Dark Guardian: Chapter 15

Amy finally arrived at Tails' house approaching the front door with an anxious demeanor. After speaking with Shadow a few minutes prior, Amy could not seem to take her mind off of the suspected danger that the group faced and the effects it would have on Tails and Cosmo should it come to pass. This man called Kai had approached them with the promise of protection and friendship, and was now turning his back on everything he had claimed he stood for. How could he do something like this to two innocent children, Amy wondered. What had they ever done to earn his hate? Amy felt guilty for almost believing him; even from the beginning it had been to good to be true. It was like the cloaked figure incident all over again, only this time they knew who he was, which only made him more dangerous.

Once again Amy found herself questioning the motives of Jaran Kai as she had done when he had first revealed himself. Why had he resurrected Cosmo, to manipulate others? There were an infinite number of ways he could have done that, so why bother with resurrecting a dead girl? Amy began to realize that everything that had happened over the past few months had linked back to Cosmo in some way. She was the key Amy realized, but the how or why escaped her. She felt that she should warn Tails and Cosmo about Kai and Eggman, but Shadow had cautioned against it. Shadow may be a dark persona himself, but everyone had been surprised at how concerned he had become lately with Tails and Cosmo. He may not have admitted it, but he was a genuinely good protector of the two young lovers. Aside from that, he had been the only one to successfully incapacitate Kai before. If Shadow said not to tell, then it was probably best that she did not. Amy only hoped that the guilt she felt for concealing information from her friends would not eat her alive.

Amy then took a deep breath, forcing a smile on her face so as to hide her inner worries. She reached forward and placed several knocks on Tails' front door, then waited for it to open. Thirty seconds passed with no answer, as Amy grew impatient. "He's probably in his workshop," Amy reasoned as she reached for the bell on the side of the door and pressed it. The bell responded with a loud buzzing sound as Amy released the button, waiting for an acknowledgement.

"Hey Amy," a voice suddenly crackled over the speakers on the keypad she had just used, causing her to jump back in surprise.

"What the heck!?" Amy shouted, startled by the electronic voice, "Tails, since when do you have an intercom on the front door?"

"I installed it a few weeks ago," Tails replied over the speakers, "I thought it would be a good idea to know if Cosmo was at the door while I was in my workshop."

"Well I don't like it," Amy said in an irritated voice, "You scared me so bad my quills are standing on-end."

"Sorry," Tails apologized, "We're in the workshop right now so you can just walk in and come down the stairs."

"We?" Asked Amy curiously.

"Yeah, Cosmo and Sonic are here too," Tails replied.

"Sonic's here?" Amy asked excitedly, "Sure, be right down!"

Amy dashed through the front door, walking into Tails' kitchen where a stairwell leading to the hangar was placed near the entrance. Amy found it interesting that Tails' workshop had two main entrances, one within the shed-like structure next to his house, and the other in his kitchen, which led to the lower levels. Tails' workshop was massive, and even Amy wasn't sure that she had seen all of it. How he had found the materials to build it she did not know, but it was a remarkable feet for someone of his age nonetheless.

Amy quickly descended the staircase with her heels clicking loudly against the hard metal steps. Small automatic wall lamps began to flicker on as she walked down, illuminating her decent. Amy didn't like how dimly lit this staircase was, fearing that she might trip over her own feet due to not being able see them. Amy decided that she would have to complain to Tails later as a fall from these steps would certainly be life endangering. Finally she reached the bottom of the steps, as a metal door prevented her entry into the workshop. A keypad was mounted on the front of the door providing entry to anyone with the password, or if Tails unlocked it remotely. Amy failed to understand why Tails was so concerned about security. Despite the secrets it held, none of the enemies they had ever faced had expressed an interest in Tails' workshop. Tails liked to be prepared though. Perhaps that would be valuable someday.

Despite having known him for years Tails had refused to give the access code to anyone except for Sonic. It frustrated Amy to have to hit the call button every time she wanted in instead of just letting herself in. It was not as though she was going to infiltrate his lab and break anything, but then as she already knew, Tails was always careful. She was almost certain that even Cosmo did not have the code, which seemed slightly unfair to Amy. "Maybe it's a guy thing," she thought, "Boys and their toys."

Amy pressed the call button on the metallic door, which responded with a short buzz and a blinking red indicator. She waited until she heard a click, which let her know that Tails had unlocked the door, then turned the knob of the heavy door and opened it. Upon stepping through the portal she found herself in some sort of observation room just above the hangar, overlooking the Blue Typhoon. Across the room was a set of metal stairs, which led to the hangar floor. She approached the stairs and quickly descended them, stepping onto the hangar floor and attempting to locate the young fox and his companions. She eventually spotted them over by the X Tornado, with Tails working on the engine block while Cosmo watched and Sonic sat on the wing. Amy quickly jogged over to her friends, greeting them with a somewhat sincere smile.

"Hi guys!" Amy said stopping next to Cosmo, "I was out today and just thought I would come by and hang out. What are you guys up to?"

"Nothing much," Sonic said from his perch on the wing, "I just came to chill while Tails did his... whatever he's doing."

"I don't know how he does it," Cosmo said looking over at Tails in admiration, "He's so wonderful with machines. I wish I could do that sort of thing."

"That's neat. What's he doing?" Amy asked.

"I- ah-" Cosmo responded, seeming unsure, "something about the engines. Tails, what are you doing exactly?"

A loud thud was suddenly heard throughout the hangar causing everyone to jump in surprise. Tails quickly clamored out from under the engine block where he had been clutching the side of his head in pain. "OW! Why do I always do that!?" Tails complained, rubbing the sore spot on his cranium.

"Tails!" Cosmo shouted, running over to him and nearly tackling him. Tails gave a shout as he almost fell over, while Cosmo began to rub the sore spot on his head in concern. "Are you alright? You shouldn't be doing this if it's going to get you hurt!"

"Cosmo," Tails moaned, "I'm fine, I just hit my head is all. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure you don't want some ice?" Cosmo asked, "It sounded like you hit it really hard."

Tails smiled at his girlfriend's concern, despite the fact that she was overreacting. He always felt that he could count on Cosmo's aid, even in the tiniest predicaments. Gently he removed her hand from his head, petting it as he looked into her eyes.

"Cosmo, I'm fine," Tails reassured, "I just bumped my head. I've been doing things like this my whole life. I don't want you getting worried every time I do something clumsy, but I do appreciate the concern. Thank you."

Cosmo smiled back at Tails, pulling her hand away and blushing. "I suppose I am overreacting a bit," she said meekly, "I just want to be able to help if you do get hurt."

"Well thanks," Tails said with a chuckle, "I know I can count on you." Tails then noticed Amy, who was standing with her arms crossed while she observed this scene. He gave a slight look of surprise upon seeing her, greeting her in his usual friendly manner. "Hi Amy! Sorry I didn't see you come in. I just-"

"Bumped your head?" Amy giggled. Both Tails and Cosmo looked at each other, blushing slightly as they quietly laughed to each other. Amy could not help but laugh as well, finding the odd couple amusing. She soon regained her focus however as she looked at the exposed engine block of the X Tornado, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "Ah, what are you doing to the X Tornado?" Amy asked, "Isn't the engine supposed to be inside the plane?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to modify it to try and match the speed of Kai's ship," Tails explained, "It's just easier to remove the entire engine then to try and modify it from the inside of the plane. He was here just a few minutes ago. He said-"

"Wait, Kai was HERE?" Amy asked suspiciously, "What did he want?"

"He said he needed my help," Tails answered, "It was kind of weird seeing him after all these weeks."

"What did he need your help with though?" Amy asked in an urgent tone, "He has better machines than us, so why come here?"

"He said he wanted a house," Cosmo replied for Tails, "I had no idea that he had been staying in his ship this entire time. It must have been very uncomfortable."

"Wait, wait, wait, he wants a HOUSE?" Amy asked in disbelief, "That's it? Nothing else?"

"I know, right? It was pretty weird," Tails replied, "but he said he would give me his ship's engine schematics if I helped him. I couldn't say no!"

"Huh, I'm not so sure," Amy said, "Do you guys really feel like you can trust him after all he's done?"

"Well, he may seem creepy, but he did bring Cosmo back," Tails said, placing an arm around Cosmo's waist and pulling her next to him, "That's got to count for something, right?"

"Well... I guess," Amy hesitantly admitted.

"When I was gone, I remember speaking to him at least twice," Cosmo spoke, "I don't remember all of what was said, but I do remember that he was always very kind, and wise. He may be a bit mysterious, but I don't believe he ever wanted to harm us. I do know that my Mother trusted him very much. I don't see why we can't do the same."

"I'm kind of with Amy on this one, guys," Sonic said jumping down from the wing of the X Tornado, "Kai may seem okay now, but he was pretty dangerous while he was against us. I'm not saying we shouldn't trust him, we just need to be careful."

"I guess," Tails said absentmindedly. He then looked over at the removed engine of the X Tornado, shrugging his shoulders before turning his attention to Cosmo. "I guess there isn't much more I can do until I get those schematics. You ready Cosmo?"

"Absolutely!" Cosmo replied, "I'm glad that you let me come and spend time with you today, Tails."

"Well, I'm always happy to have you," Tails replied with a slight blush, "err, come over that is."

"Ooh! What are you two going to do?" Amy asked excitedly, "Going somewhere romantic today?"

"Actually, we were just going to go upstairs and watch a movie," Tails replied to Amy, "Nothing big."

"Awesome! So what are we watching?"

"Huh?" Tails said seeming confused, "No Amy, me and Cosmo were kind of wanting to watch it, you know... by ourselves."

"Oh, you want to be 'alone'," Amy teased, "I won't ask what you guys are going to do. Come on Sonic, you can take me out somewhere today too!"

"Wait, I never said- AH!" Sonic was cut off as Amy quickly grabbed his wrist, running up the stairs while practically dragging Sonic behind her. Tails and Cosmo turned to face each other, giving confused looks as they did.

"They're a very strange couple," Cosmo remarked to Tails, "Why does Sonic not want to be with Amy?"

"I don't know," Tails said, "I guess he feels like a relationship would slow him down. I'm sure he'll warm up to her... someday."

"Tails," Cosmo said, seeming to grow concerned about something. Tails tilted his head to the side, waiting for Cosmo to continue. "I- I don't slow you down, do I?" She finally asked.

"Of course you don't!" Tails said seeming exasperated by this question, "If anything, you make me want to try harder than I ever did! I don't know if I could keep going on without you!"

"Please don't say that, Tails," Cosmo said, recalling the even that had narrowly cut Tails' life short, "I AM here, so there is no reason to think those thoughts."

"Sorry," Tails apologized, not thinking about the implications of what he had just said, "but no, you don't slow me down. You make me the happiest fox alive! Please don't ever think that way, okay?"

"Alright Tails," Cosmo said softly, "I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't be so worried. I just- I love you, and I want you to be happy. If you feel as though I am being an inconvenience, then-"

"No! You're not!" Tails reassured, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle hug, "I love you too, and that's why I like having you around me. Now let's go make some popcorn, and we'll watch a movie, okay?"

"Okay!" Cosmo said, then seemed to grow confused, "Ah Tails, what's popcorn?"

"What? You don't know what-" Tails stopped himself before he could finish, as it once again occurred to him that Cosmo, being alien, was most likely not familiar with Mobian cuisine. He gave a slight smile at this, taking Cosmo's hand and giving it a slight tug indicating for her to follow. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Okay Tails," Cosmo said eagerly, following him out of his workshop as the automatic lights shut themselves off behind them.

"WHOA! Amy, slow down!" Sonic complained as Amy continued to pull him along through the Mystic Forest, "It's not like the rest of the world is going anywhere if we don't get there fast enough!"

"Why is it that you run fast everywhere you go, but when we go on dates you go as slow as possible!?" Amy complained, coming to a sudden stop and almost tripping Sonic.

"We aren't dating, Amy!" Sonic said sternly, "Why don't you get that?" Amy seemed to be deeply hurt by this comment, turning away and crossing her arms with her eyes growing moist. Sonic noticed this and approached Amy from behind, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ames," he apologized, "I didn't mean to yell. It's just, now that Kai's here again, it's got me worried about Tails and Cosmo. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"I-it's fine Sonic," Amy said, wiping her eyes dry, "I understand. Why do you think he came back anyway? What does he want with us?"

"I wish I knew," Sonic said placing a hand on his chin, "With everything he's done lately it's getting hard not to trust him, even if he is a little stuck-up. Still, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with him visiting Tails and Cosmo."

"He's betrayed us all, Sonic," Amy said shortly, "We're all in danger because of him."

"Huh? What are you talking about Amy?" Sonic asked in confusion, "Did something happen?"

"Shadow caught Kai talking to Eggman," Amy began, "They've sided with each other; they're planning something against us!"

"What!?" Sonic said in shock, "Kai and Eggman? Are you sure Shadow didn't hear wrong? Those two don't exactly fit together like puzzle pieces, you know."

"I'm sure of it," Amy affirmed, "I saw the Egg Mobile fly away from Tails' house just after Kai had left there. I always knew he was bad news! We should have gotten rid of him when we had the chance."

"Wait, there has to be something more to this," Sonic began to ponder, pacing back and fourth, "I know it might look bad, but he did bring Cosmo back to life."

"Is that supposed to make us trust him!?" Amy asked frantically, "That's exactly what he wants! Think about all of the other bad things he's done to us! He nearly killed you and Shadow, and what about the Chaos Emeralds? They're just rocks now! You can't use them to go into your super form anymore! And now he's helping Eggman! He's a bad guy Sonic! We have to get rid of him before he hurts someone, or worse!"

"Amy, I know you think we should do what Shadow said, but I just can't kill anyone! Can you honestly say that you can?"

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but could not seem to form a response to what Sonic had said. He was right, she could never bring herself to kill someone else, especially when the evidence was so inconclusive. Everything that Shadow and herself had seen was all based on circumstance. Amy realized that ever since Jaran Kai had entered their lives nothing seemed to make sense anymore. One moment he was brutally attacking the group, the next he claimed himself friend. Every explanation that he gave for his actions was both extremely rational and so far fetched that it became unbelievable. The most baffling claim he had made was that he had resurrected Cosmo from the dead, and was now protecting she and Tails from harm. Protecting them from what, and why? It was safe to say that nothing made sense to Amy anymore.

Amy gave a heavy sigh, sitting down in the middle of the path and lowering her head. Once again Amy's eyes began to grow misty as she continued to try and make sense out of everything. "No," Amy finally whimpered out, "no I can't kill anybody. I don't know what to think anymore. All of the facts say I shouldn't trust this guy, but I can't help it, he brought one of my best friends back to life! How am I supposed to tell if he's bad or not!? I'm so confused!"

Sonic looked down at the pink hedgehog with a look of sympathy crossing his face. He then got onto his knees and placed a hand on Amy's shoulder, who looked up to see Sonic staring at her. She continued to look back into his emerald eyes as she waited for him to speak.

"Maybe we should just wait," Sonic said softly, "As strange as it sounds, I get the feeling that Kai's on our side. He may seem bad, but you know how tricky he can be. I don't think we should worry about him just yet."

"Do you think so?" Amy asked, "How can you be sure?"

"I'm not!" Sonic laughed, standing up and pulling Amy to her feet, "I just have a gut feeling about this, and my feelings haven't steered me wrong yet! Might as well keep going on them until they do! Come on, I'll take you to lunch."

"Okay Sonic," Amy replied with a smile. She then reached for Sonic's hand, taking hold of it as they began walking. Surprisingly, Sonic didn't even notice this as they made their way out of the Mystic Ruins area and toward Lower Mobotropolis.

Meanwhile on Angel Island, Knuckles the Echidna was having a less than pleasant day. He had spent the entire morning at the Master Emerald alter attempting to use the greater gem's powers to restore the black and lifeless Chaos Emeralds, with no success. Chanting all morning to the Master Emerald was causing his throat to become dry and the sun was being particularly unforgiving that day. He had finally given up and decided to rest, lying down at the base of the Master Emerald with all of the other Emeralds arranged around it in a neat circle. Knuckles then closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh, trying to forget about the stress that the day had brought.

"Ugh, stupid rocks," Knuckles grumbled to himself, "How did that Kai-guy take all of your power from you? The Emeralds have been drained before and we fixed them, why won't they work now? What's different?" As Knuckles continued to lounge at the foot of the Master Emerald Alter a shadow was cast abruptly over the echidna, reducing the sun's harsh rays. The echidna smiled to himself with his eyes closed, enjoying the reduced temperature. "Now that's more like it," Knuckles said to himself, "I hope that cloud stays put for awhile."

"Only long enough to hear your progress," a low voice said.

Knuckles quickly opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, looking up to find not a cloud looming over him, but the black robed figure of Jaran Kai. He quickly hopped to his feet holding his spiked fists up in a boxing position, glaring angrily at the human male. Powerless or not, Knuckles was not about to let this man take the Chaos Emeralds again, lest he find another malicious use for the once powerful gemstones.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Knuckles growled, reeling back aggressively, "You'd better get off my island before I throw you off!"

"Calm yourself echidna. I only wish to know of the progress you have made in restoring the Chaos Emeralds," Kai said in a relaxed voice.

"What's it to ya?" Knuckles growled, still ready for a fight.

"I was concerned that the damage I did to your gems was permanent," Kai expressed, "It seems my concerns were not unfounded."

"Yeah?" Knuckles replied shortly, slowly letting his guard down, "Well you fucked them up pretty good! The Master Emerald can't even recharge them. Nice going."

"They won't recharge because there is nothing left to recharge," Kai stated factually, "When I siphoned off of their power it seems that I took more than I had desired."

"How'd you mean?" Knuckles asked looking at Kai suspiciously.

"It seems that when I drew off of their power, I accidentally stripped them of their base properties as well. They no longer hold the ability to generate Chaos Energy. Their life giving properties were funneled into Cosmo's regenerating form. Perhaps if I had more experience with their power I might have been able to circumvent this."

"Well if you took their power, then maybe you can give it back," Knuckles said hopefully, "You could-"

"No, I can't," Kai said, "It's as I said, their ability to generate Chaos Energy has been lost. I could charge them with Chaos Force, like one would charge something with static electricity, but it would eventually bleed off into nothing."

"So... they're just rocks now?" Knuckles asked.

"Unfortunately they have been transmuted into ordinary beryl gems," Kai replied, "So yes, they are 'just rocks now'."

"Great," Knuckles growled, giving one of the black Chaos Emeralds nearest to his foot a slight kick. He then slumped back down onto the steps of the Master Emerald Alter, lowering his head in defeat. "Next time Sonic needs to use his super form on one of Eggman's bigger robots and he can't, it'll be all your fault. Mobius is screwed."

"Can you not use the larger one behind you to achieve the same effect?" Asked Kai curiously, "You did it once before when you were fighting against me."

"That?" Knuckles asked, "I'm not even sure how we pulled that off. The Master Emerald rarely gives super forms, we got lucky. It might have been because the Chaos Emeralds were still nearby... I don't know. Doing that again is a one in a million chance. You really have screwed things up for us, you know?"

"It was the Emeralds or the life of the girl. Which would you have chosen?"

Knuckles was rendered speechless by this question. While the Chaos Emeralds had always been valuable to the people of Mobius, their power had been sacrificed to save the life of someone who had saved not just their planet, but also the entire galaxy. Was that the right thing to do, Knuckles wondered. It seemed so, as while the Emeralds were dead, Tails and Cosmo were now happier than they had ever been. To Knuckles, that seemed to make it all worth it.

"I guess it's better that Cosmo is back," Knuckles murmured, "even if the Chaos Emeralds are gone for good."

"It may be difficult to see now, but she will benefit your friends more than the Chaos Emeralds ever did, in more ways than one," Kai stated calmly.

Knuckles then got to his feet, approaching Kai and standing to face him. He glared at Kai inquisitively, crossing his arms as he interrogated the man. "Is that the only reason you came here, to check on the Emeralds? Because if it is-"

"No," Kai interrupted, "there is one more item of business that I had with you echidna, if you will hear me."

"Well say it," Knuckles snapped, "then go away. I don't want you here."

Kai made a turn on his heel, facing away from the echidna. He was quiet for a moment as he lowered his head, seeming to think very hard about something. Finally he spoke in a voice that was so low it could barely be heard. "I'm sorry..."

"What?" Knuckles said taken aback, "What did you say?"

"I never... apologized... for erasing the memory of my first encounter with you," Kai said, "It was never something I wanted to do. I hope that you can forgive me... someday... and understand why I did it."

"Uh, sure," Knuckles said, still stunned, "Will they ever come back?"

"In time," Kai replied, "Nothing is ever truly forgotten."

"Ah... great," Knuckles replied, scratching his head, "I uh- thank you?"

"You're welcome," Kai replied, "I shall remove myself now."

As Kai began to walk away from the alter of the Master Emerald, Knuckles stared after him with a perplexed expression. Why now did Kai feel the need to apologize? Why would someone who had never displayed any shining morals suddenly perform such an act of virtue? These questions swam about Knuckles' mind as he walked back over to the Master Emerald and lied down to rest. Had he still been listening, he would have been able to hear Kai mutter something as he moved further into the distance.

"I'm sorry for what is about to happen..."