A/N: As said in previous chapter, we're switching for the Team 2
Team 2: Vector; Espio; Charmy
The warp hole brought Team Chaotix back to real world. They look the area from right to left, then from top to bottom. The see what appears to be the same transmat device they've used to enter the cyberspace.
- Vector: The Computer Room!
- Charmy: You mean, we're back?
- Espio: Had that been the case, the military would've shot us on sight.
The group gets off the device to examine room further. Not much later the Charmy points out.
- Charmy: Look at this sign! It's a moustached egg!
The adult members join in.
- Espio: Eggman?
The Vector bumps his fist into a palm
- Vector: If that slime ball is here, we may remind him about his debt.
The crocodile heads for the exit. The chameleon and the bee follow him.
What detectives see outside, gives them a deja vu.
- Charmy: A castle?
- Espio: Though it reeks with same evil energy, this isn't the Hang Castle.
- Vector: Stay at arm's lenght, boys.
Team's reaction for Pumpkin balloon.
- Espio: A Pumpkin!
- Charmy: It reminds me of those helicopter flowers from Frog Forest.
- Vector: Grab on to the handle.
Flying was in Charmy's nature and he easily goes up to the next floor, while elders grabbed onto the balloon to reach the same heights.
Inside the Pumpkin Chamber with the stone lantern in the centre, emmiting fire.
- Charmy: Whoah, a giant lantern!
- Espio: New place, old tricks.
Chameleon puts the fire out thinking it'd do some good.
Vector sees the floating balloon disappear. The Skellington's head could've helped the team.
- Vector: Espio, reignite the lantern back!
The ninja takes the torch and follows the command.
Skellington's head appears again and the trio hops onto it and get launched into the tower of deceased.
- Charmy: I can see where you are!
- Vector: What are you singing about this time?
- Espio: Ghosts.
While descending, Team Chaotix sees many blue incarnation trying to scare them. But stone faced composure of Vector and Espio and the beaming excitement of Charmy spoke the results.
Crocodile and chameleon grab handle of pumpkin balloon, while their bee comrade flies away from the group, much to the leaders annoyance out of worry.
- Vector: Charmy, I told you to stay close! And where are you flying off to?
- Charmy: The middle tower stands out from the rest, I'm scouting it out!
The kid of the group flew out of their sight despite Vector's protests.
- Espio: You do know that birds will eventually have to leave the nest. That be the case with Charmy.
As protective as Vector is he knows that Espio's words speak truth.
The bee with helmet finds a big black candle. Despite his childish mentality, Charmy knows the dangers playing with fire, thanks to Vector's teachings, as he carefully grabs the torch and brings its fire to it.
As Charmy flew to the emeged Skellington's balloon, he sees his teammates landing in the tower's center.
- Charmy: Hey guys, I've lit the candle and made this balloon appear! It could bring us there!
Charmy points at the Tower's Pumpking head as roofs.
- Espio: Something must be inside on the top floor!
Chameleon hops onto Jack's head and flies inside the pumpkin, while remaining members look at each other.
- Vector: We'll have a long talk about this after the case.
- Charmy: Oh come on!
Team Chaotix see another stone lantern in the chamber's center.
- Espio: This lantern is extinguished.
- Charmy: More fire needed!
- Vector: Those torches around will come in handy.
Once the lantern was lit nothing happened yet.
- Vector: It looks like there are more lanterns we need to light up!
Espio reaches the pumpkins exit and sees the ground below.
- Espio: Let's try to go down.
- Charmy: I'll take the lead then!
Team gathers up into flying formation:
- Vector stands on the ground while holding Espio's ankles above his head.
- The ninja chameleon in turn hold Charmy's ankles up above.
- The kiddie bee flies up to carry the crew into air.
The trio slowly descended to the ground. They land between the tower's back door and the blue debris.
- Charmy: Aww, I bet that was a fine looking plane in work!
Plane's twin-tailed logos provides some clues.
- Espio: But it's not the one we'd see everyday.
- Vector: And the crash appears to be recent!
The group reach the abyss.
Ninja opens his mini-map
- Espio: That Cryptic Castle seems to have multiple sections, but they're far away from here.
- Charmy: Wow, that gap is too big for me to carry all of you.
- Vector: We need to find another way to get through! Let's try the tower from behind!
Crocodile leads his group inside where they find a check point - teleport. As Charmy flew onto it, waiting for the rest of team, Vector saw Espio suddenly stopping and then going for the stone gates
- Vector: What's up, Espio?
- Espio: I hear something.
Inside Cream's Prison
This grim looking room was brimed with bad smelling water droplets. The temperature was getting colder with each second.
Cream isn't sure for how long she's been locked up. Her head was pounding, heartbeat increased, cold body shivering.
If it weren't for Cheese's company she'd scream in distress a lot louder than she did in beginning.
Nevertheless, she is terrified with recent events: Aliens invading the Earth and spreading the carnage even greater than Eggman ever did. These guys were not to be reasoned with.
Cream's mother, Vanilla, is still out there. The rabbit girl knew, that any loving parent would be worried sick about their child's disappearance and they'd do everything in their might to find them.
Whatever transpires outside, Cream's sanity was reaching it's breaking point. But Amy's recent appearance had lit hope that she and Cheese will soon be free.
Cream layed down on the bunk and closed her eyes, while singing her favourite lyrics of an old song
Her thoughts drift back to memories of her recent adventures ever since she met Sonic, Amy and the others, to foil Eggman's plans.
"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run
Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run
Bang, bang, bang, bang goes the farmer's gun
Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run, run"
She is now more happy that she is still alive and in one piece. This world is full of hazards. But she's stronger than her pre-adventures self, and she's less afraid.
"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run
Don't give the farmer his fun, fun, fun
He'll get by without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run"
Outside
Ninja chameleon looks through the gates' keeyholes. What Espio saw was pitch darkness. But one thing he knew for sure is that the singing has been played there.
- Espio: Can you hear me?
Although they can't sees it, Cream approached the gates, to hear better.
- Cream: W-who are you?
Vector joins the conversation and introduces the team. Cheese was spouting something in his worried chao voice, making Cream more tensed.
- Cream: You're the team from jungle, who tried to take Cheese?! Y-you won't have him!
- Charmy: Whoah, whoah, whoah! Chill, chill! why would we kidnap your chao in the first place?
Ninja chameleon mentally kicks himself for rudely jumping to the gun during their mission at the lost jungle. If amends are to be made, now is the time.
- Espio: My apologies for causing a huge misunderstanding. We were hired to lead the chao away from the dangerous forest. I assure you, we had no intentions to kidnap your pet.
Cheese spoke to his owner in a bit calmer tone. Cream nods at him.
- Cream: Alright. If Cheese believes you, then I will too.
Team Chaotix and Cream exchanged their names and get back to the issue.
- Vector: How long you've been locked up here?
- Cream: For a long time, until Amy passed by, she looking for keys to open this door and free me.
- Charmy: The spunky pink hedgehog wielding with sledgehammer? Yeah I remember her...
- Espio: We need to win Amy's trust by helping her find the keys.
- Vector: Then it's settled! Cream we'll find your friend, and together we'll free you.
- Cream: Thank you.
- Chesse: Chao Chao.
Team Chaotix steps onto transmat and warp away.
The team goes through the next wing's halls where they find a strange liquid with red/purple/black pallet color.
Espio turns invisible to protect himself from potential toxic effects and spins onto the puddle and floats through its path to to the exit. Reaching the end, Espio makes himself seen again
Charmy carries Vector by flying through short distanced abyss.
Croc and chameleon grab the handle of pumpkin and fly up after bee, who saw enterable pumpkin chamber at the tower's top
- Charmy: Why don't we try going up there?
Once the were flying by Jack's head, Espio and Vector let the balloon go and hopped into springer and reached the way Charmy showed them.
- Vector: Bingo! The stone lantern!
Planting the torch in the middle summons Jack's balloon on the chambers exit. Team Chaotix hops onto it to reach the upper level's gates.
Inside the room, they turn left to the cracked wall. Vector chews the gum.
- Vector: Stand aside, boys!
Espio grabbed Charmy's arm and quickly backed away, as Vector roared out the gumballs towards the wall. Chaotix leader quckly joins the group away from the explosion.
Through wall's crumbles, the detectives find no door in the next room.
- Charmy: Oh come on! We can't get stuck by a dead end!
Espio goes back to get the torch on the hall's corner and returns to room. Ninja swings the torch above the candles, making sure not to hit either of his colleagues.
The instance candles got lit a wall had risen out, unlocking the path.
- Espio: You were saying?!
On their cleared path, detectives touch the switch, unlocking the door to the next corridor. But to get there they need to pass another abyss...
Vector looks down and sees a huge fan blowing a strong wind. An old idea forms into team's minds.
Espio and Charmy hold on to Vector's arms, while he chews the gum. Croc leaps forward and blows out a gum balloon to help the pass the fan.
Reaching their goal, Vector blasts gum balloon. Team knocks each other's fists and proceed to the next area. They encounter another red alien puddle.
- Charmy: That thing looks ugly.
- Vector: But this is our only option to go forward.
- Espio: Stay close. My ninja wind should protect you from the hazard.
Espio summons the wind to engulf the whole team into a magical aura.
Once ritual was finished they spinashed onto red liquid to follow its path.
Team Chaotix reach the liquid's end and discover the chamber filled with little blue critters. Detectives also find a stone lantern in the room's center, emitting fire.
- Charmy: Look, the stone lantern has been lit!
- Espio: Does that mean, Amy or Tails are nearby?
- Vector: We'll worry about that later. Look, chao want to show us something!
The pack of chao spouted in something in their language while pointing to room on the left.
Team Chaotix follow their direction. The path leads them to one of the tower's balcony.
- Espio: A tower's doors must be concealed somewhere
- Vector: Could we open it by lightening the candles around the area.
The bee pulls down the goggles to his eyes.
- Charmy: Flyboy Charmy to the action!
Charmy grabs the torch and flies around the area to light the floating candles. The aviator finished the circuit and re-joins the group.
The walls in front of them lift up revealing a switch inside the tower. Triggering it reveals the line of rings leading to for another room. The problem is...
- Espio: I can't use Light Dash to get past the gap.
- Charmy: Flyboy to rescue!
Vector wasn't fast enough to catch the his kid teammate, who flew accros the rings.
- Vector: Charmy, come back here!
At distance Charmy looks back at the team and gives an army salute - "Worry not my comrades! I'll investigate the further area and in case of Code Red I return! - The Flyboy proceeds with his mission.
Making sure to have his torch solid and ready in case of enemies approaching, Charmy hums an anthem he's about to sing.
"Mi-litary miiight high in the skies
The brilliant wiiings of the gol-den kites
Flying towards to the eeaast that daaay
They have conquered the skies ma-ny ti-mes
Thiiis is the glooory of the Aaarrmy Aiiirr Fooorce."
The Black Hawks and Bolts flew towards the song. Once they've discovered its source they've commenced to fire the energy waves and worms.
Charmy evades the waves while destroying the worms with torch's fire. While aliens were recharging, the Flyboy jabbed the creatures with the torch.
One after another alien fell to the bottomless pit, screaming in their burning agony.
"Bra-very seaarching for the ene-miies
uunder the preessure of bad weathers and enemy fires
Guiding the friendly Fooorces
You can to-tal-ly re-ly on these wiiings
The miission of reeecooonnaaiisse planes are impor-tant."
Charmy would've kept singing but his goal was just one step ahead as he flies into pumpkin chamber. With the torch still intact, he brings fire to the lantern.
- Charmy: This key has to be somewhere!
A giant shadow appears above the bee. Looking up for what it is, Charmy flies seconds before the enormous robot could squash him.
The potential threat wields mace, replaced for the right hand. The robots green eyes form a hologram image of Dr. Eggman laughing out loud.
- Eggman: So, I see you sneaky rat are also here.
- Charmy: Sending your big toys, won't keep us from getting the dues, Bad Man!
- Eggman: "Us"?! You're the only one of detectives who made it here! Now we'll see how well you fare on your own against my greatest latest creation: The Egg Breaker.
The hologram dispersed and robot slamed its mace to the ground, summoning Egg Pawns for aid.
A/N: Uh-oh, Charmy needs help to fight off Eggman's robots.
Used songs:
1) Flanagan and Allen - "Run, Rabbit Run!"
2) Imperial Japanese military song - Song of Army Aviation (I don't own the translation)