirking, the bear pulled his fist from the metal; the rock receding back into his body like it was apart of him.

"Take this, you creep!"

Jumping through the gaping hole in the train car, Amy swung her hammer around with such ferocity a gust shot upwards. The bear watched in horror as the weapon smashed into his body. A ring of wind erupted from the point of impact, shooting the large bear bouncing across the once calm lake. Ripples erupted from several spots where the bear skipped over, causing waves to swish against the shore. Finally the bear tumbled in mid air and smashed into the cliff side on the opposite end of the gigantic lake, causing him to fall forwards into the water.

Heaving in breaths out of anger, fear and adrenaline, Amy dropped her weapon into the wet rocks as Cream scurried out beside her.

"Is the scary guy gone?" she murmured, while Cheese hid behind a close by tree.

Everything had grown quiet, as the lake once again settled. "Yeah, I doubt he could have swam out of there with his weight. All that rock must have really weighed him down!"

However, before they could fully settle, the ground began to shake. The girls looked down with confusion, finding that the rock beneath them had started shifting. Suddenly the ground spiked up around them, creating a chamber of rock and clay. Dirt tumbled away from the insides of the prison, as the two heroes backed up against the dirty wall. A laugh filled the inside of the prison like structure, causing Amy and Cream to hug each other in fear. Slowly, a figure began to rise from the ground, rock and dirt chipping away from its being as it emerged from the earth like liquid.

"Sorry," he murmured eerily.

"The technology of our age is unlike anything we've had before. It grows, like a child. The possibilities are endless if we use our blessings properly." Professor Gerald Robotnik, Chaos Physicist, 1889 – 1953

To be Continued

Authors Note – Perhaps I'm updating too fast…You know the drill!