Total Eclipse Saga Episode 8: Wisp off the Ol' Emerald!

Knuckles, Julie-Su, and the Chaotix soon find themselves looking at two small mysterious creatures, shaking in fear, and the white one is holding the Red Chaos Emerald in its possession.

"What are they? Some small mini octopus, or some hooded green pumpkin?" Vector question.

Charmy says, "They're adorable!"

"They're so cute," Saffron agrees.

"The energy I'm sensing," Knuckles says, looking at the two.

Then turns to Julie-Su, "I think those are the ones that are giving off the energy."

"Really? Those two? I was expecting something bigger," Julie-Su says.

Then Charmy says, "And look! They found the Chaos Emerald for us!"

However, when the two bees try to approach them, the two creatures fly away in fear, taking the Emerald with them.

Knuckles calls out, "Wait! You don't need to run-!"

But Vector runs after the creatures, "GET BACK HERE!" and begins chasing them, "You're carrying three months of rent, ya flyin' squid!"

Charmy and Saffron grab Vector by the tail.

Charmy calls out, "Don't hurt them! They're too cute to hurt!

"Sally promised us a fortune for bringing back an Emerald!" Vector says, and chases after them, "Give it here, you - !"

The two creatures fly into the cart. Vector does as well, but gets stuck. Then the little aliens slip away through a hole in the cart when it's flipped over. Vector has his face covered in mud. Espio goes after then, but stops when they go down a narrow tunnel.

Espio begins climbing down the wall slowly as he says, "Keep on them!"

"You can count on us!" Charmy says.

"We'll get them!" Saffron says.

And Charmy ends up hitting his face on a metal beam.

The two creatures panic and soon find themselves trapped by a dead end. They turn and cower to find themselves cornered by the Chaotix.

"There he is . . . I see him! All three of him! Wait . . ." Charmy says, still dizzy.

Before the Chaotix can make another move, Knuckles and Julie-Su come out of the wall between them. It's clear that Knuckles has dug the wall in order to catch up.

Knuckles says, "Hold it! You can finish your job soon enough, but we're not going to get anywhere by chasing them. So quit scaring them to death!"

The two little aliens look at Knuckles, starting to feel a bit at ease.

Knuckles then kneels to the two, "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. I was sent to find… well, you, I guess. We're here to help you."

The white alien begins walking in alien talk.

Knuckles and Julie-Su are confused.

"Sorry, but we don't really understand what you're saying," Julie-Su says.

The two creatures look at each other in concern and wonder what they can do.

The white creature points to the Chaos Emerald and then points to you.

"Hmm…" Knuckles says.

Saffron then asks, "How about you nod for yes, and shake for no?"

The two creatures nod in response.

Knuckles then asks, "Are you asking if the Emerald belongs to us?"

The white creature nods in response.

"Well, it's not mine, personally, but we need it to keep it safe," Knuckles says.

"Indeed, we've been hired to collect the Emeralds so they can keep it safe from a villain called Dr. Eggman," Espio says.

Hearing the name Eggman cause the two to react in shock and expresses its language in a state of panic and concern.

"They're getting riled up," Charmy says.

"Yes. One mention of Eggman and they get spooked," Saffron says.

Knuckles says, "Yes. It's almost like…" Then begins to wonder about something.

Knuckles turns to the creatures and asks, "Do you both know a man called Dr. Eggman. Tall, fat, with a funny mustache."

The two creatures nod their heads in response.

"They actually know Eggman," Julie-Su says, surprised.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing it's not in a good way," Knuckles asks.

Then Espio wonders, "If they know Dr. Eggman, could they also know about them?"

"Let's ask," Charmy asks.

Knuckles asks, "If you don't mind me asking, do you know a blue hedgehog named Sonic, and a black and red hedgehog named Eve."

Hearing the names has the two excited and nod their heads.

"They nod yes. They do know Sonic and Eve," Saffron says.

Then Knuckles says, "Yes, and I think I know what they are as well."

"You do?" Vector questions.

"Yeah. Sonic, Eve, and Tails told me about them. They're called Wisps," Knuckles says.

"Wisps?" Espio questions.

"Oh yeah, I remember. Sonic and Eve told us about how Dr. Eggman used a tracker beam to pull their planet here for his amusement park. He was trying to drain them of their energy. Of course, Sonic and Eve along with Tails and Maria stopped him from using the energy for some mind control device," Julie-Su says.

The two nod their heads with smiles.

"But what are they doing here?" Knuckles questions.

"You're right. They should be back on their home planet," Julie-Su says.

"Something must have happened and they ended up on Mobius and somehow found themselves here," Knuckles says, "They must have been drawn to the Chaos Emerald's power."

"I'm glad this is all comin' together for you. But can we have the Emerald so we can afford groceries now?" Vector says.

Julie-Su pushes Vector back by putting her hand on his snout, "Keep your headphones on."

Knuckles walks to the two creatures, "We're going to help you get out of here. We know a place where you both will be safe."

The two look at Knuckles with a smile and agree to trust him and the other. Then Yacker gives Knuckles the Chaos Emerald. Then Jade nuzzles Knuckles on the cheek. The red Echidna smiles in response. Then Knuckles passes the Emerald to Vector.

Then Knuckles introduces himself, "My name is Knuckles."

"I'm Julie-Su," Julie-Su says.

"Unlike Sonic, he doesn't chuckle," Charmy says.

Saffron giggles as Julie-Su rolls her eyes.

"Stop that," Knuckles says.

"Well, I'm Charmy, and this is Saffron," Charmy says.

"Hello," Saffron says.

Charmy then points to the others, "This is Vector and this is Espio."

Saffron then asks, "What are your names?"

"I think Sonic mentioned one alien called Yacker," Julie-Su says.

The white Wisp happily nods in response.

"Oh, so you're Yacker,"Knuckles says.

Then turns to the alien, "Then that means you're Jade."

The green wisp, Jade, nods in response.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Knuckles says.

Yacker and Jade nod with glee, very relieve to have met people, who are familiar with their good friends.

The gang continues walking through the tunnel and jumps over a gap with no trouble. Yacker and Jade notice a light across the tunnel. Jade becomes excited, hoping for a way out. She then begins to go on ahead.

Knuckles notices this and calls out, "Don't get too far ahead, Jade. This place is a maze, and it's full of -" but suddenly, a hand grabs Jade, "Dangers?!"

Jade cries out as she's been pulled away. Knuckles and the others rush over to see that the Hooligans are there as well. Now, Bark is holding Jade in his fish. Nack is holding his blaster at the group.

"You guys again?" Julie-Su says, annoyed.

Charmy is just as annoyed, "Oh, come on!"

Knuckles then demands, "Let. Her. GO!"

"Tell you what, you give us the Emerald, and we give you back your little ghost-like thing thing. We'll even leave him in one piece," Nack says.

And Bean says glee, "Doth I detect a shiny!?"

Back on Angel Island, Relic and Fixit are looking around Mushroom Hill to find the strange plantation that sprouted there. When they arrive, they are shocked to see a strange twisting red and blue plant, and it looks familiar to those who know it.

Relic is shocked, "Gracious… This is what you detected."

"Yes, madame," Fixit says, "Although the energy ratings are much lower now."

"Hmmm…" Relic kneels down and looks at the soil. It shows signs that the soil is practically dried, "I'm not an expert in pedology, but it would seem the Earth has been robbed of all of its nutrients. I'm no botanist, either, but it certainly doesn't look indigenous to the region."

She turns to Relic and asks, "You said there were higher energy readings here earlier."

"Yes, madam," Fixit says,

Relic tries to piece it together, "The leached land, the odd flora, a loss of energy… This is purely speculation, but it would seem someone has planted, and harvested, a rather ghastly garden."

"At least the damage seems to have been contained to this one spot," Relic says, as she gets a small plastic ziplock bag, "Gather some samples Fixit I want to analyze this as best as we can before Knuckles and Julie-Su get back."

"At once, madam," Fixit says, and brings out a shovel from one robotic arm, and holds out a plastic sample bag from the other.

Relic rips a piece of the branch from the plant and places it in her bag while Fixit gathers a little dirt and roots with his shovel and places them in the other bag. Once that's done, Relic puts the samples in Fixit's back compartment.

Then Fixit asks, "If I may ask, where will we analyze this?"

"That… is an excellent question," Relic says, "None of the Island's ancient systems seem geared towards such a thing…" Then she and Fixit begin walking back.

Relic continues, "Perhaps there's something still functional on the flying battery. For all his faults, Dr Eggman does build versatile and resilient machinery."

"Will you be able to operate its systems?" Relic asks.

"Don't be cheeky," Relic says, "I-I'll just have to hope it's user friendly."

"Yes madam. Apologies," Fixit says.

However, unknown to Relic and Fixit they are being watched by Eclipse, hidden in the darkness. He lets out a low growl with a scowl expression to see the locals have discovered the tree.

Back in the mine, Knuckles and the others are having their own problems, mainly fighting against the Hooligans. Vector holds the emerald protectively as Espio tosses his kunai, knocking Nack's piston. It's worrisome that Bean has a bomb in his hands. Knuckles, Julie-Su, Charmy, Saffron, and Yacker rush towards Bark who still has Jade in his possession. Bark holds off Charmy as he dodges Knuckles attacks. Finally, Jade is able to escape from Bark's grasp and Yacker is able to pull Bark's hat over his eyes. That gives Knuckles an opportunity to punch him in the stomach.

Yacker and Jazz are happy.

Julie-Su giggles, "Glad to know you both are doing well, but leave the fighting to us, though."

Bean continues throwing his bombs, "Wha-ha-ha! Dance croc-o-gator! Dance!"

However, thanks to one of Bean's bombs, it creates an opening in the wall and the tunnel begins to flood with water.

Seeing the situation, Knuckles grabs the Chaos Emerald, "Actually, new plan!"

"Hey!" Vector cries out.

Knuckles passes the gem to Yacker and says, "Yacker! Jade! You both get out of here! Fly straight up. You'll see an island floating above everything else. Look for a giant green Emerald. You'll find the help you need there. And if you meet a lady named 'Relic,' don't be scared. She's a friend."

Yacker and Jade look worried, and shake their heads, refusing to leave them behind.

"We'll be fine! We'll deal with these guys while you get out of here!" Jullie-Su says, "Go!"

Reluctant, the two Wisps nod in response, and begin to take flight.

"Knux! Su! We're supposed to give that to Sally!" Vector chasing after the Wisps.

Bean tries to chase them too as he cries out, "No! Don't leave me shiny!"

And soon, things become Chaos. Knuckles punches Bean in the beak. Bark crashes into Vector and Julie-Su. Nack grabs both Charmy and Saffron by their foot. He tosses them and dodges a kunai thrown by Espio, who remained invisible the whole time. Julie-Su then mananges to kick Bean in the head.

Just then, something appears during the scuffle, causing them to stare in shock.

"Aw, why can't we ever get an easy gig?" Vector says.

Soon, coming their way is a giant mole-like robot, probably one of Eggman's Badniks. It obviously looks like a mole, that has an actual drill for a nose, and has drills on its paws. It's a brown color, with glasses similar to eggman's, and it's not planning backing down. The monster smalls its drill paws to the wall, causing the group to run away and dodge the track.

Knuckles has just about had it, ".Alright, THAT'S IT! On your feet, Chaotix! We've handled bigger than this!"

"Didn't mean we wanted to . . ." Vector says, annoyed.

Knuckles says, "Yacker! Jade! Find a way out! Chaotix, BEAK IT'S FACE!"

The Chaotix then charges in for the attack. Bean and Bark are about to fight, but Nack stops them.

"Hold on, morons, not you! Let them handle that giant robotic mole… or whatever of Eggman's weird badniks…" Nack says, and soon has his eyes on Yacker, holding the Emerald, "We've still got a job to do!"

Just then, Nack comes up from behind and grabs the emerald, "Yes! Eggman's going to pay me a fortune for this!" Then Nack tries to pull Yacker away, but he refuses, "Nggh! Give it up squiddy! I'm stealing this fair and square!"

However, Yacker refuses to let go.

Nack shakes the emerald, but Yacker continues hanging on. It's clear that Yacker has no intentions of letting go.

As a last resort, Nack passes Yacker and the Emerald to Bark, "Fine, we'll kidnap the little squid, too. Maybe Eggman will pay us a bonus." Then turns to Bean, "Bean, close every way up but one."

"You got it, boss-meister!" Bean says as he winks.

Knuckles, Julie-Su, and the Chaotix dodge and try to hold off the robot's attacks. At the same time, Nack and Bark hop on the bike with Yacker and the Chaos Emerald. Bean skips along as he places the bomb at every entryway, except for one.

Jade rushes to Knuckles and pulls his dreadlock.

"What is it, Jade?" Knuckles asks.

Jade points and where he sees Nack and the others.

Knuckles shouts, "Nack! Get your cowardly tail over here and" and suddenly, cries out, "HEY!"

Soon, the Hooligans take off on their bike with Yacker and the Chaos Emeralds.

"It's been a pleasure as always, Knuckle-head!"

And with that, the bombs go off everywhere, closing every exit, except for one. Which is the one the Hooligans use for their escape.

Then Nack gives the signal, "Close the way, Bean!

Bean then holds it like a basketball, "It's coming down to the wire! Ten seconds on the clock! All the way from downton!" and Bean throws it at the entrance.

The bomb explodes, blocking the entrance.

And now, the water is really going to be flooded with water.

"Y'know, I like my music loud, but . . ." Vector says.

"When I get us out of here, I'm gonna -" Knuckles says.

Espio pushed Knuckles and Julie-Su out of the way before the drill hit them.

"We'll rescue Yacker and recover the Emerald later. Right now, we need to defeat this robot!" Espio says.

"Right. And we need to do it fast. Even if that thing doesn't smash us, we're going to drown! " Knuckles says.