Waves of Change 1/4

Note: In my version, Sonic & Tails saved Planet Wisp after Issue 100.

(Theme song - Kim Possible by Disney Channel on YouTube)

(Abigail's POV)

*It's a few days since we discovered the origins of my pendant. Today, we were having a meeting in the briefing room, looking scared & surprised at the video were we're watching*

Sonic: What are those!?

*The video showed people in Westopolis, being attacked by some strange shadow creatures*

Nicole: This is amateur footage from the other night. Someone in Westopolis recorded a video of these . . . Things attacking after dark.

Sally: Are we too late to help?

Nicole: G.U.N. and local law enforcement arrived in time. And from what I've gathered, no one was seriously hurt.

Sally: I guess that's the best we could hope for.

Abigail: It's better than nothing.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

Tails: I bet this is all linked to the Professor's research. Professor Pickle said this was in the Gaia Manuscripts' end-of-the-world scenario, and those monsters could be tied to the dark energy Uncle Chuck was studying!

Antoine: HA! Could we not be using the term "end of the world"? I am very much preferring ze idea zat we can still fix zis.

Lacey: It was just an expression, Antoine.

Bunnie: Uncle Chuck said that goop was corruptive muta-genic. What if those monsters were just some poor critters changed by the dark energy?

*I gave Sonic a nervous look*

Sonic: Guys, you're overthinking it. Thanks to the Profs, we know what to do. Find the Chaos Emeralds, plug 'em into the Gaia Temples, save the world. Simple.

Sally: Right. Like finding all the Emeralds alone isn't hard.

Sonic: Eh, I do it all the time. But then, nobody is as skilled as me, are they.

Sally: Watch it. I don't think the Sky Patrol can support the weight of your ego. *Lacey, Bunnie, & giggled at that* But Sonic is right about what we need to do, and we need to do, and we should do it quickly. We'll start by breaking into search and recovery teams. Sonic, I want you to take Amy, Rotor, and Abby and do recon on a possible Gaia Temple. In the meantime, I'm having Nicole cross-reference some of the data Bunnie and I took from the Death Egg. Be careful out there. This crisis affects everyone, and not all of them are handling it well. Those we know about. We've hardly met every race and culture out there . . .

*A few hours later, me, Huck, Sonic, Amy, & Rotor were walking down South Ocean Beach*

Sonic: Why does everyone else get to go on the Emerald grabbing mission while I'm stuck beach-combing?

Amy: If something goes wrong, we need you to handle everything!

Abigail: And besides, something exciting is bound to happen. You never know.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

Sonic: Don't patronize me . . . But you're right.

*Rotor was looking at a Miles-Electric*

Rotor: Ah, geez. We might as well head back. I'm not seeing anything remotely like a temple!

*Sonic went up to him & tapped the screen*

Sonic: That's cause your looking at the map, Rote. The unmarried temple isn't going to be there.

Rotor: What I mean is, Professor Pickle wasn't even sure there was a temple out here. And between the map of the region and what I can plainly see, there is no temple here!

Sonic: Which is why we're searching the area, genius!

Rotor: I know that! Stop being difficult!

*He gave Sonic a noogie. I rolled my eyes at them & Huck giggled. Just then, Amy stopped in her tracks*

Amy: Hmm? Hey, guys? I think there's something over here!

*She started climbing some rocks. We went after her*

Abigail: All I see are rocks.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

Amy: Can't you hear it? Can't you feel it?

Rotor: . . .No! Hear what?

*We made it to the top. Just then, I heard a beautiful music that seemed to be coming out of a hole in the ground*

Amy: The music!

*Sonic & Rotor looked at each other, confused*

Abigail: No. She's right. I hear it to. It's coming from that hole.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

*Amy, Huck, & I all looked down the hole*

Amy: Hello? Is anyone there? That's a lovely tune! Maybe you can help us?

*Just then, the music stopped & then we heard a female voice*

?:*off-screen* Oh, gosh . . . Is that them? Um, Hello? Are you Sonic the Hedgehog?

*We were all surprised that the owner of the voice knew about Sonic*

Amy: What the . . . No! But he's with me!

?:*off-screen* Thank goodness! I can't . . . Um. Please wait right there! I'll send someone to get you!

Abigail: Uh . . . Alright. We'll be here. Hope to meet you soon.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

*A few minutes later, we were all sitting on the beach, waiting for our escort to show up. Sonic was pacing back & forth out of impatience*

Sonic: We've been waiting forever!

Amy: Maybe fifteen minutes! Keep your shoes on!

Abigail: They'll be here, Sonic. Just be patient.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

Rotor: It's not a total loss. I beat my top score in "Angry Chao"!

?:*off-screen* Ahem!

*We all turned & saw a black-colored male shark with gold eyes, wearing three gray rings; one on his top fin, two on his side fins, a gray necklace with three yellow shark-teeth-like objects, & a green belt with a pocket. Next to him was a green & black colored Dark Swim-type Chao*

Razor: So . . . I guess you're the surface-walkers I'm supposed to fetch.

*Sonic stepped up to him*

Sonic: Dude, I don't even know. Did you just come out of the ocean? Did that creepy voice send you or something?

Razor: Uh . . . I'm Razor. Protector of the Eusebes - *suddenly, the Dark Chao tried to bit Sonic* Shrine! Crusher, no! Bad! No bitey. Anyway, I was sent to pick you up. I don't suppose any of you are some kind of "great hero"? The Priestess seems to think at least one of you is important.

Sonic: Yeah, that'd be me. Sonic the Hedgehog? Beat the Eggman Empire about a million times?

*Razor didn't look convinced. He then took out a green pouch & then took out a circle amulet with a blue gemstone in it from inside*

Razor: Eh. All right. Coral's expecting you, and she's the Priestess, so that's good enough for me.

Sonic: I guess if some Priestess is bragging about us, we've got to live up to her expectations, right?

Rotor: Well . . . It's not like we have any other leads just yet. Wouldn't hurt to ask the locals.

Abigail: And plus, this is our chance to meet and learn about a whole new culture.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao.

Razor: Ask about what?

Amy: We're looking for something called a Gaia Temple.

Abigail: Have you heard anything about it?

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao?

Razor: Uh . . . I don't know anything about that . . . But there's a temple in the shrine. Regardless, take these air charms and follow me. You don't want to be out here after nightfall. *he handed us each a charm & we dove into the water. Rotor, Amy, Huck & I swam after him & Crusher. Sonic walked on the seafloor* Keep up and don't go sightseeing. We haven't had any visitors in ages, and I'm not even sure those air charms still work.

*He laughed*

Rotor: Weird! I can breath normally, but I'm not in a bubble or anything.

Amy: Y'know what? I don't think my clothes are getting wet. What near little charms! *she turned to Sonic* How are you doing back there?

Sonic: You know me. I'm fine. I can handle anything.

*I rolled my eyes because I knew he was panicking on the inside. I looked around at all the coral & fish*

Abigail: It's so beautiful down here.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

*He did a loop de loop around me, making me giggle. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me*

?:*off-screen* Guardian . . .

*I turned around & I thought I saw a horse made out of water. I rubbed my eyes & the horse was gone*

Abigail: That was weird.

Razor:*off-screen* Abby! *I turned to him**on-screen* C'mon! You don't want to be left behind!

Abigail: Right. Coming!

*We swam towards a cave. On the other side of a coral reef, we could see a city under a giant bubble dome*

Rotor: Is that a city back there?

Razor: Yeah, that's Meropis. But the temple's outside the city. Right in here, everyone, then up until you hit the surface.

*Sonic seemed to be running, even though he wasn't going anywhere. When we reached the surface, he literally jumped out of the water & hugged the sand on the beach*

Sonic: Land! Glorious land! I don't even care if I get bad traction on sand, it's land!

*I rolled my eyes at him. Then a gray female manta ray, about Cream's age, with celery-green eyes wearing an orange dress, black pants with yellow rims, & gray shoes came out of the stone structure in front of us*

Pearly: Shhhhhhh! You'll interrupt her again! *she grabbed Razor by the arm* You almost missed it Razor, c'mon!

Razor: Heh heh. Take it easy squirt, we're coming.

*We followed him & the little girl inside the structure & found an orange female betta fish with a white muzzle, wearing a mint green turban & dress with a purple sash around her waist, playing a beautiful flute like melody on a flute made of light. Sitting on a pedestal behind her was an Angel Chao with white skin, long rabbit-like ears on her head, mitten-like fingerless hands, a long tail, & a white halo floating above her head, pink skin on her belly, ends of her ears & hands, & has six pink spots on her feet (three on each foot). She was wearing a string with an orange seashell around her neck. Just then, the Chao went inside a cocoon*

Abigail:*in her mind* Oh, is that Chao reincarnating?

Pearly: Yay! Aquarius went into her cocoon!

*Huck & I clapped for her excitedly, while everyone else looked confused*

Sonic: Yeah! That certainly was . . . A thing . . .

The betta fish turned to us, revealing her purple eyes*

Coral: Oh! Welcome! Thank you for bringing them here, Razor. My name is Coral, and I'm the Priestess of this shrine. This is Pearly, my little apprentice.

Pearly: H'lo.

Coral: You came just in time to witness the reincarnation of our sacred Chao . . . Aquarius. She's been reborn in this shrine for generations, so soon she'll be reborn fresh and new . . . At least, I hope so. You see, the Chao are mystical creatures that grow through loving contact. When they reach the end of their cycles, they close themselves in a cocoon -

Abigail: And emerge as an egg once more. This egg will then hatch into a new Chao with all the characteristics it had in its past life.

*Coral, Pearly, & Razor seemed surprised that I knew this*

Coral: Oh. You seem quite knowledgeable.

Abigail: I've read a lot about Chao.

Amy: That and we have friends that raise them.

Coral: Really? I didn't realize the land cultures had Chao!

Amy: And we didn't even know there were settlements under the ocean, so I guess we're even!

Abigail: Yep. *I motioned to Huck* This is Huckleberry. The Chao I've been raising. But you can call him Huck for short.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

Coral: Oh my. *she patted his head* He looks so healthy. It's obvious that you've been taking wonderful care of this Chao.

Abigail: Thanks.

Razor: Ahem!

Coral: Oh, right! Our heroes are here! Sonic the Hedgehog, I presume?

Sonic: Finally, some recognition! And with me are Rotor, Amy, Abby, and Huck -

Coral: Sent by the spirits to help us in our time of need!

*That left us confused*

Sonic: Sent by the who-now?

Coral: . . . The spirits? The ones who told me your name?

Rotor: Sorry, we don't know anything about spirits. But can you confirm if this place is - ? *Amy & I both elbowed him in the ribs* Oof!

Amy: Spirits or not, we'll be happy to help you. We are the Freedom Fighters after all.

Rotor: Yeah, that too . . .

Abigail: It's what we do.

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

Coral: I - I - I don't understand . . . The spirit said . . . And with everything else going wrong, I can't . . .

Razor: Hey, it's late. Let's all just camp out for the night and figure things out in the morning.

Coral: B - B - But . . . A - All right . . . Please excuse me . . .

*She left the room*

Razor: Take those Air Charms to be recharged. Okay, kiddo. *Pearly took our charms* You four are welcome to rest here for the night. Actually, like I said, you do not want to be caught outside at night.

Abigail:*in her mind* And I have a pretty good idea why.

*A few hours later, everyone was around the temple, doing their own thing. Amy was checking in with Sally, using the Miles Electric, Rotor was sleeping, Sonic was playing with Huck & the Ocean Chao with Razor watching him with a smile, & I was sitting on a rock, meditating, hoping to get a vision to tell me about these spirits Coral mentioned. When I couldn't get anything to appear, I stood up & decided to walk around a little. I held in a giggle when I saw Crusher try to bite Sonic again. Just then, I noticed Coral in the temple, sitting in front of pedestal. I went to go join her, when I noticed Amy next to me*

Abigail: Going to check on Coral to?

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao?

Amy: Yeah.

*We both went inside the temple*

Amy: Hey, there. Can't sleep?

Coral:*sigh* No. I was only a priestess in training when Aquarius came out of her last cocoon. I've never overseen a reincarnation myself. *we sat down next to her* I can't mess this up. I . . . I just can't.

Abigail: You looked pretty professional to me. I probably don't know as much about raising Chao as you do, but still you looked like you knew what you were doing. Kinda wish we'd brought Cream along.

Coral: What good would cream to us?

*I chuckled*

Abigail: No. Cream is one of our friends who raises Chao. I think you two would be great friends.

Amy: Actually, speaking of friends, we could have used Tails to fly through the holes in the ceiling here instead of swimming.

Coral: You . . . Fly . . . With your tails?

Amy: Never mind. Maybe I can introduce you all later. That was a lovely song you played during the ceremony. Was that a magic flute or something?

Coral: Oh! . . . Thank you. The Mystic Melody is a technique handed down from one priestess to the next. It seems like the only thing I'm still doing right lately . . .

Abigail: Do you use it for the Chao or for all of your duties?

Coral: Oh, it's integral to it all. It helps activate Magic Rings to power the city, sustains the eatery shield that protects everyone from harm, and it's said to let you commune with the ancient spirits . . . Except it seems that's not true, and I'm just crazy.

Amy: It doesn't sound crazy to me. Believe me, I've seen some weird stuff. Things you wouldn't believe.

Abigail: We both have.

Coral: Like what?

Amy: Oh, like . . . Wannabe machine Gods? Giant mecha-salamanders glued to space stations? Princesses from other dimensions who control fire?

Abigail: Don't forget crazy crystal creating wizards, witches who can control technology, and evil twins.

Coral: You guys are making this up to make me feel better.

*We both laughed*

Amy: I told you!

Coral: True or not, I doubt I could face anything half so adventurous.

Abigail:*in her mind* Wow. She reminds me of me when I was a kid. Always counting on my family or other heroes to save the day . . . Though I'm sure she's a lot braver than she thinks.

*The next morning, Sonic & Rotor went to check out the temple, while Amy & I were talking to Razor. Amy was holding an Ocean Chao*

Razor: . . . Wait, you're saying her Chao are made of cheese and chocolate?

Amy: No! Their names are "Cheese" and "Chocola"! I mean, you called yours "Crusher", of all things

Razor: It makes him feel important.

*Pearly was watching us for behind a tree*

Amy: Don't be shy, Pearly. You ought to know these Chao better than me.

Pearly: Nuh-uh. Chao are creepy!

Abigail: What!? But they're so cute!

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

Amy: Yeah. They're like little water babies. How are they creepy?

Razor: Seriously. Your head's covered with spines and you've got fangs. She ought to be scared of you two!

*Suddenly, we all heard Coral scream. Razor & I ran into the temple to find Coral kneeling in front of the pedestal, crying. Sonic & Rotor were with her*

Coral: Ahhhhh! No!

Sonic: Whoa! Take it easy! Breath! Tell me what's -

*Razor grabbed Sonic by the arm*

Razor: What did you do to her!?

*Rotor, Huck, & I pulled him off of Sonic*

Rotor: Hey! Get off him!

Abigail: Calm down!

Huckleberry: Chao-Chao!

Sonic: I didn't do anything! I was trying to find out what was wrong!

Coral: I - It's Aquarius! She . . . She hasn't hatched! She - She - She should have reincarnated by now!

Abigail: What!? It's not supposed to take this long!

Amy:*off-screen* Um . . . Sonic? Razor? I could use you guys out here . . . We've got company!

*I ran outside & found Amy & Pearly standing in front of a maroon male mantis shrimp with one blue eye, a white muzzle & underbelly, wearing a black eye patch, green colored hood that attaches to a pair of swimmerets that are green and black colored, a black sash, kept together by a golden buckle, a golden claw gauntlet, one white glove, & gold boots. Behind him was a purple female dolphin with green eyes, a white muzzle with a rounded shout & purple dots on her chins which resembled freckles, wearing a golden helmet adorned with shells, black shirts & shorts, green additional garments, & shell bracelet around her right ankle

Captain Striker: Who are you? And how dare you trespass on sacred ground!?

(Lacey's POV)

*I walked into the Sky Patrol briefing room with a yawn. Cream came up to us with tea & cookies*

Sally: Rose and shine, Freedom Fighters! We've got a Chaos Emerald to find.

Bunnie: Y'all tracked one down already? I hope you got some sleep last night, Sally-Girl.

Antoine: Still, nicely done. It seems there is often little rhyming of reason where zo Emeralds end up.

Big: I used to have one of those!

Antoine: Exactment my point . . .

*I giggled as I took a cup of tea from Cream*

Sally: Time is of the essence here, guys. So here's what we've got. According to the files Bunnie and I took from the Death Egg, Dr. Eggman had several operations looking into various powerful resources to fuel his empire. A lot of them are duds. This one, however was looking very very promising. But for some reason, the excavation was stalled.

*A green holographic map appeared on the table with an arrow pointing to one spot on it*

Tails: But . . . How do we know they didn't start up again? The files might be out of date by now.

Lacey: He's got a point.

Nicole: The hiatus was reported just before the world shattered. With the Egg Army is disarray, it simply wasn't a priority. But I've been scanning transmissions. It sounds like they're planning on resuming quite soon.

Sally: The point is, we have a great window of opportunity here. We sneak in, grab the Emerald, and we sneak out.

Bunnie: And then ol' Eggman'll waste his time an' resources lookin' for something that ain't there!

Sally: Exactly! Bunnie . . . You, Big, and Cream keep an eye on things here. Everyone else, let's do it to it!

*I was on my hoverboard, flying next to Sally, Antoine, & Tails, who was flying with his tails, as we arrived a metal door with Eggman's face on it*

Antoine: I am not seeing much in the way of security . . .

Tails: We'll, this is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Inside is probably a different story, though.

*Sally plugged Nicole into the keypad*

Sally: Abd that's why we're lucky to have Nicole here.

Nicole:*off-screen* That you are. *she was quiet for a few seconds* Hmm?

Sally: Hmm?

Nicole: I'm able to circumvent this system's security features. All robots should be shut down and outgoing video feeds and transmissions are now masked. But the system's defenses are more capable than anticipated. At their current rate, they will overcome my alterations in seventy-two minutes discounting fluctuations.

Lacey: That's more than an hour . . .

Sally: We need that Emerald. I think it's worth a shot.

Nicole: Agreed. I'll monitor our time. The lights have been turned on. Disengaging the door's locks now.

*The doors unlocked & opened. We went inside & found a bunch of robots, laying around in heaps, along with boxes of mining equipment*

Antoine: Ah . . . Ze supports look sturdy, non? With all the earth-shakes . . .

Lacey: That's "earthquakes", 'Twan.

Antoine: Ze point is, if ze tunnel were likely to be collapsing, it would have already happened, yes?

Tails: I . . . Guess? Given all the recent activity, we're probably lucky It's still standing at all.

Antoine: Hmph, what if that is the reason ze Egg Army stopped ze dig? A collapse? Or perhaps they hit some kind of pocket of deadly gas, or -

Nicole: No such problems were mentioned in the system logs. A call has been put in for additional equipment of some kind.

Antoine: . . . Gask masks?

Lacey: Antoine, all the workers we've seen so far are robots. I highly doubt any kind of poison would effect them.

Antoine: Oh . . . Right . . .

Tails: All this talk is reminding me of the stuff seeping out of the ground near Knothole. Sally? Do you think Sonic is really -

Sally: Oh.

*Another set of doors was blocking our way. She plugged Nicole into the keypad*

Sally: I assume this is where the digging stopped.

Lacey: Seems obvious to me.

Nicole: Yes. The logs here indicate an abrupt change in the composition of the terrain, but Antoine will be pleased to know that there are no significant amounts of anything dangerous in the air. Furthermore, I'm detecting faint readings of Chaos Energy.

Tails: So the Emerald's close? That's great?

Antoine: We'll, I suppose we have come this far . . .

Sally: Nicole, open the door. *The doors began to open. we got ready in case anything happened* All right, guys. Be ready for . . . Anything . . .

Antoine: Mon dieu . . .

Lacey: Whoa . . .

*All of us were shocked by what we saw on the other side*

To be Continued . . .