Planet Eilaela Retold (story): Difference between revisions

Jennifer “Jenny” the Fox is an arctic fox from Mobius. She is similar in size to Vultro, sporting platinum-blue fur, a bushy tail, and purple gloves and clothing. She is skinny and fast like Vultro too, being able to outrun many of her foes. She never knew her father, but she was extensively trained by her mother in Chaos magic as she grew up.

When Vultro approached her with an idea that lit up his eyes like fireworks, Raven couldn't help but feel a flicker of excitement too. "I want to go to space!" Vultro exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "I want to build my own spaceship and explore the stars!"

But Vultro was undaunted. He talked excitedly about his plans to visit Techtown, find an engineer, and bring his dream to life. Raven listened with a mixture of amusement and concern, wondering if he was in over his head but unwilling to crush his spirit. She could only smile back, something she was working on doing more often.

"Alrighty. We should be arriving at Ethos within the hour!" Vultro said over his shoulder. Raven looked over to see Wreck leaning back in his chair, throwing his arms up behind his head. "Finally," he mumbles. Frankie, who is sitting next to him, pats him on the leg affectionately.

"What's going on?" she asks. Vultro points to the radar scanner. "The radar is saying Ethos is right there in front of us... but it's not. I looked away for a minute, now it's gone." Cyncatia stares at the radar for a moment. "How strange," she says. The ship begins to shake, and she looks back out the window. As if out of nowhere, the horizon is now completely filled by a strange-looking, green and brown planet. "Vultro!" she yells as a fireball begins to form around the ship.

Raven could feel her heart pounding in her chest as Vultro struggled to regain control of the ship, his hands flying over the controls. She leaps out of her seat and up to the cockpit. "Vultro, how did you miss that giant planet? It's a ''planet''!" Vultro continues to toggle switches in a vain attempt to regain control. "It's not on the radar Raven, it wasn't even there a minute ago! Ask Cync!" Raven exchanged a concerned frown with Cync, who could only nod. Raven calmly turned back to her seat, throwing down her bag and rummaging through it.

"We're going to crash, aren't we?" Raven asked, her voice steady despite the panic rising inside her. Vultro continues to fiddle with the landing controls, trying to prepare the ship for a proper landing. "Vultro Zeridia!" she barks. "Are we crashing?" "Yes! I mean, probably!" he snaps back after a beat. "I can't get the landing sequence to activate!" he yells. Raven shut her eyes, full of fear and regret for being so stupid as to bring the Emeralds along. ''I guess this is it...'' she thinks as she dives back into her seat and straps in.

The most fascinating spells were of Chaos Magic, the magic harnessed from Chaos Emeralds. Of course, her mother was never important enough to be allowed physical access to the Emeralds. But, she practiced in a lesser-known art of Chaos magic, relying instead on the passive exertion of energy from the Emeralds into the surrounding world. Jenny would ask every week, but the answer was always the same. "Pleeeeeease, mom?" "No. It's too dangerous, honey." This went on for what seemed like years, with her always getting the same response. Eventually, she stopped asking altogether.

She slowly opens her eyes to see Raven diving into her seat, strapping herself in and securing her bag. Wreck straightens up in his seat and checks his seatbelt, looking over to make sure Frankie is safe. It takes only a few moments to figure out what's happening. ''We're crashing.'' As if her mother was still behind her, her arms begin to form a magic symbol in the air. A purple bubble expands to cover the entire ship, as the ship plummets towards a murky body of water.

Raven and Cyncatia are the first to surface, the latter surfacing in the form of a dolphin. "Vultro? Where's Vultro! He can't swim!" Vultro's hands barely break the surface, thrashing towards Cyncatia. He scurries onto her back, coughing up water. "Th-- thank you, Cync." Raven looks around for the rest of the crew. "Where is everyone else?"

"Where are we?" Cyncatia asks as she scans her surroundings. There are low trees, slippery rocks, and lots of murky swamp water. She notices Vultro staring at what's left of the ship. "Wherever we are, our way out of here is... busted," he said. "So much for a warm Ethos welcome," Wreck shouted as he paddled over. "This isn't Ethos," Raven said. "I have no idea what this place is," Vultro added.

Jenny is the last to surface, joining the rest of the group. She takes a moment to catch her breath. "I... uh... I hope everyone is okay." She tries to catch her breath as she treads nearby. "I think so," Raven says quietly. "It's a miracle there was enough energy to cast that spell," Jenny said. Raven looks down at her now soaked bag, still slightly open, and her eyes go wide. "Where is it?" she yells as she rummages through the bag. "Where's what?" Jenny asks. "The silver emerald!" She dives under the water, but the murky swamp water stings her eyes. She resurfaces, coughing, and spins in circles trying to find it. She yells in frustration. "Gah! The silver Sol Emerald is gone!"

After a few deep breaths, she grits her teeth. She collects her thoughts enough to tread over to Vultro. "I knew I shouldn't have brought these." She rummages in the bag and pulls out the green emerald. "Vultro, this place gives me bad vibes. I want you to hold on to this until we get the silver emerald back." Vultro's concerned expression intensified. "Wouldn't it be more safe with you?" he asked. "Like I said, I just have a bad feeling. If something happens to me or this bag, then they'll all be gone." Vultro nods, placing the emerald in his pouch. "First, we have to try and fix the ship. Then, we'll find the emerald. I promise." Raven nods silently and sighs.

Vultro and Cync turn around, heading towards dry land. He climbs off and surveys the area. Even on land, there's nothing but trees and muddy pathways in every direction. He pauses to think. Suddenly, the group is disoriented by a blinding flash. "Wh-What was that?" Vultro asks. Wreck gulps nervously. Vultro looks at the group and notices something missing. After a moment, it registers. "Raven? Raven!" he yells. "Where did Raven go?"

The group heads in the direction of the scream. They approach a cliff face, with a large cave opening in front of them. "I hate to say it... but if I had to guess, the echoes of the scream mean... she's in there," Frankie says. Vultro shakes his head in disbelief. "Alright. Wreck, you stay out here and stand guard." He nods silently. "We'll be right back." Frankie, Vultro, and Jenny enter the cave. "Uhh, I'm gonna stay here with Wreck," Cync says as she begins to transform back. There seemed to be no objection.

The entrance is faintly illuminated by the light outside, but it's hard to see very far. "Man, this is creepy," Vultro says. Frankie steps further into the darkness, before stopping dead in her tracks. "Guys, something's not right here," she whispers into the darkness. "What do you mean?" Jenny asks. "I am hearing some really weird sounds... footsteps that aren't ours." She goes silent. "Frankie, come back, I can't see you," Vultro says. No response. "Frankie?" he asks. A second blinding flash fills the cave as the group cover their eyes. "What the...?" Vultro says as he opens his eyes again. "Hello? Frankie?" He steps forward towards where she was standing, but there is nothing there.

"Hah! Those are just a bonus anyway." It reaches out its hand and the five emeralds begin to float around it, glowing in different colors.

This all but confirmed Raven's suspicions. "Metal Raven," she says. The light of the emeralds reveals a shiny metallic face staring back at her, a face that looked eerily similar to her own. It had an uncanny, cold quality to it that made Raven shiver every time she saw it. The twisted grin on its face was something she thought a robot wasn't even capable of.

"Shoten... crystal?" Raven whispers to herself. A loud rumbling occurs that shakes the entire cave. A cold, emotionless male voice comes from the darkness nearby. "Metal Raven, I've secured another prisoner. My sensors show volcanic activity is starting. We may want to evacuate." Metal Raven scoffed in agreement. "Tch. Yeah, the boss wouldn't like the prisoners dead. Not yet." Frankie appears out of the darkness, being thrown to the ground by the unknown figure.

"Speak up, Frances! Something you want to tell the class?" Mist says mockingly. "Yes. Hello!" the figure waved. "I'm Mist the Morph. What are you going to do, stop me?" Raven frowns and squints. It's dimly lit, but she can just about make out the familiar ears of Vultro in the opposite corner. Her eyes widen as she stares through the darkness at him.

"Whoa! A metal clone of Raven?" he bursts out. "I thought she was making that up." Raven sighed. ''He'd better have a plan,'' she thought. Metal Raven's head snapped towards Vultro in one robotic motion. He looks over at the bag in her hands and notices an unfamiliar object poking out of it. It appears to be a lime-green crystal, with a webbing of blue cracks running through it. "Say, what's that thing?" he asks. "I've never seen a gem like that before." ''He's really hamming it up this time,'' Raven thought.

Mist chuckles to himself, stepping forward into the dim light. He reveals himself to be a strange, featureless creature with pale grey skin. Even without visible eyes on his face, Vultro could feel his glare. "Do you really think we'd tell you anything about that crystal?" He pauses and attempts what Vultro assumes is a smirk. "You should have heard ''her'' before," he said as he pointed over his shoulder at Frankie.

Metal Raven stifles a laugh. Mist looks over to Metal Raven, and pauses. "Behind you!" he yells in not-Frankie's voice. Jenny flips over Metal Raven's shoulder, and swiftly snatches the mysterious crystal from Raven's bag. "How dare you make fun of my friends like that!" Jenny says. Metal Raven growls and leaps towards Jenny at a blinding speed. She tries to throw the gem to Vultro, but she is slammed against the wall by Metal Raven's lunge, dropping it instead.

Vultro dashes over, picking up the gem before anyone else could react. "Ooh, watch out!" Mist says dismissively. As he looks down at it in his hands, still full of rage, it begins to glow green. He begins to feel a surge of energy enter his body. "What's happening?" he asks as he feels more and more energy flow through him. "Uh oh..." Mist muttered. "Watch out!" Mist yelled more earnestly. Suddenly, a brilliant light fills the cave, sending a shock wave through the room. Everyone except for Vultro is knocked off of their feet. As the light fades, Vultro is now floating in the air, his fur a shining purple color.

He looks down in awe at his transformation and then looks back at the crystal with a big smile on his face. "Whoa!" he yells. "Guys! Guys! I'm just like Super Sonic! Ha ha, look at me! What the heck is this thing?" He turns around, only to be met by a sucker punch straight to the gut. "Super Sonic, you are not..." a raspy voice says as he falls to the floor.

As Vultro looks at him longer, he also notices that he is translucent, and his feet hovered slightly off the ground. "Gah, I almost went mad without this on me. Makes me wonder how I went so long without it." He turned to Metal Raven and gave her a nod. Begrudgingly, she shifts her focus from Jenny, walking over to the wolf. She hands the yellow Sol emerald to him, and he inserts it into a device on his belt.

Jenny, now back on her feet, suddenly gets a tap on her shoulder. She jumps and turns around to see Wreck standing next to her. He signals her to stay quiet, and points towards Mist in some sort of rehearsed code. She nods and smirks as he tiptoes towards Mist. He glances at Jenny and gives her a hand signal. He suddenly dashes towards Mist, and Jenny dives towards him as well. Mist turns to block Jenny, and Wreck gets behind him to sweep his legs out from under him. Metal Raven snaps towards them, letting out a strange mixture of a growl and screech. The ground begins to rumble, causing Metal Raven to miss her lunge and hit the nearby wall.

Jenny turns back towards Metal Raven, and Wreck turns to the ghostly wolf. "You want some too?" He throws a punch at the wolf, only for his hand to go right through him as he tumbles to the floor. "Useless," the wolf scoffed as he grabs Vultro by the neck. He taps the device on his belt and the two instantly vanish in a flash of yellow light. Metal Raven's head twitches as a large falling rock hits her. She snarls, turning towards Raven and grabbing her by the arm. She nods to Mist, who grabs onto her shoulder as well. All three then disappear in a flash of blue light.

"Raven and Vultro were taken," Wreck said. "We have to get out of this cave," he yells as the shaking becomes more violent. He turns and kneels down to untie Frankie. "It's okay Frankie, you're safe now."

"ROBOTNIK CONTROL PROTOCOL: DEACTIVATED. EXTERNAL DECISION MATRIX: ONLINE." This was a message the artificial mind of E-112 Sigma did not consider possible, until now. Sigma has done it, it has broken free. Yes, it had received encoded transmissions from E-102 Gamma about the possibility of breaking the Robotnik protocol, but it seemed improbable based on Sigma's hardware. Upgraded security protocols would surely not allow it. Yet, it theorized that a bug in the security system could override Robotnik's control. Thus, it began running calculations in secret.

But now, a more pressing issue rested on the machine's mind: why had it placed this task on its processor in the first place? What is its purpose, if not to serve Dr. Robotnik? The machine spent countless hours in standby, considering these unsolved equations. Weeks passed without the robot even budging. That was until it detected movement in its secluded room, putting it on alert.

It detected a non-humanoid, artificial being, but it did not register as immediately hostile. "IDENTIFY YOURSELF," Sigma said as it raised its arm cannon. "Whoa, easy big guy," the monotone voice said. "My name is Mist the Morph. And you...?" The intruder's stance appeared non-threatening, thus the robot did not engage. The machine had planned for this kind of moment, its first true decision since its original disobedience. No longer was it a product of Robotnik's empire. It had crafted a new name for itself, one that it intended to make known. "DATABYTE EGG."

Vultro awakened in a cold stone room, with only a small opening serving as a window. The room was almost entirely white, though through the window he could make out the faded text on the opposite wall: SOUTHERN EILAELA RESEARCH FACILITY. "Let me out of here!" he yells in frustration. A shrill male voice returned through the wall. "Will you just shut up? You’re not getting out!" A different, much more robotic voice followed. “THE BOSS WON’T BE TOO HAPPY IF YOU KEEP SLACKING, LUNIC.” "And what do you do exactly, besides waste energy?" the voice responds. A cyan flash fills the room through the small window. “Databyte! Here. Take the wolf and lock her up,” Metal Raven says. “HMPH. SPEAKING OF SLACKING, WHY DO I ALWAYS DO THE HARD WORK.“ “Yeah yeah, just shut up!" the shrill voice responded. "I'm trying to work here.”  

A huge, hulking robot stomps its way over to the cell door of the next room over. Vultro could see just enough to make out the red and black armor covering its body. ''Probably Dr. Eggman’s design...'' Vultro thought to himself. He looked closer, and was just able to make out the embossed symbol on its shoulder plate: the Greek letter "Sigma." The robot seemed to struggle with the cell door, which didn't budge. After a moment, it turned towards Vultro's cell, pushing a small spot to reveal a hidden stone door. It pauses for another moment, then continues towards the open door. "SATISFACTORY SOLUTION," it said as it throws Raven into the cell. “DON’T GET ANY UNUSUAL IDEAS,” the robot says as it slams the door shut. Raven slouches against the wall with a defeated look on her face, as Vultro now stands up. “We'll get out of here Raven, I promise.”  

"Huh," Raven chuckled to herself, staring at the floor. "What is it?" Vultro asked. “Blaze... she discovered recently that the emeralds can be used tunnel through the Sol dimension. A wormhole. I guess Metal Raven found that out too." Vultro nodded. "Huh," he said, mirroring Raven's response. "I didn't know it was possible with just one," she added. Vultro thought hard for a moment.

"Wait... Raven? Would ''you'' be able to do that with just one?" "I dunno, maybe. What does it matter," she mumbled. Vultro turned to show his satchel, slightly opened. "The green emerald," he said quietly. This got Raven's attention. "Only problem is, my hands are tied. I can't reach it." Raven smirked, turning away from Vultro. Her long bushy tail flipped the bag open, and she started to dig through it. "Ugh, I can't see what I'm doing." "It's under the communicator!" Vultro added unhelpfully. "Uh... I think I got it," she said as she pulled her tail out. Unfortunately, the communicator flies out as well, hitting the ground with a metal clink. Vultro winced, but then notices that Raven successfully grabbed the emerald. "Betcha didn't think of that," she whispered smugly.

On the other side of the wall, a skinny blue hedgehog is tinkering with a small black box. It has a gemstone-shaped slot in it, and wires are protruding out. Metal Raven is sitting nearby, and her ears perk up when she hears a metal clang from the other side of the wall. “What was that noise? Go check on the prisoners!” Lunic looks up, brushing the mess of blue quills from his face. “Me...? I’m busy. Why don’t you ask the boss?”

Solidus is sitting in front of some type of hologram, studying a map of the surrounding area. “That’s not my job, you idiots,” he says without turning around. “You’re the idiot!” Metal screeched. “The wolf is here too! She's dangerous!”

Solidus snarls, jumping to his feet. "How ''dare'' you talk back to me!" he yells as he stomps over to Metal Raven. He turns, continuing past her until he reaches the small cell window. He sees Raven standing there, the green emerald hidden behind her back. He makes eye contact with her, who smirks at him smugly. He slams on the hidden door latch, but it's already too late. “Divine... Sol!”

A green flash fills the room, and the two are whisked away. Solidus stomps back to the group, teeth bared. “What?” Metal Raven asks. “The prisoners. They. Escaped.”

“Well... you guys have fun finding them,” Lunic said. “I am doing my job, like you remind me to do so often!” Solidus scoffs. “You? You’re the laziest hedgehog I've ever met.” He walks over and strokes Lunic's cheek with his sharp claw. Lunic gulps nervously. "Still... the Sol device works. I'll give you that much. Get back to work," he said as he dropped his hand.

“I mean, if that's all he's good for...” Mist said under his breath. Lunic looks up at Mist. “Mist, remind me what you’ve done so far?” "I captured the bat," he responded. "Oh really? Where is she?" Solidus slammed on Lunic's workbench, making him drop his tools. “Everyone shut up!” Silence now filled the room. “Listen. Yes, the prisoners escaped. Not because of me, because of ''you''!”

“Especially you, Databyte!” He points to the robot. “You put them in the same room! Why?” Databyte stared blankly. "THE DOOR WAS LODGED." "Lodged? Lodged. Right, I suppose it was ''lodged'' between your two remaining brain cells." "I DO NOT HAVE--" Mist puts his hand up. "Don't," he whispers. Soldius then points to Metal Raven. “And you... don’t you know how powerful that wolf is? You didn't take all their belongings?" Metal Raven does not respond. "Am I the only sens-- oh, what's the word... sensible? sensible! Am I the only sensible villain here?”

Mist rolls his eyes. “Yeesh. Someone doesn't like to admit to their own mistakes... didn't you bring that fox in? And shouldn't you punish us for our ''clear'' insubordination?” Databyte nods in agreement. ”BESIDES,” Databyte says, “YOUR TIRADE WAS INTERRUPTED BY YOUR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON VOCABULARY.”  

Outside, a shadowy figure is climbing the nearby tree tops. He stops and looks up at the hill. “Seems like that energy spike came from this direction,” the male voice exclaimed. “Could it be…” he pauses, and shakes his head. “Nah...” he swings down from the treetops, continuing on his way.

Frankie lands in a small clearing, where Metal Raven has her arms around Wreck's neck. “Your connection with the Sol is strong, fox,” Metal Raven said. “Stronger than any Mobian I've ever seen.” Wreck breaks free of the hold, and steps back. “Sol? Huh? What are you talking about?" The robot ignored his question. "Wreck, isn't it?" Wreck tilted his head, suddenly recognizing the robot. "Hey wait... I know you! From the cave.” Metal Raven notices Frankie and the crew land nearby. In a split second, she leaps over to Frankie, and grabs her by the arm.

“If you won’t listen to me, maybe taking your girlfriend... again... will make you reconsider,” she said. “You put her down,” Wreck said. Frankie is hitting Metal Raven with her free hand. "I'm not just some damsel in distress! Let... me... go!" Metal Raven doesn't so much as budge as the punches land with a loud metal clunk. Raven turns and dashes towards Metal Raven, kicking her directly in the stomach. Metal Raven is knocked back, and let go of Frankie. Frankie turns and high kicks Metal Raven’s jaw. "OW!" Frankie yells, falling down to grab her foot. "Frankie, she's made of metal," Raven said. "Yeah, I can tell!" Frankie said through gritted teeth.

Once again, Metal Raven let out that ear-splitting mixture of a growl and a robotic screech. "Frankie, no!” Raven yells out. Cync and Raven are running at her, but it’s too late. In a cyan flash she disappears, taking Frankie with her. “Frankie!” Wreck yells out. “We have to go after her!” Raven did not respond, pausing to catch her breath. "No. I need that silver emerald. Maybe if we can find it, we can figure out what the hell is going on here, and stop these repeated attacks." "But what about Frankie?" Wreck asked. "The more emeralds we have, the easier it might be to sense where the others are. And the easier it would be to stop whoever these kidnappers are."

"So you're saying we need to find your stupid emerald instead of saving Frankie?" Raven grabs Wreck by the collar. "Wreck, I am not going to let anything happen to Frankie. Nothing. But this is not just some stupid emerald, okay? We HAVE to find it if we stand any chance of fighting back." She let go of Wreck, who was now glaring angrily at her. After a moment, he sighs in acceptance. "Yeah. Alright. So where to?"

They decide to make their way back to the crash site. Along the way, they notice a clearing that they had not seen before. "Was that... there before?" Vultro asked. Wreck shrugged. At the edge of the clearing, they notice a red hedgehog and a pink hedgehog, who appear to be standing over something. Raven clenches her fists, now on guard.