Chapter 5: Emerald Crash

On another side of Mobius, there is a rather small one-floor house in the middle of a rather dark forest big enough for one, maybe two people. It well kept and looks like it was built recently, rather that it was or maybe the owner took really good care of it. The house blends in with the dark atmosphere of the forest. Perhaps this person was hiding from someone, or something. Eggman’s hovercraft is seen descending from the sky above to the outside of the house. He steps off and looks around, proceeding towards the door. He knocks rather hard on the door, any harder and the door could have been unhinged.

“Just a minute.” The voice says on the other side. “Who could it possibly be, interrupting my…” he mumbles as he opens the door. It was Snivley, Eggman’s nephew who he hasn’t seen in years after Snivley ran off after Eggman was fed up with his “incompetence.”  The moment he saw Eggman’s face he lets out a loud shriek that scared all the animals within a quarter mile radius and began cowering in fear. This was a very unhappy reunion for Snivley as the moment he saw his face the years of physical, mental and psychological abuse came back to him. After nearly three years away from Eggman, he thought he was finally away from his “miserable Uncle.”

“Snivley, you are coming with me.” Eggman said in his dark tone. He wanted his nephew to work for him again, considering how Orbot and Cubot was left behind by Eggman and hasn’t been seen since. He knew Snivley would be better than rebuilding them, searching for them in space or perhaps even a new robot to help him. He didn’t have time to so his thought process was to find his estranged nephew and put him under his wing again. Eggman was sure that he was going to succeed but he will need an assistant for his new “Eggman Empire” to make sure things ran smoothly.

“No.” Snivley said stomping his foot on the ground, taking a stand against his uncle. He wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore and he wasn’t going to go back as a workhorse for Eggman. That stand didn’t last long as Eggman picks up Snivley by the collar and puts his face up to his so they can see eye to eye.

“You are coming with me Snivley, you’re going to help me with my Eggman Empire.” Eggman said with a snarl. Snivley saw the evil in his eye, even though he was wearing his sunglasses. Snivley began shaking violently in Eggman’s hands. He’s still afraid of his uncle. He thought he was over it during his time in solitude but it seems that some wounds cut deeper than he thought. He wanted to say no but he felt he had no choice, as if he was powerless.

“I… don’t… yes sir.” Snivley said unsure of himself but he felt he couldn’t do much. He wanted to do something but he wasn’t in any position to do so for the fear of being hurt by Eggman. After he said that Eggman began dragging him back towards his hovercraft. “Where are we going to do now sir?” he asked weakly as he is being put in a rather unsafe position on the hovercraft.

“To get rid of a few thorns in my side now so I will have no opposition this time.” Eggman said. Something seemed different about him this time. Usually, mostly in recent memory, he seemed like a bumbling idiot that was just full of himself. This time however he seemed more sinister; perhaps he returning to his old roots where he was much darker and more of a threat. In truth Eggman, realized that he was being to passive his schemes; he had to be much more aggressive and not care about the damages he can and probably will cause. He realized that considering years ago he blew up half of the moon and fragmented Mobius itself, to building an “amusement park” to take over the world using power of the Wisps. Eggman was bent on turning it up and torch and burn whoever got in his way. They then ascend into the skies above and go away from the area as the house blows up. Eggman also planted a bomb there when Snivley was not looking and when he was cowering in fear as leverage so Snivley couldn’t possibly leave him for a second time. As black smoke fills the air in the area around them they return to Eggman’s central command ship.




Back on Angel Island, Sonic, Tails and Ben landed safely and Ben shuts everything down. After everything was all set, Sonic, Tails and Ben exit the helicopter all-stretching from exhaustion. It was a very long trip though Ben’s story of how he found out Eggman’s plans seemed to pass the time rather nicely. The trip took a few hours but no one was really counting, well maybe Ben was but his mindset is the faster they stop Eggman the more time for shenanigans. It was rather late in the afternoon as the suns starts to set.

“Euagh… that was longer than I expected” Sonic says as he is yawning and stretching his body at the same time. He sometimes wishes that there were some sort of land bridge to Angel Island. Not that he hates flying, considering he has the Tornado I, its just that he prefers running better. Everybody knew that Sonic hates waiting and staying still for long but to get to Angel Island he had to make an exception.

"Just a little." Ben muttered, twisting to crack the vertebrae in his back. "We weren't followed; it was fairly uneventful. Small mercies and all that." He winced. There was more pain than he had expected. Years of military service had not been kind - his body seemed that of a fifty-year old Mobian finally showing its age. Scraps to stabs to bullets and wounds that had incapacitated or nearly killed him; they were finally catching up to him, as his extensive and colorful medical record would be testament. One day, he knew, he would fall apart. Life was just one big strain now, but he was willing to suffer through it. He had his mission. He would see it through to its conclusion, whatever the cost is to himself.

“Other than your story it was uneventful, disappointed?” Tails said shaking his head to wake up a bit. Tails is used to flying long distances, but today seemed off since he was a passenger not the pilot this time. He never noticed how long flying could take until just this moment where he wasn’t in control. It never dawned on him that it can take awhile since he was always enjoying being the pilot. It always helped him relax and forget about his troubles, though this time it was the same yet it was different as well.

“Not one bit.” Ben muttered with a sigh. “Though I expected Robotnik to pull something against us, I am glad nothing happened. It was a time to relax in a way before things begin to heat up.” Though in the back of his mind Ben thought that Robotnik was going to follow them in some way, whether it was Robotnik himself directly or one of his creations. Even though he didn’t something feels off to Ben. Whatever that feeling was he wasn’t sure but it leaves a note of concern for him not knowing if he’s going to pull some soon or not.

“I agree it’s going to heat up. Eggman is going to do something soon. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t.” Sonic said. He expects Eggman to do something cause he sounded adamant about winning this time. Sonic ponders what’s gotten into Eggman since he hasn’t done anything drastic in years. Maybe Eggman has been tired of losing to Sonic after all these years and wants to win this time around.

They begin walking towards the Alter of the Master Emerald as Ben landed close to the site. It has been a few years since Sonic and Tails was here on Angel Island, last time being when Eggman tired destroying Station Square to build “Robotnikland” using Chaos who later went rogue and destroyed Station Square anyways. This was the first time Ben was there on the “Floating Isle” though he has heard all the stories and the legends associated with the Island. Ben takes a look around and he’s sees how the island seems disconnected from the problems on Mobius. Untouched by the advancements of technology, Ben sees a natural paradise here on Angel Island. It was something Ben has missed since he was a child: the calm and soothing feeling of being around nature where he can forget about his troubles for a little while. It seems he was told the truth that Angel Island is virtually a natural paradise. As they get closer to the alter, Knuckles starts to walk down the weathered steps of the shrine and happens to see the trio walk towards him.

“Hey there Knuckles.” Sonic says casually as they meet at the foot of the stairs. Sonic still doesn’t know why Ben wants Knuckles help, not the he doesn’t want his help, as Sonic enjoys his help but Ben must have a reason for recruiting Knuckles.

“Hey guys.” Knuckles replied to Sonic. “Who is this guy?” Knuckles ask referring to Ben, whom he has never seen before. Of course, Ben expected Knuckles to not know who he is. The only time Ben was known was both enemies and bounty hunters sent by Overlanders or by villagers and other Mobians he has either saved or met during his long militaristic career.

“An old friend of mine.” Sonic replied to Knuckles.

“My name is Ben. Pleased to meet you Knuckles.” Ben reaches his hand out towards Knuckles for a handshake in which Knuckles accepts.

“Nice to meet you. Now why are you guys here?” Knuckles asked out of curiosity. It’s not everyday that they come to visit, usually when they do they need something from Knuckles. Since he is the Guardian of the Master Emerald he doesn’t leave as much as he would like to. Unfortunately he can’t due to his duties as Guardian, he has to stay and protect the Master Emerald from anyone who dares wishes it harm. Of course he could always take it with him but he prefers it to be on the Alter as it belongs. He enjoys the atmosphere of Angel Island more than anywhere else in the world.

“Well Eggman is up to something again and Ben thought it was a good idea for you to help us.” Tails explained to Knuckles. That’s all Tails said because Ben never explained why he wanted Knuckles help. It was anyone’s guess why he wants Knuckles help, though the more help they got maybe it would be easier to defeat Eggman.

“I would love to help, but what do you need me to do exactly??”

“Well, your reputation in being one of the “Worlds Greatest Treasure Hunter” presides you.” Ben starts to explain as he reaches inside his backpack. “I have a feeling this will be a wild goose chase and in the end we may need all of these.” Ben explains as he pulls out the blue Chaos Emerald.

“A Chaos Emerald!?” Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles say in shock. None of the expected Ben to have a Chaos Emerald in his possession, the fact that he had it showed Ben was taking everything into consideration but to have a Chaos Emerald was something else.

“Ben, where did you find that?” Sonic asked. Chaos Emeralds are really hard to come by; finding one of them is like finding a very small needle in a huge haystack. The only times they have come across it has either out of sheer luck or they just happen to search hard enough.

“I actually found it randomly during a walk in the forest.” Ben explains as he is tossing the Emerald up in the air and catching it. “The Emeralds energy was interfering with Tyrone and the systems on my sunglasses. I figured it had to be an Emerald, considering the Emerald’s electromagnetic properties can interfere with some electrical equipment. So the more fuzzy the screen got the closer I was to the Emerald.” They could see Ben’s screen on his sunglasses become fuzzy as he shuts off the display. He did that to show how he was able to find the Emerald.

“You know…bzzt… I hate… when you take that… bzzt… Emerald out.” Tyrone says as his projection comes out. His likeness becomes fuzzy due to the interference coming from the Emerald. Ben puts the Emerald away and the projection becomes normal. “You really need to fix that so every time you do bring out an Emerald your systems work without interference.”

“I’ll handle that later.” Ben mutters, annoyed by Tyrone’s nagging as the projection shuts off.

“So why do you need the Emeralds then?” Knuckles asked.

“We are looking for the TimeShifter.” Tails tells Knuckles.

“Never heard of it.” Knuckles says as he raises an eyebrow.

“Neither did we when Ben told us about it the first time.” Sonic explains to Knuckles. Ben chuckles at the fact that no one has heard of it before, a fact that isn’t surprising to him considering the TimeShifter hasn’t been seen in thousands of years.

“I’m not surprised, most people consider it as a myth anyways.” Ben chuckles. “But it’s real all right and Eggman is looking for it.”

“Why is Eggman looking for it then? It has to be important if he’s looking for something that hasn’t been seen in a long time??” Knuckles asked.

“It’s fabled for many things, but the reason I think he’s after it is because it can grant the gift of immortality.” Ben answered. “ I don’t want to keep fighting a losing battle and I don’t want my children and my children’s children to go through a burden like that.”

“Wait, if it can grant immortality, can it take it away as well?” Tails asked.

“I’m not so sure about that Tails.” Ben replied. “I mean it seems logical that it can do that as well but I’m not taking any chances on something it may or may not be able to do.”
“Understandable.” Sonic says.

“So do you think you can help us out Knuckles?” Ben asked.

“I’m in.” Knuckles replied. After he said that a warning tone was being omitted from Ben’s sunglasses. “What’s that?”

“Something is coming this way?” Ben muttered, unsure what it is turning on his systems to figure out what it is

“What is it?” Sonic asked as Knuckles runs up the stairs to the Alter.

“I’m not so sure… it looks like some sort of a missile.” Ben muttered as they begin to follow Knuckles up the stairs. As the reach the top, an explosion hits the shrine shattering the Master Emerald into pieces and sending all of them off the Alter and on the ground below. Everyone lands on ground hard and slowly gets up.

“Oh no… Not again.” Knuckles muttered as he gets up seeing some shards of the Master Emerald around him and begins to pick some up.

“Eggman must of known we would come and ask for Knuckles’ help” Sonic says as he stands up and dusts himself off.

“So he sends a missile to blow up the Master Emerald so Knuckles will be more preoccupied in finding the pieces than to help us.” Tails said getting up as well. “He’s trying to hinder us anyway he can by the looks of it.”

“Can I go one week without the possibility of being shot or blown up?” Ben muttered, as he is slow to get up. Images of past battles appear in his head as he gets up. Several of those battles had similar experiences like he just experienced; being that close to explosions and being sent flying because of it. As he gets up he pops his knees as the locked up upon landing. He sees a medium sized piece of the Emerald and looks at it and hands it off to Knuckles. “Gotta start somewhere.”

“Right, I got to find the pieces of the Master Emerald first guys then I can help you out.” Knuckles replied as he takes the shard from Ben.

“You’re duties come first Knuckles I completely understand.” Ben replied. The island begins to shake moments latter. “What’s going on here??” Ben asked, not knowing what’s going on.

“Every time the Master Emerald gets destroyed, Angel Island falls into the Ocean.” Knuckles said as the Island begins to descend into the ocean.

“It has happened before, when Eggman destroyed it before it was to release Chaos.” Sonic says. Everyone hits the deck as the island lands in the middle of the Ocean creating huge tidal waves in the process all around. It was a thunderous crash, as it could be heard from miles all around. The sun is fully set by this time and the moon begins to come out. “You think we should leave now Ben?”

“I’d rather make camp and take a break. We don’t know what the range of that rocket was so for all we know Eggman can be close by or very far way.” Ben replied. “I’d rather rest and leave in the morning than take my chances and possibly fight Eggman in the middle of the night if he is close by.”

“Good point.” Sonic said “Eggman can be anywhere right now.”

“It has been a long days as well.” Tails adds in.

“Right we will make camp.” Ben says. “Knuckles you don’t mind that we camp here tonight right?”

“It’s completely fine. I’m going to start looking for the pieces now. I’ll catch you guys later.” Knuckles replied as he runs off to begin his hunt.

“Good luck Knuckles.” Sonic yells to him as Ben begins to walk towards the helicopter and pulls out a big duffle bag. “What’s in there Ben?”

“Tents, cooking pots, stuff to make a fire all the jazz” Ben says as he begins to open it. “I try to be as prepared as possible.”

“What about food?” Tails asked.

“Got the covered as well.” Ben replied as he goes back towards the helicopter and grabs a cooler full of food. “As I said, I try to be prepared as possible.” They begin to set up camp a little ways away from the Shrine. Three tents were set up with a fire pit in the center of the area. A little while later as Ben begins cooking dinner, Sonic returns after a quick run around the island and sits down near the fire near Tails.

“Whatchya got cooking their Ben?”

“Chili, the way I always make it” Ben says as he adds a bit more tomato into the pot.

“You have hot dogs as well?” Sonic asks as his eyes widen a bit.

“Of Course.” Ben replies with a chuckle. “If I didn’t have hot dogs to make some chili dogs you’d be cross with me for the next week.” Ben and Sonic begin to laugh as Tails starts taking some of the hot dogs and begins to lightly cook them on the fire. “Hey Tails don’t cook those too long cause we are putting them in the chili later.”