-I heavily debated on what capacity I wanted to use the Chaos Emeralds simply because of how much of a cliché plot device they've become throughout the franchise, as simply put one of the biggest McGuffins in the nerdosphere. The emeralds are way too important to Sonic's lore to ignore completely though, so rather than follow my initial instinct and downplay them, I decided to lean into them and my own interpretation as to how they work and who is able to tap into their power to what extent. I'm not treading new ground here by any means. It's hard to find two good Sonic stories out there that interpret the Chaos Emeralds in the exact same way. I didn't even need the AU backdrop to explain putting my own spin the Emerald's lore here, as if anything, I'm simply carrying on a Sonic Fanfiction tradition.
Chapter 3: Fallen Angel
Angel Island… Time had been no kinder to this one-time haven than anywhere else on Mobius. Ironically, or perhaps it was just the fact that fate seemed to enjoy laughing in their faces at any given opportunity, the Island had fallen during one of those rare, once-in-a-blue-moon windows when Angel Island just happened to be floating above land… Now a barren dead landscape, resting at an angle atop an even more baren and dead landscape. Perhaps the most depressing atrocity of all took the form of the altar that once housed the Master Emerald, now standing empty. With nobody left to protect the emerald, it became a simple task for Robotnik to finally pilfer the gigantic gemstone. Laughably, his efforts turned out to be a waste, as the egg-shaped tyrant could never figure out how to harness the gem's power to help run Robotropolis like he had intended. He still kept the Master Emerald locked away somewhere, mainly just to keep it out of the hands of hero's that could potentially harness its power against him, or possibly out of pettiness and spite too. Probably both. Not that it mattered… The Master Emerald's glow and prominence had dulled along with the rest of the Chaos Emeralds as their connection to the dying planet continued to weaken.
The Wanderer's thoughts shifted to the emerald's late guardian. Knuckles the Echidna could be hardheaded and prickly in his best moments, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more dependable and loyal friend when it really counted… Despite the echidna's best efforts to make everyone else around him think they were nuisances he was doing tremendous favors for, merely by tolerating their presence. There was a softer side to the guardian buried deep within that grizzled loner. Sadly, it was opening himself up to someone that none of his friends had ever expected him too that ultimately got him killed.
After Sonic's death, Knuckles gradually became increasingly more involved with the Freedom Fighters operations. He never actually allowed himself to become a full-fledged member though, the red echidna was too set in his ways for that. He'd never completely abandon his responsibility as guardian of the Master Emerald, but he did finally come to the realization that if Robotnik ever did decide to launch an all-out invasion of Angel Island, there would be almost nothing Knuckles could do to stop the tyrant from claiming the emerald for his own. The association between the guardian and the FF became a mutually beneficial one. The Freedom Fighters would come to the aid of Angel Island if Robotnik ever did attack, and in exchange Knuckles would be a more frequent participant in the Resistance's operations. Now this was just the Wanderer's personal feelings on the matter, but he felt the echidna also had a more personal reason for aligning with the Resistance… That Knuckles might've been feeling remorse, or maybe even a tiny tinge of guilt over his friend and rival's death… And thought that perhaps by becoming a more consistent presence within the Resistance, he might help fill the void Sonic had left behind in some capacity… In a few ways, he did just that as Knuckles was usually, by default, the most powerful operative the Freedom Fighters had at their disposal on whatever mission he tagged along on.
This relationship worked well for both sides for a little over two years before it all came crashing down. The Resistance had been making some serious headway in the war against Robotnik, and had reached a point where they were actively doing in-depth research into deroboticization… Only to hit a roadblock they'd never quite get passed as the efforts were abandoned years later after Robotnik turned the tide of the war back in his favor, the aftermath of which resulting in the loss of many of the minds spearheading the research. One vital thing they had learned was that the brain was left entirely intact, meaning that the subject's memories, personality, and self-awareness were still present… They just needed to find a way to override Robotnik's programming, so that the inflicted Mobian could remember who they really were. Sir Charles Hedgehog had been a testament as to how a roboticized Mobian could eventually regain their freewill and sense of self… What the Resistance lacked was a more streamlined method for achieving the same result without having to expend a rare and precious power ring to do so. They would eventually discover that it was much easier to override Robotnik's programming if the victim hadn't been activated as a Robian yet… So, when Sally got word of a warehouse on the edge of Robotropolis housing dozens of inactive worker bots, it felt like an opportunity she just couldn't pass up.
For that reason, it was all the more disappointing when they discovered that information on the warehouse had been leaked to them intentionally, and they would wind up walking right into a trap. Rouge the Bat had been playing a very dangerous game for years, working both sides of the war… Supplying information on Robotnik's dealings to the Freedom Fighters when she felt obligated too, usually when the portly madman was pushing things to far, while at the same time providing Robotnik with intel that was extremely detrimental to the Resistance. Rouge would justify her actions by telling herself and others that she had to supply Ivo with good intel if she wanted to stay in his good graces… Why would Ivo keep a spy around that wasn't good at her job? In reality, Rouge was just a hustler who wanted to ensure her bets were always hedged, so playing both sides with no real loyalty to either was too engrained into her nature. Both Sally and Robotnik were painfully aware of how she operated, but they both tolerated her for the same reason. When she came through, she came through big.
The warehouse fiasco was not her finest hour. She never meant to get Sally and her team lured into that trap and nearly killed in the process… She never meant for all those inactive robotic Mobians to be used against the Freedom Fighters in such a gruesome manor… She certainly never expected Knuckles to stay behind while the rest of his team escaped, just to take her to task for it all.
The Wanderer hadn't been present for the echidna's demise. His knowledge of the event came exclusively from the video footage the Freedom Fighters had hacked from a security droid that happened to film footage of the entire encounter before getting decommissioned itself. The footage was damaged and jumped around in places, but you could still make out what was happening… And more importantly, hear the conversation between the echidna and the bat.
The video footage began with a red echidna chasing a fleeing white bat across a precarious looking catwalk, a not so insignificant trip to the ground below awaiting Knuckles if he were to fall off… Which was a reasonable concern considering the building was collapsing, both Mobians seemingly ignoring the debris raining down around them.
"Get back here bat! I'm not finished with you yet!"
You could make out Rouge looking back at Knuckles coyly as he glided through the air just ahead of him. Considering she could've changed course and left Knuckles stranded up there if she so desired, she didn't appear to be trying overly hard to escape him. "Normally, I'd be flattered at the idea of you wanting to get your hands all over me Knuckie but now is hardly the time! It won't be long before this place completely collapses, so shouldn't you have escaped with your little friends?"
"Not until you explain yourself bat!"
"I don't owe you or anybody else an explanation for anything!"
"I beg to differ!" Rouge had slowed down enough that Knuckles was able to jump up to her level and throw a punch in her direction. Anyone who knew Knuckles well enough would notice immediately that he didn't appear to have any real intention of striking her. Rouge seemed to understand that as well as she easily dodged the sloppily swung fist before she turned to face the fuming echidna, flapping her wings as she hovered just above his head.
"Why do you always have to be this stubborn?! I think I might've liked you better when you were still a morally questionable grump who only cared about your giant rock… You're going to end up getting us both killed if you insist on playing this stupid game!"
"Don't conflate my dedication to my duty with a lack of understanding of right from wrong… That's your department 'thief'… What does it matter to you if I die here in this travesty of your creation! What's the blood of one more on your hands?!"
"Don't you dare go there! I didn't…"
"I'm already there Rouge!… Are you proud of yourself?! I hope whatever Robotnik's been paying you was worth proving you're completely devoid of a conscience! Do you realize how many people you've robbed of a chance to get some semblance of their life back?!"
"I… I thought they were just mindless machines… Metal shells over corpses…"
"None of them are technically dead Rouge… The Freedom Fighters may have figured out a way to override Robotnik's programing in order to give roboticized Mobians their freewill and awareness of who they were back to them… And now, because you decided this was your week to buddy up to 'The Egg', you've sentenced all those people to death… Not to mention that you could've gotten all the Freedom Fighters killed too… Or was that the plan all along?!"
"No, I would never…" Rouge pauses briefly to bite her lip. "Who are you to judge how I choose to conduct my business anyway?! There isn't exactly a lot of room in her 'highnesses' little club for an ex-jewel thief! I'm doing what it takes to survive, just like everybody else!"
"Well, going by your logic, I guess it all makes sense then… One side is only looking out for and doing everything in their power to enrich themselves, while the other side is looking out for everyone else and the overall good of Mobius! It's not a stretch at all for anyone who knows 'you' personally to see why you chose the side you did… You know what really gets me though? What really makes my blood boil bat!... I actually stood up for you! For reasons I don't fully comprehend, I defended you when the princess and the others wanted to do the sensible thing and cut ties with you because they all understood that you had no loyalty to anyone other than yourself… That you couldn't be trusted… So… In a way, these lives that were lost today are on my head as well."
"I was never on Robotnik's side! I was on my own side… I know that hardhead of yours can't see the difference, but how many times has the intel I've leaked to the Freedom Fighters saved lives?!"
"Do I look like I'm holding the scales of justice?! Just because you may have done slightly more good than bad, which is debatable, that doesn't absolve you of the crimes you have committed! Besides, you can claim neutrality all you want, but helping Robotnik even once is just as good as aligning yourself with him!"
"Well… It's like you said yourself. Your little friends in the Resistance could never bring themselves to trust me, so how could I put any faith in them? A girl has to look out for herself. Who are we kidding… You yourself have never been able to fully commit yourself to their cause either, now have you?"
"I have other responsibilities that can't be ignored… But once I learned who Robotnik really was, there's never been any doubt too whose side I was on. My loyalties never shifted on a whim to the highest bidder, as if you needed to wonder why they never trusted you… And now after this, I'm having a tough time remembering why I ever bothered to try… You've betrayed that trust at every turn."
Rouge flinched. "Knuckles…"
"Save it… We're done here…"
Knuckles had no idea just how right he was. A loud rumble could be heard on the screen moments before a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed, striking the catwalk directly behind where Knuckles had been standing and destroying it, the force of the impact more than enough to send the echidna flying off the walkway.
"Knuckles!" Rouge appeared genuinely distressed, though whether or not she actually wished to help the plummeting echidna was hard to say. She was having a difficult enough time staying airborne while dodging the sudden influx of falling metal.
Knuckles was far from helpless though. As he neared the end of his fall, he tucked himself into a ball and landed with his fist, his powerful punch absorbing most of the impact after hitting the ground while creating a small crater that now surrounded him. The effort was not without cost, however, the exertion clearly leaving the guardian winded and in a significant amount of pain. Hitting the ground from such a height was not the biggest threat to him, however. That would be the massive eyebeam on a trajectory to land right on top of his head! Knuckles made a desperate attempt to roll out of the way, but he just wasn't quite quick enough… Only his head and arms were visible as the rest of his body was pinned beneath a massive chunk of steel.
"Knuckles!" Rouge could be seen swooping down to land next to where Knuckles lay, despite the building continuing to collapse around her. She pushed against the steel pinning him to the ground, but it became immediately obvious it was too heavy to budge.
"Rouge…" Knuckles gurgled as blood pooled in his mouth and dripped out the side. "Go… Get of here before…"
Under any other circumstances, if this were any other Mobian, the bat probably would've done just that. For some reason known only to her, she stayed… She knelt in front of the echidna before taking his hands in her own. "No… People call me by a lot of unflattering names and accuse me of a lot of terrible things… One thing they'll never be able to say about me is that I left you here to die alone…"
And that's where the video footage ended. When Knuckles failed to return after the rest of the expedition team aborted the mission, a search and rescue operation was immediately launched in hopes of locating the Freedom Fighters missing ally. That hope was quickly dashed upon realizing the complex had been completely demolished. All evidence pointed to Knuckles never having left the warehouse, which meant the only other option was that he was somewhere underneath the rubble… And not even the battle hardy echidna warrior would be able to survive an entire building collapsing down on top of him. The warehouse wasn't exactly located in the friendliest of areas for Mobians either, meaning any thoughts of attempting to retrieve the body were quickly quashed. Finding that droid with the security footage still in working condition was a miracle in its own right. At least the discovery gave the team some closure on Knuckles fate.
As for Rouge, no one could really be sure what happened to her that day. Some felt she had died in the collapse along with Knuckles, just like they saw in the video, though there were plenty of others who just couldn't believe Rouge would have enough humility to risk her own skin just so Knuckles wouldn't have to die in that warehouse alone while slowly being crushed to death. Those same people tended to think she somehow got away and ran off to some far-flung land filled with new marks to con. There were also those who thought Robotnik himself may have done away with the bat once he realized she was no longer going to be of much use to him. After the warehouse fiasco, it pretty much ruined any chance of the Freedom Fighters ever working with Rouge again, so what good was a spy to the mad doctor when she no longer had an in with the group you wanted infiltrated?
Whatever the answer may have been, the Wanderer didn't have a damn to spare over the bat's fate. Far too many good people, many he considered friends and family, had been lost and were far more deserving of mourning than one self-serving former jewel-thief whose actions directly caused the loss of some of those lives. Her last-minute display of sympathy towards the doomed echidna wasn't enough to buy his compassion either. It was too little too late, and for all he knew, Rouge had left Knuckles there to die the second that camera stopped rolling.
The Wanderer was pulled out of the memory by the sound of Nicole calling his name. "You're not going to believe this, but I'm sensing a signature nearby that's consistent with a Chaos Emerald!"
"Actually, I find that totally believable… We're on Angel Island after all… Even after all these years, this place was so synonymous with the Master Emerald that there's bound to be traces of Chaos Energy baked into the fabric of the island. I wouldn't read too much into those readings…"
"I compensated for the usual excess amount of Chaos Energy whenever we're on the island. This signature is a bit stronger and more concentrated… In other words, consistent with the signatures of the other emeralds we've encountered in their current weakened states."
Now that information got the Wanderer's attention. "That is worth checking out… I assume you have coordinates on the anomaly's location?"
"About a mile west of our current location." Nicole brought up the image of a grid map of the area via the Wanderer's robotic eye, a red dot marking the emerald's approximate location.
"Interesting…" If what he was reading was correct, the Wanderer was actually very familiar with their destination.
His assumption turned out to be exactly right. The anomaly led them to a large dried out lakebed, the entrance to what appeared to be a moderate sized cave located on the opposite bank. The Wanderer could remember swimming in this lake when he was young during the Freedom Fighter's occasional visits to Angel Island. The cave was once covered by a roaring waterwall. This spot was far and away one of the most scenic and tranquil locations on the entire island… Now just another barren grave that used to be a body of water.
The Wanderer crossed the lakebed while following the signal into the cave, lighting the way with the light from his artificial eye. The cave was modestly deep, taking the Wanderer several hundred yards into the dark grotto before running into a dead end consisting of a wall of dried out vines that seemed to have died some time ago… Something about their presentation felt artificial, as if arranged in this particular way purposefully… Which would make sense considering this was exactly the spot Nicole's radar had pinpointed as the potential location of a Chaos Emerald. Activating his robotic arm, the Wanderer summoned his saber and began chopping away at the mass of dead vegetation. Glimpsing a faint glow from behind the vines, the Wanderer reached his arm inside the web of dead foliage, and quickly his hand latched onto something distinctly gem shaped. To his mild surprise, he retracted that arm to find a familiar cyan colored emerald in the palm of his hand. The once radiant color of the jewel had dulled as it didn't give off near the amount of power it once had, but the emerald was still an artifact to be respected.
"Amazing…" It had taken so long to pinpoint the location of the second emerald, finding this one so soon after by sheer coincidence was most definitely a boon.
"Who would've imagined that we'd find a Chaos Emerald on Angel Island of all places…"
"It's actually quite the brilliant hiding spot," The Wanderer rationalized. "With the Master Emerald long gone and the island a wasteland, few people would've thought to look here for one… And with this location's natural concentration of chaos energy, it would've thrown off any form of emerald tracking device, especially in their weakened states… If we hadn't happened to be popping in for a visit this evening, we may have overlooked this beauty ourselves. I was certainly thrown off at first… Somebody obviously placed it here purposely… It's possible that the Cyan Emerald has been hidden here for years, for all we know."
"That is a logical assumption… If we count the Purple Emerald back at the bunker, that means you have three now… We're roughly halfway to collecting all of the emeralds and we've just gotten started."
"We also already know where two of the remaining emeralds are… But we'll worry about retrieving the emeralds in Robotnik's possession at another time. For now, let's head back to the altar and try to make that phone call I've been putting off."
The Wanderer returned to the former resting place of the Master Emerald and made a beeline for a ritual altar upon a hill nearby. With two emeralds now in his possession, perhaps summoning her might be a touch easier. Standing in the middle of that sacred ground, he held an emerald in each hand before stretching his arms outward. Slowly, the emeralds began to levitate above his palms, their distinctive glows brightening ever so slightly. Before long, they were hovering in midair before they began circling around the Wanderer at a casual pace. As they rotated, the sky above his head darkened slightly before a faint light began to appear in front of him. That light slowly morphed into the astral image of peach-colored echidna, who slowly opened her eyes to look directly at the Mobian who had summoned her. "You have returned… I assume this means that you've taken the appropriate amount of time to consider what we discussed before?"
"Hello Tikal… And yes, I have… While I still have my reservations, I now believe I may have been hasty in my decision to dismiss your proposal. There are still a few things I'd like cleared up for me first before I commit to this plan fully."
"I'm pleased to hear you've reconsidered… Though I must confess I find your lack of faith in the Chaos Emerald's capabilities troubling… Have they not provided the light to guide you and your predecessors along the proper path during your darkest hours, more times than you can count?"
"More times than should've ever been necessary… But please understand me Tikal, I mean no disrespect, it's just the way my mind works. I've studied the Chaos Emeralds extensively throughout my lifetime… I've seen firsthand the undeniable miracles they can perform under the right conditions and with the right users... In all that time though, I've never once garnered the slightest hint that the emeralds were capable of manipulating time… If I hadn't had dealings with a time traveler in the past, I'd have my own doubts that time travel as a paradigm was even possible, considering the immeasurable number of variables involved. Why am I only being told now that they have this ability when we could've done something about Robotnik's takeover of Mobius years ago, back when the emeralds weren't quite so difficult to get our hands on and weren't… In the considerably weaker state that we find them in today…"
The Wanderer's concerns didn't appear to faze the ancient echidna spirit one bit. "It's just as you say… The potential consequences involved with time travel are near unfathomable. It's only in this world's darkest hours that Chaos would even consider granting the ability to traverse time to one of their chosen…" Tikal took a look at her surroundings to emphasize her point. "And as you've no doubt observed, your present is as dark of an hour as Mobius has ever seen."
"It's been this way for years Tikal… Mobius has been on the edge of ruin for at least a decade now, and you could already see the writing on the wall years before that..."
"Yes, but never have things been quite so dire that the planet has become close to inhospitable for organic life, and Mobians pushed to the brink of extinction. If the planet dies, the emeralds will eventually die with it… It's why their power has been slowly diminishing over time, as you've already pointed out."
The Wanderer scowled behind his mask. So that was the reason for the sudden interest in the survival of his race? He didn't appreciate the thought of their lives being used as pawns for some semi-sentient gemstones. "I see how it is then… No real interest in stopping Robotnik until Chaos decides it needs to protect its own existence after callously sitting by and watching as millions died and the planet turned to dust…"
"The Emeralds don't exactly possess limbs to walk themselves to a worthy conduit. Besides, the extent of their will is limited to choosing a worthy wielder of their power, and how much of that power they're willing to let said wielder tap into. Less we forget, I've attempted for years, tried every means at my disposal to get my message out to you only to be met with indifference… If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to judge the motives of Chaos, due to your own apparent lack of interest in seeking out the emeralds, which is a total show of disrespect for the latent power they've already granted you, by the way…. That I aided in bestowing upon you! So yes, I may have waited far too long to reach out, but your elusiveness certainly didn't help speed things along."
"I'm sorry?... Somebody must've forgotten to pass along the message that you were trying to get in touch with me. Seriously though, you can't really expect someone to sit around waiting for a call they have no idea is even coming. As for why I never sought out the emeralds before now… I've had other priorities that required my attention… Like keeping what few Mobians left that aren't dead or roboticized alive, so wasting time and resources… And more importantly, risking lives to go hunting for old relics only I can even use properly felt like a massive waste of time. Besides, we've been using the purple emerald to help power the bunker for years now, and I don't recall anyone mentioning someone was trying to contact me through it."
Tikal's brow furrowed low over her eyes. Experiencing firsthand how much this young man had changed in just a few short years was disheartening. "That is a lie, and we both know it. A 'chosen' of Chaos would be able to recognize the pull of the emerald's whenever they chose to call out to them. You may not have understood what that pull was due to your inexperience, or perhaps you simply ignored it, but you certainly 'felt' it."
The Wanderer had no comeback for that. Because Tikal was right. He had experienced the sensation of what felt like the purple emerald beckoning him to it, but he had dismissed the pull as the latent chaos energy coursing through his veins reacting to the gem… He had more personal reasons for blocking out Chaos' call though… He'd grown to despise those gems, feeling that they represented a false hope… The Freedom Fighters in particular had become far too dependent on those damned emeralds, expecting them to solve all their problems, and look where relying on them had gotten his kind! "Explain something to me… What exactly do you mean by 'chosen'? Surely, it's not because I'm able to draw on their power to increase my speed, strength, and durability a little bit… Robotnik figured out how to draw power from the Chaos Emeralds himself, and I'd seriously have to question Chaos' judgement on who's worthy of being 'chosen' if he qualifies."
"Of course he doesn't, but the emeralds don't work that way. Anyone with a strong enough will can draw upon the power of a single Chaos Emerald. Only those deemed worthy, however, can tap into the true potential of the emeralds, harnessing their awesome power when all seven are gathered together as a collective."
Behind his mask, the eyes of the Wanderer widened as he began to piece together what Tikal was implying. "You mean… Like Sonic the Hedgehog's super form whenever he had to use the emeralds in battle?"
"Precisely… And while Sonic tapped into the power of the Chaos Emeralds, they granted him incredible strength and speed the likes Mobius has never seen before in order to vanquish dangerous adversaries. The strength to protect all he held dear was Sonic's wish, and the emeralds granted him that power. Your wish is to travel back in time to the days before the event you're convinced was the catalyst for the hellscape Mobius has become and potentially prevent it and change the course of history… If you're able to gather all seven emeralds and call upon that power, you'll be able to bend time and space to your will…
"Why… Why me though?" he asked, feeling insignificant in comparison to the select few he'd witnessed unleash the power of the Chaos Emeralds. "What makes me worthy? I'm nobody… Is it because I was the only Mobian left standing who understood enough about the emeralds to potentially use them?"
"Don't be absurd… The emeralds only select a 'chosen' if they truly feel that individual is worthy of unlocking their powers. You weren't picked out of a hat at random… If there was no one left on Mobius worthy of wielding the power of Chaos, they simply wouldn't have chosen anyone. They sensed something in you and guided me to grant you the blessing to be able to fully access the true power of Chaos."
"Even if choosing no one meant the emeralds would eventually die with the planet?"
"Correct. The Chaos Emeralds will not allow the unworthy to access their full potential, even at the risk of their own existence."
The Wanderer struggled to grasp what he was hearing. This was so much more information than what he was given the first time Tikal had reached out to him with her proposition to fix the present… Or perhaps he just hadn't paid enough attention after he dismissed the notion of time travel the second those words left the ancient echidna's mouth. The very idea just sounded so absurd but if everything Tikal was sharing with him was indeed true… "You're serious about this? I can reverse the apocalypse by traveling back in time to prevent it from ever getting started?"
"Close… You'll have the opportunity to attempt to change the course of history and avoid this bleak future. Whether or not your actions successfully bring forth the types of changes you desire are yet to be seen… Quite literally in this case. There are some limitations you need to be made aware of. I recall from our previous communications that you believe it was the death of Sonic the Hedgehog that ultimately diverted the flow of time in the direction of the current state where we find ourselves in the present day. While I understand it would be more convenient if the emeralds could send you back to that exact point in history, I'm afraid that's not the way Chaos works… The best I can promise is that you'll be deposited in the past within a month of the event happening. Whether that be the day before Sonic's death or weeks beforehand, you won't know until you're there. Second, preventing the death of Sonic is the only past event you can willfully and purposefully take part in. If you take any other direct action that may directly affect the timeline, that would be considered a breach of the trust the Chaos Emeralds have shown in you, and it's highly likely that you'll be immediately transported back to the future if you dare to tread there… Your objective completed or not, and the ripple effects of said actions intact. Do you understand and accept these conditions?"
"I fully understand the ramifications of interfering with the timeline… How every action I take has the chance of adversely affecting the future. Silver would never shut up about it, not that it ever stopped him from messing around in the past himself… I guess the fact that he never showed up again after Sonic died wasn't a good sign for things to come… Could you please elaborate on something for me though? What do you mean by 'willfully and purposefully take part in'? I would understand a simple, don't swat a fly if you can help it explanation, but your choice of words there makes me think your 'conditions' are a little more open to interpretation."
"That is a fair observation… You see, time isn't as fragile as your science and literature would lead you to believe. Stepping on a single blade of grass isn't going to bring the dinosaurs back from extinction. However, if an individual were to go back in time a thousand years and kill a single Mobian, they could wipeout an entire bloodline and potentially erase hundreds of thousands of potential descendants out of existence. In other words, it's the scale of the actions you take that matters. Chaos isn't deluded enough to believe it would be a wise idea for you to hide in a cave for up to a month and not reveal yourself until the fated day that the Freedom Fighters infiltrated Robotropolis… You're going to have to interact with people, possibly have to integrate with the Freedom Fighters, and more than likely… Be forced to defend yourself or others at some point… Which would be considered acceptable just as long as you don't seek out the conflict yourself or kill anyone in the process unless absolutely necessary! Directly interfering with anybody's lives is strictly forbidden. Things you should avoid doing for example… Walking into the orphanage and shooting Remy Badginton between the eyes before he ever gets the chance to sellout Knothole in the future."
"Well, shit."
Tikal snorted as she struggled not to laugh. The Wanderer took a sense of pride in momentarily breaking that business-like nature the echidna always tried to invoke, though never really suited her. "If I may continue… No speaking of the future to anyone unless you have absolutely no choice, and don't do anything to alter events that were meant to take place… For example, don't break Sonic's legs so he can't take part in the mission where he met his demise. His absence could very well lead to the death of every other member of the Freedom Fighters for all we know. That's what we mean by minimal interference… Focus on preventing Sonic's death, and hopefully everything else will fall into place on its own. Another thing that's important to remember… Whether or not you succeed in saving Sonic's life, you'll have at best a few minutes after the fated event, and then your time in the past will expire…"
"What… Exactly happens to me if I do succeed?"
Tikal seemed reluctant to answer… A brief flash of guilt crossing her otherwise steely features. "I… Have no way of knowing for sure… But if you do succeed in changing the future for the better, then there's a good chance that this version of you will never have to exist… Whether that means you'll simply fade from existence entirely, I just don't know."
"I'm perfectly fine with that," he proclaimed, without a hint of hesitation. "A future that doesn't need to create someone like me to fight for it is exactly the type of future I'd want to create… For everyone."
Tikal nodded her head, pleased with his determination, but the stern expression remained on her face. "There's still… One last potential wrinkle in this plan we need to iron out…"
"You mean that I actually have to get my hands on all seven emeralds, right? It's not going to be easy but… I already have access to three, and I know two are currently in Robotropolis… That only leaves two others currently in the wind…"
"That is important, but not the issue that was on my mind… The problem I'm referring too, is yourself…"
The Wanderer frowned behind his mask, more out of confusion than anything else. "Me? How am I a 'problem'? Did I not agree to everything you wanted me too?"
"The issue is complicated…" Tikal sighed and shook her head, before looking down upon the Wanderer wearily. "When the emeralds first gave you their blessing you were… A much different person than the one standing before me today. That young man was still bright-eyed and hopeful, determined to fight for his people and protect his loved ones, the risks to himself be damned. You still believed Mobius was salvageable and worth saving… These were the traits that the emeralds sensed in you that helped them decide you had the potential to be something more…. Over the years though, we've watched you grow into a tired, bitter man whose become cold and detached, all but giving up on the world and going through the motions, with little left in your heart but a drive for vengeance against those you feel have wronged you and your people. How many bodies have you left in the wake of your recent rampage these past few months?"
"That's called justice… Those criminals have cost the lives of countless people by selling out to that tyrant! What does breaking a few rotten eggs have to do with this anyway? You've told me so yourself, the Chaos Emeralds aren't inherently good or evil… Any living being that can channel their energy is capable of drawing power from them…"
"At a base level yes, but I've also informed you that only the Emeralds themselves can choose who they deem worthy to tap into their full potential… And the person they chose has all but disappeared and transformed into a man that's a mere shadow of his former self. Someone I'm no longer certain the Emeralds would still consider worthy of wielding their true power. I'm not telling you this to shame or admonish you… Despite that I personally abhor violence, and have endured great distress observing you on this path you've chosen to travel… This is simply a warning that if you continue down this destructive road you've found yourself on, the Chaos Emeralds may not respond to you even if you do manage to gather them all. Just as they deemed you worthy before, so they can just as easily deem you unfit now."
A low growl rolled from the Wanderer's throat as he lowered his head. This was a complication he 'definitely' didn't need. Gathering the emeralds was supposed to be the hard part, not worrying if they'd reject him. "I understand… I don't like it, but I understand. I've had no choice but to become 'detached' just to keep myself from going insane. You'd be bitter too if you grew up with nothing after being rejected by your own parents and society at large, only to luck into the best group of friends a person could ask for, people who 'became' my family only to have them systematically ripped away from me too! I'm not going to apologize for being angry about it!"
"I empathize with what you're feeling… You might not believe that, but I do… More than you'll ever know." Shaking away memories from her past that she had no time to dwell on, Tikal got back down to business. "Enough with the sentiment… Chaos is potentially providing you with the unprecedented opportunity to prevent Mobius from becoming a dystopian hellhole. You've been informed of the potential pitfalls you may face on this endeavor, the conditions you're expected to comply with in order to achieve your goal, and what the consequences might be if you fail to do so… With no guarantee of success, with failure not only being possible, but probably the most likely outcome… Are you still willing to proceed? To put aside your personal grievances and risk your very existence for the sake of every Mobian you've ever known and loved, as well as every Mobian you've never met? You need to understand that when you mess with time, it doesn't just affect your future. It affects everyone… Every Freedom Fighter, every civilian, every villain, every Mobian still drawing breath at the time of Sonic's death, every Mobian born afterward, and every Mobian that either will or will never be born depending on whether or not your mission is successful. Are you certain you're prepared to accept that burden Miles Prower?"
"I am… If the prize is the possibility of a future where Robotnik hasn't destroyed everything, then that's a cause I'm more than willing to lay down my life for…"
Tikal allowed herself to smile, dropping the hard ass all-knowing spirit of the Chaos Emeralds shtick, and allowed her true personality to shine through for a moment. "Good… Now there's the hero I remember. I wish I could do more to help but… All I can tell you is that there may be another emerald being used to power one of Robotnik's old chemical plants, but I have no idea where that might be… You should get to searching as soon as possible… But if I can be selfish for just a moment… Can I please see your face before I must take my leave?"
He hesitated momentarily before offering a nod of his head. He took off his hat, and then slowly removed his mask before staring pointedly at Tikal, whose smile never wavered. That once bright-eyed and curious boy had transformed into a harden determined looking man. It was sobering for Tikal to look upon him now and think that the man standing before her was what Robotnik had turned that poor innocent boy into. "Thank you, Tails… May Chaos guide you…"
With a final curt nod, Tikal disappeared. The emeralds powered down and gently floated towards the ground. Miles quickly gathered them up and placed them back into their protective canisters and then into his backpack. With a sigh, he rubbed his gloved hand against his face… A section of which was covered by a metal plate that began just below his left eye socket and traveled north up and over part of his forehead and to the tip of his left ear, which was also metallic. Much like the mechanical portion of his left arm, the coloring of his faceplate blended in well with his fur, to the point one could hardly tell that the plate was cybernetic when viewed from a distance, though his left eye was much more noticeably artificial. While Miles looked young for his age, at the exact same time, he somehow also managed to rock the appearance of a grizzled old man who'd experienced way too much shit throughout his life. His fur had taken on a more reddish hue, not so much from age, but from the combination of a natural dye job from the persistent dust storms that would often kick up on the mostly barren landscapes of Mobius, and just a general lack of hygiene. Not by choice mind you, but with fresh water being such a premium commodity now, bathing on a regular basis wasn't high on his priorities list.
"Miles…" Nicole's voice spoke through the receiver in the canal of the Wanderer's artificial ear. "I can sense your distress… Are you not feeling as confident as you let on to Tikal? We were both aware that the potential ramifications of traveling to the past were beyond a scope we could even comprehend…"
"No, that's not an issue Nicole," he said as he placed his hat back atop his head. He left the mask dangling from his neck for the time being. "I meant everything I told Tikal. The only thing that concerns me about going back to the past will be… Trying not to break down and give myself away when I see everyone again… What's bothering me is… Well…"
Miles didn't need to finish his thought. Nicole had already deciphered his response. "You're concerned about what all this means for Ellie aren't you?"
"How can I not? We've had ample time to think over our decision, and accepted our potential fates… That we may not exist as we do now once we reach the end of this journey… Ellie isn't getting the same luxury, and my stomach is in knots about it…"
"It's as Tikal stated Miles… This isn't about Ellie, you, or any other individual Mobian… It's about everyone who's ever fallen during Robotnik's reign of terror. If you were to alter the past there's always going to be the chance that Ellie may never ex…"
"I refuse to accept that!" Miles barked as his organic hand gripped at the necklace dangling from his neck… A crescent moon and tree of life combo that hung from a silver chain. It was a tick he'd developed, almost subconsciously, that he'd often resort too whenever his emotions were flaring up. "A world that wouldn't accept her in it isn't one I'd care to live in… She… She deserves this just as much as anyone… To actually get the chance to know her parents… To grow up with kids her own age… To not have to live her entire life hiding underground because the world above her is a dying robot infested hellhole!"
"Yes… She does, doesn't she?" Nicole stated simply, and left it at that… Even though the logical component of her AI brain was insistent that the possibilities of any child born after Sonic's death still existing in an altered timeline was average at best… The part of her that had become increasingly more Mobian over the years understood that this wasn't an issue to push back at him on. It didn't hurt that she also wanted to believe Miles' declaration was more fact than misguided hope, almost as much as he did. "Can I ask you something Miles? … Why do you seem to be under the impression that I've accepted my fate? I recall doing no such thing."
Miles frowned. If she were still capable of walking around freely in her lynx form, she was certain he'd be glaring at her right now. "Nicole… We've already discussed this… And it wasn't even a long talk, but we both agreed we'd do what was in the best interest for Mobius."
"And I stand by that decision. I'm in no way trying to back out of what we agreed upon. All I'm saying is that there's a substantial difference between agreeing to do something and accepting that you have to do it Miles… Especially when it's our very existence that we're putting up as collateral I miss our friends dearly… I'd love nothing more than to be at Sally's side again. If giving her a second chance means I never achieve full sentience, I'm willing to make that sacrifice. However, as bleak as our present currently is, that doesn't mean I haven't grown to appreciate our time together… As stubborn and frustrating as you can be at times, that doesn't mean I'm happy with the idea that the last fifteen years of being your guide could just be erased like it never happened… After Sally, you were my first real friend, long before I was reduced to being a voice that literally comes out of your head. The thought of losing that is not… Pleasant…"
"I feel the same way Nicole…" he said with a sad smile. "But we both know this isn't the way things were supposed to go. At this point in your life, you should've been guiding Sally's kids towards adulthood."
"My apologies for distracting you with my… Discontented and confused emotions. You have more important matters to attend too than listening to the ramblings of a confused AI…"
"Don't be ridiculous. I always have time for a friend… And you're just as much of a Mobian as I am Nicole."
The living AI didn't respond at first, but Miles could almost swear he heard a sniffle before she responded. "Thank you, Tails…"
Normally, Miles would admonish anyone who made the mistake of using his old nickname, but he'd let it slide for Nicole this once. He hated being called by that name… Tails was an innocent naïve kid who died a long time ago. The trainwreck of a man he'd become was the exact opposite of innocent. "We should probably check in with the bunker before we look into that tip Tikal gave us… Nobody's tried to contact me in weeks, and none of my calls have gone through… Hopefully that shoddy excuse for a communications system I built is on the fritz again and there's nothing ominous afoot."
"It would also be a good idea for us to drop off the Chaos Emerald's we've collected for safe keeping… You've already drawn enough unwanted attention to yourself as it is… Plus, I'm certain Ellie is worried sick after not hearing from you for so long."
Miles tensed again as Ellie's name was mentioned. It still didn't sit right with him that the girl had no idea of the plans being made around her. They affected her maybe most of all… Truth be told, they affected the other denizens of their colony as well, and no offense to them but Ellie was Miles' priority. It just didn't seem fair to keep the girl in the dark about her potential fate.
Then again, nothing about that girl's life could really be described as fair.
End Chapter.
-Welp, there you go… To exactly three people's surprise the Wander turns out to be Tails. Cue three fourths of the people reading this story instantly closing out of it, never to look upon it again now that they know for sure The Wanderer didn't turn out to be one of the 'cool' characters, lol.
Just kidding… Nobody's been reading this so far anyway!
Seriously though, Tails has always been my favorite Sonic character, but I'm not a blind fanboy who can't recognize there's been problems with the trajectory and interpretation of the character at times. While other key Sonic characters have remained frustratingly stagnant, Tails is the only character you can say feels like they've regressed over time. Even in the IDW comics, probably the best modern version of the character, Tails has pretty much felt like a distant afterthought ever since the Metal Virus arch ended. Sonic Frontiers made a big deal of Tails mulling over breaking off on his own and having his own adventures… Which was been no means the first time he's had that character arch, so why keep rehashing it if you never plan on doing anything with it? Basically, it feels to me like Tails has outgrown his eight-year-old body, and it's time to see him grow and mature into something more than he's been allowed to be so far. When the best interpretation of the character I've seen in the last decade isn't even technically Tails… It almost feels like a self-own, allowing a so-so Netflix kids cartoon to take one of your stagnate mascot characters and make him interesting again.
Anyway, that was one of my primary goals with this story… To take a hard look at Tails and see the type of person or hero he might've grown into depending on his circumstances if he was ever actually allowed to grow up and grow into his own. As you can tell from the these first few chapters… It's not going well so far, but trust me, this story is going to have a lot of layers to it, but I don't want to spoil anything ahead of time. Oh, and just to get out ahead of this… I know some readers might instinctively draw comparisons to the Wanderer version of Tails and Nine, but I can say that no… The Wanderer version of Tails was not inspired by Nine. I actually started writing this story before I ever watched Sonic Prime… And was truthfully a little annoyed to see a Netflix show of all things had beat me too some of those ideas I had, but got over it once I realized the nuances of the two interpretations of the characters were substantially differen't and their similarities only superficial. I'll explain in more detail what I mean by that later on when I feel that explanation isn't spoiling the story.
-Tikal is this story's first example of what I refer to as a refurbished character. While I have no issues with OC's in principle, I just namedropped a fairly substantial one you're going to be meeting very soon, but I also believe they should be used sparingly, especially when you're writing for a property like Sonic the Hedgehog, that provides a rich and diverse catalogue of characters at your disposal. I needed a character to play a pseudo guardian sprit role for the Chaos Emeralds who moonlights as a guide of sorts to the Wanderer and well… We already have an ancient echidna living inside of Knuckles precious, so it felt like a lateral move to pull Tikal out of the Master Emerald and make her the guardian spirit of Chaos as a whole. Didn't even have to alter the character much. The hardest part was trying to write her character like a sprit guide and not have her come off as some sort of deity.