"The Power Stone"
Authors: Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics (except where noted, in which case
they were created and copyrighted by us or by another and we have
permission to use them). The authors hereby give permission for
this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as
long as (1) no changes to the story are made without our express
written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to
profit from this story. If either or both rules are violated, it
will be considered a violation of copyright law.
Author's Note: I can't believe I did this.... While I was typing up this
story, I went back to look at previous stories to make sure I matched up
personal characteristics from then and now. Only then did I notice that in
none of the previous stories did I ever fully describe Darrin! That's right,
one of the Chosen Ones has fallen by the wayside as far as descriptions go.
The only facts we've given are his height(shortest of the bunch), his species
(a fox like his dad) and his clothes(guard's uniform). No fur color, no hair
color, not even eye color! I don't know how I could have made such a huge
mistake and left it unrealized for ten stories. Francis isn't to blame here.
When he reads things over before we release them, he already has in his head
how things and people should look because of the time we've spent discussing
them. I, on the other hand, should have known better. So I'm making it a
point to flesh out Darrin's characteristics in this story. I apologize to any
Darrin fans out there for this oversight. Feel free to flame me all you want.
Also, I want to apologize to all our fans out there about this
story being a month overdue. I am going through an intensely personal time
right now, one that is causing me stress beyond stress. To get an idea of how
I'm feeling, imagine trapping Alicia and Krella in a cave where they had to
live together and make sure they couldn't physically hurt/maim/kill each
other. Then tell them they have to be in there a year. Now you have an idea
of the kind of stress I go through in a day. Well, hopefully by the end of
the month, this stress of mine will move far, far away. That's the plans at
least. If it doesn't happen, I don't know when you'll see another story.
Till next time, Happy Reading!
Cast of Characters(in order of appearance)
Darrin D'Coolette***
Charleen Oster###
Charlotte Oster###
Charisma###
Krella###
Destín###
Hugo###
Maxwell Kavenoff###
Tanin###
Queen Sally Alicia Hedgehog
King Sonic Hedgehog
Desirée D'Coolette***
Sir Charles Hedgehog
Lyka***
Princess Alicia Rose Hedgehog***
Angela Shi-rat***
Prince Juice Hedgehog***
Rosie Shi-rat
Sarah Prower***
Miles "M3" Prower III***
Princess Sondra Acorn-Prower***
Lissette Lexford***
Metal Sonic
The Unholy One***
DJ Osaya###
Knuckles Echidna
Antoine D'Coolette
Bunnie D'Coolette
#40
Autumn had come to the Great Forest, igniting its trees with vibrant
color. Red, gold, and orange could be viewed as far as the eye could see with
not a hint of green anywhere to be seen. Just in and around Knothole, the
colors were especially bright. Sonic, Sally, and all the other Freedom
Fighters had pitched in after Robotnik's defeat and planted these trees in
memory of all that had happened in their fight. If one looked hard enough,
they might be able to see a rare glimpse of purple or even blue hidden among
the brightly colored leaves, a special gift from Tanis.
It was among these brightly colored trees that Darrin found himself
walking with his girlfriend one crisp afternoon. "I am so glad they finally
let me have a day off from training," he said, slipping his arm around her
jacket covered shoulders and hugging her closer to him as they walked.
"I am too," Charleen said, placing her arm around his waist. "It's just
so beautiful out here. I mean, I thought it was beautiful near around
Urbantropolis, but it has nothing on this."
"And they have nothing on your beauty," Darrin whispered by her ear,
making it twitch.
"Now cut that out," she said, blushing as she playfully slapped him in
his chest. "But enough about that, I want to hear more of your stories."
Darrin chuckled and continued to lead her around Knothole. Everything
he saw reminded him of some story he'd relate to her, and she would listen
raptly, only sparing enough attention to her walking so that she wouldn't
bump into anything. The look on her face reminded him of the wonder he felt
when he first heard these stories. He had to wonder if he'd see the same
looks on their own future children someday when he told them of his own
adventures.
Darrin stopped in mid-step and mid-thought. "Children?" he wondered
silently. "Where did that come from?" But he couldn't deny the way his
heart sped up when he pictured a young cat with her mother's mischievous
smile and honey hair and her father's tan fur and dark brown eyes. Or the
young fox with his mother's white fur and green eyes and his father's chestnut
hair and nervous stutter.
"Darrin?" Charleen asked, waving a paw in front of his face. "Are you
in there?"
Darrin shook his head as he snapped out of his daydream. "I'm all
right," he said with a nervous smile and blush. "Come on, there's something I
want to show you."
Charleen looked a little unsure but allowed Darrin to take her hand and
pull her along. She noticed they were leaving Knothole and walking toward a
small pool of water. "Isn't it too cold to go swimming?" she asked, arching
an eyebrow at him.
"This isn't for swimming in," Darrin explained. Before he could say
anything further, the surface of the pool began to ripple and glow with an
eerie yellow light. "Good timing," he muttered, looking down at Charleen as
she pressed in close to him. "Just watch," he whispered to her.
As they watched, a glowing yellow ring emerged from the pool and hovered
a couple inches above the surface. "What is that?" Charleen asked, her eyes
wide in awe.
"That is a power ring," Darrin said, picking up a nearby stick and
hooking the ring before it sank back into the pool. "Remember? The king and
the prince use these to enhance their speed. Well, the king at least. Juice
still doesn't have it perfected yet."
"So that's what it looks like," Charleen said, taking it off the stick
and looking at it closely at the glow faded. "When you said it was a ring, I
thought it could be worn or something."
"Well, there is something to that, but I'll leave that story for another
time. Would you like to hear the one about how the Power Stone got broken in
half?"
"Broken in half?" Charleen meowed, her face scrunched up in confusion.
"There used to be another Freedom Fighter group under Robotropolis led
by an animal named Griff. The Knothole crew saved his life from some ratbots
and brought him here. But as it turned out, their power supply was fading and
Griff decided to steal the Power Stone to power his place. To make a long
story short, Sonic got the Stone back but left half with Griff so that they
wouldn't be without power."
"That's amazing," she said, trying to hide the worry in her voice. "Not
that it matters any, but did you get the other half back when Robotnik was
defeated?"
"Not that I know of," Darrin said. "Last I heard, Griff still had it.
Sonic and Sally offered Griff and his group a place to stay in Mobotropolis,
but they decided they wanted to live on their own outside the city. After
all, they lived underneath it while Robotnik was in charge; they had no desire
to live in it now. I don't know where he is now though, but I do know that
they don't need it anymore. They just keep it as a memento of what they all
went through."
Charleen shrugged, pulling her orange jacket a little more closed over
her similarly colored dress against the wind. This information was troubling
and changed a lot. She needed to get back soon, but she had to do it in a way
that wouldn't tip Darrin off, especially because she'd been insisting that
they spend more time together.
When she finally came up with what she thought was a good excuse, she
found herself pushed into Darrin by a particularly strong gust of wind.
"Whoa!" she yelped, steadying herself against his arms.
Darrin pulled her into his embrace and shielded her from another gust
of wind that came from a different direction. "Unusual weather for this time
of year," he said, looking up at the stormclouds that were gathering. "I
don't remember ever getting thunderstorms this late in the season."
"Maybe we should get going," Charleen said, pulling reluctantly from
Darrin's embrace and walking around behind him. "The forest isn't the best
place to be when...EEK!"
Darrin whirled around at Charleen's squeal, only to find her desperately
trying to push the skirt of her dress down as another gust of wind grabbed it,
showing off a pair of black, lace, high cut panties. Darrin could feel the
blood rushing to his face as he stood there in shock over what he'd seen.
Charleen finally managed to get her dress down, her entire body blushing
pink. She stood there, wringing her hands together for a moment or two before
finding her voice. "Can we just get going please?" she asked, her voice
shaking slightly from embarassment. Darrin nodded, shaking himself from his
thoughts. He offered her his arm and walked her back to Mobotropolis.
The walk was silent except for the wind rustling the drying leaves.
Unlike other walks they'd had, the silence here was tense and uncomfortable.
Both of them wanted to break the quiet, but neither could figure out how.
Finally, they reached her door. "I'm really sorry...." Darrin began, but
Charleen waved him off.
"It wasn't your fault, unless you somehow learned to control the wind,"
she said with a small smile, taking his hands in hers. "I was just surprised,
that's all. It's not exactly how I imagined that might happen."
"I would guess not," Darrin said, until a new blush grew on his cheeks.
"Wait, do you mean to tell me you have thought about showing me...?"
Charleen blushed as brightly as she had when her dress had been blown up
by the wind. "Well...umm...I gotta go," she said quickly, pulling him in for
a kiss before whirling around and running into her house.
Darrin watched her go, his lips still slightly puckered as if they were
kissing. "I'm going to need a cold shower tonight," he thought as he turned
around to head back to the palace. "After I let everyone know what's going on
here, that is."
Charleen leaned against the door, holding her breath until she heard
Darrin walk away. "What is it about him that he can do this to me?" she
asked herself for not the first time.
"So, enjoy your date my dear?" an elderly female cat asked, coming out
of a back room.
"Whatever, 'Aunt Charlotte,'" Charleen answered, grabbing a black cloak
from a nearby peg and shrouding her body in it. "Are they waiting for me?"
Charlotte's eyes flashed black for a second before resuming their normal
bluish hue. "Of course, and you'd better hurry. From what I hear, Krella's
getting impatient."
"Like I honestly care?" Charleen remarked offhandedly. Nonetheless,
she walked quickly through the house until she came to a black door in the
back wall. She opened it and stepped through, knowing it would close behind
her as soon as she did. This door did not lead to the backyard like an
ordinary door might. No, it led to the dark castle of the Unholy One. And
just as she left behind Mobotropolis when she passed through that door, so did
she leave behind the aspect of Charleen.
"It's about time you got here," Krella said, drumming the fingers of her
left hand against her right forearm. "We've been waiting to go for a half-
hour now!"
"Don't get your panties in a knot," Charisma sneered. "You're lucky you
did wait, or Father would be very mad at you when you get back."
"What are you talking about?" Krella demanded, before a worried look
crossed her face. "Don't tell me they already know about the stone's true
nature!"
"No, but there's a bigger problem."
"What could be bigger than that?"
"The fact that it's split in two pieces."
"What?" Krella yelled, causing the nearby stones to shake.
"Turns out that back in the Freedom Fighter days, the king gave half the
stone to some other group that needed it to power their stuff. As far as
Darrin knows, he and his crew still have it."
"And how can we be sure he's not lying to you?"
"Darrin isn't like that!" Charisma said in a low voice, her claws bared
and her eyes glinting dangerously. "He's far too honorable to lie to me, and
that's even if he knew who I really was. Don't tell me how to do my job, all
right?"
Krella pinched the bridge of her nose as her tail lashed behind her
angrily. "Do you at least have a name to go with this group?"
"Darrin said they were led by Griff," Charisma said, forcing herself to
calm down."
"That name sounds familiar," Krella admitted. "All right, I need to go
and find out what I can about him."
"Does this mean I have time to take a nap?" Destín asked, stretching
her body in seemingly impossible directions.
"Yes yes, whatever," Krella said distractedly. "Just be ready to go at
a moment's notice."
"Hugo going to get food," the lumbering bulldog said, stomping off
toward the castle's kitchen.
"I'm going to--" Charisma began, but then she got a good look at
Maxwell's face. Instead of looking like he was ready to cause misery and
suffering, he looked like he was barely able to keep from trembling. "Are you
all right Maxy? You don't look so good."
The rat that was the current host for the Kavenoff jumped slightly at
Charisma's question. "You don't think she'll be there, do you?"
Krella clenched her fists for a moment before making herself relax.
"Maxwell, you cannot be afraid of her," she said slowly. "We'll make sure she
never gets the chance to do that to you again."
"I don't even want to give her that chance!" Maxwell exclaimed. "It is
my purpose on Mobius to cause misery to others, yet she has found the way to
make me miserable and end my game!"
Krella growled in frustration and anger, making Charisma jump away from
her. "Tanin, take him to Father, see if he can reassure him; obviously I
can't. I'm going to go see what I can dig up."
"Come along Maxwell," Tanin said, taking the scared rat by the arm.
"Father will know how to protect you from her."
As the Fallen Ones went about their activities, Darrin had already
arrived in the palace and was explaining the weird weather that had occurred
on his date to the king, queen, and other Chosen Ones. "I've never heard of
such storms at this time of year," he said in conclusion.
"Neither have I," Sally said, rubbing her chin. "In all the years we
lived at Knothole, we've never dealt with a storm like that at the Power Ring
Pool."
"Not that I can remember either," Sonic said. "I don't know about you,
but this doesn't seem natural to me. Maybe Uncle Chuck can figure out what
the problem is."
"Why do these things constantly happen to me on our dates?" Darrin
muttered as Sonic and Sally passed him.
Desirée elbowed her brother in the ribs as they fell into step behind
the king and queen. "It wasn't that bad really, now was it?" she whispered
to him. "I mean, it's not like the wind caused the dress to fly up or
anything, right?" At her brother's blush, she mock gasped in surprise. "I
take that back. It was really good then, huh?"
"I am not discussing this with you," Darrin hissed at her, his inherited
French accent strong in his anger. "It is none of your business!"
The siblings continued to banter until they reached the Science Lab. "I
had a feeling I might see all of you," Uncle Chuck said as he opened the door.
"So what's the word Unc?" Sonic asked as they all filed inside.
"My team has been tracking weather anomalies all day," Uncle Chuck said.
"Weird windstorms are popping up all over the place. And from the information
we've been able to gather, it's not a new thing."
"What do you mean?" Darrin asked. "I've never noticed these anomalies
before today."
"That's because they're only reaching into our area now," Uncle Chuck
explained. He pushed a button on a nearby console and a holographic map of
the planet appeared. "Here's where we are," he said, a purple dot appearing
on the map. "And now, here's all the other anomalies that have been detected.
As you can see," he added as a medium sized red circle appeared on the map,
"we're just at the fringe of these. But they're pushing further out from the
place they seem to be originating from."
"And where is that exactly?" Sally asked, tapping a finger against her
lips as she considered.
Uncle Chuck sighed and made a yellow dot appear on the map. "It's Maga.
At least, what little remains of Maga."
"What do you mean, 'what little remains?'" a soft, husky, feminine voice
asked from the still open doorway.
Everyone whirled toward the door at the question. A teenage female wolf
stood there, a little younger than the Chosen Ones at just sixteen years old
while they had already turned seventeen. Her fur was a bright grey-silver but
her hair was a deep purple with greyish-silver streaks. The style was a bit
unusual, the top part looking like a mohawk except for two long tendrils that
flowed from the front of her head back behind her ears to join with a long
braid that fell down her back to her equally deep purple tail, which was long
enough to lay partway on the floor. Her eyes were the same purple as her hair
and tail, and shone with equal parts sauciness and sagacity.
Her clothing was simple, an indigo jumpsuit that fastened around her
neck by way of a silver necklace. The only other jewelry she wore were silver
bracelets around her wrists and a silver armlet around her right arm. Simple
sandals adorned her feet and added a couple inches to her already tall frame.
"Well?" she asked, a smile playing about her lips, "isn't anyone going to
answer me?"
"Lyka!" Alicia said, walking quickly over to her and embracing her.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's good to see you too Alicia," Lyka said with a chuckle as she
embraced the princess in kind. "As for what I'm doing here, I asked one of
the guards where you were and he told me to come down here."
"You know that's not what I meant," Alicia said. "What brings you to
the palace? We haven't seen you in almost five years!"
"Well, you know how things are out there. Mom still insists on
reworking the lands by hand and without help."
"How is Lupé these days, and your father?" Sally asked. "We've invited
your family to the palace many times before, but you've always turned us
down."
"You know how Mom gets," Lyka said with a knowing smile. "She's
determined that she'll only return here when she has the Wolf Pack capable of
supporting itself. But now let me answer your question Alicia.
"Lately, the Wolf Pack has been sensing something wrong with the planet,
almost like it were in pain or angry about something. As you know, the Wolf
Pack has a special connection to nature, and mine is particularly keen. What
it feels, I feel. And I can promise you it doesn't feel very good right now.
"At first, we ignored it as a natural cycle the planet goes through.
But the feelings have only been intensifying as of late, so much so that even
the very air around us shakes with anger. I think it might have something to
do with the anomalies you were talking about. So tell me, what did you mean
before when you were talking about Maga?"
Uncle Chuck cleared his throat before answering Lyka's question. "Well,
to put it simply, Maga doesn't exist anymore."
"I know it's a bunch of ruins--"
"No," Uncle Chuck said, cutting the lupine off, "I mean it doesn't exist
anymore. The ruins and even part of the mountain it rested on and others near
it were destroyed."
"How is that possible?" Lyka asked, confused.
"Umm, that would be my fault," Angela said, raising her hand meekly.
"Your fault? How could a Holy One, who's still in training, destroy an
entire ruined city?"
"We were in a fight with the Fallen Ones, and they were about to kill
Desirée and Darrin, so something inside me just snapped and I...." The rest
of what Angela said was spoken too low for Lyka to pick up on.
Lyka sighed and pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead. "This is
all getting very confusing. But at least one thing makes sense now. The
windstorms, the weird weather...it's all happening because you freed the
Breath of Mobius."
"Freed it?" Juice asked, the confusion in his voice mirrored on the
faces of the others gathered in the room. "Angela's spell destroyed it!"
"I'm not talking about the wind tunnel Juice, I'm talking about the wind
itself!"
"I'm not sure I follow," Sally said.
Lyka closed her eyes a minute to compose herself. "The wind tunnel you
know as the Breath of Mobius was named that because it contained the true
Breath of Mobius. The ancient Magans knew the havoc this wind could create
so they devised the wind tunnel to trap it. They also knew that if they tried
to contain its power completely, it would eventually get so powerful as to
break free, which is why they rigged an escape valve to let gusts escape from
the holding chamber when the pressure became too much."
"I've never heard anything about this," Sally said.
"It's old knowledge Your Highness, one that was passed only by word of
mouth. The Magans feared that if others knew what they could do with their
techonology that they would be attacked for it. And that's exactly what
happened when their city was destroyed so many years ago."
"It's my fault then," Angela whispered. "I'm the reason the weather's
been so crazy."
"Angela," Juice began, trying to console her, but he was forced away as
she teleported from the palace in a swirl of white wind. "Angela!" he
yelled, revving up his legs and speeding from the room leaving only a sonic
boom behind.
"Juice!" Sally yelled, starting to go after her son until her husband
stopped her by placing his hand on her arm.
"Let him go Sal," Sonic said.
Sally looked at Sonic a moment, an unreadable expression in her eyes.
After a long moment, she sighed and wrapped Sonic's arms around her shoulders.
"What should we do now?"
"Well," Lyka said, "if it's not too much trouble, you could explain to
me exactly what's been going on here."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Desirée said. "But let's move this
somewhere more comfortable. Believe me, it's gonna take a while."
"Should I get a sandwich or something?" Lyka asked with a smile. That
smile quickly faded, however, when everyone around started nodding their
agreement.
While Lyka was slowly brought up to date on everything that had happened
since the appearance of the Fallen Ones, Juice sped into the Great Forest,
heading straight for Sanctuary. That was the most likely place Angela had run
to. And if she wasn't there, well, he would cross that bridge when he came to
it.
When he neared sanctuary, he noticed a grey robed figure waiting on the
steps outside. He thought it was Angela at first, but saw that it was in fact
her mother as he got closer. "Is Angela inside?" he asked, skidding to a
stop at the base of the stairs.
"Hello to you too Juice," Rosie said, a small smile quirking her lips.
Juice heaved a large sigh as he tried to control his irritation. "I'm
sorry for skipping the pleasantries," he said once he had control. "I'm just
really worried about Angela. The way she took off like that...."
"She is here, but she is meditating," Rosie said. "Or at least, she is
trying to."
"Maybe I should leave her alone then," Juice said uncertainly. "I know
she doesn't like to be disturbed."
"Go to her Juice," Rosie said quietly. "She needs you more now than she
needs to be alone."
Juice looked at Rosie in surprise. "But I thought--"
"Go to her," Rosie repeated, more firmly this time. Juice stared at her
a moment longer before giving her a quick hug and hurrying inside to his
beloved. Rosie watched from the doors as Juice approached her daughter. She
was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it was obvious from the
way Angela just suddenly leaned against him and gripped onto the front of his
jacket that she needed him there.
Rosie closed the doors quietly and leaned back against them. "It seems
I made the right choice this time," she thought as she gazed out over the
Great Forest. "But what should I do now? It's not my place, but...."
Rosie sighed and closed her eyes. She knew what it was like to be
denied love because of duty, and she was always the most sympathetic of the
involved parents. But now there was something she could do about it. The
scrolls of Iridal and Tanak' could easily solve the whole issue if Angela were
to be allowed to read them. But Tanis was insistent that nothing be done with
them until he had received guidance from the Almighty. The only problem with
that was that Tanis had received absolutely no word on the matter one way or
the other. "You just love making my life more complicated, don't you?" she
muttered, rolling her eyes heavenward. When a slight rumble shook the step
she stood on, she sighed again. "I'm a mother, it's my prerogative to
complain," she said, walking slowly down the steps into the forest. "Maybe I
could just leave them somewhere for her to find...."
Oblivious to either of these events, a young hedgehog was sitting at her
desk in her bedroom at the palace, wholly consumed with the work before her.
A crystal statue of a dragon, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, was
being finished with some final touches. Or it would be, if Sarah could stop
her hands shaking.
Sarah growled in frustration, her twin tails lashing angrily behind her
as her finger carved too deep a groove in the wing of her statue. She wiped
her finger across the groove irritably, filling it back in as she tried again
to carve it correctly. But once again, her hand slipped and nearly severed
the wing from the body. With a muffled cry, she tossed it aside, watching as
it shattered against the wall.
Sarah folded her arms on the desk and let her head fall on them.
Tensions had been high all over the palace since this whole thing with the
Fallen Ones had begun. Not that she knew exactly what was going on though;
her parents were convinced she and her brother were too young to handle it and
were doing everything in their power to shield them from it. Never mind the
fact that each one had been full fledged Freedom Fighters at the time.
On the surface, Tails and Sondra were just trying to protect them,
trying to give them a normal and safe childhood like they themselves had often
wished for. But Sarah knew better. She knew that they didn't think her able
to deal with the truth of what was happening, knew that they still thought of
her as some child that needed coddling and pampering. But Sarah was confident
that she was every bit as capable as her parents had been at her age.
Sarah wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Ow!" she yelped, wincing as
she felt something scraping across her skin. When she pulled her hand away,
she saw streaks of blood covering her palm. "What the...?" She ran over to
her mirror and looked at her reflection. Thin lines of blood crossed her
forehead from left to right. "How did that...?"
She looked back down at her hand, this time noticing small, but very
sharp crystals lining her palm. She looked more closely at her forehead and
saw the same crystals within the cuts, each one shaped like a sweatdrop. "Did
I crystallize my own sweat?" she wondered.
The other effect of the tensions she was feeling were that her powers
were going a little out of control. It was getting harder and harder to keep
her family from finding out she had them. And yet, the voice in her head was
ever more insistent that she keep it hidden. In fact, it was starting to
insinuate that her family would care for her less if they did find out.
"Sarah!" her brother called from behind her, making her turn around.
M3 had a smile on his face, but it quickly was replaced by a look of fear.
"What happened?" he cried out.
"Umm, it's nothing," Sarah said quickly. "One of the tools just...
slipped out of my hand, that's all."
"You really should have Mom take a look at it," M3 said. "It looks like
it really hurts."
"It's nothing," Sarah repeated. "Really, it's just a few scratches."
"Mom!" M3 yelled, ignoring his sister's protests.
"What's going on in here?" Sondra asked, rushing in. As soon as her
eyes fell on her daughter, she gasped in surprise. "What happened?" she
asked, her face full of worry as she hurried over to her daughter.
"It's nothing Mom," Sarah said, using her hand to wipe away some of the
blood. "I just...forgot I was holding a scraper when I went to wipe away
some sweat."
Sondra immediately breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her daughter
with a mixture of relief and humor. "You should know better than that," she
said, helping her daughter up to her feet and walking her to the bathroom.
"Come on, let me take a look at that."
"Mom," Sarah whined, crossing her arms and pouting, "it's just a scratch
OK? Nothing to get worried about."
"Humor your mother," Sondra said, pulling a first aid kit out of the
medicine chest and setting it on the sink.
"But I don't like that stuff," Sarah said, eyeing the peroxide swabs her
mother took out of the kit. "It smells funny."
"And I don't suppose the fact that it stings has anything to do with
your dislike of it?"
"Nothing at all," Sarah agreed, but couldn't keep in a yelp as Sondra
started to swab the scratches.
"Nothing, huh?" Sondra asked, a smile playing on her lips.
"Well, maybe a little," Sarah admitted, a tear squeezing out between her
clenched eyelids.
"There's my brave girl," Sondra said, tossing the swabs away and
covering the scratches with an adhesive gauze pad. "Take it easy next time,
all right? You're supposed to be carving the crystals, not yourself."
"All right," Sarah said, sounding subdued.
Sondra hugged her daughter close and pressed a soft kiss to Sarah's
forehead. "Wash your hands before you get back to work," she said while still
holding her. "I'll check it again before you go to sleep."
Sarah nodded and turned to the sink as her mother stepped out of the
bathroom. She carefully washed the blood and shards from her hand while
looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. "What's happening to me?" she
wondered, her hands starting to shake under the water.
<<>>
Sarah's head jerked up when she heard the voice of her friend. "Where
have you been?" she asked, almost forgetting to ask only in her thoughts. "I
really missed talking to you."
<<>> the
voice said. <<>>
"What do you mean?" she wondered. "No one's hurt me."
<<>>
"But Mom said it had to be done," Sarah insisted.
<<>>
"Mom would never do that!"
<<>>
Sarah grabbed onto the edge of the sink, closing her eyes against the
crystal tears that threatened to spill forth. "Stop it!" she yelled in her
mind.
<<>> the voice said. <<>>
Sarah sniffled a little bit, opening her eyes and staring at the eyes of
her reflection. "Mommy would never do that," she whispered. "Never."
While Sarah was pulling herself together, Juice and Angela were just
rejoining the others, who had retired to Alicia's bedroom to relate their
tales. "You guys have been through a lot," Lyka said, whistling softly under
her breath. "No wonder Mobius is in so much pain."
"It can't really be helped," Alicia said. "I mean, the Fallen Ones
don't care what they destroy as long as they recharge the Emeralds. If we
stop to take all that into account, they would get away every time."
"What good will it be to stop them if there's no planet left?"
"What good will the planet be if they revive Chaos?" Desirée countered.
"There is that," Lyka admitted. "There has to be a balance to strike
here. If you can't find it, then all you're fighting for is useless." The
Chosen Ones all fell silent at that, thinking about Lyka's words.
"Hey guys!" Lissette said as she ran in. "Sir Charles needs your
help."
"What is he needing us for?" Darrin asked.
"Well, he's just finished working on some equipment that might be able
to help us track where the anomalies are going to show up. He just needs you
to set it up for him at the Power Ring Pool since that's the last place we
know they appeared."
"Why us?" Juice asked. "This sounds more like something for his
scientists to do."
"My thoughts exactly," Metal Sonic said, stepping around Lissette. "I
told you Lissette, we should just do it ourselves."
"Look you tin can," Juice said angrily, "just because you can't get a
rise out of my dad anymore doesn't mean you can try to get one out of me."
"Looks like I just did," the robot pointed out snidely.
"I don't mind Juice," Angela said, cutting off the argument before it
got any worse. "After all, if it's my fault the winds were released, the
least I can do is help out however I can."
"And if you're going, I'm going," Juice said firmly, taking Angela's
hands in his.
"Correction Bro," Alicia said, walking over and putting her hands on
Juice's and Angela's shoulders, "we're going. We're a team, remember?"
"Besides," Desirée added as she walked over with Darrin, "you did
destroy Maga to save us. I guess that puts us a little to blame."
"Thanks everyone," Angela said as she became the center of a group hug.
"I guess I just needed to hear that. Just don't forget I still need to
breathe here!"
"Well, while you're all dealing with that," Lyka said through her
chuckles, "I will see what I can do about fashioning a vessel to entrap the
Breath in once more. I don't have nearly the knowledge of the ancient Magans,
but perhaps I could get something together long enough for a more permanent
solution to be found."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Alicia said after they had released
Angela, who was trying to catch her breath. "If we find anything out, you'll
be the first to know."
"Maybe I can convince DJ to bring you to the Library," Desirée mused.
"If the knowledge is anywhere, it'll be there. And that way at least DJ can
continue doing research for the artifacts."
"You're not talking about the Great Library, are you?" Lyka asked, her
purple eyes shining. "I've always wanted to see the inside of that place.
I'd be so thankful to DJ if he could take me there."
Desirée's green eyes narrowed sharply. "You'd better not be too
'thankful' to him Lyka-gal," she said harshly.
"Why Desirée, are you jealous?"
"Do I have reason to be?"
"Do you have a claim on him or something?"
"You mean other then the fact he's my boyfriend?"
"Well it's about time!" Lyka exclaimed with a loud laugh. "I could see
how much you loved him the last time you came to visit. You finally got up
the nerve to admit it, huh?" Desirée flushed red at Lyka's words, but didn't
deny it. "So, I guess I'll have to come back soon to bring that root, won't
I?" Lyka continued.
Desirée flushed an even brighter red. "Let's not talk about that right
now," she said, squirming a little. "And whatever you do, don't mention that
to DJ, all right?"
Both Alicia and Angela looked at Desirée with surprise and delight,
which only served to heighten the doe's embarassment. "You know we are having
a serious girl talk when all this is over, right?" Alicia asked.
Desirée fanned her face with her hand to try and cool her blush. "Let's
just take care of this, all right?" she said, edging out of the room quickly.
Darrin looked at Juice as Angela and Alicia took off after his sister.
"Do you have any idea what they are talking about?"
Juice put his arms around Darrin with a chuckle. "Darrin, I never have
any idea what they're talking about."
While the Chosen Ones were preparing for their trip to Knothole, Krella
came running out of the library. "All right everyone!" she called, her voice
carrying clearly through the halls of the dark castle. "Gather up! I've got
our new plans laid out!"
"Do you have to be so loud?" Destín whined. "I was taking a nap."
"You're always taking a nap," Krella snapped as the others showed up,
except for Maxwell who was still being seen to by Father. "Here's the new
plan. Destín, you and Charisma will take the half that this Griff character
has."
"Do you even know where he is?" Charisma asked, sounding bored.
"He and his groups have made a village at the northern edge of the
Great Meadow," Krella said, ignoring Charisma's attitude. "It's mostly one
story brick buildings and the like, hardly any security. The rest of us will
travel to Knothole as planned. I've had to make some adjustments to the
original plan, but I do have everything accounted for. With a little luck,
this should all go off without a hitch."
"I don't particularly like the sound of that," Tanin remarked, fixing
Krella with a calm stare.
"Neither do I." a dark voice said as the massive doors opened.
"Father!" Krella yelped, immediately dropping to one knee and bowing
her head, as she was sure the others did.
"Come Krella," the Unholy One said, turning around after Maxwell had
passed him. "I wish to speak to you about this 'luck' you are looking for."
"O-of course Father," Krella said as calmly as she could manage,
lurching to her feet and following him inside as the doors shut once more.
"I wouldn't want to be in her fur right now," Charisma remarked. "Say
Maxy," she said, turning her attention to the rat before her, "everything OK
now?"
"More than OK," the Kavenoff cackled gleefully. "It feels like the game
has begun anew!"
Inside the Unholy One's throne room, the mood was not nearly as joyful.
"Now then my child," he began, seating himself slowly, "would you care to
explain why you are leaving such an important mission to luck? This is very
unlike you."
Krella tried to keep from trembling, but she couldn't help it. "It's
the princess, Father!" she blurted out. Though shocked by her outburst, the
Unholy One motioned for her to continue. "I can't figure out how to deal with
her flying abilities. If Charisma were coming, she could paralyze her like
she did in the Chalice chamber. But because we have to split up to grab both
halves of the Power Stone together, the only way I know I can keep her
grounded is for one of those freak weather storms to pop up. Not even she can
fly in such weather."
"And you're sure that's the only way?" the Unholy One asked, his voice
smoothly cutting off Krella's ramble.
"I wish I could say otherwise," Krella said, her head bowed.
"If that is all, then there should not be a problem."
Krella's head snapped up and she stared at the black-robed figure in
front of her. "Father?"
"Go and carry your plan out as you intend to. Leave the rest to me."
"But Father, are you sure you can--?"
"Do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot do," the Unholy One
snarled, the anger in his voice making Krella tremble again. "Now go, and do
not fail me."
"Of course Father," Krella said, backing hurriedly out of the room.
Unaware of anything that had transpired, the Chosen Ones were busy
setting up the equipment Uncle Chuck had given them. "'Insert the green wire
into the blue port,'" Angela read from the instructions she'd been given.
She looked at the machine in front of her and sighed. "What green wire?"
"Umm, I think he means that one," Juice said, pointing to the green wire
that was dangling behind the apparatus.
Angela looked where Juice was pointing and threw her hands up in
frustration. "I'm just no good with this stuff!" she exclaimed. "Why did I
ever think I could handle this?"
"Easy, easy," Juice said, taking her into his arms. "It's not about
this, is it?"
Angela sighed and looked down. "Sometimes I hate that you can read me
so well," she muttered, laying her head against his chest.
"Do you really?" Juice asked with a slight chuckle. "Come on, it'll be
all right. We'll fix this, I promise you that." Though he couldn't see it,
he still knew Angela was smiling slightly, so he just tightened his arms
around her until she felt better.
Desirée watched them for a moment, feeling a slight pang of jealousy run
through her. "Why did I volunteer DJ to take Lyka to the Library?" she
mumbled as she set some of the heavier equipment in place. "He could've been
here with me if I'd kept my mouth shut."
"Getting any answers?" Alicia asked with a too-bright smile, making
Desirée jump with a yelp. "I sure hope not," Alicia continued while Desirée
tried to slow her heart down. "After all, it's bad enough when you talk to
yourself. But getting answers too?"
"Very funny Alicia-girl," Desirée said dryly. "You're sure in a good
mood today. Want to let me in on the secret?"
"I have my reasons," Alicia said mysteriously. "But that'll wait until
later. The sooner you stop grumbling, the faster we get this done. The
faster we get this done, the sooner you can go cuddle with your boyfriend."
"What are you just standing around for then? Let's get moving!" Alicia
laughed at her friend's change in spirits, but that was cut short when Desirée
loaded some loops of cable in her arms. "Here," she said, steadying the vixen
with one arm, "you can get all the machines connected."
"Me and my big mouth," Alicia muttered, taking to the air to better
carry the load.
About that time, a cloaked figure emerged from the Great Forest onto the
Great Meadow. "Who goes there?" a bear patrolling the meadow asked, lowering
his spear in the figure's general direction.
"Please help me," the figure, obviously a female, whispered before
collapsing to the grass.
"Are you all right?" the sentry asked, dropping his spear and rushing
to her side.
"So tired," the figure mumbled into her hood. "Weak...thirsty...."
"Come on," he said, picking her up in his arms, "I'll get you looked
at." As he started to walk however, he failed to notice the girl's long tail
fall free of her cloak and fall directly into the path of his foot.
As soon as he stepped on her tail, the girl let out an ear-splitting
shriek and leapt out of his arms, landing in a crouch three feet away. "My
tail!" she cried, cradling the appendage to her chest.
"I'm sorry," the bear said quickly. "I didn't mean to--"
"No one touches my tail!" Charisma screeched, tossing her cloak aside
and launching herself at the sentry, claws first. The unfortunate bear was
so surprised by the supposedly weakened girl attacking him that he had no
time to defend himself and the last thing he saw was a black nail swiping
across his face.
"What's going on over there?" another sentry, this one a rhino, asked,
running over with his spear trained on Charisma. Though this one was
prepared for a fight, the sight of two green eyes glittering angrily at him
from within what appeared to be a death's head was enough to throw him off a
step or two. And that was all Charisma needed to have him join his friend.
By the time all was said and done, five sentries littered the grass around
her, each one sleeping the sleep of the dead.
Charisma stood in the center of it all, breathing heavily as her rage
ebbed with her pain. She closed her eyes as she took two final breaths to
calm herself. "Be glad it was an accident," she snarled at the bodies of her
fallen foes. "If it wasn't, you'd be doing a lot worse than just sleeping."
When she felt a hand touch her arm, Charisma whirled around, claws
flashing. "Watch it!" Destín said irritably, almost bending in half backward
to avoid Charisma's attack. "I got the stone, now let's get back." Charisma
tossed her hair and sighed but said nothing as they melted back into the
shadows of the Great Forest.
It would be some time before someone happened upon the slumbering bodies
of the sentries, and even more time before they realized that though they
slept, they could not be awakened. Rumors quickly spread about an unknown
attacker carrying a disease that would wipe out the entire village. Panic
spread like wildfire until the village council was able to calm everyone down.
But there was one thing overlooked in the whole situation. No one noticed
that their half of the Power Stone was missing. And therefore, no one let the
palace know either.
Beside the Power Ring Pool, Juice lay on the grass, looking up as the
setting sun brought out the multicolored brilliance of the trees even more.
"This is boring," he complained, glancing at the equipment they'd actually
managed to get set up and working a half hour ago. "Just how long are we
going to have to stay out here?"
"Have some patience Juice," Alicia said from where she sat by the edge
of the Pool, dipping her toes in the water. "You knew that this was going to
involve a lot of waiting, so I don't even want to hear that you're bored."
"Besides," Angela said with a slightly impish grin as she laid her head
against his side, "you never mind when we're out here doing this. Wow, it's
been a while since we've been able to do this, hasn't it?"
"We haven't had a chance to, with everything going on," Juice said,
letting his hand rest on Angela's stomach and ignoring the pointed look Darrin
shot his way. "I promise, we'll make time for this soon, when we find another
lull."
"Sounds good," Angela said, lacing her fingers with his.
"That still doesn't take away from the fact that this is boring," Juice
said with a sigh. "I wish something would happen already."
Alicia was about to tell him to be careful what you wish for when the
appearance of four dark whirlwinds did it for her. "You really need to keep
your mouth shut Bro," she muttered, scrambling to her feet and moving to join
the others.
No sooner had the wind died than Krella threw a rock at Darrin. He
moved to dodge it easily, but Tanin shot a bolt of dark lightning at the
stone, making it glow with an eerie black light. Darrin's surprise at this
was enough that he couldn't dodge it again when the stone made a sharp turn in
mid-air and struck his upper right arm.
Pain. That was the only thing Darrin knew from the moment the stone
touched his jacket. The pain was so intense that it immediately dropped him
to his knees. He clawed at the rock desperately, but it had somehow attached
itself to his arm. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't even budge it. The
pain soon overwhelmed him, and his entire body just seized up, unable to move.
"Darrin!" Desirée yelled, running to help her brother. But before she
ran even three steps, both Maxwell and Hugo got in her way. "Get out of my
way!"
"I think not," Maxwell said, drawing his flaming runesword. "To save
your brother from his misery, you must first deal with ours!"
"Hey Kavenoff!" Alicia yelled, getting the rat's attention. "How's
the neck?"
Maxwell leered at Alicia, casually swiping his sword in a long arc to
cut off Desirée from getting around him. "See for yourself!" To everyone's
horror, Maxwell used the sword to cut off his own arm. But that horror was
only exceeded by the shock of seeing the arm regrow from the bloody stump.
"Father showed me how to heal myself!" he cackled. "Now you hold no power
over me!"
"Just great," Alicia muttered, taking to the air as Desirée began to
fight the two Fallen Ones keeping her from her brother. She noticed Tanin and
Angela involved in a magical fight, streaks of light and dark energy flying
furiously between them. But she was only able to look at them for a quick
moment before a loud beeping caught her attention. One of the machines she
had set up earlier was beeping like crazy, and that could only mean one thing.
"This is going to hurt," she realized.
Juice had been running toward Tanin, thinking about blindsiding him with
a Spear so that Angela could find a way to bind him when Alicia suddenly flew
backward in front of his face. As if in response to her thoughts, a sudden
gust of wind, the true Breath of Mobius, had plucked her out of mid-air and
blasted her into a nearby tree. Juice changed course immediately to see to
his sister, but was thrown heavily to the ground as something struck him in
the back. He tried to get up, but whatever it was was sticking him to the
ground. "Megamuck!" he said, recognizing the green goo as soon as he saw it.
He tried to free himself, but the more he struggled the more he was ensnared.
"Of all the times to leave my backpack behind!" he thought, knowing that he
would've been able to escape with a power ring.
"I'm going after the Stone!" Krella called to Tanin, who spared her a
quick nod to show that he heard her. She threw the megamuck launcher to the
ground and dove into the Pool.
"The Stone?" Alicia wondered, shaking her head to clear it. "It must
be the lightning artifact!" She pushed herself up to her feet, realizing that
she was the only one who could stop Krella. She hobbled over to the edge of
the pool and crouched down, waiting. Her patience was rewarded when Krella
came up clutching the Stone. "Oh no you don't!" Alicia yelled, jumping on
Krella and dragging her back underwater.
Once underwater with Krella, Alicia quickly found that she'd made a
serious error. On dry ground, Alicia had a clear advantage over Krella in a
fight. Underwater, however, that advantage was reversed; Alicia simply could
not match Krella's agility and striking power. Alicia found herself having to
withdraw quickly or risk getting drowned.
Alicia broke the surface of the pool, gasping for air. Krella emerged a
few seconds later on the other side of the pool, still holding the Stone.
"Get us out of here Tanin!" she yelled. Tanin threw an explosion spell at
Angela's feet when he heard Krella's cry, knocking the mouse back and off her
feet. While she was stunned, he quickly started to call forth the black
whirlwind to teleport him and his compatriots away.
Desirée tried to break off from her fight to grab the Stone from Krella
before they could escape, but Hugo grabbed her neck and chokeslammed so hard
she was half buried in the ground. Fortunately for her, the ground was so
soft that she was more stuck than hurt. Alicia tried to take to the sky
again, but the winds started up as soon as she even thought about it. "I have
no choice," she thought, wincing internally.
Krella couldn't keep the victorious smirk from her lips as the whirlwind
surrounded her. Finally, she had beaten the Chosen Ones, even outnumbered as
they were. And more specifically, she had just showed up the princess.
Father would surely be pleased at this. No sooner had that thought crossed
her mind that a grey streak barrelled into her, tossing her out of the
whirlwind and to the ground. "Oomph!" Krella cried, the impact jarring the
Stone from her hand.
"I'll take this," Alicia said, picking up the Stone as she zoomed by
without even breaking stride.
"Tanin stop!" Krella cried just before Tanin completed his spell. "She
has the stone!"
"That's not all I have," Alicia said, using her speed to rip the black
stone from Darrin's arm, shove Maxwell into Hugo, set both Desirée and Angela
back on their feet, and pull Juice free from the megamuck that trapped him.
"How in the Abyss did she get that kind of speed?" Krella screeched
through clenched teeth.
"A question I'd like answered myself," Juice said, crossing his arms and
tapping his foot as he glared at his sister.
"Time and place Juice," Alicia muttered under her breath, blushing as
she found herself under the scrutiny of eight pairs of eyes. "Angela, can you
get us out of here?"
"Oh no you don't!" Krella yelled just as Alicia had done before. She
grabbed her megamuck launcher and started firing at the Chosen Ones randomly.
Juice dove on Angela, pulling her out of the way of a well-aimed shot.
"Are you all right?" he whispered, worried.
"I'm fine," she said, pushing herself up on her elbows. "Listen, do you
think you can keep their attention off me for thirty seconds?"
"You're not thinking about--?" Juice began before his surprise cut off
his voice. "You'll destroy the whole Forest!"
"Trust me Juice, please," Angela said, looking deep into her love's eyes.
Juice sighed and shook his head. "I hope you know what you're doing,"
he said, shaking his head. He brushed a quick kiss against your lips and then
stood up. "Hey Sis!" he called, waving his arms to get everyone's attention,
"why don't we see just how fast you are."
"You lead the way Bro!" Alicia said, revving up her legs.
Angela quietly slipped next to the pool, moving slowly so that she
didn't attract any attention. Not that she had to worry about it though; Hugo
and Maxwell had their hands full with a very upset pair of D'Coolettes.
Alicia and Juice were running circles around Krella and Tanin respectively,
only stopping when they were between the two to try and make them strike each
other.
Angela closed her eyes and brought her hands up to her chest as if she
was holding a ball between them. "Brightness beyond daylight, azure beyond
the clearest sky," she chanted softly as a glowing ball of bluish energy
appeared between her hands. "Protected in the flow of time."
Tanin stiffened as he felt the upsurge in holy energy course through his
body. It felt like the Holy Vengeance spell, but it was different somehow.
Weaker, more controlled. His eyes snapped over to where Angela stood and he
paled as he saw what was going on. "She wouldn't," he thought worriedly.
"She couldn't!"
"In Thy great name I pledge myself to the Light!" Angela yelled,
causing everyone to look at her. "Those who oppose us shall be vanquished by
the powers you and I possess!"
"Damn!" Tanin muttered, taking advantage of everyone's distraction to
resume his earlier spell and try to teleport them out of harm's way.
Angela's grey eyes shone a brilliant blue as she extended her arms in
front of her. "Holy Wrath!" she cried, sending a beam of blue energy right
to where Tanin stood. Barely a second before it hit, he was able to complete
the spell and teleport away with the others. But even then, the Chosen Ones
could hear him cry out in pain as Angela's spell cut through his, striking a
glancing blow before he disappeared completely.
The other Chosen Ones dove into the Power Ring Pool, trying to protect
themselves from the explosion they were sure would be coming. But only
silence followed in the wake of the spell, and the Chosen Ones carefully poked
their heads above the surface of the water. "What happened?" Desirée asked,
looking at the untouched forest. "Did it misfire or something?"
"No, nothing like that," Angela said with a tired smile. "I used the
Holy Wrath this time, a spell I created as a weaker and less destructive form
of the Holy Vengeance. I've been working on it in my trainings with James.
When he isn't arguing with Lissette at least. If done right, it will only
harm evil creatures and nothing else."
"Handy spell," Darrin said, dropping down to his knees. "But what did
they do to me? I've never felt pain like that before."
"We'll figure that out once we get to the palace," Alicia said as the
wind whipped up once again. "I don't want to wait here in case they come
back."
"See you guys there," Juice said, revving up his legs up only to be caught
up in the wake of Alicia's sonic boom. "Hey!"
"Come on slowpoke!" Alicia said with a laugh as she sped away.
"I am going to find out how she did that," Juice swore as he picked
Angela up in his arms. Turning his attention to Darrin and Desirée, he waited
until Desirée helped her brother to his feet. "Can you two make it back OK?"
"We'll be fine sugarhog," Desirée said quietly as the adrenaline from
the fight drained from her blood. "I am sounding too much like Mom lately."
"At least you are not sounding like Dad," Darrin said, managing a tired
smile. His comment drew a short laugh from his sister before they began their
trek back home.
At the dark castle though, no one felt like laughing. "I had everything
planned for!" Krella ranted as she paced the room they had appeared in.
"That damned princess! How does she always do this? Every plan I have gets
ruined by her!"
"Calm down Krella!" Tanin said as he was casting a healing spell on his
burned arm. "Ranting serves no purpose here."
"Well it's making me feel better!" she snapped before turning around
and pacing the other way.
"And just why do you need to rant?" the Unholy One asked as he swept
into the room.
"Father!" Krella cried, dropping to one knee in her surprise.
"Why have you returned empty handed?" the Unholy One demanded. "I
thought you said you had everything accounted for."
"I did Father," Krella protested. "At least, everything that I knew
of."
"Explain yourself."
"Everything was going along to plan. I had them all beat. Or rather,
I did...until that damnable princess snatched the Stone right from my hand!"
"And how could she possibly do that if you had everything accounted
for?"
"No one told me she has her family's speed now!"
"She has what?" the Unholy One yelled, making even Maxwell cringe in
terror.
"I don't know how it's even possible," Krella said when she could find
her voice. "But I saw it with my own two eyes. The princess is now just as
fast as her brother."
"Who are you talking about?" Charisma asked as she breezed into the
room. "By the way, we managed to--"
Charisma's voice was choked off as the Unholy One grabbed her around the
throat and lifted off the ground. "You're supposed to be my spy in the
palace," he snarled, his eyes glowing a deep red from within his hood. "How
could you not have known about the princess' speed?"
"Father!" Charisma croaked out, trying to pry his hand from her throat
as frightened tears fell from her eyes. "Please! No!"
"It is your fault they failed!"
"I'm outta here," Destín said, tossing the half of the Stone they had
retrieved over to Tanin and slinking away as quickly as she could.
Krella pounded her fist into the stone floor of the room in frustration.
"Wait Father," she said, rising to her feet. "There was no way Charisma could
have found out."
The Unholy One fixed Krella with his burning gaze, relaxing his grip on
Charisma's neck just enough to let her breathe more easily. "What do you
mean?"
"The other Chosen Ones were as surprised as we were about this," Krella
said, sounding like she was forcing the words out. "If her own brother didn't
know, it would've been impossible for Charisma to find out." Krella could
feel Father's displeasure as he continued to stare at her, but yet he still
released Charisma who fell to the floor gasping for breath.
"Leave now!" he thundered, causing the doors to fly open with a bang.
"Do what you can with the half that you have, and I expect to hear good news."
The Fallen Ones ran from the chamber, Charisma being supported by Krella
on the way out. "Why did you save me?" she rasped out past the pain in her
throat.
"If you're going to get killed, then let it be for something you deserve
at least," Krella spat, propping Charisma against a wall. "Just know one
thing here; you owe me, and you owe me big." With that, Krella walked away,
leaving a trembling and gasping Charisma just watching her go.
At the palace in Mobotropolis, Sonic held his Power Stone in his hands.
"Who would've thought that this was a lightning artifact?" he mused, turning
the Stone over in his hands.
"It's just lucky we were there," Alicia said with a smile. "Otherwise
we wouldn't have power rings anymore."
"That would have been a big problem," Sally agreed. "Especially since
your brother just got over his fear of them."
"You don't know how much I'd miss the speed they bring me," Sonic said.
"Speaking of speed," Juice said, shifting his gaze to a suddenly nervous
Alicia. "Do you want to explain just how it is that you have my speed now?"
"You what?" Sonic asked, almost dropping the Stone in his surprise.
"It's nothing, really," Alicia said, her hands up in front of her as if
to ward off the questions.
"Nothing?" Juice asked with a smirk, enjoying his sister's discomfort.
"You're nearly as fast as I am now and you call that nothing?"
"Nearly? Juice, I can outrun you any day!"
"Care to put it to the test?"
"Just name the time and place Bro."
"Before you start racing all over the palace," Sally said, getting in
between the quarreling siblings, "I want an answer. How did you get your
speed?"
Any answer Alicia was about to make was cut off by DJ's and Lyka's
arrivals. "DJ's all excited about something," Lyka said, panting slightly.
"He was very insistent that we get back here at once. At least I was able
to finish my research first."
DJ nodded eagerly as he ran right up to Desirée and showed her the book
in his hands, pointing excitedly at the page it was open to. Desirée glanced
at the page and smiled softly. "We already know about it DJ," she said,
cupping his cheek with her hand. "We already fought off the Fallen Ones. The
Power Stone is safe."
DJ looked over at the Stone in Sonic's hands with relief, but then worry
and disgust. He walked over to the nearest wall and made as if to bang his
head against it. Desirée quickly stopped him and pulled him away. "What?"
she asked worriedly. "You only do that when you think you messed up. So what
happened?"
"Wait a minute," Darrin said, staring at the Stone. "Isn't that only
half the Stone?"
Sonic's and Sally's eyes widened in rememberance. "I gave half of it to
Griff," Sonic said, smacking himself in the forehead. "We have to warn him!"
"It's a little late for that," Knuckles said as he suddenly appeared.
"What do you mean?" Sally asked. "Is...?"
"The Lightning Emerald's pedestal has been acting weirdly for the past
few minutes," Knuckles explained. "The light within is flickering on and off
like a broken strobe light. I couldn't explain this until I overheard what
you just said. If they tried to recharge the Emerald with only half an
artifact, then that would explain everything."
"Is that safe though?" Angela asked.
"Safe enough, though the Fallen Ones will not like the results. The
Emerald will not hold onto a half charge for very long, a few months at most
unless aided by the Unholy One's magic. Rest assured that they will do
whatever they can to retrieve the other half of the Stone."
"I'm not letting it out of my sight," Sonic said, gripping the Stone
tightly. "I'll see if Uncle Chuck can rig up a new power ring generator at
the palace. There has to be some way to do it; I will not jeopardize the only
source of power rings we have."
"I wonder if you can use them...." Juice began, talking to a now non-
existent Alicia. "Hey, where'd she go?"
"Are you looking for her?" Antoine asked, marching Alicia back in by
her elbow. "She was trying to slip away while you were distracted. But I
figured you would not want her to leave just yet."
"This is no way to treat your princess Antoine," Alicia muttered, but
her words had no real bite behind them.
"No, but it is the way to deal with a sneaky young lady," he returned,
nudging her back in front of her parents. "Now then, I believe you were going
to answer their questions about your newfound speed?"
DJ pulled away from Desirée and looked at Alicia with a confused
expression on his face. He opened the book he held back up and leafed through
it quickly. When he found what he was looking for, he showed the article to
Alicia.
Alicia looked down at the book and sighed. "Yes DJ," she said quietly.
"I used the Gem of Enchanted Dreams to wish for my speed."
"You did what?" Sally asked, voicing the shock of everyone present.
"Well, I stumbled upon the cave it was in that night I flew out my
window," she said, not wanting to admit to the truth. "I was trapped in the
cave anyway, and once I started dealing with the challenges I knew what was
going on."
"And you never told us about this?" Sonic asked, tilting Alicia's head
to look in her eyes. "Why not?"
"I didn't want anyone to know until I could control it," Alicia answered
a little shamefully. "I wished for the speed, but I forgot to wish for
control."
"Well, that's just one more thing you're going to have to work on then,"
Sally said, her expression setting in determination. "You may have a lot on
your plate as it is, but tomorrow we are going to test just how much control
you do have. And that includes getting to know how to use power rings."
"Do I really have to?" Alicia asked plaintively.
"YES!" Everyone in the room yelled, followed up by some laughter.
But one animal wasn't laughing. Bunnie stood by the door, still at her
post as she listened in. Something about Alicia's story didn't sit right with
her. It was next to impossible to just stumble upon the Gem; that was why the
one who last used it always informed the next to use it of the Gem's current
location. But that in itself made no sense. After all, the last animal to
use the Gem was Nadine Osaya.... (
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