Chaotic Origins

"You WHAT?!" screeched a very distressed yellow fox. The echidna he was currently yelling at flinched away. He didn't care how strong he was, he did NOT want to face Tails when he was angry.

     "I...lost him." he hesitantly replied.

     "Oh, come on! That's what I heard the first time, but I had hoped I heard wrong. Now what do we do?"

     "Um, we could just wait until he comes back," Knuckles suggested. Tails shot him a glare. "What? He can take care of himself! I don't see what you're so worried about." Tails sighed.

     "Yeah, you're probably right. I just don't like it when he disappears. Last time he did he got turned into a werehog!" Tails also didn't like being left behind, but he would never admit it. It was a side effect of his rough upbringing.

    "Eh, he'll probably show up as soon as you finish upgrading that plane of yours."

     "I sure hope you're right."

     It was already a strange day for Tails and Knuckles, who had decided to stick around, but it got even stranger when they got a (very) unexpected visitor.

     Tails, of course, was used to people barging into his workshop without knocking (mainly Sonic) but it was almost never this particular hedgehog.

     "Sh-Shadow? What are you doing here?" Tails stammered. He knew he could trust the dark hedgehog, but Shadow was still intimidating.

     "I must speak with Sonic. Where is he?" As usual, Shadow got right to the point. He was not one for small talk.

     "Um, I don't know where he is. He disappeared this morning in an old temple that Knuckles was exploring." Tails hoped that Shadow would find this satisfactory. He didn't like when he thought that people were keeping things from him. Tails turned around and continued fiddling with the controls on his console, hoping that was the end of the matter.

     "Hmmmm. I suppose I'll have to find him myself then." Without another word, he left. Tails sighed in relief. Right then, Knuckles walked in, munching on some chips. He had helped himself to the small fridge that Tails kept handy.

     "Who was that?" he asked.

     "Just Shadow," Tails answered, keeping his eyes on the console.

     "Seriously? What did HE want?"

     "Coincidentally, to talk to Sonic. Talk about timing, huh?" Tails remarked. He wasn't exactly on the best of terms with Knuckles EITHER, but he tried to remain polite. He was only truly relaxed when he was around Sonic.

     Knuckles frowned, unusually serious. "I don't know where he could have gone, though. We were in the only room in that temple, and nothing collapsed or opened up when that earthquake happened. What I don't understand is why those symbols on the ground glowed. I dug a bit into the floor, but there was no tech or anything to cause that." Tails frowned as well, but tried to put a light spin on the situation.

     "Well, we do know what Sonic is like. He hates the idea of being trapped underground. Maybe he just ran off when the shaking started so he wouldn't get trapped."

     "But if that were true, wouldn't he have come back to get me? He would never leave anyone behind."

     Tails nodded in agreement. No matter how scared Sonic was (though he'd never admit he was scared) he always put others first. It was one of his best qualities, besides being ridiculously hard to kill. That had kept him alive in many battles with Eggman or whatever enemy he had been fighting. Tails trusted that he was still alive. Eggman may have called him a rat, but he was more like a cockroach. Impossible to get rid of.

     And of course, with the day already going the way it was, it was no surprise that they should get another unexpected visitor.

     "Oh, Sooooooniic! Where aaaaarre you?" called a familiar, somewhat annoying voice. Like everyone else had that day, she walked in without any preamble.

     "Seriously? Do any of you know what a doorbell is? I don't want people just walking in like they own the place!" Tails finally snapped. Technically, Sonic owned the warehouse that was currently Tails' workshop,(it had been a gift from a nearby city he had saved) but that didn't mean Tails wanted people marching in.

     "Oh, I'm sorry Tails. I was just looking for Sonic, is he here?"Amy asked pleasantly. Tails sighed.

     "No, he isn't," was all he said. He hoped that she wouldn't ask where he was, because she wouldn't stop until she knew everything Tails knew. And he didn't want to be around to see her reaction when she found out Sonic was missing.

     "Yeah, he went missing this morning. Haven't seen him since!" announced Knuckles. Tails cringed, and Amy looked like she was about to explode. Fortunately for them, Amy just pulled out her Piko Hammer and stomped out.

     Tails turned on Knuckles. "Why did you tell her that Sonic was missing? She might've trashed the place!"

     Knuckles glared back. "Who cares? She would have found out anyways. Why is it such a big deal? It's not like he's dead or anything!"

     Tails just grunted and turned away. He pulled out his toolbox and slid underneath his plane, trying to make himself useful. "I just hope we don't get any more unexpected visitors. Wouldn't that be strange?" he murmured to himself.

     Of course, fate would have it that they would have more unusual and unexpected things happen (things just work that way when Sonic is involved) and Tails couldn't help but wonder what made his workshop so popular today.

     By some strange coincidence, these people actually KNOCKED, which surprised Tails to no end. So he got up and opened the large metal doors. He really didn't expect to see the people on the other side (which isn't that surprising now, is it?).

     "Hey Tails!" called out an unnecessarily loud voice. Tails winced. Vector had his headphones on again. "We heard Sonic was missing. Want us to investigate?" Tails grimaced.

     "His disappearance is most unsettling," remarked a chameleon which stood to Vector's side. Tails nodded at Espio, who returned the gesture. Of course, Team Chaotix wasn't complete without Charmy.

     "Yeah, we'd find him double-quick time for ya, Tails! You'll never have noticed he was missing!" Charmy buzzed around excitedly. Vector facepalmed.

     "And since we're friends, we'll even give you a discount!" Vector finished. Tails grinned awkwardly.

     "That's really nice of you guys, but I'm sure he's fine. It's nice of you to worry, but I'm sure you have more important things to do." As Tails said this, he swore he could see Charmy deflate. He certainly seemed to slow down.

     "Even so, we'll keep an eye out for any news concerning him," Espio promised. Vector nodded in agreement, before they all turned to go.

     "See you later!" called Tails before breathing a sigh of relief. Team Chaotix was not known for being neat. Or cooperative. Once they got an idea, they pursued it wholeheartedly (mostly at Vector's behest).

     But all those unexpected visitors did prove to be of some use. They gave Tails an idea.

     "Knuckles, show me where that temple is. I want to check it out for myself."

     About half an hour later, they arrived at the rock spire. Knuckles lit two torches again, and handed one to Tails. They walked in silence, Knuckles once again lit the trail of oil, and once again it raced along its paths.

     Tails was dumbstruck as soon as he saw the giant statue though. He just stared at it for a moment. It looked EXACTLY like Sonic, but his sensor told him it was hundreds of years old.

      His keen eyes quickly took in the markings and carvings that covered almost every surface in the temple. His eyes caught on to the mirrors especially.

     "How are they so shiny and new-looking?" he murmured. Knuckles immediately caught on. Everything else bore marks of age, but the mirrors were perfectly preserved. There was not a scratch on them. Tails approached cautiously.

     His mouth made a round 'O' as he stared at the mirror. Instead of seeing himself and Knuckles, two Sonics were reflected back.He only learned from his scanner that the mirrors produced strange energy signatures. He also detected an empty space behind them, but no way to get into it.

      'What would Sonic do?' he wondered.

     He balled his fingers into a fist and punched the glass as hard as he could. It shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, and the area behind it was revealed. It looked nothing like the rest of the temple.

     While the temple behind them was dominated by sharp angles, the area ahead was made of curves and spirals. It was all abstract and confusing. It was also made of a much darker stone. Spires and curves rose up from the floor, making stars and flowers and other shapes that had no name.

     But for all its complexity, it was only one room. It's strangest feature was the dark green capsule at the back. It was more modern looking, with an average cylindrical shape. It seemed fogged up.

     Knuckles noticed it too. He walked up and rubbed the glass-like substance that it was made of.

     "Tails? You should see this." Tails approached at Knuckles' call. He too stopped and stared at it.

     Cocooned inside, surrounded by swirling dark energy, was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

     The strangest part? He was almost completely black, with only light blue glowing symbols marking his body.