(Little Planet, Stardust Speedway)
"Miles," Cream said sadly as she held onto Cheese tightly, "I hope you're alright, wherever you are."
"Don't worry, Cream," Gadget told her, though he couldn't hide his own anxiety, "even if we can't pick up the Miles Electric, we can still track the cyan Emerald with Remi's Radar."
Lavender tried to put on a brave face, but even he couldn't keep it together. "So, what if we can't find him that way?"
"Then it'd mean he's neither on Earth nor Little Planet," Gizmo reasoned, concern etched in her features, "and if that's the case, then I..."
As she trailed off and let her thoughts get to her, the she-wolf's orange eyes glistened slightly. Even though she teased him and sometimes gave him a hard time about certain things, she still dearly loved her adoptive little brother. The idea of him being lost who-knows-where in the cosmos, possibly without a way back, was terrifying to her. She could only imagine how confused and afraid he must be, too. But before she could allow herself to go any deeper down that hole, J snapped her back to reality with a firm pat on the shoulder.
"He's okay and he will find a way back to us," the cross fox assured her with a bright smile, "I have the utmost faith that my cousin will return."
"Yeah!" Amy agreed optimistically, "we've seen what he can do! Remember when he fought that giant robot? No way he'd let something like this beat him!"
Gizmo wiped at her face and gave them both a smile and a quiet hum of affirmation. They were right; she needed to have faith in Miles just like he did in her and the rest of them. Even if they couldn't find a way to him, he'd surely discover how to get back from wherever he was.
Khal, who'd been observing their general mulling and relatively sparse interactions up to then, nodded in approval at this uptick in the group's mood. However, he knew that they had already expended quite a bit of time here on Little Planet, and it behooved them to get a move on.
"Whether you find him or he finds you shall be determined soon enough," the hyena proclaimed, "I can at least tell you that he's not here. That said, I must send you back home before you dawdle any longer. You have already been in the Special Zone for approximately 55 minutes."
"Oh shoot, that's more than ten hours back on Earth!" Gadget realized with alarm, "Sonic and the others are probably worried about us!"
"Likely so." The hyena summoned his trusty khopesh, and after running his claws over it to make it shine with silvery light, he cleaved the air with it. This tore open a rift with a slightly distorted view of the other side, though one could still make out the environment through it. "Now hurry, before you lose any more time."
As the one most certain of his cousin's return, J was the first to step through, swiftly followed by the Wolf twins and then Remi. Lavender went in after a few seconds, leaving the girls and their Chao friend for last.
"Thank you for all your help, Khal," Cream said appreciatively as she bowed to him, "let's visit each other again sometime."
"That'd be great!" Amy exclaimed in delight.
The hyena smirked and let out a brief puff of a laugh. "Might be nice to have people coming to Little Planet just to see me, for a change. I won't stop you, but you'll have to come find me yourselves."
The ladies and Cheese giggled at that, then waved him goodbye and went into the gate. After it sealed up behind them, the large mammal let out a sigh and tilted his ears in one direction.
"Come on out, Blackfoot," Khal addressed the ferret without turning around, "I know you're there."
He caught the sound of shuffling feet before he heard Knox respond. "Sorry, sir. I just wanted to see what sort of folks would make you go out of your way for them."
No surprise there, thought the ruler of Little Planet. The mustelid was an inquisitive fellow by nature, with interesting people like Miles arousing his curiosity most of all. Even among the countless lives he'd glimpsed into, Khal could admit that the fox and those around him were certainly intriguing.
"Allow me to tell you what happened the last time that Little Planet was close to Earth," he replied as he started to walk back towards the center of town with the other Animal, "and maybe then, you'll understand why that fox and his friends are...different."
(Mainland, Dazzling Desert)
When Tao had transported the Jackal Squad back to their base among the sandy dunes, it hadn't been long after the sun went down. The whole place was built into one of the rocky plateaus of the region, which kept them safe from the heat of the day and the cold of the night, as well as the occasional sand storm. It didn't seem like Zero would be waking up anytime soon, so his second-in-command put him to bed and then put the Sapphire in a small pouch on his knife belt. He returned to their shoddy living area, which consisted of a beat-up old couch and a few chairs, a TV, a wooden table with bar stools set around it, and a mock-up bar where they kept their liquors and refrigerated goods. Tao found Cress pouring himself a stiff drink, while both of the side-striped twins flopped down on the sofa with simultaneous sighs.
'It's been a long couple of days for everyone,' he thought as he took out one of his handmade cigarettes and lit it up.
"You know, the girls and I stayed with you and the boss because this is all we really know," the black-backed jackal told the tallest, "and because we respected you guys." He knocked back his cocktail. "But now? I fear him more than I admire him, and I'm getting kinda afraid of you too, Tao."
"When we kill people, it's to make a point," Lana chimed in, "not for funsies." She glared at the group's scout. "I hate to say it, Tao, but the boss is...well, now he's–"
"Insane," Shana finished for her, "batshit, crazy, out of his gods-damned mind! And the worst part of it is that you don't do anything to stop him!"
Tao took a long, slow drag of his tobacco, then let it out in a thick and heady cloud. He walked over to the latter of the lady canines and stared back at her scowling face with those piercing eyes of his.
"Funny how I'm always the one getting shit for his actions," he said in a tone that was far from amused, "if you have a problem with how he does things, go bark at him yourself."
Shana balked at the suggestion. "I'd rather keep my organs inside my body, thanks."
"We know he hates it whenever anyone brings it up," Cress reminded him, "but you're his brother. And as his brother, don't you feel any kinda responsibility to try and, I dunno, not just let him do what he wants?"
Tao grit the stick between his teeth so hard, he nearly severed it. "None of you understand. All I've told you is that we're brothers, not what we did before we formed the Squad."
"So what happened, then?" Lana pressed him.
"I don't want to talk about it." He clicked his tongue and extinguished what was left of his cig. "I'm going out for a while. Don't try to follow me."
The other three didn't like that answer, but none of them stopped him. It was clear that while they weren't done talking, he was through with listening to them for now, and they knew better than to try getting in his way. He was Number Two for several reasons, after all.
Tao threw a hooded robe over himself before he left, both to keep his face hidden from potential enemies and to help protect him in the event of a sand storm. Once he was sure the pouch containing the Sapphire was good and secure, the jackal took off in a fierce run, kicking up huge clouds across the dunes as he went. It was a short while until he came to what he considered his own personal spot in the Dazzling Desert, somewhere that not even Zero knew he frequented. It was one of a few tall rock formations that could be found in that part of the region, one crowned with a broad mesa that was almost perfectly flat on the top. He went to the side furthest away from their base and sat with his legs hanging over the edge, leaning back on both hands while gazing up at the sky. There were a few clouds here and there, but he could see most of the stars this far away from civilization, as well as a wonderful view of the waning crescent moon.
While he'd normally appreciate such a sight on a night like this, Tao couldn't get his mind off of the conversation with the other three Squad members. They were right that Zero was slipping more each day, and he wasn't doing anything to halt that malicious progression. The excuse that what the boss said went was exactly that: just an excuse.
"If only he'd never been born," he said bitterly as he retrieved the gem and held it in both hands, "if only I'd not been such a coward."
The Sapphire hummed and glowed in his grasp after he spoke, that otherworldly light filling his eyes until he could see nothing else. It dissipated just as quickly as it appeared, revealing a shadowy world much like the one he'd seen the first time he took hold of the Corundum. In it, he saw himself as a young pup, not much more than five years old, standing by the bedside of his mother as she held an infant Zero swaddled in cloth. The tiny boy had barely cried at all after being delivered, and those differently colored eyes had been glaring at him in a way that unsettled him.
"Dad, he's scaring me," he heard his younger self say with a trembling voice.
"Come on, Tao, there's no reason to be afraid of your baby brother," his father told him as he put a hand on one of his shoulders, "after all, if anything happens to me and your mother, you're gonna have to be a strong boy and take care of him. Promise me you'll be a good big brother for Zero and protect him no matter what, okay?"
"Okay, I promise..."
The scene warped and changed to one in their house roughly ten years later, where a teenage Tao was coming home from secondary school. Over that course of time, Zero had grown into an active, inquisitive, and yet disturbed child. He'd always claimed to just be "playing" whenever he waved sharp objects around his older brother, even going so far as to pull back just before the metal could slice or pierce flesh. And when he wasn't terrorizing Tao, he was out in the forest near their home, often coming back with a few odd in his fur. Their parents had often assumed he'd hurt himself while exploring, but the older son knew they were just denying the reality that the blood on the younger wasn't his own. And not long after he'd entered 9th grade, he'd started hearing stories from his friends that some people's Critter pets had gone missing. No one else suspected a certain boy being responsible, but Tao knew better.
Because of all that, he remembered experiencing a very ominous feeling several times over the course of a few weeks after starting the semester, as though something even more dreadful was bound to happen. And his gut had been proven right that day, where his nose had been assailed with the scent of fresh blood the moment he'd walked through the front door. Even now, the present Tao could smell it, and both that and the knowledge of who it'd been spilled from made his stomach turn like no other foulness could.
He watched as his past self covered his muzzle and followed the odor of iron and rot deeper into the deathly silent house. How it led him into the living room, where he found two big trails of crimson staining the carpet and going towards the master bedroom. The other Tao cautiously made his way to where his parents slept, seeing that the door was partially ajar. With much trepidation, the monochrome adolescent pushed it open, letting the light of the hallway brighten up the dark room. And when it revealed the source of the stench and stains, the teenage jackal let out a bloodcurdling scream.
There was his mother and father, both of them unmoving with their throats slashed and bodies riddled with stab wounds, their faces frozen in a mixture of terror and sadness. At the foot of their bed was what appeared to be a letter written using their blood, with his own name at the top in bold print. Despite his shock and despair, the shadow of himself picked it up and read it through the heavy, constant stream of tears.
"'Tao, there's nothing here for us anymore,'" the present one recited, remembering every detail of that day, "'let's go where no one can tell us what to do. Come and find me...you know where to look. Make sure to leave no trace. Love, Zero.'"
He watched himself take all the valuables and necessities he thought they'd need, then set fire to their home, making sure the letter was one of the first things to burn. Tao had fled out the back door and into the forest so that he wasn't seen by any of the neighbors; the properties of his home town were fairly spread out, but word got around, and he couldn't risk it. He knew that while the authorities had prevented the complete destruction of their house, he and Zero had been long gone by the time they got around to investigating the cause of arson and the murder of their parents.
The Sapphire fast-forwarded through the several long and grueling years it had taken for the jackal brothers to become "comfortable" living as vagrants. It hadn't been long after Zero's sixteenth birthday that they made the decision to bring other members of their kind into the fold. Tao remembered how folks came and went in the Jackal Squad, but that after six years of operating, it reached its peak size and strength. Zero had become the mightiest in their group not only in terms of influence, but raw power and skill, which he owed in great part to his older brother. No one had beaten him ever since it was unanimously agreed that he was the boss.
That was until the capris-eyed, two-tailed amber fox wandered through their territory. The Sapphire made Tao relive the day where the entire Squad, including his once-unbeatable younger sibling, was humbled by a barely teenage vulpine boy holding a cyan gemstone. Most had gone down from a single Spin Dash, while those like himself were tougher but still unable to keep up with the kit's super-Animal speed. Only Zero had come close to actually contending with Miles, and even then, he was only able to land glancing blows and shallow slashes on the fox. It was the first time where the Boss had not only lost his prey, but been bested by it, too. A lot of Squad members quit after that humiliation, having lost respect for themselves and their leader. The number continued to dwindle in the years that followed, with more and more of them being driven out by Zero or culled in the case of them trying anything against him.
'I should've called the cops,' Tao thought wistfully, 'I should've told them where Zero was and let them take care of him. Maybe then, I could've had a semblance of a normal life.'
The shadows morphed into his unspoken desire, painting an idyllic picture of a cozy, two-story house similar to the one he grew up in. A cleaned up likeness of himself coming home from his respectable job in the busy part of town to sit out on the porch with some lady jackal dreamed up out of the many fantasies he'd had. They would watch their trio of pups play, greeting their friendly neighbors as they passed by and whiling away the time until dinner. It was a simple and perhaps cliche wish, but deep down, it was one that he'd always yearned for.
"And it could be yours," came a voice like a whispering wind, "but only if you act."
Tao's eyes snapped open, bringing him back to the cold reality in the nighttime desert. He looked around everywhere for the source, ears perked up high to catch any sound out of the ordinary. He saw nothing and he did not hear the voice again, only the gentle evening breeze that whistled through holes in the stone. The jackal shook his head and dismissed it, placing the Sapphire back into his pouch. He made his way back to HQ, seeing that only a tiny light in the kitchen area was on, meaning everyone else had already retired for the night. Tao briefly checked in on Zero, still sound asleep, and stealthily put the gem on the nearby nightstand.
'I promised I'd protect you no matter what, Zero,' he thought resolutely.
Tao quietly shut the door and made his way to his own den within their hideout. As he flopped back onto his bed and regarded the yellow Emerald, he reached over to the device that Alexei had given the group to help them track certain energy signatures. A couple of them weren't that far away from their hideout, but that wasn't something Zero needed to know. The jackal set himself an alarm to wake up extra early, then curled up onto one side and shut his eyes.
'Even if that means protecting you from yourself,' he finished his contemplation on a more somber note.
(?)
'Well, this definitely ranks in the top five worst situations I've been in,' Miles thought as he sat there on the stone ground under the cloudy skies, 'I'm on some world, possibly in another dimension, with almost none of my gear or any emergency supplies.' He traced over the cyan Emerald with his other hand slowly. 'But maybe with Chaos Energy, I can manage some way to get back to Earth. Let's see if we can't find another option first, though.'
He took a moment to assess his surroundings a bit more. At a glance, this planet appeared to have had a thriving civilization built on the water, but now there were only ruins. Those rigs out in the distance interested him, though, even if they were potentially derelict as well.
'It's a start, at least,' he considered as he got to his feet.
Fortunately, there was a path Miles could take along the bits of stone sticking up out of the water. The teen fox ran forward a few meters to grab a handful of Rings, then hopped onto the ledge in front of him and came to a slope. He went into a Roll down the decline and picked up speed as he continued across the length of what he assumed to be an old rooftop. Using a trio of spires as stepping stones to the next building, he flipped over a set of rusty spikes and briefly dipped into the place. As weathered as the exterior was, the inside wasn't quite as bad, with the support columns in particular seeming to be unusually pristine. Perhaps there were people here after all?
Before he could let himself get his hopes up, Miles exited and bounced off a red spring to the top of a partially-submerged loop. Curious that even on a wholly alien world, those existed; not that he'd complain about the convenience. In any case, he used a Spin Dash to quickly build up velocity, then Jumped when he reached the edge of the loop. The amber orb kept its momentum as it bounded onto several more platforms in succession, finally landing on a large building below. When given the option to continue into it or take a spring to the top, the vulpine chose the latter, getting a better view of everything from there. Aside from the one he was headed to, Miles spotted dozens of other such oil rigs and oceanic derricks within an area of a hundred square kilometers or so.
'I hope I don't have to search every last one of them,' he thought grimly, 'otherwise this is going to take forever.'
Shaking his head, he ran forward to use yet another spring, flying past a second loop and onto another high section of what he assumed to be a temple of some kind. He jumped down to a lower tower and briefly passed through it, going down a slope and getting closer to the water. After he Dashed through two consecutive loops, Miles arrived at the base of one of the great steel structures. Much of it had reddened with rust over an unknown period of time without regular maintenance, but it wasn't as though it would fall apart at any moment, as far as he could tell.
Miles spotted a ladder some meters away from his position, using it to climb onto the outer catwalk. He followed it up and around the towering platform past the tops of the drill pipes, and came to the accommodation levels. The door To the interior groaned as he turned the knob and pushed it open, nearly gagging at the smell that wafted out. A mix of rotten wood, decaying metal, and mold assailed his nose, forcing him to step away from the entrance. No way was he breathing any more Of that into his lungs; if only he had his Bubble Shield. Shaking his head, the fox closed the door and continued on, walking by the inactive power station and arriving at the drilling tower. These were less weathered than the rest of the place, but it was apparent that no one had been here for many years.
Giving up on that rig, he flew to the next closest within a few moments, although that was shown to be in a similar state of disrepair, with nothing useful for him to salvage. It was the same for the next few he tried, and after a point, he scaled to the very top of one to get a better vantage. He saw that, aside from yet more of what he'd already come across, there was no solid land in view. The "ocean" was shallow no matter where he looked, not a single portion even close to approaching the point where light could no longer penetrate the depths. And as he flew down and perched onto another roof, he discovered no sort of marine life in the waters aside from some strange form of kelp that he wasn't eager to try. That didn't bode well for his chances of survival.
"Augh!" he yelled out of frustration, his voice echoing off the remains around him, "isn't there anything here!?" He drew in a deep breath and let it out in an even greater shout. "Or anyone at all!? Am I the only one here in this place!? Hellooo!?"
He fell to all fours and panted, both from exerting his lungs and from the effort he'd expended traveling this mysterious planet. The fox didn't expect any sort of response, which is why his fur stood up on end when he caught the sound of a large splash that he knew he hadn't made.
'Oh? I hear the cry of a distressed soul that has wandered into my home away from home,' a calm, contralto feminine voice projected into his mind.
Miles quickly scrambled to his feet and spun around, his ears high and alert. "M-my name is Miles Prower. Please, if it's possible and not too much trouble, I'd appreciate any help I can get."
'Introducing yourself and modestly beseeching my aid. I am pleased that you are polite. Then, I shall reveal myself to you, Miles Prower.'
A sizable column of water shot up some meters away from one side of the roof, and a heavy thud accompanied a huge being. Miles nearly dropped his jaw at the realization that it was another Animal, but not just any Animal. She was very tall and slender, yet also powerful in build, with a serpentine tail that had cyan fur on the top side and ended in a fuzzy tuff. Cerulean eyes gazed down at him from a reptilian head with a pair of lengthy, curling whiskers near the end of her snout, her crown sporting bronze, antler-like horns. Cyan hair like a mane went down just past her shoulders, and as far as clothing, she wore only a black one-piece swimsuit that accentuated, but didn't oversell her feminine assets.
It took Miles a moment to get over the initial shock that he was face-to-face with a real dragon, one that was more than half again his height at that. He knew that although he'd never seen one for himself, they were extremely rare Critters back on Earth. Dragon Animals were the stuff of legend, though, as J had told him; no one had ever discovered if they truly existed. His cousin was definitely going to have his mind blown by this revelation, if he could get back with proof.
"Salutations, little fox," the mythical reptile greeted him kindly, "I am known as Prima, one of the four current Elemental Paragons."
Miles tilted his head a bit, his curiosity overtaking his fear in the face of such a being. "Elemental Paragons?"
"Indeed. We are those handpicked by Father to serve as living representatives of the Circle of Power."
The fox scratched his head a little at the "Father" bit. He wondered who she could be talking about, but after a moment, the answer hit him. Segundo had mentioned "El Padre" to Sonic, while Tetartos had referred to "the Old Man" when speaking with Speedy. The skeleton dog and the phoenix had also possessed earth and fire abilities, respectively, which meant that if those two and the water dragon were part of this group...
"You mean Gil, don't you?" Miles assumed.
"I do," Prima replied with a sagely nod, "Father foretold your arrival in this place, little fox, and he directed me to aid you." But before Miles could feel any relief, she held up a digit. "On the condition that you learn to harness the true power of the cyan gem and complete my trial."
The fox balled his hands up. "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a time crunch here. Earth is in danger because the Cursed Corundums–"
"The currents bring me news of many matters, young one," she cut him off, "so I am aware of the crisis at hand. That being said, unless you can conquer my challenge, you will be ill-prepared to face either of your enemies, much less both. Moreover, Father also made me promise that if you can accomplish what is expected of you, I will provide you with another hint to the whereabouts of those you seek, much like my 'brothers' did for your friends."
Miles was reluctant to accept Prima's terms, given that time was of the essence. However, he knew that his only other option was to try what Speedy had told him he'd done near the end of his mission on Flicky Island. He wasn't confident he could pull that off yet, especially since he hadn't been trying to work towards it even with the occasional training he did. And honestly, the promise of more information about that particular personal matter was too tempting to pass up.
With a heavy sigh, the teen vulpine held up the cyan Emerald while his other fist pressed against his side. "Okay, I'll do whatever it takes. But I have some questions, too."
"Of course, and we shall get to your inquiries," Prima replied patiently, "but first, we must focus on getting you to call forth the Emerald Power of the cyan stone."
Miles tilted his head. "What do you mean? I'm already able to use several techniques with it."
"While that is true, you misunderstand me." The water dragon strolled over to the edge of the building and slipped into the sea so that she was half-submerged. "Each Emerald has a certain ability that can only be used with the respective color in hand." She raised four taloned digits. "You have seen the yellow's 'Slow' firsthand from the savage jackal's kin, and heard of the red's 'Bullet' from your rival. Your kin with the white is on the cusp of discovering the 'Extra' ability it can unlock for him, while your metallic copy has already called upon the blue's 'Avatar' power. If you don't wish to be left behind, you must learn to take advantage of your keepsake's signature power." She chuckled softly. "Fortunately, with your keen mind, it should come quite naturally."
The fox nodded at that. "So, what exactly am I trying to accomplish?"
"You must become like water," Prima answered him with a knowing smile, "and I do not mean that spiritually. When wielded properly, the cyan Emerald can temporarily change the composition of the user's form from solid to liquid."
The fox wondered exactly how that would work, given what he knew about the states of matter. His contemplation clearly showed on his face, for the much larger Animal couldn't help but titter at him.
"Your unspoken concern is understandable," the dragon said, "how can one possibly maintain a consistent shape if they become wholly fluid? To be succinct, Chaos Energy makes that issue nonexistent." Her long tail stirred the depths a bit. "Simply focus on the water and the energy within."
Miles was no stranger to how the Emeralds could effectively tell the laws of physics to get bent. Even so, to think they could affect spatial properties to such a degree without needing all seven. And given what he knew about how one's imagination could influence Chaos Energy, he supposed that Prima's words were all the advice he really needed.
'Focus on the water,' he repeated in his head, 'and the energy within.'
Holding the cyan Emerald close, he felt its Chaos Energy flow into him as he stared out at the ocean. He thought about how water could be calm or tempestuous, depending on many different factors. He considered that while it couldn't be cut, it could cut through even rather dense matter if enough pressure and velocity were applied. One could not crush water, but the fox knew well that it didn't take very much water to flatten other things. Perhaps it wasn't the element of his choice; he didn't know if any element of the Circle of Power really suited him. But, at that moment, he knew he had to at least try and branch out this one time.
"Water, be like water," Miles told himself, "be like water...water..."
Cleave, yet refuse to be cut. Smother, but yield not to pressure. Remember the calm of the babbling brook, and also the rage of a sea at storm. His home he knew so well had demonstrated such to him countless times, with Puru Puru Lake and the Rocky Sea, and the stormy skies he'd long feared since his parents disappeared. He wouldn't let that terror control him again; he would make this element work in his favor, not against his emotional hang ups!
"Water!" the teen yelled out, raising the Emerald high over his head.
In what was actually an instant, yet felt like minutes for the fox, he experienced one of the strangest changes of his whole life. His body became entirely transparent like pure H2O, and yet he could see nothing of his internal organs or systems. His accessories had seemingly vanished as well, though he could still feel them on his person. And on the subject of sensations, he couldn't even begin to properly describe what being wholly liquid was like.
"To say this feels bizarre would be–" He cut himself off when he heard the watery reverb in his voice. "...Would be nowhere near close enough to express just how it feels."
"Regardless, it is impressive that you picked up on it so quickly," Prima commended him, "which means you are now ready for my trial."
The dragon dipped under the surface and rapidly swam towards a far-off structure that the teen hadn't noticed during his earlier search. Glimmering spots appeared above, on top of, and beneath the water every so often in her wake, the huge Animal's serpentine form weaving between the ruins and the supports of other platforms. Once she was out of sight and close to the place in the distance, Miles squinted a bit and made out what he believed was a handful of large waterfalls spilling from the top.
'Making use of your newfound Power and your affinity for sensing Chaos Energy, you must navigate a specific path to the top of this tower,' Prima explained to him, 'you are forbidden from using any other abilities, including your unique capacity for flight.'
Miles could see the intention behind her challenge. It certainly seemed difficult on its own, but it was clearly meant to test how well he could use his latest technique alongside one he had some practice with. The fox dove in, momentarily startled when most of his body reformed into a watery orb with a likeness of his head and two stubs for his tails. He soon got over it, impressed with how quickly he could jet around and how strangely natural it felt. On top of that, he discovered that he was perfectly capable of breathing underwater while in this state, and that his vision was as clear as if he'd been wearing goggles.
Once he was ready, Miles made his way over to what he remembered was the first glowing point Prima made, passing through an iridescent white ring nestled under a submerged arch. The fox accounted for the next two being set up in succession, approaching the second from below and doing his impression of a dolphin jump through the third. The fourth one was stuck in a space that would've been way too tight for him to fit into had he been his normal self; it still felt really weird to squeeze through as he was now, though. The fifth required him to leap up onto some of the ruins, speeding his way across with a watery Spin Dash and diving through the ring just past the edge. While the trial wasn't particularly difficult overall so far, Miles could feel the Power noticeably draining away at his Energy.
To that end, he picked up the pace even as he noticed that it wouldn't be quite as easy going forward. The sixth shining ring swiftly weaved through the legs of platforms and spires of crumbled stone in a pattern, which took the teen a few moments to memorize. After heading it off, the seventh one necessitated him using his leap to reach higher, isolated pools of water in order to climb around the building it was placed above. It was quite the fall after collecting it, and Miles was thankful that not only did it fail to cause him any pain, but even after he splattered over solid ground, he could reconstitute himself. The last three were all hidden within the falls leading up to the remnants of the grand tower, which the fox noticed were at varying heights on top of moving around.
He grunted as he rushed in against the powerful vertical current, making good progress despite all the weight crashing down onto him. Miles popped out the top and spiraled through the eighth ring into the next column of water, repeating the action several meters up to reach the ninth, as well as a ledge that would allow him to continue higher up. The vulpine wasn't given long to rest, however, as it crumbled mere seconds after stepping onto it. Fortunately, Miles had been on his toes and shot up into the third waterfall before he could take a tumble back into the sea. It was a similar case getting to the fourth and then the fifth, the latter of which was actually several waterfalls that were close together, but not actually touching each other. The fox hopped between those and about just as many platforms, steadily making his way up to the tenth and final illuminated ring.
After one last jump, he reached it and the top of the structure, where he found Prima patiently waiting for him. Not even five seconds after he made it, Miles let out a tired huff and went back to his solid, fluffy self once more. While he'd been cognizant of the strain of maintaining the Power for so long, it hadn't hit him until that moment just how much it took out of him.
"Color me impressed," she praised him, "Father told me not to make it too easy for you, and yet you cleared my course on your first attempt. I now better see why he's taken an interest in you." She straightened up a bit. "Ah, but enough about that for now. As promised, I will help you return to Earth, and here is my cryptic message to you before we proceed: 'search for the lost world of spilled blood, whose stains remain despite the flood'. Also, you mentioned earlier that you had questions."
Miles had made sure his multi-tool was recording the moment he heard the large Animal mention her end of the deal. He'd have to piece it together with what Segundo and Tetartos had indirectly told him once this was all over. He thought about what to ask her for a moment, ultimately deciding to start small.
"What is this place?" he inquired.
The dragon turned away and gazed out at the horizon. "A world within a parallel dimension to Earth, which I simply call Aqua Planet; its true name has been lost to time. According to the tides, ages ago, this was a thriving land rich in many resources. However, the people drilled too deeply, and unleashed a world-ending surge that makes up the ocean you see now. Only plants and lichens remain as far as life is concerned, as those that once resided here have long since joined with the freshwater sea."
As grim a thought as it was, Miles figured that was why he didn't find any remains among the ruins. It also explained why the rigs were in such a state of disrepair; there genuinely wasn't anyone left to maintain them, and while he didn't want to make assumptions, the water dragon didn't seem like the engineering type.
"I see," he murmured as he folded his arms, "how do you travel between here and Earth?"
"You will see soon enough," Prima replied smoothly, "I did agree to help you get back home if you passed my test, and you did just that."
The fox supposed that was fair. "Okay. Well then...why were you and the other Paragons given cryptic hints to tell me about where my parents could be?"
"If I could give you a proper answer, I would." The dragon mirrored his stance. "Father works in ways that even I, the first of his 'Children' and thus hence my name, cannot begin to comprehend." A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. "Although if I had to guess, it is because he is fond of you in some way, just as he is of my brethren and I."
Given his previous interactions with the mysterious human, Miles could see that being the case. Gil had saved him the trouble of fighting Mecha's prototype form, aided many people in escaping from the Battle Moon, including J, and helped him restore the Chaos Emeralds after they'd gone dark. Even in this case, he'd anticipated and provided indirect assistance so the Animal could get back home to Earth. There might have been even more plans in store that the teen wasn't aware of, but if nothing else, the man certainly had some vested interest in seeing the fox succeed in his endeavors.
"I guess that's all for now," he decided after giving it some more thought, "I'd appreciate it if you could send me back to Angel Island."
"Understood." Prime approached him and gingerly took one of his hands in her own, those eyes of hers glimmering more brightly as her other balled into a fist. "Chaos Control."
The two Animals were whisked away by a blue distortion in the air, and before he could even blink, Miles found himself back in front of where he and the others left the Tornado. He was about to give his newest acquaintance his thanks, but the water dragon had already left prior to giving him the chance. In place of where she'd been, however, there was a spherical capsule filled with brilliant blue water that he picked up. Upon doing so, the container broke open and the fluid splashed his face. It initially alarmed him, but once he felt the aches and pains of the day wash away along with the fatigue from expending so much Chaos Energy, he welcomed the relief.
"Thank you, Prima," he said aloud as he jumped up into the cockpit of the red biplane, giving the console a gentle pat with one hand as the other grabbed the throttle, "I'm sorry we left you behind, girl, but I'm here now. Let's go!"
Miles started up the engine and then guided the Torado towards the western bank of the island, gripping the throttle tightly as he coasted into the water and took off. He was relieved to find Speedy and J's signals when he checked the Emerald Radar, but more concerning were the three not too far from them. The yellow he knew belonged to Tao, and then the green and magenta ones that they'd passed over until now. Much as he wanted to let everyone else know he was okay, he knew that keeping the Emeralds out of his enemies' hands took precedence. Hopefully, his friends would understand his intentions and join him on the way.
"Just you wait, Zero, Alexei," he growled as he activated the rocket thruster on the bottom of the Tornado, "I won't let you guys have your way!"
(Classified Location)
Speedy's group and the remaining G.U.N. forces had fled back to the nearest mainland base against the NBA fleet. While they'd dealt a significant blow in terms of absolute numbers, they'd suffered quite a few losses of their own. Mecha showing up while in Overclocked Mode only added to the damage, and the robot left several of the Animals in the bird's group fairly injured with just a single attack. According to Blue, Green had had it much worse than them, but there was nothing about her wounds that required immediate emergency treatment. However, he refused to let anyone else close while he tended to her, and after being granted clearance from Speedy, he shut himself into a large enough chamber for Nana-chi to change shape.
As he did what he needed to, Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix were brought to the physical recreation area of the facility, as most other areas were off-limits to civilians even if they had backing from genuine agents. Vector had elected to do a little weight training, Espio balanced atop a tall pole as he meditated, and Charmy tried out the obstacle course made specifically for fliers. Knuckles practiced his martial arts, and while Sonic would've loved to run around, the space they'd been provided was way too small for his liking. It was no wonder, then, that he'd gotten bored in no time at all.
"Man, this stinks!" the hoglet complained.
Speedy, who'd been sitting nearby with Rouge to hang out after their debriefing, rolled his eyes. "Your frustration is understandable, but there are only so many strings I can pull."
"It's not just that!" Sonic raised one finger. "Mecha sendin' us packin' was way past uncool!" Then another. "And I'm worried about Tails and the others. We haven't heard from them since they left for Japan yesterday!"
The others stopped what they were doing and regarded the boy's words. It was rather strange that their comrades hadn't at least checked in with them by that point.
"Let's give 'em a call, then!" Charmy suggested, being the first to do something proactive. He took out his comm and attempted to connect with one of the Wolf twins. After a few seconds, the transmission was established and Gizmo showed up on screen, which made him cheer. "Giselle! Me and the others were just talking about you guys!"
"Hey! Get down here so we can talk to 'em too!" Vector snapped up at the bee.
Speedy tapped at a few buttons on his own device. "No need for that. I can just do this." The display on both Charmy and Gizmo's ends split in half so that the ace was included, turning it into a three-way conference. "There. Now, what happened? You all have been radio silent for more than half a day."
"It'd be easier to wait to tell you until we're there," the she-wolf responded grimly, "you're going to want to sit down for this."
As it turned out, those that had pursued the Jackal Squad had been transported from Little Planet to within a handful of kilometers from the G.U.N. base. Speedy told those minding the perimeter to let them through and escort them to where the rest were waiting. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long for the twins and the rest to show up. However, there was one thing out of place that was immediately apparent to the bird's party, especially a certain red and blue pair.
"This isn't what I expected," Knuckles said with a raised brow as they stepped into the area, "where's Miles?"
"Yeah, why isn't Tails here?" Sonic pressed.
The arrivals glanced at one another before J spoke up for the group. "There's the rub...we don't know."
"Whaddaya mean you don't know!?" the blue blur nearly shouted.
'Oh boy,' Lavender thought.
The group that went to Japan related their story to those that'd pursued the NBA, and vice versa. How the former had found themselves sent to Little Planet after cornering the Jackal Squad, and the latter were on the cusp of apprehending Alexei when Overclocked Mecha showed up to foil them. For the sake of expediency, the exposition Khal provided was skipped over; it would just end up causing more of a headache than anything for those who weren't there anyway.
"So on the way here, we had Remi do a scan to try and find the cyan Emerald," Gadget concluded for them. His face fell and his ears drooped a bit. "Unfortunately, while the Radar detected the other six, we couldn't find any trace of Miles' gem."
Speedy folded his arms and frowned. "And that means what, exactly?"
"Well, like Giselle theorized earlier," Lavender answered, "it'd mean he's neither on Earth nor on Little Planet." He shrugged helplessly. "Maybe somewhere else in the Special Zone, but we don't really know."
It was rather unfortunate news, especially since it dealt another blow to their already wounded morale. But, just like their comrades, Sonic, Speedy, and the rest refused to believe that Miles was gone for good. Although, as much of a concern as the teen's potential predicament was, they had other matters to worry about as well.
"What about the Jackal Squad?" Rouge inquired, "you said they have a Chaos Emerald."
"Yeah, so we at least know where they are," Gizmo replied, "bring up the detailed overlay, Remi."
Remi chirped and strolled into the center of the loose circle everyone had formed. It tiled its head up as its eyes brightened and projected a three-dimensional image of their world, with the centerpoint being their current location. Six different colored markers showed up almost immediately after: excluding those they had, blue was to the northwest around where Angel Island was in the Pacific, yellow and green were in a desert area on the mainland further north, and magenta was a little to the east of them.
"Where is that?" Knuckles asked as he pointed out the yellow Emerald, "that's the one that the jackals have."
"The Dazzling Desert," Speedy answered, "which is where they're known to typically operate." He squinted his eyes a little. "And it looks like the magenta Emerald is in the nearby settlement of Mirage Town."
J hummed as he took a gander around that area. "Remi, can you analyze the Zone where the green one is more closely?"
"What is it, J?" Cream wondered, Cheese imitating her as she rubbed her cheek.
"Something about that geographical location feels familiar, and I want to know if there's something more to it, or if it's just my imagination."
The robot Critter did as requested, connecting to the satellites above that stretch of the world and zooming in to get a better vantage. Images of rusty roller coasters, billowing smoke stacks, huge industrial smelters, petroleum derricks, gas pipelines, and a diesel locomotive with numerous rail cars popped into view. The cross fox's brown eyes shone with recognition after reviewing them, a fond smile spreading across his muzzle.
"Ah, how nostalgic," he mumbled.
"What is?" Amy prodded him, both figuratively and physically.
J cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, this was an enjoyable amusement center known as Sunset Park. I went there a few times as a lad with my parents and friends, but those are stories for another day." He moved over to the picture of the rusty coasters. "It's tragic, but due to a terrible accident that occurred roughly five years ago, it was closed down by its original owners."
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that," Gadget commented, "a shame we never got to go there before it was condemned. You think the Jackal Squad had anything to do with it?"
"There's not enough evidence to implicate them, but it's not too far-fetched of a hypothesis, given their proximity to the area." The cross fox continued as he pointed at the complex. "Anyway, rather than demolish Sunset Park or leave it to rot, Gull surveyed the property and purchased it when they found plentiful resources under the land. Water, oil, natural gas, rare earth minerals, you name it. Some of the old equipment from rides were repurposed to help with the mining operations, while the rest was left as it'd been found."
"And it seems like someone who's working there might have the Emerald," Rouge mentioned, drawing everyone's attention to the signal, "it's been moving a little bit every so often."
It was certainly something to consider. While a few members of their collective weren't exactly opposed to just taking the gem, most of them preferred a different approach. And that aside, they still had the other two Emeralds around that area to consider.
As they discussed the next plan of action, Blue had finished administering treatment to Green. Unfortunately, though he'd scrounged around for materials to fix their suits, there simply weren't enough in this place and time that would allow him to do anything significant. Heck, he couldn't even replace the part of his visor that had hidden his light-brown eyes, the blue fur around them, and his white brows. Given how damaged Green's armor was, he figured that it would be safer for his partner to go without it until it could be fully repaired, although that came with its own issue.
'Man, we're supposed to be incognito,' he fretted inwardly, 'I can at least still hide most of my features, but Green won't be able to. No way she'd stay put, either, not when we still have a job to do. And I doubt she'd want to spend the rest of our time here inside of Nana-chi.'
"Ngh," the woman groaned as she started to stir, her eyes fluttering open, "what? Where am I?"
Blue smiled behind his helmet. "We're at one of the G.U.N. bases. Glad you've come around, partner."
"Good to see you too." She blinked at the unfiltered sound of her voice and glanced down at herself. "Wha? Why's my armor been taken off, Blue!?"
Her partner pressed his fingers together nervously. "Your suit's pretty badly damaged and I don't have the materials to properly fix it up. You know, location and time period and all that."
"And we can't exactly go back right now. Wonderful." Green let out a sigh and swung her legs over the side of the table she'd been laying on. "Well, there's no helping it. I guess as long as I don't say too much, it should be okay. Some of them will definitely start connecting the dots once they see me, though; they're not stupid, after all. You go ahead, I need a second."
A very real concern, but Blue knew they didn't have much other choice at the moment. After handing his partner her weapon and holster back, he went on to prep the others for the coming surprise. He was given a bit of a shock himself once he discovered that most of Miles' party was also back from their foray into Japan, and was simultaneously confused when he didn't see the two-tailed fox.
'What's going on?' he thought anxiously.
"Oh, hello, Mr. Blue," Cream greeted him politely, "we heard from the others that you were taking care of Ms. Green's injuries. Is she going to be okay?"
Blue snapped out of his momentary daze and nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing too serious, thanks to her armor. It's pretty beaten up, though, so she'll have to go without it until we can get it back in working order."
"Sounds like we'll finally get to see the lady behind the helmet," Rouge said with a smirk.
Speedy cocked his brow at Blue. "And you won't do the same?"
"Nope, this little peak at part of my face is all you get." He glanced over at the twins. "By the way, where is Miles?"
"At least wait until I'm there too before you start asking things," came a voice that the armored male and a few others knew well, "I'm sure they're tired of repeating themselves."
Everyone turned to the source, and with the exception of Blue, were stunned to various degrees by what they saw. Without her suit, Green was revealed to be garbed in a cyan-blue tank top, blue jeans that were a bit ripped around the thighs, forearm-length white gloves, and green and white footwear. Her visible fur was red all over aside from the insides of her ears, her torso, and the underside of her tail, all of which were white or off-white. As for the "hair", it consisted of bushy bangs above her forehead as well as several tufts protruding from the back of her head, a few dipping down just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes contrasted with her coat, and her pale muzzle was bare like that of many Animals, with a shape that was canine but also had feline touches. And her relatively large ears were much the same in that regard, as was her long and fluffy tail.
"Whoa, never seen that kinda Animal before," Vector remarked.
Charmy chuckled and smiled brightly. "It can be a little tricky to tell with some, but she's a hybrid, Vec. They aren't too rare, though it's not every day you see one."
"Her coat's so pretty," Amy told Cream, "her fashion needs a touch up, though. The colors are fine, but the style could use some work."
The rabbit giggled softly. "I think she looks good." She pressed a finger against her chin and hummed. "Something about her seems really familiar, though."
Sonic looked between the twins, Lavender, and the unveiled Green while tapping one foot, eyes narrowing. "Huh, now that ya mention it..."
"She does appear to sport a combination of canine and feline features," Espio completed the boy's train of thought, "more the former than the latter overall, I'd say. Even so, it's a rather curious coincidence."
Green knew that this would happen. And when she glanced over at the two wolves and the cat, they were regarding her with even more scrutiny. She may have seemed calm on the outside, but her nerves were a step away from fraying. Like Blue, she hadn't expected to see Miles' group here, and she could feel certain emotions stirring because of them.
"Gad, her fur," Gizmo murmured to her brother, "the red in it's almost the same tint as yours."
"And her eyes," Lavender said, his own rather wide, "they're pretty much just like Fuchsia's."
Sensing her mounting distress, Blue rested a hand on his partner's shoulder and gave her a gentle, approving nod. With his assurance, she took a deep breath and centered herself.
'No avoiding it,' she thought, 'they've pretty much already figured it out anyway.'
"I'm sure you all have a...number of questions," the hybrid Animal began.
Speedy let out a "hmph" to show his amusement. "That's putting it lightly. Your appearance aside, I am certainly interested in that equipment of yours and your partner's. Even our best engineers are unable to reproduce it."
"That's because some of the materials that went into making our weapons and armor can't be found on Earth," Blue explained, "or in this time period."
"Are you saying that you're from the future?" Cream asked while Cheese copied her inquiry with its babbling.
Green hummed affirmatively and shyly rubbed at one arm with her other hand. "Yeah, we are." Her attention shifted to Gadget. "It won't be too long before I–"
Remi didn't let her get to finish as it bounced on its paws and barked at the group. They all noticed a cyan mark on the projected map that hadn't been there before. Not only that, but the icon associated with the group's trusty biplane was in sync with that other signal. While the fight wasn't over yet, it was a cause for celebration for many of them: Miles was okay and he'd be back with the group soon enough.