#I’ve only just rescued the king and fixed the rift in Castle Town so no spoilers beyond that please!

[skyloftian-nutcase]

It’s interesting how Nintendo seems to be like… backing away from the Triforce? Like the symbolism is still there but we’ve now gone four games without its mention. In BotW/AoC it was Zelda’s sacred power (which is implied to be the Triforce??), in TotK it’s secret stones, and now in Echoes of Wisdom it’s like, what, Elemental Power? It’s also heavily implied to be the Triforce. It’s just kind of weird, but I guess you could chalk it up to time passing and corrupting terms??

[thetravelersjournal]

Gear Foxx- Chapter 9

These Aren’t Chapter Titles!

About 90 degrees from here…

Zonic sipped from the warm cup in his hands, trying to savor his break. While he enjoyed his job, the task of watching all the other Sonics’ in existence could get pretty tiring. He looked out of his window to view the city of Zobotropolis, the alternate counterpart of Mobotropolis, which resided in the No Zone. No Zone ran perpendicular through all other zones, and was the central hub for the Zone Cops, whose job was to make sure the multiverse was safe. Any threats to the Cosmic Interstate- the highway between zones- and the peace between them were handled by the Zone Cops, Zonic included.

Zonic reminded himself of this as Zector burst into the break room, shouting at the top of his lungs, “We got a problem!”

Zonic sighed, putting down his coffee, “What is it Zector? Did you incinerate the copy machine again?”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault! It tried to kill me!” the crocodile huffed.

“What, by giving you paper cuts?”

“Very funny. Look, this is important!”

“What kind of important?” Zonic asked, seeing the seriousness in his friend’s eyes.

“Four zones just popped into existence.”

   Zonic stared at the screens with a mixture of disbelief and awe. Within the span of his ten-minute break, four different zones appeared out of nowhere, fitting nice and snug between all the other realities the multiverse held. He watched as he saw an Amy from one of these dimensions continually swing a hammer at a weasel with a gun.

“Is there a source?” Zonic asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

“I’m pulling it up now,” said Zespio, who had seen the situation unfold at the same time Zector had. He fiddled for a moment with the monitor’s controls, before pulling up a moving image of a teenage fox talking to a mongoose. Zonic’s eyes bulged for a moment.

“Him again!” he declared, covering his mouth with his hand, “What happened exactly?”

“One moment, they weren’t there. The next, our monitors are blaring about unauthorized zone hopping. One of the realities has already collapsed in on itself, another is drifting away from this multiverse by unknown means, and the other two seemed to have stabilized. The residual energy from all of this is coming from him,” Zespio pointed to the screen.

Zonic stared at the image of Gear Foxx on his monitor, “Are you positive he appeared around the same time that Officer Zear went M.I.A.?”

“I’m sure I’m sure. At any rate, the Prime Zone has calmed down- for the most part- but it seems like something tore a small hole in space and time to make those four zones. How did they even do it anyhow? Have you ever heard of a zone being created out of nothing before?” Zector asked, shaking his head.

Zonic furrowed his brow and stared at the screens for a moment before answering, “No, I haven’t. Inform Lieutenant Zally of this at once.”

“And the zone hopper?”

“Nothing we can do until we’ve made absolutely sure the two remaining zones are stable,” Zespio explained, “We’ll have to leave them for now, and hope they return back to their own zone.”

“What about the one drifting away?” Zonic asked as Zector left.

“Not under our jurisdiction. Let the Zone Cops of that multiverse handle it themselves.”

Zonic frowned a little at Zespio’s cold demeanor, but otherwise kept himself professional. He continued to stare at the monitors, hoping he could find some insight as to how exactly this happened.

The week following everything that happened in Robotropolis, Mina remained in a constant state of excitement, running around at near Sonic speeds. With her mom and the rest of the robot Mobians- Robians, people had been calling them- back in Knothole, it seemed that the dark clouds that shifted over her head every now and then had permanently dispersed. Unfortunately, these same clouds slowly started drifting in my direction, especially when Nate tried explaining the reasons why time and space shifted.

“So did everybody just experience that wild fever dream, or...?” I asked as we walked back to Knothole, right after rescuing the Robians from Robotropolis.

“Yeah, that was weird…,” Mina shivered, “It was like living someone else’s life. I can barely remember most of it.”

“Same,” I agreed, before turning to Nate, “What do you think happened?”

“I’m not sure…,” Nate said, stroking his beard in thought.

“Do you think it was Ro-butt-nik?” Sonic asked, striding along toward us.

“No, these rifts were too short-lived. They couldn’t be used to his advantage. The best I can do is study this once we get back to Knothole,” Nate answered.

And sure enough, within the week Nate had already come up with an answer. It was nearing the end of a class lecture on Acornium, the one-hundred thirty-seventh element on the periodic table.

“Hey, Gear. Do you think you could help me with some of this stuff? It’s kind of confusing,” Mina whispered over to me.

“Mina, he hasn’t even finished the lecture yet.”

“I know, but-!” Mina started, making me sigh.

“Yeah, I’ll help,” I gave in, trying to catch what Nate was saying to the class about homework assignments. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mina frown.

“Hey, are you alright?” she asked, confusing me. Before I could answer, however, the bell rang, and as I started packing up my stuff, Nate called me up to the front of the classroom.

“What’s up, Mr. Morgan?” I asked formally, since some of my other classmates were still filing out of the room.

“I’ve hypothesized part of an answer to our strange dreams we had back in Robotropolis. Do you remember any of yours?”

I paused, thinking. “Nope, nothing,” I supplied.

Nate nodded solemnly, “I thought so. When these dreams occurred, a large crack in time appeared.”

I looked at him in astonishment, “Um… for something so important you seem to be taking this very calmly.”

Nate chuckled, waving his hand, “Don’t worry, time has a way of repairing itself- to speak as if it had feelings, it doesn't like being torn apart. It should mend itself back together within a few weeks. I’m more concerned that it did this because it was trying to restore itself from a previous rift.”

“Wait, it fractured itself because it was trying to clean up its own rupture? Like when you have a loose string in your clothes and you try to pull it out, but it just causes the string to become even more unraveled?”

“Not the best example, but yes, something like that. Whatever caused the initial fissure made time erupt trying to fix itself, which led to those different timelines coming into existence.”

“Do you know what caused the initial crack?” I asked.

At this, a dark sadness filled Nate’s eyes. Nothing else changed about him- not his posture, his emotion, or his smile- but I knew the next thing he said wasn’t the complete truth.

“No. I tried asking other people around the world if anything strange happened before these rifts, with young Mile’s and Rotor’s help. No one from Station Square, the Floating Island, or anywhere else had an answer. The only other thing I know is that these rifts seemed to have developed into their own separate zones, and are now floating through the multiverse somewhere.”

“Alright,” I said, feeling I shouldn’t ask in depth if he wasn’t willing to give a straight-up answer, “Have you told the King and Sonic yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then… why tell me first?” I inquired.

Once again, the dark clouds seeped into Nate’s eyes, but they disappeared after a moment. He sighed, as if he had finally lost an argument with himself, and spoke.

“I-,” he began to say, but at that moment the bell for next period rang.

“Uh-oh, I’m late! Can we catch up later?” I said, turning to leave.

Nate breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief, and waved me off, “Of course. And remember the homework assignment is due in two days.”

“You got it. Bye!” I said as I dashed out.

But two days later never came. I was reading a book under a tree near the edge of the great forest when I heard a great commotion from the center of town. I saw Mina run up toward me looking slightly hysterical.

“Gear, there you are!” she cried frantically, waving her arms around in panic. A small dust cloud came up behind her as a gust of wind blew the dirt into my face, making me cough. It still astounded me that Mina was almost as fast as Sonic was, and had never bothered telling me. Then again, I never told her about my ability to teleport, so I suppose that made us even in a way.

“What’s going on?” I choked out, still trying to dislodge some dust from my throat.

“Sonic, Princess Sally, and Mr. Nate all went to Robotropolis to try to free the Overlanders there!” she pointed over the crowd of people that were congesting the square. I peered over the tops of dozens of heads, discovering that she was right- a long line of Overlanders were following Sally and Sonic to the castle.

“I don’t see Nate though,” I said, turning back to Mina.

“I know, that’s what I came to tell you about, actually…” Mina got quiet for a moment, staring determinedly at the ground, “I talked to Sonic as they came into Knothole… apparently Mr. Nate got captured by Robotnik… and roboticized…”

“What?!” I yelled, causing several people from the crowd to turn around and look at me.

“Calm down, I’m sure that Sonic and the others can get him back, right? They were able to rescue not only the Robians but also all the Overlanders that Robotnik had trapped in Robotropolis, so I’m sure… I’m sure that…” Mina’s voice fell flat. She wasn’t sure herself, but she was trying to stay positive. My shoulders sagged.

“I- I need to process this…” I said, turning away.

“O-oh, okay…” Mina said hesitantly. I started walking away, pushing through the crowd towards the direction of my house.

I thought back to me and Nate’s conversation back in the classroom. He had been hiding something from me then, but what? Why would he go back to the city, when he knew it was so dangerous? It took me a moment to realize that in the short time I had known him,  I had come to look up to Nate. In the few weeks he had spent as my teacher, he taught me a lot. Still, the man was a mystery to me, and it seemed as if he knew more about me- or suspected more about me- than I knew about myself. I stopped at my front door, my gaze fixed on a blade of grass rubbing against my boot. Just who was Nate Morgan? And what was he to me?

After some time, I finally looked up, only to discover a small white sheet of paper sticking in between the slit of the door. I carefully pulled it out, cautiously opening it, as if it were to explode at any given moment.

It was a small letter, addressed to me. The note was in no way remarkable, except for the words it contained. “Dear Gear,” the note read, “You have most likely already heard that I went back to Robotropolis, and you are probably wondering why I would go back, when you and the others risked your lives for mine the first time around. There was something I didn’t tell you when last we talked. When you asked me what had caused time to rip apart, I told you I didn’t know.

“But I did. The truth was that I wasn’t sure how you would react if I told you- especially if you knew what I am about to do. Whatever caused time to tear stemmed from the two of us, while we were in Robotropolis. If you had not been there to take down the energy dome, I would have had to do so. Unlike you, however, I do not think I would have survived.

“I am still not entirely sure why this chain of events happened, why time took offense to all of this. Did you know this would happen? There has been a strange aura encompassing you that I noticed upon our first meeting together. Extraordinary things are heading your way, but it seems this is the end of the road for me. I thank you for the courage you displayed in the city, but now I must face this fear alone. If I do not, I am afraid of what will happen to the timestream.

“Stay strong, and full of hope. I’m sure that if- no, when- the time comes, we will meet again. Sincerely, Nate Morgan.”

I stared silently at the false promise at the end of the letter. Nate was gone- I wanted to believe otherwise, remind myself that he could still be saved- but something was telling me that it was already over for him. It wasn’t despair that was telling me this, or a lack of conviction, but the solid, harsh truth, weakening my knees and causing me to sink to the ground. It was only now that I realized what Nate was to me- a mentor, a teacher, but most importantly, a friend.

The Overlanders stayed for a week, before finally moving to Station Square.

I woke up screaming, just like every other night I had tried falling asleep this week. My mind was taking advantage of recent events, and now Nate joined Mina in whatever torture I had to sit by and watch them go through. A part of me was now thankful that I had built my house a little further away from anyone else. I sat up in bed, yawning. I scratched my chest, feeling the bandages I had wrapped around my ribs to hide my brand. I looked at the clock, surprised to see that I had slept later than usual. It was only five-thirty in the morning, which meant I had gotten about an hour or so more sleep. I got up, wondering what I could do to occupy my time on my day off from both school and work.

I heard a knock on my door, startling me. Curious to see who else would be up this early in the morning, I lazily opened the door, coming face to face with a worried Mina.

“Are you okay Gear? I heard screaming,” she asked hesitantly.

“Better question; why are you here at the crack of dawn?” I retorted, yawning.

“Huh? I asked you if you could help me with homework, and you said now would be the best time!” Mina argued grumpily. She must have been just as tired as I was, because her hair was a little unkempt, and dark lines circled her eyes.

“What? When did I agree to that?”

“Yesterday, when the substitute teacher was handing back test grades! Don’t you remember?”

I strained my mind, indeed remembering that me and Mina had had a conversation about schoolwork yesterday. The problem was that I had been so tired from lack of sleep that I hadn’t paid as much attention to the discussion as Mina had.

I sighed, “I did, didn’t I? Well, why don’t you come in, I guess?”

“Okay, but… again, what was the screaming about? And what’s with the bandages?” Mina inquired, pointing to my chest.

“Crap,” I thought, leaving the door and rushing over to my closet. “Sorry, I’ll put a shirt on,” I yelled. I reached for a solid black tee hanging up and slipped it over my head before running back. Then, avoiding her second question, I answered her first, “Just had a nightmare, was all. Woke up screaming.”

It seemed for a moment that Mina had caught on to my diversion. But instead, she said, “Must’ve been some nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Maybe later,” I said, finally inviting her in. I reached for my backpack, which was sitting next to the door, “So, what did you want to go over?”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Gear?”

“I’m fine Mina, now what-,” I started to say, but one look from Mina was all it took for me to shut up. She didn’t have an angry look on her face, but sadness drew down the lines of her smile.

“You’re not fine, Gear. You haven’t been since we left Robotropolis.”

I couldn’t really argue with this, so instead I pulled up a chair and sat down. I stared at the edge of the table standing next to me, listening to Mina as she sat down across from me.

“Are the nightmares about what happened after we rescued the Robians?” Mina asked, “Is that why you’ve been looking so sad lately?”

“No, the nightmares are… unrelated. Have I been looking that miserable recently?”

“Yes, maybe even, um… depressed.”

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I contemplated what she had said. It was true that I had been down in the dumps lately, but I had just chalked that up to Nate’s absence. What other reason was there to be down?

“I… I noticed that your parents didn’t come back with the rest of the Robians… what happened to them? If you don’t mind me asking…”

And somehow, Mina defined the problem before I could come up with one. It made sense, too. Mina had her mom back after so long… was I jealous? Perhaps, but the undeniable fact was that I didn’t have parents of my own- and a large part of me really wished I did.

Nate’s words came floating back to me from within my mind, “... I have a feeling some of your closer friends may have a right to know who you really are.” There was no way I was telling Mina my past, not yet at least. But she was my friend, and I needed to tell her something. My fists dug into my pant legs, and I finally spoke.

“I don’t have any,” I sighed out, relaxing my hands, “and I guess looking at everyone else get their family back…” I suddenly stopped as a tear rolled down my cheek. Was I really crying? I now noticed just how dry my throat was. Mina remained silent as she got up, strode over and hugged me. The hug was awkward, since I was sitting down, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

“I just wish I had a family,” I finally croaked, blinking away more angry tears, “Why… why does life have to be so cruel?” I already knew the answer to the question, but I couldn’t help asking anyway.

“I don’t know,” Mina said, tears somehow welling up in her eyes as well. But I knew why. It was because life didn’t care. If it did, I never would have been created in the first place.

(Another small side-note, continuity-wise, Chaos Knuckles never happened in this timeline.)

Read the Beginning!- Prologue

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Gear belongs to me.

Mina, Zonic, Nate Morgan and others belong to SEGA, Archie(?) or Ken Penders.