Chapter 35: Enjoy This World
"That's it…just a few more…"
Tails rolled out from underneath the Tornado 2, only enough to stretch his arm out, opening and closing his palm rapidly.
"Hey Helen, can you hand me the wrench please?"
...
"Helen?" The orange fox rolled back out from his creeper and analyzed his surroundings from the floor. He wiped the sweat from his brow, getting grease all over his forehead, a common occurrence for the hardworking fox. With a sigh, Tails pulled himself up and walked over to the open toolbox, finding his wrench undisturbed. Before returning to work, however, concern started to enter his mind. "My workshop's not far from the edge…better check to make sure Helen's still safe."
Placing the wrench next to the creeper, the fox opened the garage door, the sunlight pouring into the relatively dark workshop, filling the young kitsune's fur with rejuvenating warmth as he took in the fresh breeze. He took a few steps out, walking along the landing strip connecting the workshop with the edge of the precipice, fake palm trees dotting either side.
Putting his gloved hands over his brow, the fox focused his sight to find Helen looking off in the distance. With a sigh of relief, the fox casually made his way to the end of the landing strip to find the young girl, with several flickies perched on the armrests and handlebars of her wheelchair. One was curled in a ball, sitting in Helen's palm as she ran her thumbs over its wings.
"Hey, Helen," Tails greeted as he waved his hand.
"Oh, hi Tails," Helen replied with a smile. The disturbance made the flickies scatter, save for the one still sleeping in the girl's hands. The departing wings of its brethren, though, made it open its eyes, and moments later, the remaining flicky took off, eventually catching up to the nearest flicky.
"You doing okay?" Tails asked. "I didn't notice you left while I was working on the plane."
"Yeah, I'm doing fine," Helen replied as a small gust of wind blew through her blond hair. "Just wanted to get outside is all."
"Yeah," Tails said, sitting on the edge of the runway, allowing his legs to dangle off the side. "It's pretty relaxing up here."
"Could use less noise, though," Helen replied with a chuckle.
"Yeah, you're right about that!" The orange fox peered down to find the hustle and bustle of Station Square below. "You know, Angel Island doesn't usually float above a major city like this."
"I remember you telling me that the island used to float above an ocean, right?" Helen asked as she peered down at the fox, who was kicking his legs opposite of each other.
"Yep!" Tails replied with a nod. "I'll admit, Angel Island was much more tranquil back then." Indeed, the cityscape below was partially obscured by the clouds, but the traffic, horns, and emergency vehicle sirens could still be heard from below.
"I worry more about those under us," Helen observed. "The island may protect against the rain, but nobody below is getting any sunlight."
"Yeah, you're right," Tails replied as he rested his chin on his palms, his arms kept upright on his legs as he continued kicking his feet. "I still don't know what's going on with this island."
"You mean how it got here?" Helen asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"More than that," Tails replied as he pulled himself up, placing his hands on his hips as he studied the island around him. "I falsely assumed that Chaos Control would bring us back to Mobius, but based on our experiences so far, it appears Mobius is coming to us." He gestured his hand, as if using Angel Island as his evidence. "At first, it was just a small group of us who were transported. When we activated Chaos Control from Earth, instead of going back, we inadvertently brought a chunk of home back here. It makes me think we'll never be going back home…"
"Don't say that," Helen replied, rolling to the orange fox's side and placing a palm on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll come up with a way."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Tails replied, peering up at the young girl with a smile. "Let's just hope you're right." The orange fox pulled the yellow Chaos Emerald from his namesakes. "At least now I have an entire workshop to myself so I can study the mystical properties of the Chaos Emeralds, and with the Master Emerald within a walking distance, it won't be as tedious as the time I tried hauling all of my stuff from my house to Angel Island back on Mobius." The fox chuckled. "I sure do miss my old workshop, but I'm glad Knuckles gave me permission to build a new one up here."
"And we can have sleepovers too!" Helen replied with a smile.
"Yeah!" Tails raised his arms in excitement. "I miss being at your place all the time, but on the flip side, there's a certain level of peaceful tranquility up here that I didn't really have at your place, no offense."
"None taken," Helen shook her head. "My parents' house was a bit too small anyway."
"You know," Tails continued. "I offered to have Sonic come live with me like in the good ol' days. I even told him I could build a bunk bed like what we had before, but he prefers living at Amy's."
"Oh yeah," Helen replied as the two began making their way back to Tails' workshop. "I've been there a few times. They have a small, one bedroom apartment not far." It was Helen's turn to chuckle under her breath. "Plus, her place always smells like baked goods! She's gotten even better at baking since she started working at the bakery just down the road from her apartment."
"Everyone seemed to move on after our showdown a few months ago," Tails replied. "We've gotten so comfortable living here, but it isn't all bad. Eggman and Chris are in jail, and even Cream's about to enroll in elementary school with Bokkun."
"Yep," Helen said with a nod as they stepped through the open garage door of the workshop. "She's super excited, too! We'll take the same bus and everything!"
"Sure was nice of your parents to let them stay with you," Tails said with a chuckle.
"Well, if they could handle an entire batch of aliens for months on end, they can handle Cream and Bokkun for a bit longer." This earned the laughter of Tails, with Helen quickly joining in.
"Now that I finished the routine maintenance on the Tornado 2, I can take you home if you'd like." Tails put on a backpack. "Otherwise, you can come with me to the Master Emerald Shrine."
"Oh, what's going on there? Going to study the Master Emerald like you did on Mobius?" Helen asked, placing a finger on her chin in thought.
"Yes," Tails replied. "When I was having difficulties constructing my Chaos Emerald detector back home, Knuckles taught me how to speak to the Master Emerald through meditation.1 I'm hoping he will let me try that again in the hopes of getting some answers."
Pulling out her flip phone, Helen checked the time. "2 PM? Yeah, it's still pretty early, so I'll come with!"
"All right!" Tails replied. "The path is a little bumpy, so I can push you along if you'd like."
"Sure, I'd like that," Helen replied with a smile and a nod. The fox gripped the handlebars, left through the garage door, and closed the door using the number pad on the side of the workshop. Moments later, the two were on their way to visit the red echidna and the Master Emerald.
"Three months…"
"It's been three months since Angel Island – my home – was mysteriously sent to Earth. I'm not sure why the Chaos Emeralds refused to send us back to Mobius instead, but the only thing that matters…is that we are given the cards we're dealt…and we live with it."
Knuckles slowly opened his eyes, the blue sky above reflecting off the Master Emerald serving as a convenient outdoor bed. Yawning loudly, and stretching his limbs, he slipped off the side of the brilliant gemstone, landing on his feet near the stairs of the shrine he had guarded for so long. Turning around, he placed a single palm on the side of the Master Emerald, the warmth emanating from within flowing through him, giving the red echidna a new sense of resolve and determination.
With a contented sigh, Knuckles sat on the topmost step, watching his land from the elevation of the shrine, the soothing breeze flowing through his dreadlocks. He noticed a flock of flickies flying between the nearby trees, accompanied by Earthian birds, having befriended their alien counterparts in the few months they've cohabitated their shared world. Peering further beyond, Knuckles spotted his cabin, the dwelling he built for himself back on Mobius after living out in the wild for so long.
Across the horizon, the endless expanses of ocean he was used to, along with the refreshing saltwater smell, was replaced by the various lights of the humans below going about their business in the heart of Station Square. While Knuckles was eternally grateful to have his island, and the Master Emerald, back in his possession, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't bothered by the nuisance below.
At least the outdoor noise simulator Tails made for him helped put the red echidna to sleep each night.
With a chuckle, the red echidna plotted out his typical mid-afternoon routine. The same as always, he would continue guarding the precious gem before scouring the island for berries and other naturally growing food, the primary source of his diet, one that was much more difficult to achieve on Earth, with its abundance of artificially processed foods and chemically altered produce.
Knuckles furrowed his brow as he heard a slight disturbance from afar, one not matching the flickies and squirrels whose patterns were virtually memorized by the red echidna. Placing a hand over his brow, he soon spotted, coming out of the woods surrounding his cabin, the sight of Tails and Helen slowly making their way to the Master Emerald shrine.
"Figured I could use some company," Knuckles said to himself as he slowly made his way down the stone stairs, just in time to meet the friendly visitors at its base.
"Hey Knuckles," Tails greeted, waving from behind the young girl's wheelchair. Helen waved as well, a bright smile covering her face.
"What's going on?" Knuckles replied, folding his arms together. "Let me guess: Eggman escaped from prison?"
"No, nothing like that," Tails replied with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Actually, it's more of a favor."
"Oh yeah? What about?" Knuckles pressed.
"You remember how, back on Mobius, you helped me communicate with the Master Emerald?"
"Yes," Knuckles replied with a nod.
"Well, I was wondering if, maybe, you could let me do it again."
"Hmmmm, I see…" Knuckles placed a hand on his chin in thought. The red echidna played back memories of the orange kitsune's mixed experiences with the Master Emerald in his mind; from the time Tails shocked himself while studying the mystical gem with his equipment2 to the time he taught the young fox how to communicate with it through proper meditation. "Fine, but none of your tech business, though. I don't want to take any chances again, both for your and the Master Emerald's sakes."
"R-right…" Tails vividly remembered getting shocked from the aforementioned accident, having to recover inside Knuckles' nearby cabin. "Very well…" With a disappointed sigh, the young fox put his backpack down, leaving it at the base of the steps.
"What are you hoping to learn this time?" Knuckles asked.
"Well, back on Mobius, the Master Emerald imbued me with the knowledge to construct a working Chaos Emerald detector." Tails sighed before regaining eye contact with the red echidna. "I'm hoping that the emerald can provide some insight on our current situation…maybe provide direction on how to get home."
"Assuming that's what it wants," Knuckles replied. "The Chaos Emeralds must've sent us here for a reason, but is our mission finished? What was our mission in the first place?" The red echidna stared blankly at the sky before turning his attention back to Tails. "I don't suppose there's any harm in trying to find answers, though, so long as you communicate with the Master Emerald the ol' fashion way..."
"Yeah, yeah," Tails shook his head before gesturing in Helen's direction. "Say, another request…" The orange kitsune pointed up to the Master Emerald above. "Can you lift Helen up the steps?"
"Why sure!" Knuckles replied, placing his hands on his hips. "This'll be Helen's first time up the Shrine, right?"
"Yes," Helen replied with a nod, "and I'm really looking forward to seeing it!"
"I can't remember the last time I got to show someone the Master Emerald for the first time," Knuckles noted almost giddily as he positioned himself behind the wheelchair, soon gripping the bottom of the chair and lifting both Helen and her seat above his head. "You ready?"
"Yes," Helen nodded.
"All right, here we go." The red echidna took slow steps as he made his way to the Master Emerald, keeping the human girl above as level as possible. Of course, the fearless Helen wasn't afraid of falling, especially with the knowledge that Tails, who was walking right behind, could catch her if Knuckles were to drop her. Instead, her focus was on the mystical gem above, her eyes glistening as they got closer to the top of the shrine.
Reaching the summit, the red echidna set the wheelchair down, allowing the young girl to roll closer to the Master Emerald.
"It's…beautiful…" She turned her head to its guardian. "May I touch it?"
"Sure," Knuckles replied. "I think you'll be in for a bit of a surprise."
"Is that right?" Helen asked with a smile before placing her hands on the mystical gem. She gently gasped as she felt a warmth emanating from the brilliant gemstone, filling her with a renewed sense of determination. "Wow, it's as if it's alive."
"It's alive, in a sense," Knuckles replied before walking over to Tails, who was already preparing the same meditation practice that he taught him once before. The red echidna grinned at the sight of the orange fox cross legged, his palms gripping his knees and his eyes closed with a furrowed brow.
"Here, let me help you…" Knuckles got on his knees and straightened Tails' back. "You can't slouch like that, it's bad for your posture."
"Thanks, Knuckles," Tails replied with a blush.
"Guarding the Master Emerald day in and day out, I've developed a good posture for all sitting positions," Knuckles replied as he joined the young kitsune by his side. "Now, do you remember what I taught you last time?"
"I think so," Tails replied, tilting his head as if unsure. "Take some deep breaths first?"
"Exactly," Knuckles said. "Then, slow your breathing and clear your mind."
"Right." Tails nodded before taking a deep breath.
"And now," Knuckles continued, "you need to bare your soul to the Master Emerald. Open your heart, and the bond you had before will be restored. It should be easier because you've done it before."
Tails closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and emptied his mind. His back was straight, and his once furrowed brow was now relaxed. Observing him carefully, Knuckles snapped his fingers next to his triangular ears, but they didn't so much as flicker or react.
"Wow, record timing, too," Knuckles noted as he pulled himself up, returning to Helen several feet away.
"Is Tails asleep?" Helen asked, putting a hand on her chin while observing the still form of the orange kitsune.
"No," Knuckles replied, crossing his arms. "He is now in the realm only accessible in the mind…a realm that allows us to communicate directly with the Master Emerald."
Helen stared at Tails in wonder, trying to imagine what it would be like to have such a conversation.
Opening his eyes, what previously surrounded him had vanished; the Master Emerald, Knuckles, Helen, and the shrine were gone, as was the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the sound of chirping flickies.
All was now replaced by nothingness, an empty white void Tails remembered the last time he meditated.
"Some things never change," Tails said as he pulled himself up, dusted his legs, and peered around. Off in the distance, he noticed a flicker of green. "Funny how it's always far away. Why can't I simply arrive next to my destination?" The fox stopped complaining, however, and started the trek.
Arriving at his destination, he found the Master Emerald floating in place, shimmering and glowing majestically.
"So…we meet again," Tails said.
"Yes…"
Materializing out of nowhere was the form of a young, feminine echidna, garbed in a green skirt with triangular shapes, a white tank top, a golden band across her forehead with a matching necklace, and wooden sandals. One leg was crossed over the other, both dangling off the side of the Master Emerald.
"Thanks for all your help," Tails complimented. "Without your wisdom and guidance, I would've never been able to track down the Chaos Emeralds, or even go Super3 to save my friends from Dr. Eggman."
"Your heart is pure, and your will is mightier than the tallest of mountains," she replied. "Your potential is limitless. I only helped you tap into this well of determination."
"You're modest for a mystical entity," Tails joked, rubbing the back of his head as a blush appeared across his face. "I was wondering if, well, you could, maybe, help me and my friends again."
"You are…stranded," she said, "and you want to get home?"
"Precisely," Tails said. "When the Chaos Emeralds were brought together three months ago, we thought the resulting Chaos Control would send us back to Mobius, but little did we know, it simply brought a chunk of Mobius back to Earth!" The orange fox placed his hands on his hips.
"Yes, a predicament for you and your friends to be sure," she replied before slipping off the Master Emerald, approaching the orange fox with slow steps. "You have completed many trials, keeping both your home world and this alien world safe from threats unimaginable." The echidna conjured up a projection of Eggman and Christopher Thorndyke. "Unfortunately, the task is not complete."
"What do you mean?" Tails asked. "What is there left to be done?"
The form of the feminine echidna started to dissipate.
"Wait!" Tails reached his arm out, but before he could grab her, she had already vanished.
"Earth still needs your help. Continue helping the people of this world, and only then will the path home will become as clear as the rising sun."
"But what does that even me—"
With a blink, the fox was now back on Earth, still sitting upright in a meditating position cross legged in front of the Master Emerald.
"Tails!" Helen rolled over to the confused fox. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah…" The fox placed his gloved hand on his forehead. "A little disoriented, to be honest, but nothing too severe."
"Here, let me help you up." Knuckles offered his hand, which Tails accepted gladly.
"Did you learn anything?" Helen asked, placing a hand to his chin in curiosity once more.
"Honestly, not much," Tails replied. "The Master Emerald spoke to me in the form of a female echidna like before. When I asked her how to get back to Mobius, she simply said…well…"
"Said what, Tails?" Knuckles asked with arms folded, a frown across his muzzle.
"Well," Tails scratched the back of his head, "she said there was still work to be done here on Earth."
"What kind of work?" Helen asked.
"From what I gathered," Tails replied as he scratched his furry chin, "she hinted at some sort of looming threat we would need to resolve. Once we've fulfilled our task, we will be able to go home. Unfortunately…" The fox shifted his focus to the horizon overlooking the Master Emerald shrine, the sun starting its mid-afternoon descent. "…the nature of this threat wasn't defined. No mastermind. No culprit. No date. Nothing…"
"Well," Helen replied as she rolled to the fox's side, "it looks like we'll be pretty busy, then."
"Yeah, I suppose so," Tails replied with a giggle, scratching the back of his head once more. "What about you, Knuckles?"
"Me?" The red echidna placed his glove on his chest. "My place is by the Master Emerald. I can provide support, but the last thing I need is to be hoisted off into another unknown world, separated from the Master Emerald."
Tails and Helen laughed, a grin forming across the echidna's face.
"Of course…" Knuckles raised a glove to his chin in thought. "If my strength or treasure hunting skills are needed in your adventures," Knuckles flexed his muscles, "and if this is a task bestowed upon you by the ancient echidna…then I will do the Master Emerald proud and ensure the task is completed."
"Great to hear!" Tails replied with a thumbs up, Helen smiling brightly at his side, but her attention quickly shifted to the head of the Master Emerald, where she heard a hum. "Hey, do you guys hear that?"
Knuckles and Tails stood still. The orange fox perked a single ear. "Yeah, I can hear it coming from…" They all shifted their focus to the Master Emerald to find a small craft floating above.
"What the heck is that?!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"Looks like a drone," Helen replied. "They're pretty popular nowadays, especially among hobbyists."
Tails jumped up, activating his rotary namesakes to get a closer look. "This one has a camera, too. I wouldn't doubt if a microphone were built into it as well."
"So that drone has been spying on us!?" A vein appeared across Knuckles' forehead. "This is a sacred place! Nobody has the right to eavesdrop on the Master Emerald!"
"It's flying away!" Helen yelled, pointing at the drone as it went over their heads and down the stairs.
The irate echidna grabbed a stone next to his sneaker. "Oh no you don't!" Knuckles threw the rock at the drone, causing the small craft to smoke and make a crash landing at the base of the shrine. The three peered down at the drone, which was left unmoving.
"Looks like you incapacitated it," Tails noted. "Hey, let's head down to inspect the damages. Knuckles, can you bring Helen too?"
"Can do," Knuckles replied with a thumbs up, hoisting up the young girl and her wheelchair once more and steadily making his way down the stone stairs, the orange kitsune following close behind. When they arrived back on the worn trail connecting the shrine to Knuckles' cabin, the red echidna set Helen back down.
"Hmmm…" Tails picked up the drone, studying the camera before flipping it over, popping open the back cover with his trusty screwdriver." "It doesn't look all that impressive on the outside, but on the inside, it looks fairly advanced for human technology. Probably worth a small fortune!" Tails shifted his attention to Knuckles and Helen. "I could take this baby apart and track down the source of the spy. If I were to guess, this was no ordinary hobbyist."
"I'll help, too!" Helen replied, raising her hand excitedly.
"Are you sure?" Tails asked. "With someone with the resources to obtain this kind of technology, it could be dangerous."
"Yeah, but I have the newly souped up Helengelion, remember?" Helen gave Tails a thumbs up. "I stood up to Chris just fine when we had our epic mecha fight!" The young girl threw a few air punches. "I'm sure I could stand up to whoever we're dealing with here."
"All right," Tails replied with a nod.
"I'll join you, too," Knuckles added. This caused Tails to drop his screwdriver and Helen to gasp. "What? Is it really that surprising?"
"Well, yeah," Tails replied. "I thought you'd want to be on heightened alert now that we have a confirmed spy snooping around the Master Emerald shrine."
"I thought about that," Knuckles replied, crossing his arms, "and while there's a risk to leaving the Master Emerald unguarded, I figured that we could take care of the spy more efficiently with my help." The red echidna took his turn to throw some air punches, earning some cheers from the young girl.
"Sounds good to me!" Tails replied with a thumbs up. "Before we can take any action, however, first thing's first." The orange kitsune pointed in the direction of his workshop. "Let's head back to my place so we can properly take apart the drone and find out who was piloting it."
"Right," replied Helen and Knuckles, nodding in agreement.
The three set out, leaving the Master Emerald shrine behind to unravel the mystery before them.
"Is this," Tails wondered to himself, "the threat the Master Emerald warned me about?"
"What the hell?!" Exclaimed a large crocodile sitting behind his messy desk, a laptop resting atop an unorganized stack of paperwork. "I think the spy drone's broken! Gahhhh!" He sat back in his office chair, repositioning his headphones. "Espio and Charmy won't be back for a while, so I'll just wait for them to help. Great…" He grumbled to himself. "In the meantime…I'm gonna get some shuteye…"
Before drifting off to sleep, the crocodile pulled a folded piece of paper from amidst the mess to find his case file, a photo of Vanilla and Cream contained within.
"Don't worry…I'll get your daughter back in no time."
The crocodile leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes, falling asleep with the case file on his lap.
1: See Chapter 11 of A Prelude to Chaos Control.
2: See Chapter 4 of Prelude.
3: See Chapter 21 of Prelude.
Season 2 of my Sonic X fanfic is now underway! I'm looking forward to finally getting the opportunity to write Team Chaotix!
If you enjoyed the chapter, feel free to give it a review. I've been getting some fan art commissions as of late, which have been taking up more of my personal time, as well as other life events, but I still hope to get the next chapter out in a timely fashion.
'Till next time!