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Long before she met Tails and his friends, Cosmo used to have a peaceful life…
Long ago, Cosmo once lived in a spaceship, a Seedrian craft, along with her other female Seedrians. They'd been in space for sometime. One day, she was traveling on a conveyor belt that transported people down corridors. A few other Seedrians passed her going the other way on the belt. "Hi there, Cosmo!" said one named Starla.
"How are you doing today?" asked a second named Chrysanthemum.
"Be sure to give your mother our regards," said a third named Daisy. "We'll see you later, Cosmo!"
"OK! Goodbye!" said Cosmo, waving at them.
Then, she saw someone waiting for her at a four-hall intersection. "Galaxina!" she said, stopping in front of her.
Galaxina, who was her sister, was happy to see her. "There you are, Cosmo!" she said. "You've had Mother worried all afternoon."
"I didn't mean to," said Cosmo. "I was playing my pretend game again, and I must have forgotten what time it was."
"Don't worry, little Cosmo," Galaxina chuckled heartily. "We're all pretty used to your daydreaming by now." Her little sister had always been the dreamy one.
Cosmo scowled, folding her arms. She loved her sister and all, but sometimes, she can be a bit teasing. Then again, most older siblings were.
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Soon, Cosmo and Galaxina were in a sort of sanctuary meeting up with their mother, a giant tree that was kept alive by machinery. "Sorry to worry you, Mother," said Cosmo.
"She was dreaming again, like always," said Galaxina.
Then, Cosmo thought of something. "Hey, have you ever wondered if Mother likes to daydream too sometimes?" she asked.
"Well, maybe…" said Galaxina.
"I'll bet she dreams about being back home again, like I do," said Cosmo.
"Yes," said Galaxina. "... I'm sure it's a great comfort to her. To hope that one day we'll all be back there…"
"Galaxina…" said Cosmo, "the elders say we'll be journeying through space like this forever." At this point, Cosmo and her people had been gone for so long that they couldn't remember what their home planet was like– except Cosmo's mother.
"Not forever, Cosmo," said Galaxina. "Just until we defeat the evil Metarex monsters for good. Only then can we rest and search for a new planet to call home."
Cosmo felt better then. She and her people were all looking forward to that day. "Come on, then," said Galaxina. "Let's go. Mother has many errands for us today."
"Yes!" said Cosmo.
As Galaxina left, Cosmo remembered something. "Oh, goodbye, Mother!" she said. "See you later!" With that, she also left.
All in all, despite being in space, Cosmo had a very normal childhood. She had a teasing but caring sister, a loving mother (despite her being a tree), and some amazing friends that she would never forget about.
However, everything changed when the Metarex attacked…
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An explosion later rocked the ship, throwing Cosmo against the wall. Smoke poured from the ship as the Metarex Scarship (this was before it was destroyed) pulled up alongside it. Cosmo was understandably frightened as the Scarship cast its shadow over her.
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At the bridge, Starla, Chrysanthemum, and Daisy were gathered there with an image of the Scarship. An alarm could be heard blaring throughout the ship. "Metarex approaching!" exclaimed Starla.
"Sectors 3 and 7 have been irreparably damaged!" said Chrysanthemum. "We can't fight them much longer."
"We have to stop them!" said Daisy.
But before the shields could be deployed, a blast from the Scarship struck the bridge, killing the three.
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Cosmo ran for her life down the hall as fast as she could (the conveyor belts had stopped working due to the damage) as explosions ran out across the ship. And while she would be the only survivor, she would be forever scarred by the tragedy. The last thing she saw before ultimately escaping would be the only home she ever knew getting entirely blown up. And the last thing she heard was Galaxina calling out for her before she too met the same fate as the others…
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Cosmo opened her eyes, shaken at the memory. Wallflower must have taken notice at some point, because she immediately wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in for a side hug. Looking over from where her face was buried into Wallflower's side, she saw Tails and Knuckles. Tails was doing some typing on his communicator. "My commlink's detecting that there's a Chaos Emerald nearby," he said, "but it won't pinpoint where exactly."
"Could be this one's buried way underground where it's hard to get to," said Chris, who was flying the X-Tornado. "Just means we're all gonna have to work a little harder to find it."
"Nice," said AJ, cracking her knuckles. "Just the way I like to work back home." Of course, being a farm girl, this was no surprise to anyone.
"Well, let's not all stand here twiddling our thumbs," said Knuckles impatiently. "Let's look for this thing!"
"Yeah!" Sonic laughed. "Move it down there, will ya?"
Tails and Knuckles looked up to see the X-Tornado flying overhead.
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"Good luck, everybody!" Cream called, waving down to them. "Be careful, OK?"
Tails and Grace waved back. However, Cosmo looked sad. She buried her face back into Wallflower's side, the older girl never ceasing in comforting her. Creecha, who was fully healed and also with the group in the plane, took notice of this. "Poor Cosmo…" sighed Cream. "I wish we could cheer her up somehow."
"Chao chao…" Cheese agreed, also saddened.
"It's not easy when your family's not around," said Chris. "In fact, it's just about the loneliest feeling in the world."
Creecha sighed. "In a way, I know how that feels," she said. "Honestly, that girl really deserves to have a normal childhood."
She did indeed. Not only that, Cosmo deserved better.
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Later, Tails, Knuckles, Cosmo, AJ, Twilight, and Grace were walking through an abandoned stone city. "Why do I have a sneaking suspicion the Metarex have been here too?" said Tails, shivering. "This place gives me the creeps." He felt Knuckles pat his back in comfort.
"You don't have to tell me twice," said Grace, gulping as she hid behind Twilight. "Meanwhile, it's giving me ghost town vibes."
"Yup," said Knuckles. "Just another sad ex-planet."
Tails and Cosmo stopped, the latter looking around. "Look around," she said. "Families lived here once. Children played all day without a care in the world. They didn't know what was coming."
The memory of her people's starship exploding flashed through her mind. "Now they're all gone," she said woefully, "just like Mother, and Galaxina, and they'll never come back!"
She looked at Tails, who was looking at his communicator. "Sometimes I miss them so much," she said.
Tails turned to her, having not been paying attention. "What's that?" he asked.
"Nothing," Cosmo sighed, looking down.
"Take a look at this, Tails!" Knuckles called.
Tails and Cosmo joined him, looking down into what appeared into a bottomless pit. "That had to be at least a mile deep!" said Knuckles.
Tails opened his communicator, and a blip appeared, indicating a Chaos Emerald. "This is it, you guys," said Tails. "The Chaos Emerald's down there somewhere."
Soon, Tails was flying Cosmo down the cliff. Twilight and Grace were flying alongside them while Knuckles and AJ were climbing down. "Look!" said Cosmo suddenly. "A cave!"
Sure enough, there was a cave opening below them. They halted their downward progress. "You four go check it out," said Knuckles.
"We're on it," said Tails.
He lowered Cosmo to the cave opening before landing there. They entered the cave, feeling their way through it. "You and the others be careful, Tails," said Cosmo. "It's dark in here."
Grace grasped at Twilight's hand, the older girl taking it with no hesitation. However, Cosmo accidentally touched a certain part of the wall, quickly withdrawing her hand. "What's the matter?" asked Tails.
"I'm not sure;" said Cosmo, "it felt like some kind of–"
Suddenly, the entire ground shook and cracked, separating Tails and the girls from Cosmo. "Twilight! You and Grace get out of here!" said Tails. "There's gonna be a cave in!"
"But what about you and Cosmo?" asked Grace. "We can't leave you two here!"
"There's no time!" said Tails. "We'll be fine! You guys just go and get help!"
Nodding, Twilight grabbed Grace's hand and ran out of the cave. As soon as they were out of sight, rocks began falling. "Cosmo!" exclaimed Tails.
Running towards her, Tails tackled Cosmo away from the larger falling rocks, accidentally sending them both falling into a pit. Knuckles and AJ had just finished descending the cliff wall to see the mouth of the cave was blocked off. Twilight and Grace were sitting on their knees near the entrance, panting. "What happened?" asked AJ.
"There was a cave in," said Twilight. "Me and Grace managed to get out, but we don't know what happened to Tails and Cosmo because Tails told us to get out and get help."
"We don't know what happened to Tails and Cosmo!" added Grace. "They're trapped in there!"
"They're sealed in a cave?!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Hang on, guys!"
He immediately began digging. Meanwhile, AJ motioned Twilight and Grace to follow her so that they could get help.
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When he started to wake up, Tails heard someone calling out to him. "Please, Tails… Oh, please be okay…"
When he regained his senses, there was Cosmo, sitting next to him, looking at him with worry and concern etched on her face. "What happened?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his sore head.
"Careful; you're hurt," said Cosmo.
"I-I'm feeling kinda dizzy…" said Tails. He must've gotten hit on the head at one point.
He looked around and above at his new surroundings. "Strange…" he said, "I remember walking inside the cave, and then hearing this rumbling and I must have passed out."
"It's my fault," admitted Cosmo. "If I hadn't touched that thing, then none of this would have happened."
At that, everything came back to Tails. "The button!" he said. "I remember now." That button that Cosmo had accidentally pushed must've caused that cave-in in the first place, explaining their current situation.
Then, he noticed Cosmo's glum expression, clearly blaming herself for the mess they were in. "Hey, don't feel bad, Cosmo;" he reassured her as he opened his communicator, "this is a good thing. We'll tell Chris where we are and then we'll start lookin' around."
"What if the Metarex are in here?" asked Cosmo, looking around nervously.
"Chris, Amy, do you read me?" Tails asked, talking into his communicator.
But there wasn't a signal; only static. "No good," said Tails. "We must have lost our connection."
"I'm sorry," said Cosmo, looking down at the ground.
"Don't worry, Cosmo," said Tails. "We'll make the most of it."
Pressing a button, he discovered that the Chaos Emerald was closer than before. "We're still getting a reading," he said, "so the Emerald's gotta be here somewhere. Let's go!"
"Wait, Tails," said Cosmo, needing to do something first.
She prepared to bandage Tails's wound on his head with a part ripped from her dress. "Really, I feel just fine, Cosmo," said Tails, pulling away.
"I don't care," said Cosmo, bandaging his head anyway. "It's better to be safe than sorry, I always say."
Tails's eyes shimmered and his cheeks turned red from blushing; feelings for her were starting to form.
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Meanwhile, in the X-Tornado, Chris was seeing a blip on his radar, but he was looking a little uneasy. "What's wrong, Chris?" asked Creecha.
"I just hope they're okay," Chris answered. "I can't get rid of this bad feeling. If that Emerald is buried underground, things could get kinda dangerous."
"Don't worry, Chris," said Cream. "When things get scary, at least Knuckles is there. He won't allow anything to happen to them 'cause he's tough!"
"Chaaoo!" Cheese agreed.
"Don't sweat it, buddy," said Sonic, walking over next to the canopy. "I've got it covered. If somethin' goes wrong, I'll be there in a jiffy."
Chris smiled. "Thanks, Sonic," he said.
Just then, the radio crackled to life. "Blue Typhoon to X-Tornado! Chris, do you read me?"
It was Amy. "I read you," said Chris.
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"Me and Sticks just got a radio message from Knuckles!" said Amy. "He says Tails and Cosmo are trapped in a cave somewhere and he can't get through to them!"
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The X-Tornado's occupants were surprised at the news and concerned about Tails' and Cosmo's wellbeing. At that moment, Twilight and Grace showed up, AJ earth-surfing alongside them. "That's funny," said Twilight. "Because we just got here to notify you about the same thing."
"Stupid cave-ins," Grace muttered.
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Creecha. "Let's go find them."
Everyone agreed. Tails, little bro, I sure hope you and Cosmo are okay down there, Sonic thought.
Sure, Tails was a captain, but at the same time, he was still Sonic's little brother. And the blue hedgehog would do anything to protect him.
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Meanwhile, Tails and Cosmo were walking through the dark cavern. "You know," Tails was saying, "I really have to upgrade this thing when we get outta here. Like maybe add some type of software that allows you to cut through subterranean rock formations."
"Uh-huh…" replied Cosmo.
"I mean, sure, it would make it a lot easier to find hidden Chaos Emeralds," Tails continued. "Plus, we'd have the ability to send digitized contact signals to and from wherever we might be. Even if we're underground or outer space in some secret hi-tech laboratory somewhere. Yeah, all I have to do is upload a new transformer and reprogram the main…"
But Cosmo wasn't listening as Tails's words trailed off in her head. She continued to stare down at the ground, guilt crashing down on her like waves along the seashore. I'm so frightened… she thought before adding softly, "Mother would know what to do."
"Cosmo?" asked Tails, having heard her.
Cosmo looked up. "You OK?" he asked.
"Huh?" said Cosmo, a little surprised. "Just daydreaming."
"Sorry," said Tails, scratching the back of his head. "I'm really boring if I'm talking about machines, aren't I?"
"No," Cosmo replied. "That's not it in any way. It's my fault. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be stuck down here."
"Don't worry," Tails reassured her. "Even if you are scared (even though I'm not very good at situations like this)-"
"That's not true at all, Tails," Cosmo interrupted. "You're very brave and reliable when you need to be."
Tails was surprised. "Really?" he asked.
"Yes," Cosmo answered, sporting a little smile. "You really are."
Just then, several fireflies began flying up around them. "Hey look, Cosmo!" said Tails. "They're like some kind of fireflies or something!"
Cosmo stared in wonder as the fireflies flew down a passage. "I wonder where they're going?" she said.
"Yeah!" Tails agreed. "Let's follow 'em!"
They raced after the fireflies down the passage and stopped. "Huh? Woah!" Tails exclaimed.
The fireflies flew up to a place where there appeared to be a giant metal building.
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Meanwhile, outside, Knuckles was using his Shovel Claws to punch his way through the blocked cave entrance while the others looked on. "There's a whole avalanche of rocks down here," he called. "Something must have jarred them all loose."
"Looks like it," said AJ. "But the question is: what did it?"
"Just listen to him showing off with those big silly gloves of this," said Amy.
"Say what you will," said Cream, "but I have faith in Knuckles. You should too."
Chris was using his communicator to project a holo-scan of the area. "I'm using the infrared movement tracker," he said as Sonic walked up to him, "but I can't seem to get a reading from anywhere. It looks like a system of interconnected caves. And I'm guessing there's gotta be more than one way down there."
"Huh. That's interesting," said Creecha, taking a peek at it.
"So while Knuckles is busy boulderizing," said Amy, "we can snoop around for a bit."
"Let's hurry," said Cream. "It must be awful spooky in that place. I don't like to think of them down there."
"Chao chao…" Cheese agreed.
"Cheer up," Sonic encouraged them. "We'll find 'em!"
Everyone agreed.
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The fireflies flew in front of the front door. Several Metarex Vipers patrolled the halls as Tails and Cosmo carefully peered around the corner. "This is a nightmare…" whispered Cosmo.
"I think we're both having the same bad dream," Tails replied.
They both ducked back down while Tails checked his communicator. "The Chaos Emerald is located somewhere in this complex," he said as he closed it. "Ready, Cosmo?"
Cosmo nodded. She and Tails ran down the halls and through several corridors, trying to stay out of the way of the Metarex Vipers. Eventually, they entered another room which contained giant tubes. There were Chaos Emeralds inside each of them. "A whole room full of Emeralds…" said a breathless Cosmo.
They examined one of the tubes. There was strange writing on the top and bottom of it. Cosmo gasped and ran to another part of the room. "It's some kind of… manufacturing plant," she realized.
Then, she spotted something in the middle of the room. "This must be the real one," she said, Tails joining her. "They're feeding off it somehow."
Sure enough, the white Chaos Emerald rested in a tube in the middle of it all. Then, Tails was reminded of the Metarex Crystal and the red Chaos Emerald he was holding back on Planet Breezy. "So they'll all have the same kind of power," he realized. "This explains the counterfeit one that Metarex had on Planet Breezy."
"You're right," said Cosmo as she also remembered. "It looked so real it fooled us. And now there's a whole factory full of them! Why would they be doing this?"
"I don't know," said Tails admittedly. "It's weird. But if I can hack into their computer systems somehow, we just may be able to find an answer."
He typed on a computer, and writing in a different language appeared. "Some kind of strange code…" he said. "I can't decipher it."
But somehow, Cosmo was able to read the strange Metarex writing. "It says here 'Operation Duplicate', with a list of key components," she said. "Let's see… 'Stabilized energy… 93% compression rate… distillation of properties…' "
Tails was astonished. "You mean you can read this?" he asked.
"Only some," answered Cosmo. "But I'm not all that familiar with a lot of the more technical data. I wish I could help more…"
"You've helped a lot, Cosmo!" said Tails in reply. "Now let's download this information right away!"
Soon, Tails had a cord connected to the computer and was downloading the information onto his communicator. "We'll look at the data when we get back to the Blue Typhoon," he said. "Will you help me translate?"
"Sure, I'd love to!" Cosmo replied. "... It's the least I can do after the mess I've gotten you into."
"But Cosmo, it's not your fault," Tails insisted gently. "And besides, we wouldn't have discovered all of this if it weren't for you."
Suddenly, before they could talk any further… "Aahh… Intruders!" exclaimed a voice.
Tails and Cosmo turned to see a Metarex Viper approaching them. "Cosmo, get the real Emerald!" said Tails, retracting his cord.
"I will teach you not to trespass!" threatened the Metarex Viper. "You're not wanted here! Stay away from there!"
The Metarex Viper lunged towards the kids. Cosmo struggled to open the door, but finally managed to do so and retrieved the Chaos Emerald. Meanwhile, with a lot of tugging, Tails was able to disconnect the giant power cord, causing sparks to fly. He thrusts it into Metarex Viper's mouth, short-circuiting it out, giving him and Cosmo time to flee the room. Elsewhere in the Metarex base, an alarm went off, the red light flashing. "Attention!" said someone over the intercom. "Intruders have removed the Chaos Emerald. They must not escape!"
Four Metarex Vipers took off. The Metarex Voter that was short-circuited was typing on a console, pulling up a map of where the Chaos Emerald was. "The Chaos Emerald will show exactly where they're hiding," it said, laughing. "How convenient."
But in times like this, one should know better than to underestimate Tails's smarts.
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Several Metarex Vipers were swimming through the waters. Cosmo carefully looked around from behind a rock before ducking back down. "I hate to say it, Tails," she said, "but I think the Emerald is leading them straight to us!"
"I've got a plan," said Tails.
From his hands, he released several fireflies that he picked up from the ground. "I knew there was something funny about these fireflies," he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Cosmo as she watched the fireflies fly through the caves.
"They're tiny robots powered by the energy of the Chaos Emeralds," Tails answered. "Same components and everything."
Cosmo smiled. "Tails, you're a genius!" she said.
Tails blushed, his feelings for her no doubt getting a little stronger.
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Back at the fortress, countless blips began appearing on the screen. "Impossible!" exclaimed Metarex Viper. How the heck was that even possible?
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Meanwhile, Tails and Cosmo were continuing their trek through a large cavern. "We'll be safe now that we threw off the Metarex," he said, "and we'll be outta here in no time!"
"Sure," said Cosmo, looking at the light of the white Chaos Emerald in her hand. "We'll be OK."
In her mind, she remembered the giant tree on board her home spaceship before it was attacked. "The light…" she said. "It reminds me of how Mother made me feel, like nothing bad could happen. It's just so bright… and warm… and loving…"
"Yeah, I guess Chaos Emeralds have that effect on folks," Tails agreed. "And you know, it's kind of interesting. You could be in the worst kind of danger, but once you hold a Chaos Emerald in your hand, you'll feel a lot safer."
"When I was a young girl, my sister Galaxina used to tell me the legend of the Chaos Emeralds," said Cosmo. "And… I used to dream that one day, I would hold one in my hand and feel all of its magical power."
"A power that is greatest when it is used by those who are pure in heart and intention," said Tails wisely.
"I don't understand," said Cosmo.
"Its power depends on those who use it, you see," Tails explained. "Like my brother Sonic, for instance. Sonic can only use them for good, so only good can come from it. But then there are those like the Metarex or Dr. Eggman who uses it for purposes of evil. That's when the power changes into something dark and destructive."
Suddenly, Cosmo stopped in her tracks. "What's the matter?" asked Tails.
"Oh Tails, I'm not worthy to be touching the Chaos Emerald," Cosmo said woefully as she held the Emerald out to him. "Please take it away from me!" At this point, there were tears spreading in her eyes.
"Why, Cosmo?" asked Tails, taking the Emerald.
The answer he got was heartbreaking, to say the least: "Because my soul is filled up with nothing but sadness and hatred. Hated for those monsters who took away my planet… and claimed my family, and my friends, and everything else that was precious to me, and left me all alone… There is no way any good comes from me. I will only bring you evil and disaster!"
Tails looked at her compassionately. And he thought he had a terrible background. Sure, you getting picked on because you have two tails and love to build stuff was one thing. But to have everything you love, friends and family alike, get taken away from you in one fell swoop? That was just a whole new level of sadness. "Cosmo…" he said, cupping her face into his hand.
Suddenly, a Metarex Viper's tail whipped into Tails, throwing him into a cave wall and causing him to drop the Chaos Emerald and his communicator. "Tails, no!" Cosmo exclaimed.
She was soon at Tails's side, kneeling next to him. The Metarex Viper picked up the Chaos Emerald with its tail while Cosmo tended to Tails. Fortunately, that Planet Egg she and the girls saved back at the jungle planet had also given her healing abilities, which she used to heal Tails the best she could. "Give that back!" Tails demanded.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," said the Metarex Viper. "Leave here now, or you'll be executed on the spot."
"Forget it, Tails!" Cosmo insisted fearfully. "We have to get out of here now!"
Tails managed to stand up despite feeling a little weary. That tail whip really did a number on him. "Perhaps you should listen to your little friend," thes Metarex Viper laughed as its companions surrounded them.
Tails glared up at them. "So…" he said. "I guess all you Meta-mutants think you're pretty tough, don'cha? Well, we're pretty tough too, and we have good on our side, which is more than you can say!"
"Tails, don't do it…" Cosmo pleaded.
Tails gave Cosmo a reassuring look. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he said. "I'll be OK."
With that, he flew into the air, knocking the Chaos Emerald out of the grasp of the Metarex Viper that took it, causing it to land on the ground. "Noooww!" he said.
Snapping out of her trance, Cosmo began running towards the Emerald. "Stay away from that Emerald!" exclaimed the Metarex Viper, reaching out towards her.
Seeing this, Tails interfered by flying in front of Cosmo, getting captured in her place. "Let go of me!" he yelled, trying to free himself from its tail. "Let me go!"
By that time Cosmo had picked up the Emerald only to see the predicament. "Oh no! Tails!" she exclaimed.
"I've had enough of your foolishness!" the Metarex Viper said to Tails.
The other Metarex Voters surrounded Cosmo. "Now you have a choice," said the viper holding Tails, probably their leader. "Give us the Chaos Emerald and we'll let you go, or we'll kill you both on the spot if you refuse."
Cosmo didn't know what to do. She didn't want to give the Metarex Vipers the Chaos Emerald, but at the same time, she didn't want to see Tails more hurt than he already was. Seeing this hesitation, the lead Metarex Viper had them both painfully torchered with their electric spears powered up to the max to hasten Cosmo's choice. But just as she was about to concede and give them the Emerald because Tails was also getting hurt, she heard someone. "Have faith, Cosmo," it said.
Looking up, that was when Cosmo saw it: a vision of Wallflower Blush appeared before her. "When times like this are at their bleakest, help will always come along," she said.
Cosmo remembered the words as the ones from back on Planet Hobidon. "Wallflower…" she whispered.
"Just remember to have faith," said Wallflower gently as the vision disappeared.
Now strengthened by Wallflower's words, Cosmo stood up (having been on the ground weakened due to the electricity) and glared up at their captors. "I will never give the Emerald to you," she said. "You and your fellow Metarex only use them for evil, horrible purposes, and good is more powerful than evil. I'd rather give my life to the good side rather than die like the cowards you all are on the inside."
Despite his injuries, Tails managed a smile at her. And to say that the lead Metarex Viper was insulted at being called a coward was saying something. "Hurt and execute them!" he ordered. "Hurt and kill them both!"
The other Metarex Vipers proceeded to hurt them further, but before they could be executed, Wallflower's words came true: in the form of Tails's abandoned communicator crackling to life. "Tails! Cosmo! Do you read me?" It was Chris!
This confused the other Metarex Vipers. Tails saw his chance. "Hurry!" he yelled. "They've got us!"
The leader was infuriated and began slashing at Tails with his spear. "KILL THEM, YOU FOOLS!!" he exclaimed, holding the dreadful weapon at Tails' throat. "KILL THEM BOTH NOW!!!"
At Tails's words, the word "Contact" appeared on the communicator's screen. "Not for long, buddy!" said a voice.
Suddenly, a blue blur spun in through the ceiling. It was Sonic! With his trademark spin dash, he took out several Metarex Vipers, including the one holding Tails; the second he saw that horrible Metarex Viper about to cut Tails' throat, Sonic didn't hesitate to get at him hard and fast. The instant Tails fell, Sonic was able to catch him (he couldn't fly due to his injured state). "We were pretty worried about you," he said, cradling him. "You and Cosmo okay?"
"Probably not thanks to those stupid torture weapons they had," said Tails. "But I'm okay now. Because I just knew you guys would come."
The two hugged, happy to have found each other. "Who dares help the enemy?!" growled the lead Metarex Viper, angry at having victory taken away from it.
"I dare!" said another voice.
Before he knew it, Amy appeared and destroyed the Metarex Viper with her hammer, promptly burying it under some rocks. Creecha and the others came down the hole, immediately racing towards the fight. Twilight and AJ worked together to take on one group of Metarex Vipers. Sticks was throwing her boomerang with precision and hitting some on target while Creecha used her element-bending skills (her earthbending skills) and her swordsmanship to take out others.
As for Grace, she instantly headed for Cosmo on her mother's orders. Arriving there, she saw Cosmo curled up in a ball, holding something close to her chest. Recognizing it as the Chaos Emerald, Grace smiled and used her own healing abilities on her, dew and rose petals swirling around her while a white glow surrounded her. When it died down, Cosmo was still hurt, but it was less than before. She weakly looked up at Grace, who carefully scooped her up into her arms and brought her in for a hug. "You found us," she said.
"Glad we did," said Grace happily, leaning down a little to kiss her forehead.
Managing to sit up a bit, Cosmo leaned into Grace's embrace just as Sonic brought Tails over to them before racing back to the fight. Thanks to Grace's healing powers, Tails was better too, though still injured. "Are you OK, Cosmo?" he asked, looking up at her.
"Sure," Cosmo nodded. "I'm fine. Now that you're alright."
Happy to hear this, Tails hugged her along with Grace. "Man, that was close," he said. It was true. If their friends hadn't shown up in time, they would've been dead meat.
Just then, Chris, Cream, and Cheese also dropped down from above. "Hey, you two," Chris greeted.
"Chao chao," said Cheese.
Tails smiled as Cosmo waved at them. "You really are lifesavers, you know?" he asked.
"Well… yeah," said Amy, leaning on her hammer while Sticks just winked at them.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" said Cream happily. "Now that the monsters are all gone, then we can all go home."
"That's right, Cream," Chris agreed.
However, AJ held up a hand. "Hold up, y'all," she said. "I'm sensin' somethin'. Don't say anythin'."
Kneeling down to the ground, she placed a hand on it, closed her eyes, and focused on something for a while, not moving a mussel the whole time. Earthbenders are pretty good at sensing vibrations in the earth, especially in a fight, in a battle, or even a war. Even when some earthbenders are blind, they use it to their advantage, like, for example, using their feet as a set of eyes. After about several minutes, her eyes snapped open. "Get ready to fight, y'all!" she said, quickly standing up and drawing out her lightsabers. "We're not outta the woods just yet!"
Sure enough, from under the rocks emerged the Metarex Viper that Amy attacked earlier. Two others joined it. "Not so fast," it said. "Don't let them get away!"
"Oh, now it's so on," said Creecha, cracking her knuckles.
"Bring it on!" Amy challenged, reading her hammer. "We're ready for ya!"
"You want some more of this, huh?" said Sonic.
With that, he charged towards the Metarex Vipers. "Get him!" said Chris.
"Get him, Sonic!" Cream cheered.
Cosmo looked on in amazement at the fight before her eyes.
One of the Metarex Vipers leapt over Sonic, only to be spun into from behind.
Amy hammed three petrified Metarex Vipers into the wall.
Chris reflected light from his communicator to damage two more Metarex Vipers.
Creecha used an element-bending attack (a waterbending one) to get several Metarex Vipers surrounding her.
Sticks was throwing her boomerang and swinging on vines like a monkey, getting several more Metarex Vipers.
Thanks to their telekinesis and earthbending, Twilight and AJ worked together to bring down a whole circle of Metarex Vipers.
Grace was standing in front of Tails and Cosmo, shooting a thorn at an incoming Metarex Viper every now and then. She didn't kill them, but she did pin them to the cave wall.
Even Cream got into the action by throwing Cheese like a Pokemon ball at three other Metarex Vipers. "Chaaao!" exclaimed Cheese, looking like he was a Pokemon character.
"See, Cosmo?" said Tails, turning to look at her. "Nothing but good can come when you help your friends."
"Right," Cosmo nodded.
"Let's go," said Tails, holding out his hand.
Cosmo didn't hesitate to take it. However, there was still one Metarex Viper left: the leader. "Sonic, I will destroy you!" it said.
"Just try!" Sonic challenged.
"Waait!" called someone.
Looking behind him, Sonic saw Tails, who was airlifting Cosmo by the waist, the latter holding the Chaos Emerald. "Up here, Sonic!" she called, tossing him the gem. "Catch!"
"Got it!" said Sonic, catching it.
The Metarex Viper sweat-dropped as Sonic used the power of the Chaos Emerald. "Hahaha! Bye-bye!" the hedgehog taunted.
Everything went white.
………………………………………………………………………
Soon, everyone was finally out of the cave and were now outside in front of the Blue Typhoon. Grace was getting Cosmo, who was sitting in Twilight's lap, healed with her own healing powers, listening as Cosmo told the whole story, Creecha sitting nearby and listening with great interest. Tails looked on happily until he felt someone tap his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw Sonic beckoning to him, arms outstretched. Smiling, Tails came over to him, and Sonic pulled him into his lap as soon as he was within arm's reach. His arms wrapped around Tails's middle and the youngest's back was pressed against the older's chest. "Glad you're alright, little bro," he said, playfully nipping his ear.
Tails giggled at the touch. "Same here, big bro," he said.
The two happily purred close. Cosmo was watching the whole thing. "They are pretty close, are they?" she asked.
Amy smiled. "They're way closer than you think," she said. "They've been friends and brothers ever since Day 1."
"It's true," Sticks nodded.
"How did they meet?" asked Cosmo.
Sonic looked at her. "Found him in the woods one day," he said. "It was years and years ago. Back then, poor little guy was homeless and abandoned, not to mention a bully victim. And by 'homeless', I mean that as in even his own parents didn't want him."
"True," Tails agreed. "I always got picked on because of my smarts (I've always liked to build stuff) and because of these." He wagged his twin appendages behind him.
Cosmo gasped. "That's awful," she said. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."
"It's okay," said Tails. "Luckily, my life changed for the better once Sonic here came along. We've been close ever since."
Cosmo felt better at this. Creecha smiled as she scooted over to the duo. "Alright Tails," she said just as Starlight came over. "Let's get you all healed up."
"Heard what happened," said Starlight. "Something about these two being torchered and hurt."
After using her own medical magic on them both, she did a quick check on them, including Tails's head injury, to make sure she didn't miss anything. "Fortunately, you're not too hurt," she said, "but you both may be sore for a little while. Just be careful next time you're separated, alright?"
The two nodded. "Grace! Cosmo!" said a voice. "You're both okay!"
The two turned to see Wallflower running towards them from the Typhoon. Skidding to a stop next to them, she knelt down and brought them both into a hug, being careful of Cosmo's injuries. "I sensed something bad happened to you, Cosmo," she said, "and I've also sensed what Grace did. I'm glad you're still alive; just don't scare me like that again, okay?"
Grace smiled. "It's a deal, Aunt Wallflower," she said, hugging her back with one arm.
Cosmo didn't answer. She just snuggled close to the embrace, but the content look on her face said everything. In the meantime, Chris was looking at the data Tails had collected from the Metarex's base. "You know," he said, "I have a feeling whatever's on here might put an end to their Planet Egg plot once and for all."
"Maybe the code will tell us where all the Planet Eggs are hidden, and we can save the galaxy," said Cream.
"Chao chao!" said Cheese happily.
"That's right!" said Amy. "Good thing we have our brilliant translator with us."
Cosmo was surprised. "Huh?" she said. "Well… thanks, Amy, but… I feel like I put you all in danger today."
" *Pfft*. That's nothing," scoffed Creecha. "It's not your fault. For us heroes, it's just like a normal part of a schedule."
"That's silly," Tails added. "Besides, we're used to dangerous situations at this point."
"Danger's our middle name!" said Cheese proudly.
"Chao chao!" Cheese added just as proudly.
Tails winked at Cosmo, who was shocked before replacing it with, for the first time in a while, a genuine smile. Not only could she believe her luck, but her friends still trusted her. In addition to that, feelings for Tails started to grow in her. After what happened in the underground caves, the bond between Tails and Cosmo had grown stronger, now starting to turn into a romance of sorts, though the two didn't realize this yet. "Well, let's get going, you guys," said Chris.
"We still got plenty of Metarex to mangle!" said Amy.
"That's right," said Tails, "and thanks to our friend Cosmo, this time we'll be way ahead of 'em. Right, gang?"
"Yeah!" everyone cheered, fist pumping the air.
But… "Wait a minute!" said Sticks suddenly. "What about Knuckles? Where is he?"
Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "We were so busy dealing with Metarex that we completely forgot about him! He might still be in that underground cave! We gotta go find him!"
"Oh, apple fudge," AJ muttered.
Luckily, they didn't have to do that. Because at that moment, Knuckles emerged from underground. "Finally!" he said, looking around. "They must be around here somewhere. Huh?"
He forgot that he wasn't underground, because he looked up to see everyone else. "Hey, where did you guys come from?" he asked.
At that, everyone else burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" asked Knuckles, getting increasingly offended and irritated. "They can't stop chuckling long enough to get me out of here? Hey, come on! I mean it! Get me outta here, guys!"
AJ just stood up and left, still laughing. "I'm gonna go get a shovel," she said.
………………………………………………………………………
Meanwhile, from far away, Dark Oak was sitting in his command chair, looking at a monitor. "Good," he said. "They have fallen for the bait."
Several fireflies flew out of a vent–the same kind that were in the caves. "Soon, they and that fool Eggman wil be back, clutching Chaos Emeralds in their greedy little hands," he said. "And when they least expect it, I'll strike."
He pinched a firefly, destroying it. "How perfect," he said. "One day, they will know the true extent of my power, but by then it will be too late!"
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