Chapter 69; A whirl of conflict, part 2
"Honestly, that sounds like a really great idea".
"That's great" her very voice reeked of blushing "go get them hero".
"I will. Talk later" Sonic assured Jasmine as she hang up.
"Let's go Raichu. There's got to be more cave openings around here!"
His hunch was proven correct. Another cave opening was waiting them right around the corner.
Sending out Pupitar once again, Sonic immediately got to work.
"Pupitar rock slide!"
Pupitar executed its move perfectly, sealing the entrance to the caves shut.
"Excellent. Next one quick! Not a second to waste!"
To his surprise however he was done; he, Raichu and Pupitar found themselves right where they began.
Satisfied Sonic called Knuckles.
"All wrapped up here Knuckles. You done yet?"
"About that…"
"What?"
"I uuh… am inside".
"What?!... How? Why?!"
"I heard some noises coming from inside. So I had Pupitar seal the entrance after walking in… bzzt".
"No, no, no" Sonic thought anxiously as static played. Knuckles was losing signal.
"I will go ahead… bzzt… join me when… can… bzzt".
"Knuckles? Knuckles!" Sonic yelled at the phone but the line was cut.
"Damn" he spat as he looked into the one cave opening he left open on purpose.
"Rai?"
"I know buddy. We're going in. Knuckles is strong but taking on whoever is in there plus all the grunts… let's not get to that point" Sonic decided as he and Raichu took a deep breath and headed into the unknown.
The cave was dark and cold. Raichu helped illuminate the darkness by gathering electricity in its cheeks. Zubats and geodudes tried to get in their way like most caves but a mere angry growl from raichu kept them at bay.
As trainer and pokemon headed deeper and deeper in the cave they noticed the path was slowly beginning to descend.
"We're going under the sea?" Sonic thought as he tried to keep his senses dialed to 11 for any rocket activity.
A sudden loud sound echoed in the cave, causing him to jump.
It took him an entire 4 seconds to realize it was his phone. Quickly taking it out he answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey…bzzt safe…. watching over …bzzt… until the police … bzzt… Ariana… escaped… bzzt your end?"
Sonic could barely understand what his friend was saying. The cave was messing with his signal.
"Tails I'm in the cave pursuing the rockets. Closed off all exits but the main entrance so rockets won't escape. Knuckles went in earlier so…" but before Sonic could finish the sentence the line was cut.
"Shit!" he whispered "hope he can catch up" he muttered going forward.
After a while the path started splitting. Every now and then Sonic was forced to make a new choice of direction.
"Damnit think. There got to be a way to find Knuckles or the rockets. Think".
Leaning against the sharp wall, adjusting until he was comfortable enough to think clearly, he took a deep breath.
"They must have come here pursuing Lugia. Whatever makes them think they can tame Lugia, I don't know. But still… where would Lugia be in this cave maze?"
As he pondered the answer, he heard small droplets of water falling from small stalactites on the ceiling.
"Water… yeah… yeah… water. Lugia is the guardian of the seas. That must mean it would be most comfortable below sea level. In other words…"
"The deepest part of the cave" Sonic and Knuckles both said at the same time in different parts of the cave, reaching the same conclusion.
As the hedgehog now started walking down the dark tunnels again looking for a way down, he texted Tails, hoping the message would be sent eventually.
At the same time the echidna started getting frustrated. He had been walking got a while but hadn't found any paths leading down. Even with all his gear he couldn't see or find anything that would lead him on the right track.
Turning a corner again he saw another deep hole in front of him. He stopped and sighed.
Many of the paths lead to such dead ends with holes at the end. First time he came across such a home, he almost fell into. Now he had come to expect it.
He was about to turn around and walk back to the crossroads that had lead him to this dead end and pick the other path when he heard it; voices.
And they were coming from the hole.
Most of the words spoken were indistinguishable but one word spoken told Knuckles everything he needed to know.
Archer.
He had found them.
Having no time to contact Sonic, not that he would be able to if he had, Knuckles equipped his gauntlets and jumped.
After a short fall, he nailed his gauntlets into the wall, digging into it a bit.
Soon enough his quick fall had become a slow descent by climbing down the wall.
The voices were now clear.
"Sir please next time don't go too far. We need to be able to catch up".
"That is your problem" a second voice that Knuckles assumed belonged to the one in charge "my problem is finding the Guardians of the seas and accomplishing my mission"
"Guardians?!" Knuckles whispered in shock "as in multiple?"
There were multiple Lugias here?
Speeding up his climb while trying to be as quiet as possible, he reached the end of the hole finding himself in a bigger underground room.
As he remained there hanging from ceiling, the spikes of his gauntlets still digging into the rocky surface, Knuckles noticed that there were steep paths leading downward. All the paths began in a small round platform above which he was hanging.
"Lugia must live somewhere below" Knuckles assumed "I can't let them go any further".
And on cue, they arrived. A purple haired man with a mohawk and a total of 12 grunts.
"We're close" the man with the mohawk said "this room is the chamber of choice. One of the paths leads to the domain Lugia lives in. The others are said to lead to a watery grave".
"So who do we pick admin Petrel sir?"
Knuckles was fully ready to jump down but refrained. Even he didn't know which path was the correct one.
Honestly speaking Knuckles didn't even remember ever being a chamber of choice in the legends of Johto.
"But mom knew all of them. They were in her books were they not?"
Petrel then took a small notebook out.
"Only the one with a clear mind and a soul made of silver may proceed" he read.
Knuckles shook his head as he realized team rocket had a clue. He had allowed his lack of knowledge of this place to trigger his trauma by feeling distant from his mother's memory. He had felt she probably knew about this place and he had failed to learn about it as well.
There was no time to think about it or a point in letting team rocket decipher the clue.
Jumping down, he landed next to two team rocket grunts. Before they could realize what had landed next to them, each had received a punch in the head falling unconscious.
Petrel turned around horrified at first but then simply smiled.
It was the echidna. And he was alone.
"Well well. The one of the three Musketeers. Where are your two friends?"
"Right behind me. And I think I will make their lives a little easier. Surrender now".
Petrel simply kept smiling. His hand moved towards one of his pokeballs but refrained. He wanted to enjoy this.
"Split in 5 teams of two. Take a path each. I'll make this quick".
The grunts looked at each other, in obvious refusal.
"Will I have to deal with you lot too? If the path leads nowhere just stop and return! Go!"
"Yes sir" the grunts obeyed. Knuckles couldn't help but wonder why.
After the grunts left, Petrel turned back to Knuckles.
"So… now that we're alone. What say you we deal with each other ourselves? No need to waste time using pokemon when we can simply use our fists".
Knuckles was sure he heard wrong. Petrel had obviously heard about the slowpoke well and how Knuckles had beaten up the grunts there.
"Yeah… if you think I'll play your game you are totally lost pal" he said taking out Typhlosion's pokeball.
"Heh. All bark and no bite? All those muscles are for nothing?"
"Unlike you I actually have brains as well as brawn".
"Ooooh. Shot's fired. Daddy taught you his jokes?"
Knuckles' brain flatlined. His fists started trembling.
"What did you say… rocket scum?!"
Petrel smiled. It had actually worked. And one taunt was all it took.
After the catastrophic first defeat at the slowpoke well, he, Archer and Ariana had had Proton inform them of every last bit of what happened. When he revealed Knuckles broke his legs because he lost his cool over Proton taunting him about his father, Archer had found it very interesting.
Before Petrel left for the whirl islands a while ago, Archer had instructed him to try and mess with the echidna's mind if it came to it.
"Try taunting him like Proton did. Get in his mind and you will have already won… or at least be on a good track. Don't mess this up".
"For once the bossman was right" Petrel thought in admiration of his de facto leader.
"You're no funny. Can't even take a dad joke about dad jokes?"
"Shut up! You don't talk about things you don't know!"
"Oh I'm sorry did I hurt your feelings?"
"Don't…" Knuckles was barely holding himself from assaulting the admin "talk about things you don't know!"
"Oh you're right. I don't know. So insensitive of me. But if it's of any consolation to you, my dad never came back with the milk either".
Knuckles' eyes got bloodshot.
"You have a death wish?!"
"Not any more than you do. Which of course you shouldn't. Can you even imagine how much pain that would bring to your mommy?"
That.
Was the last drop.
"YOU'RE DEAD!" Knuckles screamed charging Petrel.
Petrel sidestepped, dodging Knuckles' fist. In a split second, Petrel's knee found its way to Knuckles' belly. As the echidna knelt and coughed, Petrel resisted the urge to laugh.
"Come on Echidna. Get up. Or are you not as tough as you look?"
Knuckles let out a large roar, which echoed throughout the chamber of choice as he tried to charge Petrel again, who merely ducked and dodged the attacks before delivering a powerful right hook, disorienting the echidna.
Sonic, as well as the arriving Tails who had just walked through the entrance, heard the roar.
"Knuckles!" they both whispered horrified.
Sonic started sprinting towards the sound, Raichu following right behind. Tails would have a lot of catching up to do.
Deeper in the cave, Petrel kept dodging the attacks, striking back when he got an opening, playing it patiently.
"Why! Don't! You! Stand still! AND DIE!" Knuckles screamed each part of that phrase as he tried to punch Petrel.
Petrel, dodging one more time, grabbed the huge fist and pushed Knuckles against the wall. The echidna crashed into the rocky surface, scratching his arm.
"For a guy named Knuckles you are REALLY bad at punching" Petrel teased him.
Knuckles tried one more time to punch Petrel but at this point he was blinded by rage.
With immense ease, Petrel redirected the punch and delivered a devastating uppercut at Knuckles jaw, knocking him down. The echidna struggled to get back up but collapsed without losing consciousness.
"Such a disappointment. You could have made an excellent recruit. But oh well. You chose the way of the hero. Now you will reap the rewards of that choice".
And with those words the rocket executive grabbed Knuckles and with significant effort raised his over his head. He then carefully approached the chasm in front of him, stepping in between one of the 5 stair paths leading downwards.
He heard footsteps behind him.
He looked over his shoulder.
It was Sonic.
"Knuckles!"
Petrel smiled menacingly.
"End of the line for all of you".
And with those words, he threw Knuckles off the cliff.
The splashing sound echoed throughout the chamber.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sonic's scream of despair reached Tails who wasn't far behind.
"What happened to them?!" he thought as he began racing through the cave.
"You monster!" Sonic screamed as he tried to punch Petrel.
Laughing, Petrel kicked Sonic back against the wall. But Sonic wasn't having it.
"Raichu! Relieve him of his head! Iron tail!"
Raichu was shocked at the statement but quickly acted as it too was mad at the team rocket admin.
Before the attack could even begin however, Petrel had sent out a pokemon.
A massive green body blocked the iron tail. Before Raichu could process anything, a powerful bite attack had it crashing against the wall.
"Tyranitar?!" Sonic exclaimed in shock.
Team rocket had captured more than the one that had died on their watch and whose offspring they now had.
As Raichu felt Tyranitar's sharp teeth bite down against its body, Sonic too felt the same. But his rage was so deep, he completely ignored all pain.
Jumping onto Tyranitar, he tried the same trick he pulled on the illusion Enter by wrapping his hands against its throat and applying pressure.
Tyranitar's body however was too hard for that to work.
"Crunch!"
As the crunch damaged Raichu, the pain finally affected Sonic who dropped to the ground, something that Petrel noticed.
"Fascinating" he thought "should inform Archer if he gets out of this".
"Raichu thunder punch!" Sonic shouted before he felt a boot stomp against his face.
Raichu tried to thunder punch but the attack barely phased Tyranitar. It simply bit down again as its jaws moved in reflex to the thunder punch.
Petrel savored the moment, thinking of the glory he would experience for destroying team Sonic single-handedly.
"Farewell moron" he said as he was about to stomp down again.
Before he could, his reflexes caught a blast coming his way.
Back stepping just in time, he dodged the energy bullet fired from Tails' stun gun.
"Let go of my friends!" Tails screamed as he fired over and over.
Petrel merely sent out a rhydon that had the ability lightning rod which absorbed the stun blasts. Tails cursed. His new tool was really not as almighty as he hoped.
Aiming at Tyranitar, he fired. The blast didn't knock out the massive pokemon but caused it to release Raichu. Grabbing Sonic by the hand and Raichu by the tail, Tails used all of his strength to lift them up into the tunnel Knuckles ambushed the rockets from.
Petrel watched them escape with a smile. He had done it. The three menaces were now only two. And by the time they regrouped, it would be too late.
Returning to the riddle of how to find the lair of Lugia, he took out a small beacon detecting device. Having placed trackers on all of the grunts that would escort him to finding the Guardian of the seas, he activated the detecting device.
The beacons activated, one of them showing him the right path. That one was further away. The other four were stationary just a little bit ahead in length.
Smiling he took off, taking the path he knew would lead him to the prize. Along the way he tried informing Archer of the supposed weakness Sonic had when it came to his Raichu but found himself unable to call.
"Of course. No signal even from the satellite so deep. Oh well up close later" he shrugged heading off.
Above him, Tails had Sonic lying against the wall as Raichu struggled to get up and check on its trainer.
"You ok?"
"No" Sonic said despite the pain. The physical one was nothing in the moment.
"Who was that guy?"
"I don't know. I've never seen him before. But he had a Tyranitar".
"I noticed".
"And a Rhydon. They came prepared to fight Lugia. We need to…" Sonic's voice cracked.
"Then we got no time to waste. Where is Knuckles? Further ahead?"
A tear streamed down Sonic's face. And that was all the information Tails needed.
"No… no… no tell me you're lying! Where's Knuckles?!"
"… in a watery grave".
Tails crumbled. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not here.
"No… this… this wasn't supposed to happen… " he murmured as he too couldn't hold his emotions "after all the training… all the efforts… it was for nothing?!"
Sonic took deep breaths. The feeling of loss was crashing him.
Doubt crept up on him.
Whoever that guy was he had overpowered Knuckles. His tyranitar had overpowered Raichu. What chance did they even stand?
Right on the verge of complete breakdown a memory of their training came to his mind. Knuckles and he were resting after their pokemon had sparred. Knuckles was feeling down again so Sonic had him talk about it.
After Knuckles was done and feeling better however, he made Sonic promise something.
"Mate, I've been thinking… this war with the rockets… yours started similarly in Kanto. And you saw how it went south halfway".
"It won't happen this time Knuckles. We're stronger now".
"Let me finish. I want you to promise me something if anything happens to me, or Tails, or any of our pokemon. Promise me we will not stop. We will not rest until team rocket is behind bars for their crimes. Promise me if anything happens to any of us we will see this through to the end like you did in Kanto".
Sonic remembered how he was wondering why Knuckles had such doubts. But he had promised him nonetheless.
"I promise you dude. We will win this war".
In the present again, Sonic felt even more crashing pain upon recalling that promise. But he was also intending to keep it.
"Help me up".
"What?"
"Help me up" Sonic repeated "Knuckles would want us to see this through to the end".
Tails couldn't believe it.
"How can you be so… calm?! Our friend is gone!"
"He is" Sonic managed to hold all but one of his tears again "and the time to mourn him will come. But now we need to keep our focus. I won't let team rocket get away with this. I didn't let them the first time. So no way I'm letting them now!"
Tails despite the sadness was inspired. Helping his friend up, the two made their way back down to the chamber of choice.
Fighting to not let their emotions take over again, the two pondered which of the paths to choose.
"What now?"
Tails started flying.
"I'll look around for clues below. You look around here"
Sonic nodded and started pacing around the platform looking for anything out of place or anything they could use to proceed.
And blow in the hole there it was; Petrel's notebook describing the riddle of the chamber.
"He probably dropped during his fight with Knuckles" Sonic forced himself to remain calm.
"Only the one with a clear mind and a soul made of silver may proceed" he read "a riddle?"
A clear mind and a soul made of silver. That made no sense. Maybe 1 in a thousand could be like this. But there was no way team rocket wouldn't find a way around it.
"In other words it must be an indicator rather than a requirement" Sonic surmised.
Heading to each of the paths' beginning he looked around in the rocks. In the middle path he found it.
A carved arrow. But it was blending in with its surroundings perfectly.
"That must be the clear mind indicator. Being able to see clearly around you" Sonic thought wondering who had even created this riddle. Probably the ancient Johtonians.
"I got it!" he called out to Tails.
"So do I! It's the middle path!"
"How do you know?!" Sonic asked him.
Tails flew back towards the platform and lifted up his friend.
Following the path down while airborne they made it to the ground level. The paths were visible underwater but were deep enough so that water would reach someone's waist for them to walk down the paths.
"They look the same. How do you know the middle path is the right path?"
Tails merely pointed towards the ends of the other paths. When Sonic looked, he felt the need to throw up.
Towards the end, 5 waterfalls were waiting. And on the base of those waterfalls the water was red.
At that moment something surfaced next to them. What they saw was so grim and scary that Tails accidentally dropped Sonic.
Sonic fell into the water but stepped on the rocky underwater path and looked again.
It was a skull with the flesh half eaten off of it.
That was the last straw.
He threw up.
"What the actual fuck happened here?! This is a slaughterfest! What killed those guys?!"
Tails took out a small bolt, leftover from his tinkering and threw it in the water.
As soon as water splashed from the fall of the bolt into it, a massive being emerged from the water faster than eyes could see.
The being splashed water all over Tails and Sonic. But they managed to make out what that being was.
"Gyarados" Sonic muttered.
"The four must be guarding the wrong paths… and eat those who try to cross" Tails surmised fully disgusted.
Sonic nodded. But before he could step forward Tails stopped him.
"Wait. How do we know this is not a wrong path you're on?!"
"There was an arrow at the beginning of this path. It's the right one".
"You sure? Maybe we should double back, follow the path from the beginning".
A cry echoed through the cave before Tails even finished his sentence. Sonic recognized it.
"Lugia!" he screamed.
Turning to Tails he spoke urgently.
"They have begun! Let's go!"
"But the gyarados!"
"If I'm wrong path it's too bad!" Sonic said as walked as fast as he could through the water.
Every step of the way he expected to be suddenly swallowed by a gyarados. But it never happened.
Instead he reached the waterfall. Passing through it, he found himself at the beginning of a tunnel.
"I'm through! Come quick!"
Tails followed. The roaring water falling down the waterfall caused him to land prematurely, stumbling to his feet.
"Well I guess you were right".
"A risk we had to take pal. As the riddle said" Sonic gave Tails the now almost ruined notebook.
Tails quickly read and nodded.
"Alright then. Let's not waste any time" he said taking out his stun gun.
The two friends started racing through the cave. It was payback time.
