Miles did his best to keep his breathing at a calm pace while his hands hovered above Khal's chest. Five seconds in, eight seconds out, as Knuckles had instructed him. Even if that was more meant for general meditation, the echidna had said it worked well with helping to focus Chaos Energy. He thought of the time he'd removed the Kukku's chemicals from Fuchsia, how he'd analyzed every facet of her being to effectively extract it. Of course, it had been so much easier when he'd had the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds aiding him in the endeavor. He didn't even have one here, and a part of him regretted leaving it behind with the others.
'At least I wouldn't be as nervous if I had it,' he mused, 'and this would be easier to pull off.'
He couldn't think like that right now, though, not when someone needed his help. It didn't matter if that someone had made him bristle and gotten in his face only some hours ago. That didn't make Khal a bad guy, and even if Miles wanted to hold that against him, he'd done more good than harm. He'd kept the others safe more than a few times, assisted in locating the Time Stones, and now had gotten a turn at changing a Zone's future for the better. Him facing this threat alone had also spared the girls and Cheese from suffering the way he was now.
Closing his eyes, Miles soon "saw" the toxins that were in the hyena's body. They'd spread throughout most of it, which explained why he was paralyzed, and concentrations were starting to increase in key areas. His gloves took on a cyan light as he directed some Chaos Energy to flush the poison through Khal's bloodstream, guiding it to the pit of his gut. It wasn't going to be as easy or pleasant as when he'd done it with Fuchsia, but at least he should be able to purge it in this manner. After a bit more figurative tugging, the fox felt that he'd gotten all of the antigens out of the guardian's blood.
After a few moments, Khal's eyes opened more clearly, some redness still present, but the glaze now gone. One hand flew to his stomach while the other pressed the palm against the tip of his muzzle.
"Oh gods," he groaned, sounding rather miserable, "please excuse me."
Using the Gear, he disappeared around the nearest corner, where the unpleasant ambiance of vomiting followed. Everyone else, save Miles, cringed in disgust at what sounded like quite a sizable volume, and at how "watery" it seemed. The fox still found it repulsive, but he at least kept his expression of such a feeling subtle. After a couple of minutes of this, which ended with some dry coughing from the hyena, he came back into view, a little unsteady on his feet. Mercifully, none of the matter he'd disgorged had gotten on the hoverboard.
"Are you feeling alright, Mr. Khal?" Cream asked him.
The hyena wiped one hand over his face, peering through his fingers and nodding at the fox. "Much better than I was before, thanks to Miles. Just give me some fresh water and a few minutes, and I'll be ready to go."
Miles wordlessly reached into one of his pouches and brought out his flask, handing it on over. Khal took it gratefully and proceeded to noisily guzzle its contents, head tilted back as he held the container high. He kept going until he was sure that it was empty, then let out a satisfied sigh.
"Phew, I needed that," he remarked contentedly. He glanced around the area and then back at the teen. "Is the future alright?"
The fox flashed him a peace sign. "Yeah, the river and everything else is good now. Also, I got to meet our 'anomaly' we've been tracking since the last Zone."
"Oh? And what of the Time Stone?" Khal pressed.
Miles fished out his self-named multitool and tapped it against one of his hips while he leaned back against a wall. "They were together. The cyan Stone was picked up by a guy named Silver the Hedgehog, who's a native of the future we're trying to change."
"Another hedgehog, huh?" Amy wondered, "what was he like?"
"He was a little apprehensive at first, I think, but he was nice." The fox gazed over at the hyena. "More importantly, he seems to be after the same thing that we are. He's been searching for any sort of information that could aid in bringing down Sierus."
Khal hummed and crossed his arms. "Another ally would be nice, but one thing bothers me. If he is a future-dweller, then why does he feel...off, for lack of a better word? Even the monstrosities made by Sierus' influence felt like they belonged there, strange as it may sound."
"That crossed my mind as well," Miles concurred, pressing a few keys on the Miles Electric, "he registers as an anomalous Temporal signal on the Radar. I don't believe that he lied about anything, but there has to be something that would explain why that's the case."
After contemplating it for a moment, they decided there wasn't anything more they could figure out without meeting Silver again. So, they let that particular conversation drift to the side and waited on Khal to recover. True to his word, a few minutes after letting his drink settle, the hyena felt good enough to keep moving.
The trip through the remainder of the aquatic Zone was uneventful, and soon, the group found themselves crossing into the next. Purple stalagmites and stalactites made up large stretches of the floors and ceilings in the mines they'd entered, with large green quartz crystals lining the paths ahead. The natural rocky ground had teal and turquoise patterns consisting of vague inverted triangles, and huge chunks at both the top and bottom levels of the cave shimmered from blue to purple and back again. While there would normally be more tunnels, it appeared that several of the wooden beam supports had rotted away or been sabotaged, causing some to collapse. The conveyor belts that carried mined minerals were inactive and looked like they were in serious need of repairs. The fox's sensitive nose could also pick up the smell of charcoal and burning wood coming from further in, likely near where the caves briefly opened up to the outside.
"I told Silver to go on ahead, so he's probably in this place's future right now," Miles informed them as he double-checked his device's sensor. He found two moving signals a bit further in, which appeared as different colors on the Radar to show that they were in a separate time period from their collection. "Yep, there he is with the Stone. We'll have to get moving if we want to catch up."
Khal retrieved the blue Stone, ready to make a portal to the Time Warp, only to stop just before doing so. He peered over his shoulder and made a beckoning gesture at the fox with his free hand.
"How about the two of us go to the past this time?" he suggested. Seeing the other guy almost suspicious at the idea, he couldn't help showing a toothy smirk. "Although, I'd understand if you'd prefer to spend more time with the rabbit girl. You two do seem mutually fond of one another."
That got Miles to puff up and point at the hyena. "Oh no, don't you start teasing me. I get enough flak from my siblings!"
"I'll take that as a 'yes' to partnering up for this Zone, then," the spotted guardian concluded, snickering at the growl he drew from the fox.
He zapped a bit of open space and created a portal for them to jump through. Before they got on that, the vulpine went over to Cream, Cheese, and Amy, and handed over his multitool to the bunny.
"Here, since Khal and I have the Time Stones, you'll be able to keep track of us with this," he instructed her, showing a few basic functions while he talked, "Silver and the fifth Stone are these ones in red, while we're currently showing up as green, but that'll change to blue once we go back. Think you can handle it?"
Cream didn't look completely confident, but she gave him a smile and a nod anyway. "I think so. Hopefully, we'll be seeing you two again soon. Oh, and Miles?" The fox had been about to leave when she called after him, prompting him to stop. "Don't be afraid to be honest and open with Mr. Khal. You might be surprised at what you learn, and I don't just mean about him."
Miles gave her a thumbs-up, silently promising her that he would. He then passed through the gate, with the hyena waving to the girls and following after him.
Once on the other side, both of them saw that the mines were quite different in the past, and not just because of the greater number of open paths. There were fewer crystals than in the present, with stalactites as far as the eye could see taking their place. Huge pools of an unknown green ooze stretched throughout the spacious cavern, with some quartz here and there sticking up out of them. Massive strips of rock served as boundaries between the lakes of the substance, and the patterned ground was now green with checkered squares instead of triangles. Moss hung from the ceiling at various intervals, and leafy vines curled around each other from the floor to the ceiling in a few places. There was still quite a bit of wood lining the pathways in this primordial period, although it appeared more natural than the ones they'd just seen a moment ago.
"So, what's this all about?" Miles asked the other Animal, "I didn't think you were the joking type. And after our spat back in Splash Hill, I didn't think you'd want to team up again, at least not anytime soon."
Khal folded his hands behind his back as he slowly walked past the fox. "I've a few reasons for us being together this time, one of which is so we can talk privately."
The fox wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect, but he was willing to hear the hyena out. He just hoped that it wasn't another chewing out or anything along those lines.
"I want to properly thank you for coaxing that poison out of me," he said, grimacing momentarily, "not a fun experience, but preferable to being paralyzed or dead."
Miles rubbed at his ears. "It's no big deal."
"Well, it is to me," Khal replied, turning around to face the fox, "but I won't push it." He cleared his throat. "As for coming back to face whatever's here, I'd think it would be pretty obvious. We're the two most skilled fighters, and we possess abilities that the others don't, so we stand the best chance."
That much was true, although Miles wasn't sure about what Silver was capable of, as he'd never gotten the chance to see how he'd been able to survive living in such a world. But as for the others, they didn't have much experience at all outside of recent events. Not to discount what they had accomplished, of course, yet he couldn't keep from worrying. Was it a good idea to leave them in the present? The last time they'd done that, the three were attacked by Bearenger. Yeah, they'd managed to hold him off and get away, but what if they faced something even worse?
"Stop overthinking things," Khal said, helping to snap him out of it by slapping a hand on his shoulder, "the sooner we take care of the Sierus spawn, the sooner we can get back and make sure everything's okay." The fox felt a more gentle squeeze from that strong hand. "Look, I was a bit harsh earlier, but I don't actually begrudge you for the way you do things. You and I were born in different times and brought up with different values, and we're both stubborn in keeping to them." The hyena let him go and sighed. "You've done a lot that's worthy of respect, Miles. However, I still think you should consider more...final methods of dealing with your foes, or at least ones that will have long-lasting consequences."
Miles glanced away after hearing that. He had a feeling this would come up again, but the hyena was being more pleasant about it this time. He wanted to argue that he had employed means to keep his enemies down for a long time, yet he could only think of two examples off the top of his head. The first was the Kukkus after the Battle Fortress had been brought down the first time, which had kept their operations as a whole in limbo for nearly four years. And of course, the second was when he'd hauled Witchcart and her former cronies off to the nearest authorities. The trio had gotten free, obviously, but he had no idea about whether the old woman had escaped as well, or if she was still imprisoned somewhere with her powers sealed.
Yet, there were also reasons he was thankful for not being the kind to finish off others. Had he fully given in when he assumed that monstrous state of his during the West Side Incident, Sonic might not have been able to pull him out of his trance. And had he destroyed the Battle Moon entirely during its first trip into orbit, it would've never hit Angel Island, and thus, he may never have met Knuckles and Big. He'd had an opportunity to end Dr. Fukurokov when they'd invaded his home, but he'd spared the old owl. Had he taken the chance, he might never have run into Ray and Mighty, or perhaps, it would've been many more years before they did. And as angry as Zero had been with him and the rest of the Jackal Squad being humiliated, Miles had a feeling the monochrome canine would've been even more livid if any of his gang had actually been slain. Ruthless and proud as he was, the jackal seemed to care at least a little about the others in his group.
"I'll think about it," the fox said after mulling over all of that.
Khal nodded patiently. "I suppose that's all I can really ask of you." He once again faced forward and waved for the other to follow. "I can't speak for how you feel, but I'm glad to have cleared the air. If you've anything more to ask or say, we can talk on the way."
Miles wasn't sure why it mattered, but he did feel better knowing that the guy didn't hate him for anything. At least their relationship appeared to be moving in a more positive direction. Maybe after this was all over, they could even be friends.
Back in the present, the party of Cream, Cheese, and Amy were weighing on whether to move ahead themselves. The reading of both Miles and Khal's stash of Stones proceeding onward was all the indication they needed to coax them into action.
Knowing they couldn't afford to fall behind, Cream started things off by taking the first steps, avoiding a Future Post directly in her path and then coasting down a steep slope with a Rolling Attack. Her friends weren't far behind as she traversed an inactive conveyor belt, leaping and flying towards the higher of two ledges once the path came to an end. The hedgehog girl went ahead on the Gear, smashing a thin pillar in front of them with the Hammer and clearing a gap that was just behind it. The ground collapsed a bit on the way to a more enclosed area with a wall composed of red circles. Of the four available routes out of this chamber, only the one across from them remained intact, so the girls naturally went for that.
Once they made the jump, the trio came out into a more open area of the mines. Unlike the first time the girls had been through this section, the forested area was more of a desolate marshland with what Sierus' influence had done to the place. Its lush blue waterfalls were tainted as well, though with the restoration of the three previous Zones, the pollution likely wasn't as severe as it'd initially been. It made them want to fix things all the more expediently, so they hurried on through a narrow passage, dodging a pitfall and moving over a hill that's steep on both sides. They descended a couple of ledges to a fairly straight path that concluded with them bounding from a yellow spring to an outcropping that went back into the more confined reaches of the mines.
Upon entering, the first thing that the gang noticed was the presence of many adhesive strands strung up across the otherwise nondescript background. Even worse was the presence of almost innumerable holes, a few of which were further darkened by something creepy crawling out of them. From several of them emerged spiders with black-purple bodies almost as large as the Animals themselves, and gray-purple legs that were up to nine times as long as their abdomens. Their eyes, like all of the Sierus spawn thus far, were magenta, with the primary pair being larger and capable of motion unlike the smaller, fixed pairs on and around their heads. As if that wasn't enough, their fangs dripped with a phosphorescent glow typical to that of venom in many fictional depictions, and they had visible fissures in their legs akin to veins of magma.
"Oh gods," Amy repeated several times while clutching the Pikkon Hammer close, "this is the worst!"
Cream laughed a bit nervously. "Worse than a T-Rex made of fire and brimstone?"
"At least there was only one of that!" the spiny girl whined, "a bazillion giant lava spiders is so much worse!"
After hearing that, there wasn't much argument about beating their feet as best they could! The three of them retreated to the bottom tunnel of the expansive room, which ushered them into a lengthy and flat segue into what appeared to be the second half of the quartz mines. They only hoped that the others, Silver included, were having a better time of it than they were.
As for the lighter-quilled hedgehog in question, things had been relatively smooth so far. He'd met some resistance with the latest minor spawn Sierus had made, but they paled before his psychic prowess. And as he entered into the next part of the Zone, he reflected over his latest meeting with a person from the "present". Miles seemed like a nice guy, not forcing him into anything he didn't want to do, and being straightforward with answering his questions.
A part of him still held doubts about his words on the gang Focke-Wulf was a part of, but he remembered the look in the older teen's eyes. As an empath, he'd also sensed the emotions behind the fox's expression, and he'd be lying if he'd said they were anything but genuine. Which left him wondering what to do the next time he ran into those three, and he had a feeling that it would happen. They were apparently criminals from Miles' time, so what would the fox want to do with them? Maybe that was a question better reserved for the next time he met up with the two-tailed fox.
For now, he focused on the cyan Stone in his possession, and the prospect of finding something that would help him and his newfound ally in fighting the combined menace of Sierus and Glacia. He vaulted down from the edge of the ramp he was on, taking a detour through a narrow shaft to bypass a Past Post he found in his way. Crossing a conveyor belt path yellow by many years of age, he struck a red spring that propelled him up to a series of platforms high above. With his levitation, he carried himself up to the highest point and Rolled down the hill that followed, leaping over a spring and stopping himself before he hit a spike trap. He hopped over it, clearing three consecutive platforms and hovering over a second Past Post as he went on his way.
The sight of the outdoor section he got to examine firsthand was something he wished he hadn't. The ground was brittle and dead as far as he could see, black as the cloudy sky on a moonless night in the world he was familiar with. A thin layer of frost could be discerned thanks to the bright orange luminescence of the fires seeping out through countless fissures. Silver had to admit that he was getting a bit weary of the same-y sort of environment that Sierus bestowed upon the places it touched.
With a wave of his arm, he cleared away some debris as he ascended to the uppermost deck, tucking into a Roll and riding the dips of the long abandoned belt there. He landed close to the upper curve of a floating platform, where he came across an unpleasant critter, and not the sort that one would be keen to be kind to. A spider near as large as himself, blatantly one influenced by the fiery half of Lunaren, sprang from an alcove a couple meters up, intent on sinking its fiery fangs into his flesh. His reflexes on point, Silver used his psychokinesis to freeze it in mid-air, then sent it flying up into the cave ceiling, reducing it to a messy, steaming smear. He dusted his hands off and was ready to resume his jaunt through the place, only to stop when he picked up the sound of more clacking against the stone. Swiveling around, he saw a few more of the evil spiders crawling out from nooks and crannies, which became a few dozen more, and then a few hundred more once as smaller and younger specimens came out of the woodwork.
"I'm guessing you're not happy I squashed your buddy," he laughed with a tinge of nervousness.
That was all the provocation that the blazing arachnids needed to rush forward, bearing down on the hedgehog like some hideous living wave. He flung his arms to unleash an extra wide Psycho Cutter, and while it did mow down quite a few of the creatures, their numbers were easily replaced, and their pace had barely slowed from his attack. Silver briefly considered trying to just fling the horde away, but there were so many moving targets, and it would be a great strain to attempt to manipulate such an immense group. Thus, as much as he hated to, he had to resort to the one tactic that he'd only ever employed the few times he'd come face to face with Glacia itself: retreat.
Silver plummeted from the ledge he was on, swerving past a few platforms on the way down and using his levitation to halt himself just above the ground. He hit it running, firing bursts of psychic energy to try and slow down the pursuing mass of monsters, though it did little to impede them. As he came upon two hovering platforms and saw how wide the approaching tunnel was, he came up with an idea to buy him a little time. He lassoed the two hunks metal with his powers, and right when he passed into the next area, he rearranged them so that they would block the way in. His ears perked up as a sound like a screaming missile headed his way, and he spun about to catch a flaming projectile.
The one that had thrown it his way was a scorpion spawn that was bigger than any of the spiders he'd seen, with a mostly black carapace that featured deep purple cracks all along its outer body. Its pincers were sharper and larger, as was its tail and stinger, the appendages seeming more suited for ripping and tearing than for grappling and venom delivery. He wasn't eager to find out, though, and flung the fire orb right back at the overgrown arthropod. It retorted with a second shot, the two canceling themselves out and creating a big cloud of cinders, which the hedgehog used as a diversion to grab the scorpion itself. Holding it in place, he sliced through it with a Psycho Cutter, just in time for the barrier he'd set up to start coming down due to the onslaught from the spiders.
'Damn it, I thought that would hold longer,' he cursed internally, sprinting to the other end of the chamber.
Silver hopped on top of a tiny platform, which rose from his touch and carried him up towards the high ceiling. A loud crash rang through the area as the makeshift door he'd made was reduced to molten scraps, and the practically endless army stormed in after him. He hadn't quite made it halfway to the top when the ones at the head of the pack had almost caught up with him. They made an attempt to leap at him from the walls, only to be shoved away by an explosive psychic burst. The hedgehog back-flipped from his ride and landed on a red spring, flying even higher and faster than before. He reached the top of the wall and ran as quickly as he could once his feet touched the ledge. After jumping a pitfall, the teen tucked and Rolled into a narrow passage, snaking through the cavern wall and popping out into an alcove.
Silver leapt down and levitated past several more platforms, and soon touched down to run into a long, deep tunnel lined with sickly black-purple webbing on almost every surface. Using a vertical Psycho Cutter, he slashed a strip wide enough for him to walk on without issue, and after a few moments, he arrived at what had to be the biggest chamber in the mines. While just about every other place he'd been was dry and either hot or cold, this section of the Zone was uncomfortably warm, and the air was heavy with humidity. For what seemed to be kilometers, the caves went on, countless strands of web lit up by the glow of magma and super-hot steam. There were also these eight massive magenta gemstones several hundred meters away, with two in particular that were larger than the rest.
And then he saw the inky black shape that they were attached to, darker than the depths of the mines beyond it, as well as the lizard-like slit pupils in the center of them. The obsidian being rose up and revealed itself to be a gargantuan, bloated version of those spiders that had been chasing him, letting out a hiss that sent shivers up his spine. Its fangs were each almost as large as he was, and the venom dripping from them ate right through the stone ground. It stretched its legs, each several times as long as its body, and slowly began closing in on him, each step covering tens of meters. At the same time, the horde of what he now assumed were its children were storming their way into the place.
"You want me so bad?" he dared the lot of them, his aura flaring up more intensely, "well, you'll have to catch me!"
A handful of the creatures pounced, only to come up empty when the hedgehog warped out of the way in a cyan flash. He reappeared and pulled down multiple stalactites from the ceiling, skewering many monsters through their vitals. Once the big one was within striking distance, he blinked away and started sprinting once again, dashing up a natural ramp in the terrain. He went flying and used a short-ranged blast to propel himself downward, Rolling down into another snaking beltway to a red spring. This sent him rocketing up to a V-shaped bit of earth that he used to give himself the slip from the biggest of the beasts.
But as he escaped through a low opening and collapsed the way behind him to buy some time, he found himself staring down yet another of the damned things. It was less impressive and bloated than the apparent brood mother, but still more formidable in size and stature than all the rest. Even compared to the one thundering in the tunnels behind them, this one's toxins seemed especially deadly. Not only did they rot and wear away the turf below, but they even steamed and sizzled before leaving those frightening fangs.
"Out of my way!" Silver shouted, grasping it with his psychokinesis.
To his surprise, the spider spent a few moments struggling against his power, and spat some of that venom his way. With no choice but to dodge, he lost his grip on the abomination, which contorted to fire a fresh string of webbing from its searing spinnerets. Avoiding it presented no issue, but there was a throbbing in his head that had been steadily growing more intense, and he feared it would cause him to make a critical error sooner than later. Silver knew it was because he was pushing his talents beyond what he was used to doing in a single day, and the number of Rings he'd gathered along the way weren't doing him as much good as he'd hoped.
But, this was hardly the bleakest situation he'd found himself in. He'd faced Glacia itself, and while he hadn't fared well, he's still come out alive! No way in hell would this stupid spider bring him anywhere close to making him fall to his knees!
"That's strange," Gadget remarked as he checked the radar of the craft he was flying, "the Miles Electric's comm signature is coming from the sea off the coast of Splash Hill."
Both he and his sister had given themselves a wardrobe change before going on this adventure, feeling inspired by the recent innovations they'd been working on. For the red sibling, he'd adjusted his glasses to make them more like shades, and threw on a pair of military green shorts that came down to his lower thighs, held up by a black belt with a silver buckle. He'd also fastened matching bandannas around each of his elbows, put on knee pads that were each studded with a trio of small metal spikes, and swapped out his utility belt for a modest desert tan backpack.
The teal twin had gone further with her efforts, letting her hair down and only retaining a few elements from her previous fashion, such as her boots, belt, and gloves. She now had a capris blue headband beneath a new set of goggles, which were silver-framed with deep purple lenses. She'd traded her old sleeveless top for a black one, and wore a purple armored bustier over it, while below the waist, she sported ebony shorts that rode high on her hips. When it came to accessories, she had a blue cloth wrapped around her left bicep, similar bandages around her wrists and much of her forearms, and black and silver shin guards secured by black leather straps.
As for their ride, it was modeled after the Sea Fox form of their old companion automaton. Unlike that one, this version had been outfitted with four seats, with the control console expanded so that the two of them could work in tandem. Three propellers drove it from behind, along with a jet thruster on the bottom. An even more impressive drill was mounted on the front, and missile ports and machine gun barrels were affixed to a new pair of wings. Despite the additional bulk, it maintained a sleek and somewhat angular profile, and many of its finer details, such as color decals, were the same as the previous model.
"Huh, that is weird," Gizmo agreed as she double-checked the reading, seeing that her twin brother was right, "I thought he and the others were on Little Planet."
"Maybe it moved?" the male posited, "I mean, it goes somewhere else during the other eleven months of the year, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched that it could drift, especially when you figure in things like the Earth's rotation."
The she-wolf let out a puzzled huff. "But it's never done that before. As far as anyone knows, it's always shown above Never Lake and stays there for the whole month that it's near the planet."
That was rather perplexing. Likely, it had to do with the danger that their adopted brother had mentioned before they stormed out the door. While she hadn't said anything at the time, Gizmo was also concerned about the fact that the fox had been adamant about them not coming to help. Did he believe that they really weren't needed, or was he trying to protect them from whatever it was that was threatening the world this time? Either way, it only made her worry more.
"Let's hurry, then," Gadget decided as he tapped a few buttons on the controls.
Gizmo nodded and pulled one of the levers next to her down, their craft shifting into high gear. In far less time than it had taken the Tornado while it was cruising, they arrived and flew over where they'd dropped off their brother. The twins continued onward, passing over White Park and then Splash Hill before they once more zoomed over the ocean.
It didn't take them much longer to reach a planetoid that was drifting over the sea, although it looked like it had seen better days. More than half of the surface appeared despoiled and charred, with a broken down factory in the crumbling mountains, an abandoned city just beyond that, and a damaged crystalline structure in the middle of a wasteland. However, the tropical region and the bizarre area just to the east of it appeared perfectly fine, which gave them hope that they weren't too late to help.
"According to the reading, he's down in those mountains somewhere," Gizmo announced, pointing down at the range of peaks close to the factory, "likely in the quartz mines he mentioned."
Gadget squinted in that direction, humming as he scanned over the area. "I see a spot where the caverns can be entered from the outside. How close is the signal to that opening?"
"One kilometer and closing fast," his sister informed him, "we should be able to get to him before he runs past. Let's go!"
The wolves made their descent, directing their vehicle down to the place Gadget had pointed out. They flew into the opening, landed on the widest bit of ground they could find, and opened the glass dome so they could leap out. The sound of screaming drew their attention westward, where they saw something they certainly hadn't been expecting. They saw Cream and Cheese, as well as a pink hedgehog girl on one of those Extreme Gear hoverboards, fleeing from a pack of about a couple dozen demonic looking spiders.
"Oh, I feckin' hate spiders!" Gizmo swore as she reached into one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out a black, globular object.
As she ran forward, Gadget backed her up and whistled at the three coming their way. Upon noticing the twins, Cream almost stopped in surprise, but the near-miss of one arachnid's set of fangs kept her on the move.
"Gad? Giselle?" she called out to them, "what're you two doing here?"
"Get down!" the she-wolf yelled, startling the younger girls and the Chao into obeying.
She pressed her thumb into the dark ball and hurled it just over the heads of the girls and the Chao. It lit up with neon blue lights and let out a chirping sound that rapidly grew more frequent until it landed close to the group of monsters. An explosion of energy slammed into half of their numbers, vaporizing those close to the epicenter while the rest were blown back. The remainder of the group paused to assess the new potential prey in their vicinity, and seeing that they were both larger and more threatening, decided to go after them.
Gadget fired his grappling cable up to one of the stalactites, jumping up and tucking into a Rolling Attack as he swung forward like a wrecking ball. A couple of the spiders were beaten to a pulp by the high-speed smash, their bodies momentarily tripping up the ones behind them. One jumped at him with its legs spread to try and restrain him, but the wolf intercepted it with a kick. The motion caused numerous oversized cleats to extend from the sole, impaling the beast through the head before the boot was brought down in a meaty stomp.
Another one tried to pounce on him from behind, only to get shot through the vitals by Gizmo's energy pistol. More of the monsters closed in on her, and so she stashed her sidearm for a pair of escrima sticks, one green and one red. Her left hand clenched the base of the former, causing it to radiate with an emerald glow. The spider in her immediate proximity had only begun to raise its forelegs when that blunt weapon cracked down on its head in a blink, the she-wolf's arm leaving a blurry trail as she delivered the hit. She flipped out of the way of another arachnid, going into a Spin Dash upon hitting the ground and splitting it down the middle once she got going.
"Who are they!?" Amy exclaimed as she did a quick 180 on the Gear.
Cream let out a gentle, relieved laugh upon seeing the two lupine siblings in action. "Miles' adoptive siblings that I told you about. It looks like they're here to help."
"Then let's stop running and give them a hand squashing those evil things!" the hedgehog cheered.
As Gadget doubled back from a few of the spiders after him, the spiny girl came in swinging, the Pikkon Hammer's head enlarging and sending a shockwave out from where it struck. The red wolf smiled and used his wire to home in on one of the spiders downed by the tremor. He bounced from target to target as he maintained a tethered Spin Jump, taking out each of them with a decisive pound. As he unfurled from his spherical state, the wolf snagged the next enemy that tried its luck and whirled around like he was in the Olympic hammer toss. Amy helped him by giving the spider a good whack when it came her way, causing Gadget to mow down any more arachnids that came close. He detached it after a few moments and sent it sailing into a handful of its fellows, then tossed an energy grenade at them for good measure.
Gizmo slid along the ground beneath one of the demons and Jumped into its underside, whipping forward to deliver an aerial heel strike to finish it off. Cheese came in from one side and stunned a spider that tried to catch the she-wolf off guard, while Cream followed up by Rolling into it. Gizmo turned off the green escrima stick and powered up the red one in her right hand, snarling at the few remaining spiders close to her. They weren't intimidated by her show of aggression, which worked out just as well when one of them dared to get close, ending up with a split skull courtesy of a bashing from the crimson baton. The second one charged to ensnare her in its limbs, but ended up hitting air, and soon became a smear on the stone by way of a Rolling Jump. As a third attempted to ambush her, her little Chao friend tackled it and punted it onto its side, giving the bunny an opening to finish it. Two more lined up in front of the she-wolf, who drove the tip of her weapon into the ground and blasted them both away with an erupting trail of red light.
With that, the brood of spiders were routed, and the heat of the moment died down. Gadget briefly spared a glance at their ride, relieved that none of the monsters had tried going for it. Cream and Cheese checked one another for scuffs and other minor injuries, while Amy heaved a sigh of relief and stored the Pikkon Hammer. Gizmo scanned the area a couple more times to make sure they didn't have any additional company, then deactivated her escrima and put them away once she was satisfied.
"Thank goodness we showed up at the right time," she said with a smile, turning to the other girls and Cheese, "are any of you hurt?"
Cream shook her head. "I'm fine, and it looks like Cheese is a little dizzy, but otherwise okay." The Chao held its spinning head with one hand and held up the other in a way that suggested it would be alright. The bunny tittered softly and turned to her other friend. "How about you, Amy?"
"I'm not hurt, just a bit creeped out," the hedgehog answered, not bothering to hide her disgust at all the unsightly spider corpses. In the next instant, she had a sweet and cheerful expression as she gazed up at the wolf. "Thanks for helping us, though." She held out a hand and smiled from ear to ear. "I'm Amy Rose, and I remember Cream telling me about you. Giselle, right?"
Gizmo stifled a noise of delight, though she couldn't hide the slow wag of her tail. Her younger brother had such cute friends.
"Yes, Giselle T. Wolf, although 'Gizmo' is the nickname I've adopted," she said, shaking the offered glove, "and I myself have heard about you from Miles. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
While they were socializing, Gadget scanned one of the bodies with his comm. When the results came up, he hummed and scratched his ears curiously.
"Traces of a strange and unknown energy," Gadget commented as he scrolled through the data, "no resemblance to any extant cave spiders on record." He looked at the younger trio. "Just what are these things?"
"It's a bit of a story," the rabbit replied.
Gizmo was about to inquire on just what that tale involved, but then her attention was stolen by a different detail: Cream was holding the Miles Electric in one hand.
"Wait, Cream, why do you have that?" the she-wolf questioned her, "Miles rarely lets anyone else touch it, much less hold onto it. And speaking of that fox, where is he?"
The three glanced at each other, then back to the lady lupine.
"He's, um, in the past at the moment," Cream responded sheepishly.
The twins blinked a few times, confusion written in their features.
"You mean that genuinely?" Gadget asked, getting affirmative nods in return. He folded his arms and tilted his head in thought. "Does this have anything to do with those 'Time Stones' in the old stories?"
"Yeah, and he and our other friend went back to see what made this Zone the way it is now," Amy explained, "and maybe see if one of the Stones is there, too."
Gizmo breathed in and then let it out as she ran a hand through her hair. "I guess Miles wasn't kidding when he said things had gotten crazy. But back to my previous question: why do you have his multitool?"
"It's to help keep track of him," the young lapine lady said earnestly, "he has all the Time Stones we've collected so far, and he made it so his Radar can detect them, even across different time periods!"
The twins shared a chuckle.
"I'm glad to see he trusts you enough to handle one of his most prized inventions," the red one stated with a smirk.
Cream felt her cheeks redden beneath her fur. "Oh. I didn't know it was so important to him. He's only mentioned some of the features it has and what it can do."
"Like I said, he usually doesn't let anyone else handle it," the teal wolf laughed and shrugged, "but this is good, because thanks to that, we have a way of knowing where he is, so it'll be easy for us to catch up." She then recalled the detail that Amy mentioned. "By the way, you said before there was another friend with him. Who is it?"
The hedgehog jumped back up on the Gear and started moving, going slowly so they could walk, hover, and talk. "It all started yesterday..."
"Khal, there's something I've been meaning to ask," Miles said as they ran down a long tunnel.
The hyena peered over at him, currently sprinting in his feral form. "What is it?"
"How are you able to switch between Animal and feral forms?" the fox queried.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to get around to that," the guardian joked, "but to be serious, it's because I'm what you'd call a therianthrope; more specifically, a 'were-hyena'. My people called the act of transforming poone theerion, which simply means 'beast change'."
Miles was initially skeptical of the claim, but he had to remind himself that he'd seen plenty of supernatural things in his adventures. After all, one of his biggest fears had turned out to be real, much to his chagrin.
"Is it something everyone in your clan could do?" he probed further.
Khal didn't answer immediately, his attention shifting to the changes of their route's topography. He and Miles rode up a quarter-pipe in the terrain, and leapt from the top of the ledge there to an outcropping a few meters ahead and below. They went into a Roll and coasted through several bumps and dips to a natural ramp. The fox flew up into an opening he spotted in the cavern ceiling, while the hyena kicked off the walls to reach the top.
They took things a little slower from there, picking up a few Rings along the way and getting back to the conversation.
"No, only a handful among us were born with this ability," he told the teen, "myself, my brother Khashi, two of my sisters, and my mother. There were hyenas in other clans that could do it as well, though the numbers varied." There was a short silence as Miles pondered his words, which the warrior decided to capitalize on. "I have some questions of my own, actually."
The fox perked his ears attentively. "What about?"
"That 'Silver' guy you met in the future," Khal clarified, "you said that he's trying to figure out how to beat Sierus. Did he tell you anything else?"
Miles dipped his head and shut his eyes as he thought back to his short, but mostly amicable talk with the hedgehog. There was the bit about Sierus, and he'd mentioned going into the past at least once. Also, sometime prior to that–or perhaps during it, as he hadn't been specific–the younger teen had apparently run into Focke-Wulf and his gang.
"Ah, I can't believe that slipped my mind!" Miles grumbled, lightly smacking his forehead.
Khal flashed him a more concerned look. "What did?"
"The Witchcarters!" the fox exclaimed, "Silver apparently ran into them in the future, and they may or may not have found a way back to our time!"
The spotted guy grit his razor-sharp teeth as he punched a nearby rock wall, leaving a sizable dent. Their immediate area shook from the force of his venting blow, a bit of dust and debris falling from above.
"Now I'm the fool for not just ending them!" he growled, gray eyes shimmering fiercely, "and you're telling me that our supposed 'ally' helped those three return to hound us yet again?"
Miles waved his hands frantically. "No! I mean, maybe he did, but I don't actually know! All he said was that he met them and they asked for his help!"
"And he believed them, even though it's clear as a cloudless day that those three are unhinged and untrustworthy?" the hyena pressed, not bothering to hide his anger and disappointment.
"Hey, cut him some slack!" the fox barked, now getting a little surly himself, "if Silver did help them, I don't think he knew what he was getting into!"
The other male shifted to his bipedal state and folded his arms, evidently not convinced. Not that he could blame him, but the hyena could at least try to humor him.
"Look," Miles went on, "he seemed to believe what I said about those guys, and I'm convinced that he really does just want to make his world a better place. I've got a lot of questions myself, so let's just hear him out."
They gazed at each other for what felt like several minutes before the guardian let out a gruff sigh and started walking. He reached into his pants and brought out the blue Stone, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Once we're done here, I'm going to pay him a visit," Khal decided calmly.
Despite the even tone the other Animal used, Miles felt his fur stand up a little. "Let's not do anything hasty now."
"I just want to talk to him so I can get the full picture," the hyena replied while his claws dug into the Stone's facets, "but if he does anything dubious, all bets are off." He let out a light snort. "It was supposed to be just the five of us, anyway."
The amber vulpine cocked his head bemusedly. "What do you mean by 'just the five of us', exactly?"
"I'll explain later," the older guy answered while he put the gem away again, "for now, we're getting close to the anomaly, so get ready."
Miles shrugged and trailed after his companion. The two of them dropped down to a flat bit of land and went through a brief passage with a low ceiling, entering into a fairly spacious area just beyond. Dense walls of spiderwebs threatened to block out the light that was coming in through pockets of the stone, and the scent of sulfur added an unpleasant and pungent note to the air. The only other way out was occupied by the spinner of those threads, by far the biggest, ugliest and most vicious spider that either of them had ever seen. As if that wasn't enough indication, the unusual eyes and coloration, not to mention the bubbling hot venom it drooled, give a pretty good tip-off that Sierus had applied its touch to this one.
The two didn't waste any words as they charged forth, and the giant arachnid shrieked at them as it raised its forelimbs in a threatening posture. Miles tossed a handful of mini bombs at its face, which didn't appear to do any real damage, but it served as a good distraction. Khal made use of the diversion and summoned his khopesh, zipping off to the side to slash at the end of one of the other legs. There was more resistance than he expected, but his blade still cut through the creature's dense exoskeleton and left a deep gash. It screeched at the injury and wheeled about to spit its toxins at the spotted fellow, who warily dodged and put some distance between them. No way was he getting envenomed again anytime soon after the deal with the salamander!
The fox whipped out the new Boomering, taking aim as the spider started to pursue the hyena before chucking it at one of the rear legs. The golden object expanded and locked around it like a shackle, which Miles proceeded to tug on as hard as he could using their linked energy. The monster pulled back against him for a couple of seconds, then broke off its chase and spun around to claw at the vice around its limb. Once it realized one of the Animals wasn't the one inconveniencing it, it hissed and fired strings of webbing from its spinnerets at Miles. The teen took to the air and dodged the sticky shots, recalling the Boomering so he could lob it back at one of the thing's larger eyes.
The attack against its fleshy organ dealt more of a punch than he'd been expecting, causing their enemy to stagger back and spew its venom around in front of it defensively. While this did help to keep Miles back, Khal moved in from the rear and Jumped high into the air. The hyena unfurled at the apex of his leap and came down with both boots on the other primary eye, sporting a bit of a grimace as his heels reduced it to pulp. He tried to follow up with his khopesh and drive it into the thing's head, but he was bucked off before he could manage it. Still, he knew that it would only take a few more blows to take this thing down, if they kept up the pace.
The spider screeched and made to bear down on the hyena, intent on dealing with what seemed to be the more imminent threat to its life. Miles went after them as Khal drew it to the exit, forcing the abomination to hunch down as the ceiling got progressively lower. The fox caught up and flew above the center of its mass, then curled up into a Drop Attack the moment the passage halted any further movement. He slammed into the center of the cephalothorax, causing its legs to involuntarily curl inward for a brief moment. Khal went into a Roll as he came back around, Jumping up the stunned spider's head and once again going for a stab with his blade. He succeeded in puncturing the fovea, coaxing another horrendous noise from the creature and forcing its limbs to lock up.
Being pierced in such a critical spot had rendered the unnatural arthropod almost entirely helpless, leaving it prone to Miles and Khal's attacks. The two Animals repeatedly Rolled and Bounced over the creature's spine, preventing it from getting up. Their unyielding assault weakened the protective chitin until a definitive crack echoed through the cave, revealing the giant's vitals. The fox threw the Boomering up at the ceiling and tethered himself to one of the many stalactites overhead. He pulled out the ESP to activate the Fire Shield, and with a well-aimed Fireball Spin Dash, pinged off the overhanging rocks like a pinball.
The hyena made himself scarce as the sharp stones came raining down, each one an improvised stake driven into the heart and other organs of the Sierus spawn. Mercifully, it was over within moments, leaving a bloodied and balled-up husk of a spider. The webs that made up its lair burned away upon its death, leaving its body exposed to the light that was now pouring in. Miles came in for a landing and wiped at his brow, while Khal dismissed his weapon.
"Now that we've taken care of that, it's time for me to go speak with the future boy," the latter proclaimed.
The former shuffled in front of him and held up a hand. "I think we should go back to the present first."
"How about this, then?" Khal compromised, "you head back to check on the others while I go to the future, where I'll wait for a few minutes before I open another gate."
Miles was a little cautious about the idea of leaving him alone, but he had to have faith. He also didn't want to spark any new tension between them when they'd just gotten past their other disagreements.
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out," he promised, "see you soon."
The guardian nodded and opened up the Time Warp for Miles, who stepped through after a moment's hesitation. The gate closed behind him once he stepped out the other side, and he was glad to see that things were as they should be. The stone and wood supports around the tunnels were more intact, the conveyor belts were running smoothly, and the passages themselves were clear of most debris. The bits of the outside that he could see had also returned to the thick forest he'd seen those few years ago, and the waterfalls that flowed between the pointed rocky cliffs had regained their azure luster.
"Miles!" he heard Cream call out to him.
He turned around to see the rabbit girl, along with Amy and Cheese, all of whom appeared to be in good shape. That was when he also noticed that his lupine siblings were standing alongside them, which made him do a double take.
'I almost forgot,' he thought with some exasperation, 'and since they're with the girls, they've probably been brought up to speed on what's happened. That means it's too late to have them go back.' He shrugged and sighed. 'I just hope Khal doesn't get antsy about having them around.'
He pushed away those musings and instead decided to gander at the drastic change in the wolves' wardrobe. Even more shocking than the somewhat risque choices made by Gizmo was the fact that Gadget was actually wearing something below the waist other than conveniently designed hammerspace underwear. But after examining their fashion closely, a small smile crossed his muzzle as he recognized the styles.
"Hey guys," he greeted them, "good to see you made it." He nodded at his siblings, rubbing the back of his ears with a nervous chuckle. "And thanks for coming, you two, even after I told you not to."
"That's what family is for," Gizmo replied softly as she hugged him against the front of her bustier, "we're here for you no matter what."
The fox felt his face redden from the proximity of his face to a certain area on the she-wolf's body that was more accentuated by her choice of dress. Miles really didn't like having to deal with the "problems" that plagued one his age, especially those regarding a certain nature.
"O-of course," he stuttered as he awkwardly returned the embrace, then pulled away and coughed, "anyway, I see you and Gad are doing your favorite cosplay."
The red wolf tilted his shades down and grinned at the younger canid. "It's not just the clothes we're sporting."
"We've replicated some of their moves and tech, too," the teal twin elaborated, pulling out and twirling one of her escrima sticks like a baton, "all the better to help you beat any future bad guys!"
He knew that the two had been working on a few personal projects, separate from those he helped with. Thus, Miles felt a bit more reassured that things would be okay, now that he saw that they were trying to keep up in their own way. That also reminded him of the quip that his sister had made earlier, about them having put something together for him.
"I'll be counting on you," he told them, "and not to sound greedy, but didn't you have something for me?"
Gizmo smirked and tugged at a large, amber yellow backpack she was wearing, shrugging it off her shoulders and setting it down on the ground. She seemed pretty confident that he would like it, whatever it was.
"I've got it right here, foxy," she proclaimed as she gave the bag a light couple of pats, "it's showtime, little guy! Critter transformation, go!"
The tote suddenly and rapidly changed shape, filling the air with the clicking of mechanical joints and the grinding of metal gears. A few seconds later, there was a quadrupedal likeness of him standing there, roughly the size of a feral red fox, sporting all the same colorations he did, as well as two wiry tails that were each tipped with a tiny blue sphere. The head and face was a more cartoonish take on his own, but it was pretty accurate otherwise. It even had his cyan-blue eyes, which lit up with a gentle hum upon seeing the organic fox.
Miles' breath caught in his throat, and he felt water stinging the corners of his eyes. An aching built up in his chest as memories of a beloved companion came flooding back to him, making him drop to his knees. The robot strode up to him and nuzzled at one of his hands, which he responded by giving it the petting it wanted. It chirped and let out a contented, tinny bark in response, gazing up at him with both of its tails wagging happily. Miles swept it up in a hug, tucking its head under his chin as he held it tight.
"You guys," he murmured, blinking away a few tears.
"Little bro, allow us to introduce Remi-3," Gizmo said warmly, kneeling down by his right.
"He may not have all the memories that the previous model did," Gadget remarked as he moved to the fox's left, "but he has all the technical data we've gathered up to now, as well as his old personality."
He simply nodded against the fox droid, squeezing it tighter in his embrace. A part of him had been ready to leave the idea of making another Remi behind, but now he couldn't help but laugh a little bit. The little guy had been close with the twins, too, so it figured that they would have their own feelings and desires to see it again. He was glad they had gone ahead with it, touched all the more by the fact they had done it for him, not just themselves.
"Welcome back, boy," he whispered to Remi.