Chapter 76: Friend

"Now that Shamar's continent has been restored to its proper place on the planet's core along with the United Federation's, we can now concentrate on the last two Gaia Temples," Professor Pickle said proudly the following morning.

"Do you know where they are?" Sonny asked.

"According to the Gaia Manuscripts, there's a temple on the island continent of Adabat which is south from here," Pickle answered. "But the last temple's location is a complete mystery."

"I see," Sonny responded. "While you and Amelia concentrate on finding the last temple, Chip and I will head to Adabat."

"Sounds like a plan," Chip said, though he sounded less enthusiastic than before.

"What's wrong, Chip?" Amelia said as she noticed Chip's concerned frown.

"Oh, it's nothing," Chip said assuredly.

###

After reaching Adabat and defeating Eggman's Egg Lancer, which was an upgraded version of the Egg Beetle robot, Sonny and Chip arrived at the Gaia Temple which consisted of stone columns and stairs. While Sonny was eager to go inside, Chip hesitated.

"Is something bothering you?" Sonic said looking back at Chip. "You haven't been yourself today."

"I haven't?" Chip responded, then he looked down. "Guess I didn't notice."

"Talk to me, buddy. What's on your mind?"

"It's just that…while we've been traveling the world and restoring Temples, my memories have remained blank," Chip said on the verge of tears. "What if I never find out who I am? What'll I do then?"

"Take it easy," Sonny said as he hugged Chip. "As soon as we restore this Temple and the one after, we'll concentrate on getting your memories back."

"Thanks, Sonny," Chip said looking up. "I don't where I'd be if I hadn't met you."

Then with that, Chip flew enthusiastically into the Gaia Temple while Sonny followed behind. Though the interior was still the same, the mural on the wall was different. It showed a creature with long tendrils fighting against a small animal with pixie wings who was surrounded by a halo of light. Intrigued, Chip flew up to get a closer look at the mural while Sonny placed the next Chaos Emerald on top of the pedestal and watched the Emerald change to purple.

A few seconds later, the mural lit up and Chip was sucked into it. On the other side, Chip found himself floating through space with a white glowing object floating next to him as a galaxy shone in the distance. As Chip got closer to the white object, he started to hear a voice that sounded remarkably like himself.

"I've been waiting for you," the glowing object said.

"Who are you and where am I?" Chip asked.

"I am you, Chip, and this is your mind."

"My mind? How can I have something this vast in my head when I don't even know who I am?"

"All will be answered, and then you must prepare yourself for the battle that is to come."

"Huh?"

Instead of answering, the white glowing object flew right into the stone around Chip's neck and became absorbed. Once this was done, Chip felt a flood of memories and feelings he had never felt before rushing into him as the space around him collapsed. He was awoken by Sonny shaking his arm.

"Are you all right?" Sonny asked.

"What happened?" Chip said as he rubbed the back of his head. He was lying on a pier back in the Adabat village with the sun going down across the ocean.

"You went up to touch the mural above the pedestal, and then you passed out midair," Sonny answered. "Fortunately, I managed to catch you and got outside just as the ground started shaking."

"So all that stuff I saw was…in my head."

"What are you talking about?"

"I remember everything, Sonny: who I am, where I came from, what I was before—

"Then let's hear it!" Sonny said enthusiastically.

In turn, Chip stood up and walked to the edge of the pier. "My name…is Light Gaia. Like Dark Gaia, I'm a spirit of the planet who emerges after hundreds of years have passed. However, there was one time where I was awoken prematurely after a foolish scientist had awakened Dark Gaia from the center of Mobius' core. As a result, I didn't know who I was. Then I met someone whom I became close friends with. We traveled around the world together and even managed to stop the foolish scientist and Dark Gaia from destroying the world but at the cost of my physical form being lost.

"Now, the reincarnation of that foolish scientist has awakened Dark Gaia once more before he and I are supposed to emerge. Because of that, I lost my memories and Dark Gaia didn't achieve his true form immediately. I also know that you, Sonny, are inhabited by the spirit of my friend from long ago. The reason for your condition is that when the world was really destroyed by Dark Gaia, though it was provoked by a machine possessed by darkness, I not only reformed the world but I also allowed some of the world's souls to be reborn into new bodies."

Sonny said nothing for a long time as he calmly waited for the sun to go down. Then after he transformed into Werehog Sonic, he said, "So the reason I inhabit the body of a teenage boy whom I share my powers with…is because of you."

"I know it was a selfish act, since most spirits tend to fade away after the world is destroyed, but you were my best friend and I couldn't stand the thought of you being gone forever. So I brought you back into the newly-formed planet of Mobius in a new body along with your friends which Dark Gaia balanced out by bringing back your enemies. I'm sorry if I burdened you, your friends, and their human hosts."

Then Chip jumped off the pier and started to fly away but Sonic stretched out his arm and dragged him back.

"You didn't burden us," Sonic said as he placed Chip down. "Sonny says this is the greatest thing that's ever happened to him, because his life is never boring and he got to meet a lot of great people through our adventures."

"Well, that's good to hear," Chip said cracking a smile. "But you do realize you're not human, right?"

"The ears and tail tipped me off that I wasn't human a long time ago, though I still don't remember what I was before inhabiting this body."

"I can answer that one. You're a—

"Sonic!" Miles cried out as he ran toward Sonic and Chip. "You're not going to believe this. Professor Pickle found the last Gaia Temple, and it's on the continent that is now known as Eggmanland."

"Eggmanland?" Chip said with surprise.

"How could Eggman have taken over an entire continent in a period of one week?" Sonic asked.

Miles adjusted his glasses and then said, "Since G. U. N. has its hands full dealing with Dark Gaian monsters, Eggman's been left unattended. He has somehow managed to harness Dark Gaia's energy by drawing all the scattered fragments of Dark Gaia to him and is using it as his main energy source. Now Professor Pickle believes that Eggman knew the last Gaia Temple was there and so he built his empire on top to make it difficult for us to find."

"Then how did Pickle figure it out?"

"Because the land that the Gaia Manuscripts describe fits the location of Eggmanland," Miles answered.

"Then let's get to Eggmanland," Sonic said following Miles to the Tornado-1 along with Chip. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tear his latest creation to shreds."

To be continued…