Across New Frontiers

 

 

Synopsis: Based on the video game Sonic Frontiers. Sonic and his royal court travel to the Starfall Islands on Mobius to uncover relics of an ancient civilization there.

 

 

Chapter 1—More than Just Treasure

                Summer was in full swing.  Big the Cat happened to be fishing in his favorite fishing hole close to the Castle when he caught something gargantuan. 

                ‘Cream, help me pull this up !  It’s HEAVY !’, he grunted.   Although Big was strong, through his own physicality he couldn’t pull whatever got hooked on his lure up by himself.   It took Cream, Blaze, a purple Martin named Dusk and help from the Chaotix.

                ‘You weren’t kiddin’.  This thing weighs a ton !’, Mighty said, impressed by its size.   It was a treasure chest, and by the looks of it, it was positively ancient.   With his history of artifacts, they decided to take the chest to Cecil and see if he could read an accurate date for the relic.   Most of the other members of Sonic’s court were more interested in seeing if the chest could be opened.   Years of being underwater had gotten it riddled with all sorts of weeds and water lilies, but opening it was simple with a simple punch from Knuckles.  

                Inside the treasure chest were jewels, gold, a fashionable gauntlet that Sonia immediately took to, since it matched her quill color and finally, a map.

                ‘This shows Starfall Islands.’, Cecil said, astutely.    It was incredible that the old map could still be read, but it clearly pointed out Starfall Islands with a huge red X over an area that was unfamiliar to all of them.   

                ‘Why haven’t we ever gone that way ?’, Manic wondered, aloud. 

                ‘I assumed there wasn’t’ anything worth looking for.’, Sonic admitted.    Starfall Islands had been believed to be completely desolate by so many scholars, or it had never gotten mentioned in any of the records that historians collected in their archives.    Scholars never spoke of it and any record of what had been there was lost to time and neglect.   Or so it was believed.   

                ‘We’ve got a bit of a mystery it seems.   Let’s go check it out !  A bit of a treasure hunt could be fun !’, Sonia exclaimed, all for finding more shiny trinkets she could use to accessorize her latest wardrobe.     Manic shook his head but knew his sister’s heart was in the right place.   Amy got the feeling there was something more than just treasure in Starfall Islands but in spite of her feeling of foreboding, she accompanied them all there by Cyril’s dirigible, Sally taking the helm and tying the Sweet Freedom to a dock close to where the ‘X’ on the map indicated for them to search.  

 

Chapter 2—Hidden No Longer

'I have the map here.', Amy said, after Sally handed her the map.  

‘Thanks, my flower.’, Sonic said, sentimentally.   Amy fluoresced at the compliment, and what they saw made their jaws drop.

‘This can’t be right, though.’, Tails said, seeing the ruins and remembering everything he had learned from the age of a kit.  

‘I’m a bit gob smacked too, kid.’, Knuckles agreed.   The stories Locke had told him were entirely true.   The coco weren’t what they appeared.   They were simply vessels for the Chaos and their people.    Sonic had encountered them before many other times, but why they would’ve left a civilization here didn’t  make any sense whatsoever. 

‘This is making my head hurt, bro.   This would mean other worlds would’ve had an influence on ours, or we’re an echo of theirs !’, Manic stated, as simply as he could manage.  

‘We all know that the other worlds are palpable, and it would make sense that the Chaos fled something or someone, but why ?  Were they all wiped out ?   It seems sad if they were, which would explain why our Mobius has no trace of them save these ruins…’, Sonia deduced.  

‘There’s an X here.   Something is buried here.’, Rogue indicated.   

‘Then we dig !’, Knuckles stated with a huge grin.   Actually, he had been one of the few that had brought along equipment for the job.   Looking at the site from the side made it seem like a massive, Herculean ordeal, but with Knuckles’ brute strength, it would be a piece of cake.  

Knuckles whirled his hands and became burrow down into the soil, creating a large hole.  Driven further by inquisitiveness, everyone followed after Knuckles.  

 

Chapter 3—‘Impossible !’

            For once in his life, Knuckles found himself completely speechless, but so did the rest of the gang.   In front of them lay the remnants of a cataclysm that none of them were aware of.   They had travelled to a completely different version of Mobius.    Cyril was detecting something on his device that alerted them.    The entity it pinged on wasn’t known to be friend or foe, but she floated out in front of them, her body digitally designed.   Circuits formed her and were glowing an eerie red.  

            ‘You shouldn’t be here.’, she said, cryptically.   

            ‘We mean no harm.’, Amy said.   Sage acted like she was seeing ghosts of Amy, Big, Knuckles, Sonic and Tails.    Everything there was a remnant of what Robotnik had done, even if in this universe, there was no trace of Robotnik.    Cyril was even more taken aback when he had read the information his device had uploaded. 

            ‘I don’t know how, but this artificial intelligence is my sister.  It’s impossible.’, Cyril said, completely in disbelief.   Sage was also in denial, and she wondered just how insane the deviations of her family were in other dimensions.   Her brother, as she read from her initial interpretation of him, was inherently good.   There was a kindness in his eyes and a warmth emanating from her heart that she had only remembered from her mother when she had been created so long ago.   Yet, she stood here and looked at Sonic, wondering if he and his siblings could be the key in restoring Starfall Islands.   She had come so far with Sonic in her own realm, and it had cost Sonic his life.   Those people who had followed him had rallied behind Knuckles, but his leadership was drastically different than Sonic’s had been.    She wasn’t certain if she could trust this version of Sonic.  However, there was something that set Sonic and his siblings apart.   She also sensed that Sonic’s quest would be unique from that of his siblings, too.   His medallion gave off an insane amount of power.   It was all tied to the old parchment they had in their hands.  It had led them to her, and her to them, but what they sought was at an old watering hole that had since dried up after the apocalypse.    She didn’t know how, but Sonic, she felt, could get the water flowing in that part of the islands, which would in turn, allow the old mill to start running again.     With clean water running through that idyllic land, communities could return from the underground and start rebuilding.    Yet, sadly, all that would take some kind of miracle.   

 

Chapter 4—Treasure Beyond Imagination 

            The gang soon learned about Sage and Cyril told her all about their family in their version of Mobius.

            ‘It’s funny, I never really had much of a family, though father did take care of me.   He had built me as a weapon of destruction, but I wanted to help the Chaos.   He knew of their power, and it was wrong he was wanting to enslave them to fuel his dictatorship.   Most Robotniks are this way.   They have a demagogic desire to overtake, overthrow and reign over everything by force.   They don’t understand violence only begets more of what it creates.’, Sage said.   Although there was no emotion in her speech, one could detect some sadness.

            ‘What about the Chaos ?  Are any of them still alive ?’, Dusk queried.    Dusk’s friend, a crow named Violet pointed at the map, and Sally’s device Nicole started going haywire. 

            ‘Nicole, what is it ?’, she asked her trusty handheld computer.

            ‘Something close, an ancient object of insurmountable power, calling to a diamond in the rough.’, Nicole said before her power went completely out.    They had found where the object was and Nicole had to be rebooted thanks to the power surge, but Sonic felt the pull of whatever it was.    Sage cautioned him.

            ‘I don’t even know what this is.   Just proceed with caution.   You don’t even know if this object will receive you well.’, Sage warned.   Sonic was willing to take the risk and felt that music was his best way to strike a friendship with whatever lay ahead for him.  

            Following the laser pathway that Nicole had left for him, the gang stayed close by but knew that this quest was securely homed in on Sonic alone.   Summoning his keyboard, he tucked the instrument under his arm and ventured into the cave where the object resided.   

 

Chapter 5—Dimensional Watch

            Sonic cleared his voice and approached the luminous, floating watch.   It was far more potent than anything else he had ever been around.   Even looking at it had hurt his eyes, so, shielding them,  he entreated it with a song.

If I am meant to wield you, I come with good intentions

I will do no wrong, I only heal with song

I’m a bardic warrior, a soldier of light

A leader, not a follower, my heart knows what is right

Just allow me to see what it is I should do

Because, honestly, at this moment

I haven’t a clue

Help me, will you ?

Choose and then please light my way…

 

It was then that the super sophisticated watch fashioned itself around Sonic’s wrist.    It went by the name Timely.   

            ‘One like you was arrogant to think he could understand my ability and wield me well.  It ended in disaster.   The blue one was a bit too egotistical.’, Timely said, bluntly.   Apparently, the Chaos had been given help and according to Timely, there were a small group of them alive and they remained hidden in the mountains.   As far as their location, Timely had his circuits scrambled after the cataclysm, so the information was truncated.

            ‘Maybe if we retrace your steps, that information will come back to you.   I know Antoine tells me all the time when he forgets the keys to his vespa, he simply returns to where he put those keys before and the memories flood back…’, Sonic explained.   Timely liked that idea immensely and felt more confident in Sonic’s approach to going forward.    Plus, with his innate ability, it could help Sonic fix the past in some ways, but ‘fixed points’ would remain as they were.    Even as the deity that it was, it couldn’t remedy that which was immovable and etched in history.  

 

Chapter 6—Locating the Chaos, The Chaos Assist the Gang

            After walking through pathways Timely recalled, the sentient watch began to glow.

            ‘It’s all coming back.  Although I couldn’t save Sonic, I did give the Chaos a chance to tunnel underground…’, it began.    The war had been over for ages and Sage had decided she would join the rebuilding of what had been envisioned long ago.  

            ‘I haven’t led the Mobians that well, but your wisdom has brought us out of the darkness.  Maybe you should be the regent rather than I.’, Knuckles said, humbly.   Sage was a bit flummoxed by this reprisal, but she wanted to undo the wrong that her despot father had committed.    It would take time for the people to accept her, but the Chaos would help her. 

            The whole community would take time to refurbish but Sage was pleased to be the Mobians’ queen.    Knuckles would step down and be an ambassador and adjunct to other societies outside of their version of Mobius, which meant that Sonic might be encountering the alternate Knuckles in the future, down the road.   

            ‘Now as far as returning home, Timely can help with that.   The Chaos don’t need to assist you any longer.   There is still quite a lot you don’t know about your abilities, Sonic.  I am certain you will discover them when the need arises.’, Sage said, being as cryptic as ever.   

            ‘Thanks, I guess.’, Sonic replied, a bit befuddled by what Sage could’ve meant by ‘when the need arises’,  but she was a prophetess, and oftentimes the wisdom of the future was hard to discern or communicate to those living only in the present.   

 

Chapter 7—Home, Sweet Castle

            Coming home was a relief to everyone who had followed Sonic on his adventure.   The other siblings didn’t feel slighted that they hadn’t received upgrades to their medallions and that only Sonic could implement Timely, but they figured there was a reason.  

            ‘I suppose Sage was right in our understanding.   We’re pretty limited as far as what we can grasp about our future.’, Manic stated, idly munching on a loaded chili dog and chasing it down with a Jolt cola.    Sonia stuck to her usual fare of vegetarian meals since she wasn’t a major fan of mork or the taste of it.   The siblings were savoring another massive repast that their talented chefs had presented to them.    As usual, everything was outrageously delicious.   

            ‘We shouldn’t worry so much about the future.   From what I’ve seen, it’ll take care of itself.   We’ve got each other.  Besides, we’re home.   We helped the Chaos, we helped to start rebuilding Starfall Islands.  I call that a pretty full day.’, Sonia chuckled.    The two brothers agreed and yawned, stretching their backs, and hearing their bones pop satisfactorily.   

 

Epilogue

            It had been a lengthy day but Sonic’s eyes grew heavy.   He and Amy would have to stay awake to tuck their little ones in.   Being the dutiful dad he was, he told each of them stories and sang them to sleep as he always did.   His lullabies always worked like a charm. 

            ‘Do you ever wonder if we’ll ever discover what mysteries the medallions truly hold ?   The oracle and his wife gave us clues, cryptic at best.   I guess our quest is lifelong.’, Sonic said, as he placed Timely on his nightstand along with his medallion and turned over to gaze into Amy’s eyes lovingly.    She lay her head atop his chest and curled into his arms, beginning to become drowsy.   

            ‘So be it.  That’s our duty, Sonic, darling.’, Amy said, fully aware that their quest was more than duty, it was service to the Mobians.   It was a vow, a pledge to keep them safe from whatever evil lurked in the darkness that they hadn’t faced.    When they were young, they never really understood how many forces were out there that might want to dismantle, destroy and annihilate them, but now, with more power on their side that they would wield properly, the king and the queen slept peacefully along with the rest of the kingdom knowing that they would be shielded and upheld, even with their youngsters in the future.    One day, Dashiel would take the throne and rule, but currently, he and his siblings were mere kids.   They always put up a good fight when battling, but royal duties would fall on all their capable shoulders once they were aptly prepared for them. 

 

To Be Continued…