Hello, everyone! I'm going to try to work on my stories a little bit faster cause it seems like I'm taking longer than I should but I'll still go at a decent pace. Anyways, ONWARD to the story!
(Series Intro)
Chapter 9: Jumping Waters
Sonic and the kids were all laying down on their backs. They laid beside each other in a circle. Sonic had both hands behind his head and so did Ducky. It was sunny with parts of clouds flowing. Some clouds would change shapes as they moved. Some of the kids guessed what some clouds looked like as they passed by. Ruby said one looked like a Flyer, Cera said one looked like a rock, and Petrie said one looked like a Longneck.
"How about you Littlefoot?" asked Sonic. Littlefoot looked at one cloud. It started to form like a frog.
"Hey, that one looks like a Hopper" said Littlefoot.
"That doesn't look like a Hopper" said Cera.
"You must use your imagination Cera. Yep, yep, yep" said Ducky.
"Yeah, you gotta try looking at it another way" said Sonic.
"It won't look like what it's supposed to look like unless you can imagine it" added Ruby.
"I STILL don't see a Hopper" Cera said with a frown.
"Big head, tiny brain" Sonic mumbled.
"What?" said Cera.
"Oh, nothing" Sonic replied with a smile. Cera let out a groan.
"Ok Ducky, your turn" said Chomper. Ducky watched some clouds go by. She spotted one forming like a berry bush.
"That one looks like sweet bubbles" said Ducky. Spike mumbled happily. It sounded like he was hungry.
Ducky then looked at Spike. "Oh, I'm sorry Spike. It only looks like sweet bubbles but it is not. No, no, no."
Spike moaned in disappointment. Ducky then tried to cheer up her Spike tail brother.
"But maybe you can find some in the trees" said Ducky. Spike then raised both eyebrows and smiled. Spike then got up and went to find some berries. Petrie then followed because he was also a little hungry. Sonic watched Spike and Petrie walk away to find some berries.
Sonic shook his head with a smile. "I wonder if there was ever a time Spike wasn't hungry."
The others did more sky watching. They all spotted a cloud forming a small Sharptooth.
"Hey look at that one" said Littlefoot.
"Chomper" said the group. The 'Chomper' cloud then flew over to the berry cloud.
"And he's eating the sweet bubbles" said Ducky.
"And I don't even like sweet bubbles" added Chomper. The group then laughed a little. Suddenly, the group heard Petrie yelp.
"Petrie? Spike?" said Littlefoot.
"Let's go" Sonic said with a serious expression. The group then stood up and went looking for Petrie and Spike. They all heard Petrie yell out, "Spike, no!"
The group then stopped when they saw Petrie and Spike near a tree. Spike was laying on his side and Petrie was holding a red leaf.
"What's wrong Petrie?" asked Sonic.
"Oh, too horrible to say. Me not believe it" Petrie said with a frown.
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What? Did Spike eat too much sweet bubbles?"
Petrie shook his head. "No, it worse than that."
"Is Spike sick inside?" asked Ducky. Spike then stood up and burped. Sonic shook his head. Ducky then knew what was going on.
"Oh, Spike just ated red tree stars" Ducky said with a smile.
"He ate tickly red tree stars" said Petrie. The group looked confused.
"And?" Sonic and Littlefoot said.
"Everyone know you no eat tickly red tree stars. Tickly red tree stars bad luck. Everyone know that" Petrie said with a frown.
Cera frowned. "NO ONE knows that."
"Don't know if that's true" said Sonic.
Petrie then handed the red leaf to Ruby. Ruby examined it for a second.
"I've seen this before. This leaf is rare and really sweet. But it doesn't bring bad luck" said Ruby. Spike then ate the red leaf. Petrie then gasped and said "Spike, don't!" Petrie then tried to pull the red leaf from Spike's mouth. But he pulled too hard and fell. He only managed to grab the stem of the leaf.
Petrie frowned. "You see? Me not fall if Spike not eat red tree star."
"That's not why you fell" said Cera.
"You fell because you pulled too hard on the leaf" added Sonic. Petrie still looked upset.
"Look, Petrie. If Spike doesn't eat anymore red tree stars, (Spike let out a confused grunt) will you stop talking about bad luck?" said Littlefoot.
"Yeah, you know bad luck's not real, remember about Saurus Rock?" said Sonic.
"Yeah, we remember that" added Cera.
"But it not ok" Petrie insisted. "Me Uncle Pterano know leaf eater, who know leaf eater, who eat it and get bad luck." The little Flyer shook in fear and covered his head.
"But Petrie, you know that your uncle didn't always tell the truth" said Sonic.
"Yeah, that guy was full of crazy stories" added Cera.
"Me know. (Shivers) But me can't stop thinking about them" said Petrie.
"So try to think about something you're not thinking about" said Ruby.
"Like what?" Petrie asked with a shrug.
"Remember when we all worked together to stop that fiery monster Iblis?" asked Sonic.
Cera smiled. "Yeah, that was incredible."
"Though I wish me and Ruby were there to see it" said Chomper.
Petrie cheered up a little. "You right, Sonic. (Shivers again) But me remember that Iblis very scary and big."
Ducky then came in. "What about a different story? Ruby's a good story teller. Yep, yep, yep."
Ruby nodded. "Sure. How about one that takes place in the Mysterious Beyond?"
Ruby then told a story about how her and Chomper were on their first journey to find the Great Valley. She told how they both got chased by Red Claw. They ran past some geysers, or 'Jumping Waters.' A large geyser then shot water in Red Claw's face. The Big Sharptooth was distracted enough for Ruby and Chomper to hide. They lost Red Claw after a few moments. Sonic believed that the jumping waters must be geysers or something else. The others were surprised by Ruby's story, though Cera was skeptical.
"Wait a moment, you're telling me that water just jumped out of the ground. You got some imagination Ruby" Cera said while rolling her eyes.
Chomper then came in. "But I saw it too."
Cera scoffed. "Yeah, right."
Ruby shrugged. "Well, maybe it's something you need to see yourself to know you saw it."
Cera raised both eyebrows. "You want us to go to the Mysterious Beyond, just to see waters jump?"
"It's really not that far from the Mysterious Beyond" Ruby said as she thought for a moment.
Chomper then came in. "Yeah, it's just beyond the Sheltering Grass."
"I would like to see waters jump into the sky. Yep, yep, yep" said Ducky. Spike mumbled in agreement. Littlefoot then said that they should go see the 'Jumping Waters.'
Sonic then smiled. "It looks like another adventure awaits us. What do you say Cera?"
"Yeah, come on" said Chomper.
Cera still felt unsure but then she gave in. "(Sigh) Ok, fine. Let's find this water that jumps."
Sonic and the others nodded. They all went to find the meadow of 'geysers.' They didn't notice that Daxter was watching from behind some trees. He watched the group walk away.
"If only I can get my hands on that rat's time band, I might be able to find a way to release my master" said Daxter. The Dome-Head followed the group but stayed a little far to avoid being found. The group passed by a river and Ruby tried to remember where the meadow was. Ducky and Spike were pretty excited to see the Jumping Waters. Ruby felt a little lost for a moment. She thought some more. Petrie then said that if only Spike didn't eat the red tree star, they wouldn't be lost. Spike and Sonic rolled their eyes. Cera was still skeptical that waters could jump. Ruby then remembered where to go. She led the group to another pathway. Sonic then noticed dark clouds forming nearby. Petrie was still fearful that the group may run into bad luck. The group then heard some thunder and lightning struck a tree nearby. Parts of the branches were on fire. The group screamed in fear. The tree started to burn more. Sonic then thought quickly and used his speed on the tree. The flames were put out by Sonic's whirlwind. The kids sighed with relief and thanked Sonic. Sonic simply replied, "No problem." The dark clouds moved away but it was still a little cloudy.
Petrie frowned. "You no think this bad luck now?"
Littlefoot shook his head. "Sky fire happens all the time."
Cera rolled her eyes. "Well, if any of you scaredy eggs wanna head back, that's fine."
Cera then walked and followed Ruby. The kids (except Petrie and Cera) said that they weren't afraid and Sonic agreed as well. Petrie then followed the others cause he didn't want to be by himself. Daxter followed closely. He looked at Petrie with a dark grin.
"There are worse things than lightning and bad luck, little Flyer" Daxter whispered. The group then walked farther on their journey. Littlefoot accidentally stepped on a thistle ball and mumbled, "Ouch." Sonic stopped and looked at Littlefoot. Ruby and Ducky stopped too.
"You ok buddy?" asked Sonic.
Littlefoot nodded. "I'm fine. Just stepped on a ground prickly."
Littlefoot then showed Sonic his left front foot. Ruby and Ducky felt concerned.
"Oh, no, no, no" said Ducky.
Sonic waved it off. "It's no biggie. Here."
Sonic then pulled the thistle ball off and threw it away. Littlefoot sighed with relief.
"Thanks Sonic" Littlefoot said with a smile. Sonic nodded and the others then followed Ruby again. Daxter followed as well but then stepped on a small stick. Sonic stopped as he heard the snap sound. Daxter silently gasped and hid behind a tall tree. Sonic looked behind himself. He looked left and right but he didn't see anything. Littlefoot and Ducky stopped and looked at Sonic.
"Something wrong Sonic?" asked Littlefoot. Sonic then looked at Littlefoot.
"I thought I heard something. Maybe it's nothing. Let's keep moving" said Sonic. Sonic and the 2 kids then walked back with the others. Sonic glanced behind himself but still saw nothing. Sonic let out, "Hmm..."
The group walked farther away. Daxter came out of his hiding spot. He then got upset with himself.
"Good thinking genius. You almost got spotted" Daxter whispered with a frown. Sonic thought for a moment.
"We might not be alone" thought Sonic. Sonic did sense something off. He knew he had to keep up his guard. The group walked some more. There were some old logs and tree stumps nearby. Spike's tummy then grumbled. Petrie then landed by a log.
"Me feel bad Spike's so hungry" said Petrie.
Cera then frowned. "And who's fault is that?"
Petrie then sighed. Spike sniffed the air and found some tree stars inside an old log. He started to eat some of the leaves.
Petrie shrugged. "Well, at least those tree stars not so bad."
Spike ate more leaves. He then put his head inside the log while eating some more. But then he got his head stuck in the log. He tried to pull his head out. Spike then started to move his head around.
"Careful Spike" said Ducky. Spike started to swing the log on his head. The others backed up a little. Spike swung again.
"Duck" said Sonic. Sonic, Ruby, and Littlefoot ducked down as Spike swung the log. Spike grunted as he tried to get the log off. Sonic then shook his head.
"Spike, hold still" said Sonic. Spike then stopped walking. Sonic then put his foot on the log to hold it. Sonic then looked at Cera.
"Cera, a little help?" said Sonic. Cera nodded. She then rammed into the log and it broke apart. Spike then got his head off the rest of the log. He ate a few more leaves.
"See? Spike no get stuck if he not eat red tree star" said Petrie. But before anyone could say anything, it started to rain. Clouds covered the sun.
Petrie then frowned. "This Spike's fault."
"Surprise sky water happens all the time" said Littlefoot.
"And the sky puffers we saw earlier usually means sky water later" added Ruby.
"Could we talk about this somewhere drier?" said Chomper.
"Let's find some cover for now" said Sonic. The kids nodded and followed Sonic. They all hid under a large tree to stay dry. Daxter stayed dry under another tall tree not too far off. Cera then watched rain hitting some puddles, causing tiny splashes.
"Oh, look. The water's jumping" Cera said with a frown.
"If Ruby says there's water that jumped, then I know there is. And I want to see it" said Ducky. The little Swimmer was trying to convince Cera that Ruby is rarely wrong but Cera was still doubtful. It rained a little more.
"Well, we're not going anywhere with all this... (rain starts to slow) sky water?" said Cera. The rain then stopped after a few moments. Chomper then said that the sun was starting to come out. Ducky then said that they should go see the jumping waters. Cera then rolled her eyes. The group agreed and Ruby led the way again. Daxter then followed. The group then went down a hill. But then suddenly, they all slipped down the hill because the rain caused a small mudslide. The kids screamed while they slid. They were covered in mud when they hit the bottom. Everyone stood up and shook off the mud. Sonic shook his arms and legs to get the rest of the mud off.
"You guys still no believe in bad luck?" Petrie said with a raised eyebrow.
Sonic sighed with a frown. "Enough with the bad luck already, Petrie."
"Yeah, the sky water caused the running mud, not bad luck" said Littlefoot. Petrie was about to retort but Sonic spoke first.
"Petrie, do remember what I said when you guys fixed Saurus Rock?" asked Sonic.
"Well, yes" said Petrie.
"If you don't want to worry about bad luck, then think about some good things" said Sonic.
"Yeah, think about fun things" added Ruby.
Petrie sighed. "Ok, me try. But me have bad feeling about this."
"Besides, we aren't having all bad luck. We made it to the end of the Sheltering Grass" Ruby said as she gestured with her hand towards the tall grass. They were almost there.
"Let's get this over with" Cera said with a sigh. The group then walked past the tall grass and walked closer to the meadow. Daxter followed slowly. Though, no one noticed that Red Claw and his henchmen were nearby since the meadow wasn't too far from the Mysterious Beyond. Red Claw sniffed the air and got the group's scent. He growled for his 2 hench raptors to follow. Ruby then said that they have to go past some stinky mud pools nearby. Chomper could already smell the horrible scent since he had a good sense of smell. The little Sharptooth had a disgusted expression. After walking a little longer, they started to pass the stinky place. Sonic then had a disgusted look and held his nose with one hand because of the horrible smell. The kids also had disgusted expressions. The smell could be worse than Egg Stealer breath. Daxter had to wait for the group to go ahead because he didn't like the smell. He even coughed quietly. Lucky for him, the group didn't hear him cough.
"I STILL don't see jumping waters" said Cera. Suddenly, a small geyser shot out water in front of Cera. Cera gasped in surprise. The other kids except Chomper and Ruby let out, "Wow." Sonic wasn't too surprised cause of his many adventures.
Ruby then smiled. "Oh, just wait. You still have to see what you haven't seen yet."
The group then walked a little farther. Daxter then had an idea to attack the group. Daxter then walked and stopped by the small geyser. He let the geyser wet his hands. The water was very warm. Daxter then rubbed both hands.
"Aquae imperium" Daxter chanted. A small blue crystal formed on his hand. Daxter then crushed the blue crystal. A blue mist covered both of his hands and then faded away. He then looked at the small geyser. He raised one hand high and the small geyser shot water high. He put his hand down and the geyser stopped. He moved his hand up and then down. The water went up and then down as well. He then turned his eyes back to Sonic and the kids. He grinned wickedly.
The group then found the meadow of geysers. Cera was quite surprised. There were quite a few geysers all around. There were small ones and some large ones. Chomper then looked at Cera.
"Now do you believe the jumping waters exist Cera?" asked Chomper.
Cera sighed. "Ok, I believe it."
Sonic and the kids watched as the geysers shot more water. A few geysers would shoot water much higher than the others. The kids were having fun watching the jumping waters.
"Look how high the water jumps" said Ruby.
"This pretty fun" said Petrie.
"It is fun. It is, it is" added Ducky. Littlefoot then looked at Sonic.
"Do waters jump at your home Sonic?" asked Littlefoot.
Sonic shrugged. "In some places, yes. But they're called geysers."
"Geysers?" said Littlefoot.
"That's a weird name for jumping waters" said Cera.
"Well, don't look at me. I didn't create the name" Sonic said with a shrug and a smile. The kids then laughed a little. Spike then walked over to one of the geysers. He wanted a closer look at it. He got in real close and looked into the hole. Suddenly, the geyser shot out water fast and Spike got hit. He rolled backwards and hit one mud pool. The others saw that Spike was covered in stinky mud. Sonic shook his head with a smile. The other kids then laughed. The kids then started to gag a little because of the horrible smell. Sonic even felt a little disgusted, but he smelled worse things than this.
"The stinky pool made you stinky Spike" Ruby said as she held her nose. Spike laughed a little.
"See? This bad luck" said Petrie. Sonic then cleared his throat and frowned at Petrie.
"Sorry, me will try to think something else" said Petrie. Sonic rolled his eyes.
"Let's get him cleaned up" said Littlefoot. The others agreed. They told Spike to wait by a large geyser. He did what he was told. The others kept their distance as the geyser then shot water. The warm water washed off the mud. But the smell still remained on Spike. The kids still covered their nose. Littlefoot then said that they should head back home. The others nodded. But at least they managed to have some fun. The kids asked Spike to keep his distance because of the smell. Chomper could still smell it even from a long distance. Sonic then looked at Petrie.
"Are you starting to think good things instead of bad luck?" asked Sonic.
Petrie nodded. "Yes, me think of fun time with jumping waters."
But before Sonic could reply, Red Claw and his henchmen appeared from behind some trees. The kids screamed in fear. "Me good thinking gone again" said Petrie. They ran back to the meadow. Sonic ran to protect the kids. The Sharpteeth followed the group. The kids stopped by the geysers. Sonic got ready to defend the kids. The Sharpteeth surrounded them. But then the Sharpteeth stopped for a moment. They sniffed the air and then sniffed Spike. The Sharpteeth then growled in disgust. The Sharpteeth then ran off. The kids were surprised.
"They're... gone? But why?" Cera said with surprise.
"I don't know" replied Chomper.
Sonic then smiled. "I think we DO know. (Looks at Spike) The bad smell scared them off."
"You're right. Because we Sharpteeth can smell better than others" said Chomper.
"So Red Claw couldn't stand the smell" said Littlefoot.
Sonic nodded. "Exactly. Which means Spike saved the day this time."
Spike then grunted in a heroic way. Spike then licked Sonic like a dog. Sonic chuckled lightly. The kids then thanked Spike.
Petrie then smiled. "So maybe there's no bad luck after all."
Sonic then nodded and the other kids agreed as well. Cera then said, "Now, we should head home."
The others nodded. They were about to head back when suddenly, all the geysers shot out water very high. The waters then moved and formed a water wall around them. They were trapped in some kind of water cage. The group was confused.
"What's happening?" asked Cera.
"Water doesn't do that" said Ruby. Sonic then spotted someone walking towards them. Sonic instantly recognized who it was: Daxter. The wicked Dome-Head had a dark grin. Sonic then frowned and hmphed. The kids were confused at this Dome-Head. They saw the crystal wristband he was wearing.
"Sorry, everyone. But your bad luck has only begun" said Daxter.
"Who are you?" asked Littlefoot.
Sonic then came in. "This is the guy I told you about. The one that made that rock monster and the fire worm."
The kids gasped. Petrie then remembered Daxter's face from when he flew with Tails to help the others by a volcano.
"You right, Sonic. Me remember that you fought this Dome-Head" said Petrie.
Cera then frowned. "So YOU'RE the one who made those monsters."
Daxter then nodded. "Correct child. I'm Daxter and your Runner friend has something I want."
The kids were confused. They looked at Sonic and then back at Daxter.
"What is it that you want from Sonic?" asked Littlefoot.
Daxter then pointed at Sonic's left arm. "I want his time band."
Sonic then frowned. "Why do you need my time band? To hurt my friends back at home?"
Daxter then crossed his arms. "That might be something I'll consider later. (Sonic glares) But what I really want is the power of those Chaos Emeralds."
"Why?" asked Sonic.
Cera then glared. "You're sounding just like Eggman. You wanna take over the Great Valley too?"
Daxter then nodded. "In a way, yes. But it's for something else I have in mind."
Sonic then got in his fighting stance. "For what?"
Daxter then frowned. "That doesn't concern you. Now, hand over that time band and maybe, I won't hurt the kids."
The kids then gasped in fear. Sonic got ready to fight. In the distance, Red Claw then smelled something new. He smelled Daxter. Red Claw then roared for his hench raptors to follow.
Sonic then smirked. "I'd like to see you try."
Daxter then glared at Sonic. He closed his hands into fists.
Cera then frowned at Daxter. "You leave us alone, you crazy Dome-Head."
Cera then charged at Daxter. Daxter just grinned and held up a hand. Cera hit the water wall but couldn't get through. Cera tried again a few times but the water wall was too strong. Daxter then did a back hand motion. A water tendril knocked Cera back. She rolled once backwards and hit the ground. Cera then shook her head to clear her senses. She was astounded that she couldn't break through the water.
Daxter still had a dark grin. "It's no use child. My magic will keep you from breaking through."
The kids gasped. They were baffled that they're facing a new villain who knows real magic.
"But how can you make water do that?" asked Ruby.
Daxter then laughed. "Oh, you have no idea at what I can do child."
Daxter then stretched forth his right hand. A green flame then appeared on his hand. The kids' eyes went wide but Sonic glared at Daxter. The kids couldn't believe their eyes.
"Y-Y-You make f-fire too?" stuttered Petrie.
But before Daxter could answer, everyone heard roaring sounds. Daxter turned around to see Red Claw and his cronies have returned. They set their sights on Daxter. Sonic then smiled and had an idea. Daxter then frowned in annoyance at the Sharpteeth. The Sharpteeth snarled at Daxter.
"Begone, pests!" yelled Daxter. Daxter then waved his hand and a green wall of fire appeared in front of Daxter. Sonic then charged his spin dash and gathered energy. The Sharpteeth staggered from the hot heat of the green flames. They almost got burned from the fire. Red Claw roared and then ran off. Screech and Thud followed their boss. The Sharpteeth ran far from the group. Daxter then waved his hand again and the flames vanished.
Daxter hmphed. "Sharpteeth are such a nuisance, but they're no match for me. (Turns back to the others) Now, where... huh?"
Daxter then saw that Sonic burst through the water barrier using a powerful Homing Attack. Daxter didn't react in time and got hit by Sonic's attack. Sonic landed as Daxter hit the ground. The water barrier instantly vanished. The kids then smiled. Sonic then crossed his arms. Daxter then got up and glared at Sonic. Sonic got ready. Daxter then growled. Daxter then shot fireballs at Sonic. Sonic dodged with ease. Daxter then summoned water tendrils and tried to hit Sonic. The Blue Runner was still too fast. Daxter then created a big water fist and slammed it into Sonic. But Daxter missed as Sonic jumped to avoid it. The kids ducked down as the impact made a big splash.
Sonic then smiled. "My turn!"
The Wind Runner then ran around Daxter. Daxter then tried to hit Sonic with more fireballs. But he still missed. Daxter then used more water tendrils, but the water got sucked up by Sonic's whirlwind. Daxter then tried again. He summoned a big ball of water but then suddenly, the water ball fell apart. Daxter groaned in annoyance because his water spell wore off. Sonic then did multiple Homing Attacks. Daxter couldn't avoid them. Daxter then hit the ground and rubbed his head. Sonic then stopped his whirlwind. Water trapped in the whirlwind splashed the ground.
Sonic smiled and put up his fists. "You want some more? Cause I can do this all day."
"Get 'em Sonic!" exclaimed Cera.
"Teach him a lesson" added Littlefoot. The other kids also cheered Sonic. Daxter panted from the battle. Daxter then glared at Sonic.
"This isn't over vermin. I'll get your time band one day and then you, and your dino friends will bow before my power" said Daxter. The Dome-Head then created a wall of flame in front of Sonic. Sonic then shielded his face. After a few moments, the flames then vanished. Sonic saw no trace of Daxter. The mean Dome-Head got away. Sonic then hmphed.
"I'll be sure to be ready for him next time" thought Sonic. The kids then ran up to Sonic and thanked him.
"Thanks for protecting us Sonic" said Littlefoot.
"We know that we can always count on you for when things get really bad" said Chomper.
"Yep, there's nothing Sonic can't do" added Cera.
"Yep, yep, yep" added Ducky.
Sonic then chuckled. "It was no problem at all. Now, let's get you guys home."
All the kids nodded. But they still smelled Spike's horrible smell. Sonic used a whirlwind on Spike. After Sonic stopped, the smell was nearly off Spike. The group barely smelled it now. The group then headed back to the Valley. Sonic then told the kids not to mention Daxter just yet. He told them to just tell their parents that they ran into Red Claw again. The kids agreed. They believed that their parents had enough to worry about anyways.
Back in the Mysterious Beyond, Daxter watched the Valley from up a high cliff. He had an angry expression. Soon, he WILL find a way to unleash his terrible master.
End of Chapter 9