D-007
Approx. 14 Hours since launch.
Planet Earth.
The night has long since fallen, and yet the brilliant fox does not reset as he works tirelessly in his lab, typing away at his computer.
Soft, deliquate steps can be heard on the stairs of the underground lab.
Amy: "Hey…"
Tails doesn't turn around, and dismissively answers.
Miles: "Amy, please, I need to focus…you can yell at me later but-"
Amy: "No, I…came here to apologise first and foremost. I know you are trying your best right now."
Tails' expression softens in response, a small bit of regret creeps in as he remembers his part in all of this.
It's for the better though.
At least, he hopes so.
He turns the chair around.
Miles: "Thank you, Amy. Means a lot."
He turns back around to continue working.
Amy: "So…any luck?"
"Well, I have been trying to track down the signal we received initially…or well, I already did…I am just trying to disprove it."
"...it's that bad?"
"Well, whoever sent the signal, they had some sort of jamming algorithm. Whoever is on that planet, they didn't want us anywhere near it."
"Well, warn them then!"
"I…only knew about this for sure 3 hours back, but by then, they were too close to the jamming source for me to contact them in time…at this point…
We can only hope they stay careful."
Meanwhile, on Planet Foralon…
"Yo!"
SLAP
Icarus: "Ow!"
Itadori: "Can you not make a fool of yourself for a single minute?!"
Cosmo: "AHEM!"
With a throat clear, Icarus and Itadori go back to silence.
The king opens his mouth…but then holds the chaos emerald.
While his voice is growly…he speaks in English.
King: "I am King Maimou. I rule these lands. What business do you have with these lands?"
Cosmo: "We come here for the Chaos Emeralds. Those resided in their…our planet, and we would like to negotiate bringing them back home, as requested in our earlier transmission a few days ago."
King Maimou: "Hm? What do you mean by 'transmission", we possess no such thing in these rural lands."
Itadori: "A man named Miles should have contacted you."
King Maimou: "We do not possess the capacity to communicate between worlds. We, the Aplens, are but a simple species. You speak rubbish! I order you to leave at once!"
The groups of creatures roar violently as the king finishes speaking, waving their arms frantically.
Icarus: "What are you talking about? Do you think that Emerald appeared out of nowhere?!'
King Maimou: "This gem is a reward for all of the cruelty we endured!"
The crowd roars in agreement.
"This is our right!"
The crowd roars in agreement.
"Our rules!"
The crowd roars in agreement.
"And those who threaten to take it away from us…"
The crowd does a collective, anticipative "OOOOOO…."
"WILL PERISH!"
The crowd erupts in passion.
The king points the cane at the trio. The emerald begins to shine.
Icarus is about to step forward, but then Itadori immediately pushes Cosmo back, and stands between them and the king.
The king raises an eyebrow of amusement as the emerald gets brighter and brighter.
Itadori flashes a beckoning gesture with a smirk, excitement running through his veins.
"Saa, kakatte koi da!"
Suddenly, the roar of what sounds like a vicious eagle can be heard echoing from above.
The creatures all look up with disdain and anger.
A gigantic bald eagle-like creature, sporting white wings and face, brown fur and a shining yellow beak, comes sweeping down, and uses its sharp, pale-yellow claws to gather the trio before getting out of the tree via the entrance, and soars high in the sky.
Icarus: "Woah-woah-WOAH!"
Icarus looks down below and witnesses the enormous forest become nothing more than a collection of small, golden dots as they go higher and higher.
Itadori: "Temee, nanimono da?!"
Itadori was about to exert effort into breaking out of its grip upon not hearing a response, but then he glanced over to Icarus, and decided not to risk it. With a groan, he restrains himself from breaking the creature apart.
They continue ascending through the planet, eventually cutting through the clouds, rapidly reaching the top of the tree.
On top, there were no leaves, no real signs of life aside from the occasional aerie of eagles soaring above. Rather, the top was composed of a colossal-size stone bird nest.
They don't really get time to take in the sights as they are instantly sent crashing to the nest as soon as possible. Itadori and Cosmo land on their feet, but Icarus, naturally, falls on the side and bounces off the ground.
After a few pained groans, he too gets up as the eagle that rescued them lands and looks down upon them. A fierce, loyal look in its eyes.
The eagle talks…without moving its beak.
"Leave at once. This will be your first and final warning."
The weird method of communication takes a second for everyone to get used to. It's like if someone talked inside of your ear. An inner voice that was never there before.
Icarus: "Sorry, but those guys have the emeralds, and we need them."
"Yes…I specifically recall refusing your negotiations."
…
Arrival in T-3 minutes.
Cosmo: "I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding. Negotiations were merely Plan A. We have another 25 to go through if need be."
"I am not risking the safety of my people just for your planet. The Metarix demand the emerald from us, and thus we will-"
Itadori: "Hold it: The source of your communication showed your planet being in an entirely different location than here. Why is that?"
"My hopes were for you to follow that trail, buying enough time for the Metarix to collect the emerald."
Cosmo: "What would happen if the emerald wasn't provided to them?"
"They will assuredly enslave everyone here till they get what they want, before leaving behind no witnesses."
Icarus: "Why not…just lie? You changed your initial signature, so clearly you can hide your location. Just do that."
The eagle doesn't answer.
…
Icarus recalls what those creatures down below were saying…
Icarus figures it out.
They want the Metarix to take it by force.
Arrival in T-1 minutes.
Itadori figures it out too;
Itadori: "You want the Metarix to do your dirty work? For you to keep your status as king?"
The eagle doesn't answer.
Icarus: "But why?! Why would you do such a thing?!" He is a lot more…emotionally invested in this compared to what Cosmo and Itadori expected.
"We, the pteryaglons, have ruled this planet from the skies for generations. We feed on the plants and the small animals growing in between the various forests across the land. However, long ago, one of the species, whom we named the Aplens, was growing extinct. They were savage, couldn't communicate or form a society, and consumed a significant chunk of the dwindling resources we had access to. As a compromise, we restricted them to the area your crew have explored thus far, and rationed what they could and couldn't eat. We limited their supply whilst still keeping them alive. Your kind may consider this cruel, but the only other option was for them to cease existence. This cycle had been going on for centuries, that is…until the emerald from your world landed. Its mystical abilities appear to have given them the ability to communicate with one another, forming their own version of a society."
Cosmo: "Quite the history lesson, but this still doesn't explain why you want the Metarix to do it. If you are worried about your status and how you would be viewed, simply take away the emerald from them."
Icarus raises an eyebrow at Cosmo's suggestion. Taking away a dying race's only fighting chance was….
Arrival in T-30 seconds
"There were attempts. We later came to know that the Chaos Emeralds have access to a power that can alter time and space. One Emerald is enough to overpower most armies in the galaxy, and even if we succeed, there would be significant casualties."
Icarus: "Why not negotiate with them? If they have formed a society, they can learn to be more resourceful, more considerate, more-"
"It is useless, for they are savages at heart. Once they had gotten a taste of the Emerald's power, they refused to let it go, using our attempts at saving them as justification. They wish to turn the hierarchy of this great planet on its head, how utterly foolish!"
Arrival in 3….
Icarus: "Tsk, what makes you any more worthy of leading than them? What, did all of you pop out all wise when time began?"
2
"We have a rightful place in history! These lowlifes don't deserve this power!"
1
Icarus: "Says who?!"
A thunderous siren pierces through space and echoes into the planet.
"Says them."
A figure lands in between the eagle and the trio.
Icarus and Itadori take a step back in caution, both willing to not make a move till they get the picture.
Cosmo, however, takes several steps back. She looks down and finds her left hand shaking, and holds it still so it doesn't show.
A violet, armored warrior whose stature doubled that of Icarus, it possessed vicious blades for arms, sharp edges on its shoulder pads. Robotic, silvery metal feet allowed a firm grip on any surface. All it had for vision was a single green glassy orb.
"WHERE. IS. THE. EMERALD?" A purely artificial voice. Cosmo was right: there was no soul behind that armour.
"Those apes…they have taken the emerald from us despite our best intentions. Please, take it from them."
"AFFIRMATIVE."
The machine jumps down the nest, and dives straight to the bottom.
Icarus: "Was that-"
"Indeed, this is a member of the Metarix. A single one is more than enough to overpower those…creatures. Now, I have preparations to attend to."
With that, the leader or king or whatever flies away from the nest.
Icarus looks back and finds Itadori and Cosmo frozen.
Icarus: "What are you guys doing?! Why are you just standing there?"
Itadori: "Don't worry, Icarus. I have the method to counter the Metarix warrior, but only after it obtains the emerald. I understand this seems confusing, but Ttis is the reason I am here, after all."
Icarus: "B-but, he will kill the aplens, won't he?"
Cosmo: "Well, it is a shame, but we are not to be involved in planet politics. It's a total waste of time and energy."
Icarus cannot believe this. How do they not see what's happening is wrong? No wonder the Metarix are so accepted if that's how everyone is acting!
These creatures finally have a chance to start anew, and they will get slaughtered for it!
Icarus turns back and walks to the edge of the nest, and looks down.
"But…why won't you try?"
"We did. I promise you. We did."
No. They did. Not him.
There was no we.
Not yet.
Itadori: "Icarus, what are you doing?"
Icarus takes a deep breath.
It's time for him to give this a try.
Itadori: "YAMERO!- COSMO! STOP HIM-"!
Icarus leaps.
…
The Aplens hide behind the throne, as the Metarix robot stands against the King.
King Maimou: "Who-what are you?!" He aims the cane at the robot, his arm shaking in horror.
Metarix Robot: "I. AM. HERE. FOR. THE. EMERALD. SURRENDER. OR. DIE."
A thin energy beam emits from the emerald, hitting the robot dead on.
Not even a dent.
"Get away! I…I won't allow you to take away our freedom!"
"SO. BE. IT."
He raises his right blade, preparing the killing strike.
But…
SLAM!
The robot gets hit by a speeding rolling brown ball, sending him FLYING to the walls of the tree.
Without a reaction, it instantly gets back up.
The dust clears.
A sharp-spined hedgehog stands in front of the machine.
"WHO. DARES. DEFY. THE. METARIX?!"
"I do! And…when I send you packing, and your masters ask you what went wrong, tell them to burn my name, Icarus the Hedgehog, into their brains!"
Icarus makes his stand! The fight of the first emerald begins!