The Fox and the Seedrian: Frontiers
by milesprower06
Chapter Eight
Lily felt and heard the snow crunch beneath her feet with every step she took across the snow-capped glacier. She walked alongside her dad, with Sonic a few paces ahead of them, and BD continually scanning the ice to make sure everything was stable as they made their way across the ice caps towards the old Death Egg launch zone. They had stopped for dinner in one of the more intact dining areas in the dilapidated carnival, before making camp on the other side, before the hills gave way to the glacier that took up the next portion of their journey across and around Angel Island.
Thankfully, it wasn't windy, but visibility wasn't helped by the currently clear skies, which allowed the late morning sun to shine directly on the snow, causing the trio to put on shaded goggles to avoid snow blindness.
"You've been quiet today, Lily," Tails began. "Still thinking about those whispers from last night?"
Lily nodded.
"I really think they were more than a dream, dad. I felt like they were trying to tell me something… Whoever 'they' were. It was way too vivid to be a dream. It was like understanding them was just out of reach," Lily replied.
"I wish I had the answers for you, sweetheart. But this island holds mysteries that still elude even Knuckles."
"I know,it's not like we expected to solve every mystery the moment we encounter them. That's why we're here for a week or two," Lily told him.
"So what's your theory?" Tails asked her.
"If these voices are a 'presence', I'm thinking that the more of the island I see, and the longer I'm here, the easier it will be to understand them," Lily answered.
The two-tailed fox pondered his daughter's answer; it was a sound theory. It could be similar to chaos energy; it wasn't something you could manipulate and handle right off the bat. You had to practice with it, get used to it, become accustomed to what it felt like. He had a feeling that what Knuckles and his tribe knew about the Master Emerald only scratched the surface of the history of the gem here on Mobius. The Chaos Compendium book, Lily's favorite piece of research material, only covered the last five millennia, and before that, historical accounts were orated, instead of recorded in written form.
At the end of this train of thought, was what he had been doing for the last two days; that whatever reason the Master Emerald had for reaching out to her, that it wasn't going to lead to anything bad. He had considered himself quite lucky to raise Lily in an era of peace. Even a thrill seeker like Sonic was no doubt glad that there was no considerable danger for the first four years of Aurora's life.
So for now, the first thing he wanted was for Lily to get the answers she was looking for, and to stay safe.
The second thing he wanted was to get off of this glacier into the warmer parts of the island, and when he heard BD give a warning beep, and Sonic's snow-crunching footsteps slow to a stop, he figured they were nearing that time.
"Well, it's a long but gradual slope down to the bay. Ready for another trip down memory lane, pal?" Sonic asked, digging into his pack and coming out with a slim metallic plate. He pressed a button on the side, and additional panels slid out of the sides to extend into a full length lightweight snowboard.
"Just hope there's no avalanche this time. Just in case, stick close to me, Lily, so I can lift you up in case that does happen," Tails said, pulling out his own compacted snowboard, and Lily did the same.
The trio looked down at the slope that indeed went down into what Tails had mapped as 'Launch Base Bay', as it was where Eggman had crash landed his Death Egg for repairs. With the island airborne, however, there wasn't much of a bay, but rather what would likely be the next day's hike through what were now sandy cliffs that curved inward towards the Mushroom Hills, another forested region of the island.
Once their snowboards were locked in the extended positions, and secured to their snow boots, Sonic took one more short hop towards the edge of the slope, while Tails recalled BD.
"Alright, ready guys? One, two, three!"
"Thank you, Amy. That was delicious. Are you sure I can't help you with the dishes?" Cosmo asked, as the pink hedgehog took her cleared dessert plate over to the sink to join the the dishes of Chris, Helen, Aurora, and herself, after a filling meal.
"That might have worked ten or so years ago when you first came back, Cosmo, but now you're back to being a guest in my house, and I won't hear of it," Amy replied to the seedrian with a smirk.
"Yeah, and besides, somebody's got to keep this little one entertained while the dishes are done," Helen added, briefly tickling Aurora, getting squealing laughter out of the young girl for her efforts, before picking her up and taking her to the living room.
"And thank you again, Chris. You've kept me moving and occupied these past couple days, and that's helped my worrying immensely," the seedrian continued.
"Anytime. Say, Amy, any leftovers from tonight?" Chris asked as the hedgehog began rinsing the plates and glasses and loading the dishwasher.
"Plenty, and I know why you're asking; I'll be sure to make a plate for you to take to Bokkun," Amy said with a wink.
"Thanks. Don't want the little guy to feel too left out," Chris told her.
"Part of me feels bad for thinking of them as much as I am, because after all, I was the one who convinced Tails to go with Lily on this trip," Cosmo confessed.
"Nonsense, Cosmo. That's absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I can't remember a time when they were both gone without you for more than two days," Amy offered.
"According to the latest results from the tracker, they got over the ice cap region today and made camp close to where the Death Egg crashed and underwent repairs. Well, crashed the first time, shall I say. It came back down rather quickly, if I remember how Tails told it," Chris said.
"From what I remember him telling me, the first time it came down gently. A few days later, right after take off, it crashed right on top of the volcano," Cosmo said.
"Well, if you really don't want any help Amy, I think I'll go get some fresh air," Chris told them, getting up from the table and headed out into the backyard. Amy stood at the sink and watched him from the back window as he walked across her yard over into his neighboring yard.
"Chris seems to have his mind on something," the seedrian commented.
"I should think so," Amy started, making sure to keep her voice down. "He told Helen that he was ready to start a family whenever she was ready."
"Oh my goodness, really?" Cosmo asked.
Amy nodded.
"I suppose he's spent enough time with Lily and Aurora that he's gotten over his fear of turning into his parents."
"I assume Helen was ecstatic?" Cosmo asked, taking a moment to glance back at the woman who was playing with Aurora in the living room.
"Certainly. I'm actually surprised that they didn't talk about it at all over dinner tonight, but maybe that's because they want to get all their ducks in a row, and be absolutely certain that a healthy pregnancy can happen before they get everyone else excited," Amy replied.
Cosmo downed the last of her glass of water, before getting up to take it to the sink.
"True, that's probably the best way to go about it. But it's nice to know that we're potentially still not done with families being made among our friends."
