We were in the Tornado X, flying across the icy seas of Glacier Peaks. Below us was Eirik's ship, cutting through the water with supernatural speed, courtesy of Isaac's friend, Amphios. Eirik and Sticks were the only two on the longship, all seats in the Tornado X occupied.
"So, this protocol Eggman has been working on… is this where things went wrong in the future?" Sonic asked.
"We don't exactly know. We only know he plans on using it in June. This'll coincide with the date everything goes down. So, hopefully, we'll be able to stop him in Glacier Peaks. And if we can't, then we might be able to figure out more on what exactly he's planning." Ruby explained.
"Do you think he might initiate it early?" Rouge asked.
"He's not going to risk initiating it and not getting the results he wants. He's going to wait until he knows that nothing will be able to stand in his way." Tails answered, before tapping his communicator.
I looked out the window of the Tornado X, seeing the land of Glacier Peaks, also known as Blizzard Peaks to some. I could see several hamlets clustered along the shores and the meadows of the land, the rising sun casting the mountain's shadow over the western side of the land. I felt myself begin to daydream, seeing myself amongst the people, carrying Morgan, the girl from my dream, atop my shoulders. Her laughter filling my ears, able to feel myself smile. Suddenly, the Tornado X shifted in its flying capabilities, snapping me from my daydream.
"Alright, guys! We're gonna land about a mile from one of the villages. Eirik and Sticks are already ashore, so get ready." Tails said, before the Tornado X steadily descended.
After a few minutes of descension, the Tornado X landed on the shores of Glacier Peaks, Eirik's longship being effortlessly dragged by Eirik with a long rope further onto shore.
"Man, he's stronger than he looks!" Sonic exclaimed, before Eirik let go of the rope, walking to the group.
"I thank ye aa for yer help, but right nou, i must face the judgement that the Jarl haes prepared for me. If aa turns oot well, I'll join ye in stopping the doctor. If not… that will be a different story." Eirik said, before walking towards the nearest village.
As he walked, Sticks hopped down from the longship, seeing Eirik walking towards the village. She sighed, hoping that he would be okay.
"You gonna be alright?" Amy asked. Sticks hesitantly nodded, before hoisting her pack onto her shoulder.
"If he can walk towards danger, then so can I." Sticks calmly said, before we began our trek towards the North-East portion of Glacier Peaks.
I was leading the trek, my cybernetic eye leading us towards the closest signal of Eggman's presence. I could feel my eye shift every so often, correcting my direction. We passed through frozen tundra, dense forests, and wild meadows, my eye keeping us on track! Soon, we began to reach the shore once more before I stopped completely.
"The signal goes out to the open water. There are no structures, so that only means-" I began to say, before I was interrupted.
"The base is underwater." Tails said. Sonic gulped, looking out towards the ocean.
"I say we make camp on the shore, come up with a plan of action. Once we know how to approach the base, we'll execute it." Sticks instructed, surprising a few of the Sonic Team. She caught their looks, confused.
"What?" She asked, before dropping her pack, taking out a roll of canvas, three sticks, some rope, and a few stakes.
As she assembled a tent, the others began making an impromptu camp before Ruby and I went to gather firewood. We were walking along the shore, grabbing dry driftwood as we walked.
"Is it me, or is Sticks more… levelheaded, than usual?" I questioned. Ruby nodded, hoisting a large branch onto her shoulder.
"I have noticed that. It seems having someone like Eirik is really calming her down. Maybe this is what she needs." Ruby responded, before grabbing another piece of driftwood.
"It might be what we need. If Sticks is thinking rationally and tactically, it'll help us more than if she wasn't. I just hope we can figure out a way to get underwater without Eggman noticing. We can't Chaos control, because we've never been in there. We can't swim down because we don't even know how deep the water is. And we can't take a submersible, because Eggman will see it coming." I explained, grabbing a few sticks from the sand.
"It's gonna be one hell of a plan, if we can come up with one." Ruby responded.
After we had gathered enough firewood for a few hours, we returned back to the camp, seeing more tents made and a firepit dug out and lined with rocks. We dropped the wood we were carrying, Knuckles quickly taking the smaller pieces to make a fire to stave off the cold!
"We're gonna need more firewood than this if we're camping overnight! That forest we passed through should do." Knuckles said, before striking a match, igniting the bed of tinder he had made.
"I'll grab the firewood. Johnny, I know that cybernetic brain of yours can figure out a way for us to make it underwater." Ruby said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and flying out towards the forest.
As she flew out towards the woods, I began splitting some of the larger pieces of driftwood into smaller pieces, handing them to Knuckles.
"So… any thoughts about getting us underwater?" Knuckles asked, making sure the driftwood would catch.
"I've been thinking about it, but the only thing I can think of that won't get us immediately caught is a diving bell. But we don't have one, and we don't have the means of making one. Also, I don't even know how deep the drop-off is, and a diving bell's maximum depth is about 1,000 feet. And considering it's a base, it could at the bottom of an incredible depth!" I explained.
"What about swimming? You… you can swim, right?" Knuckles asked.
"Well, I used to, but since the cybernetic prosthetics… I don't really want to figure out if I sink like a rock yet." I answered.
As time passed, I looked out towards the woods, seeing Ruby walking back. But she had a trio of Vikings wearing fur cloaks following her, and a defeated-looking Eirik walking beside them.
"This can't be good." I observed, standing up.
Ruby and the Vikings approached us, Ruby walking to and standing beside me. Eirik was rubbing the back of his head, looking frustrated. Sticks saw his appearance from her tent, quickly running to him and embracing him! As Eirik held her, a stray tear fell from his eye.
"Are you okay?" Sticks asked him. Eirik shook his head.
"I am sorry, my love. But I fear my life will en shortly. I hiv been fand guilty o my crimes against the Jarl, and…" He began to say, before choking back a sob.
"And what?!" Sticks fearfully asked.
"… i must fight in the trials o Týr. If I survive, I earn the right te my life! but wi that, carries the risk o death!" Eirik explained.
Sticks looked as if she was to pass out, her face becoming void of all color! The men cleared their throats, gesturing for us to follow.
"Guys, me, Ruby, and Sticks will go with them. You guys stay here and keep thinking of ways for us to infiltrate the base. We'll be back once we get everything cleared up." I said, the three of us walking with the Vikings.
We walked for a few miles, the Vikings having not spoken a single word. Eirik was rubbing his wrist, the rune tattoo peeking from his sleeve.
"Eirik, what's the Trials of Týr?" I asked. Eirik was hesitant to say anything, but Sticks intervened on his behalf.
"The Trials of Týr are a set of legendary challenges, meant to test the faith and fortitude of the inhabitants of Blizzard Peaks. They only organize an event if there is a question of faith, or if someone decides to test themselves in the trials! Eirik told me about them on the way here." Sticks explained.
"You mentioned a risk of death in these trials. How dangerous are they?" Ruby asked. This time, Eirik spoke.
"Baith my mither an faither lost thair lives in these trials! I spoke oot against it, seeing it as cruel an unnecessary te put forth these trials, when we ar in a time o peace!" Eirik exclaimed, the Vikings leading us glancing at him.
Eirik subtly froze at their glance, before they looked back towards the path they were leading us on. Eirik took a few deep breathes, his hand over his chest.
"Why are you scared of them? We just saw you tow your longship onto the shore like it was nothing! You are obviously much stronger than them!" Ruby questioned.
"No scared, yinlie cautious. I've always known esslf stronger. But I hiv niver wished te ert any o my ain fowk. But thay see nae problem wi punishing me, when my idea o worship involved the pen, an no the sword." Eirik explained.
The Vikings suddenly stopped, turning towards Eirik. Their furrowed brows and frowns indicated they weren't entertained by his words. Eirik sighed, knowing what was going to happen next. But as they began to approach him, Sticks put herself between them and Eirik, her face contorted in a scowl!
"I WILL BREAK YOUR ARMS IF YOU LAY A FINGER ON HIM!" Sticks screeched, the Vikings taking a step back, before resuming the trek to the village.
We soon reached the village, a crowd of Nordic humans and Mobians gathered, the Jarl of these people seated before them, his wife by his side, who had a death glare resting upon Eirik. Eirik was led to the opening of the crowd, bowing before the Jarl. But instead of the Jarl speaking, his wife spoke instead.
"Eirik Bjorgulfsson, ye hiv been fand guilty o the heresies placed afore, an the yinlie punishment that is fitting for ye, is te face the trials that ye hiv haen spoken against. If ye survive, yer crimes shall be forgiven. But if ye die.. then at least you'll hiv died honorably." She said, Eirik sighing.
"Wait! Doesn't he get a chance to prove himself innocent?" Ruby exclaimed, a murmuring heard amongst the crowd. The Jarl began to rise to say something, but his wife's hand forced him to sit back down before she spoke again.
"We ken what is right, an ther is nothing for him te say te prove himself innocent! an who ar ye, as well as the others?" She asked.
"We're friends of Eirik! And we say he has done nothing wrong!" I exclaimed, causing an uproar amongst the crowd.
"Silence! as friends o Eirik, an outright dissenters… ye aa must face the trials o Týr, alang wi Bjorgulfsson!" She proclaimed, all of us feeling our hearts drop!
"Nae! please, punish me! dae no punish my friends!" Eirik pleaded, before she snapped her fingers.
The Vikings that had led us here began to lead us towards the mountain, where the opening of a cave was evident. An elderly Viking, his face and arms covered with deep scars, was sitting next to a pit of embers, a small pot hanging above the hot coals. He raised his head towards us, one of his eyes milky-white, a severe cataract having developed. The Vikings stopped us near him, where he gestured for us to approach him.
"The trials shall begin as soon as ye drink deeply o the well o knowledge. For ance ye drink, the trials shall challenge yer verra perception o what is rael an what is no. May the gods hiv mercy upon yer verra sool." The old Viking said, before producing four cups, ladling the mixture into them.
He presented us the cups, each of us forced to take one. We looked at each other quizzically, before the old Viking motioned a drinking motion, encouraging us to drink. Eirik gulped, before bringing the cup to his mouth.
"Gods hiv mercy." He muttered, before bringing down the drink.
We each drank our cups empty, the Vikings behind us instructing us to enter the cave. We walked into the cavern, where the darkness soon shrouded our vision.