The Fox and the Seedrian: Frontiers
by milesprower06
Chapter Ten
Chris stretched his legs and curled his toes as he woke up in the sheets of the queen bed. He rubbed his eyes before rolling his head on his pillow over to the left to gaze at his wife, Helen. A soft kiss on the cheek was all it took to gently bring her to the waking world.
"Mmm, morning, Chris," Helen said, her eyes fluttering open.
"Slept well, I hope?" he asked.
The nightgown-clad woman smirked at her husband.
"After the fun we had last night? I certainly hope so."
Chris giggled softly, before tossing the covers off of himself, and put his feet on the carpet, sliding them into his slippers.
"How's french toast sound for breakfast?" he asked.
"You read my mind," Helen replied, likewise pulling the covers off of her, before swinging her legs off the side of the bed, joining him as he made his way out of the bedroom towards the kitchen.
"So, um, when will we know if, well you know, if it worked?" Chris asked as he grabbed a frying pan and set it on the stovetop.
"A couple weeks, I think," Helen said as she grabbed the eggs and milk from the fridge. "Maybe three. I'll definitely know in three. If it worked, we can start getting that guest room ready. If it didn't, well, I certainly don't mind trying again, that's for sure."
"No argument here."
With how late it had been when they had set up their campsite, Lily hadn't gotten a good look at the Mushroom Hills before settling down for the night. So when they were up and hiking after sunrise the next morning, she gazed in awe at the large mushrooms, in shades of red, orange, green, and blue. The trees were higher still, and likely taller than the forest above Hydrocity.
"Not that we need to know because we already have plenty of supplies, but how many of these are edible?" Lily asked.
"Ya got me," Sonic replied. "I just know they're great for bouncing off of."
As they made their way through a clearing, Lily noticed the remains of what looked like an axe-wielding robot, figuring it must have been more remains of Eggman's campaign here.
"Was Eggman always such a… Megalomaniac?" Lily asked.
Sonic glanced over at the wreckage that the girl had spied, before looking back to Tails.
"That's a loaded question no matter which way you slice it, kiddo," the fox told her.
"He was always obsessed with world domination in all the time I knew him," Sonic started. "I have no idea when exactly he showed up over here, but it was always with the robots and factories and using critters as living power sources."
"There were a few moments, usually times of absolute crisis when he was in just as much danger as everyone else, where we saw glimpses of a good man… Like fighting against the Meterex, or saving Chris' world from his vengeful grandfather. But I'm sorry to say that each time, it was little more than a glimpse. When the danger passed, he was always right back to his old self."
Lily remembered when she had been told when her mom had been revived from the tree in their back yard, and Eggman once again was up to his usual tricks. But after she had gotten hurt, Tails had had enough, and used the power of all seven chaos emeralds to send him back where he came from, seemingly for good.
"So, what is it like? The super form the chaos emeralds give you?" Lily asked both of them.
"Those books you read didn't give you an idea?" Tails asked back.
"There were no firsthand accounts. Seeing how almost in every other recorded instance, the one who achieved glowing golden godhood up and vanished in a flash of light not too long after achieving their super form," Lily told them.
"I'm guessing that's because when it came time to let go, they didn't, and instead tried to hold onto the power for as long as they could. In the end, that is the choice that costs you everything. That was actually what scared me the most when your dad achieved his super state not too long before you were born; I was afraid he wasn't going to know when to let go," Sonic told her.
"The key was to not let it overwhelm you, and that's harder than it sounds. Because make no mistake, it feels like you can do absolutely anything, and for a few moments, you probably can. But your heart and mind have to be in the right place, because if not, you likely won't know when to let go. It's not a power that's meant to be held onto for long."
"It's hard to wrap my mind around, with how the power of one emerald felt," Lily commented.
"To be fair, it was likely a bit more than that, sweetheart. It was the power of one emerald and the agrokinetic power meant for a planet's entire population concentrated in you," her dad said.
"Yeah, that's fair. So what's the route for today? The sand dunes are after this, right?"
"In about six miles. There's a river in about two miles where we'll fill all our canteens to prepare as best we can for the trek across the dunes, which hopefully won't take more than a day. I'm hoping we won't need to call the ships in," Tails answered.
"Right, because that would be cheating," Sonic quipped, chuckling.
"This is hardly an endurance test. The ships are there for emergencies. And this will hardly be desert survival. The air won't be as dry as your typical desert climate, and from my last satellite photos, the Flying Battery crash site is halfway between this forest and Sandopolis, if we need to stop for shade."
"We've almost gone all the way around, right?" Lily asked.
"Pretty much. If we were to pass Sandopolis, we would go right back to Azure Lake and the surrounding forest where the Master Emerald Shrine is," Tails began. "Once we get to Sandopolis, the only way to see something new, is to head down, into the lava reefs and towards the Hidden Palace."
"Here's hoping it's safe. That way, I'll have seen everything other than the floating sanctuary," Lily replied.
"And hopefully closer to the answers you want."