Stumbles

When Storm took his first steps inside the ship, a chill immediately ran down his spine. He shouldn't be there, no one in their right mind should, and apparently there was no one there.

Even though Storm was so "simple-minded" (as Wave sometimes called him), he found it strange that the ship's only defense was that gloomy little fox. The nest was full of cannons and weapons for defense, and the boys were ready to go out and fight. That ship was a ghost ship, as lonely as... Something very lonely. Storm wasn't very good at thinking in metaphors. Despite how bad the situation looked, Jet insisted on investigating, at least to find out how they controlled the storm, as it would be a very useful tool if they could get their hands on it.

The two birds split up, and since Storm lost at rock, paper, scissors, he had to check below deck while Jet inspected the main deck and the upper rooms.

With every step the great albatross took in the bowels of the ship, the old wood creaked and Storm trembled. No matter how much he searched, he couldn't find anyone. The darkness was suffocating, the small spotlight the albatross used for illumination swallowed up by the gloom. A low, ominous hum led Storm deeper into the ship, where he found what appeared to be the engine room. Only one of the devices was working. Was that what made the ship fly? What controlled the storm? Both? Storm approached the machine, ran his hand over a dusty inscription that stood out on the surface, revealing a small logo with two tails.

"Isn't that the signature of the two-tails fox friend of the blue rodent?" said Jet's voice behind Storm, scaring the albatross so much that it almost smashed its head into the ceiling.

"Boss! you almost scared me to death!"

"Come on big guy. What are you going to be afraid of with your size? Anyway, I didn't find anything up there."

"I didn't find anyone either. I think Wave was right, this looks like a trap."

"A trap signed by Tails?" commented the hawk as he took a closer look at the inscription. "Something doesn't add up. Besides, what exactly does this piece of junk do?" asked Jet, kicking the machine, distressing the poor Storm's even more.

The hawk began to search the area around the machine, punching and kicking everything, while Storm chewed on the tips of his gloves in a futile attempt to bite his nails out of nervousness. Finally, Jet found a piece of paper folded and stuck to the side. Storm didn't know if he had really seen it or if he had hallucinated it, but he thought he saw a slight flash like a thread when Jet picked up the paper.

"B-boss...?"

The hawk ignored his partner as he unfolded the paper. The flash reappeared.

"B-b-b-boss..."

"Hold on, big palooka! There's something written here... I 'ope ye enjoy the fireworks, landlubber? What the hell..." Jet pulled on the paper, and the thread that was stuck to it flashed one last time before breaking. A click was heard in the distance.

"BOSS!" Storm lunged at the hawk and wrapped his arms around it before the explosion occurred.

The fire engulfed the albatross and the hawk in an instant, spreading through the interior of the ship until it erupted on the deck. The fire seemed to spill out of every hole in the galleon; it was so intense that the rain evaporated instantly upon contact. Then the ship slowly began to lose altitude.

Inside the ship, Jet struggled to wake up from the initial shock and free himself from the large albatross, which had lost consciousness. When he was able to crawl outside, he saw his companion crouching with his feathers on fire. Jet began to put out the fire and try to bring Storm back to his senses. His heart was still beating and he was breathing with difficulty, but no matter how much Jet shouted and hit him, he couldn't wake him up. The machine was destroyed, both birds were surrounded by flames, and the ship was shaking as if it were losing stability. The heat was suffocating and the smoke blinding. Jet had had enough; all he needed now was to be buried alive to say that he had been on the verge of being killed by the four elements that night.

He slung Storm over his shoulders as best he could, took a deep breath, and with one of his fans released a gust of wind that opened a passageway for a few seconds. Obviously, Jet was struggling to carry the heavy bird. Normally, Storm would be the one carrying him and Wave, since he was the muscle, but that night everything was a disaster, everything was going wrong, and nothing was working or going as it should. Jet spat out bile that evaporated before it hit the ground. Halfway there, Jet began to feel that Storm was lighter, but rather than being happy, he became even more bitter. They were in free fall. Things couldn't get any worse. Another spit.

A great wall of fire separated the birds from the exit and their Gears. Jet tried to extinguish the fire with his fans, but with each flap he only managed to fan the flames more. The hawk could feel the flames licking the tips of his feathers as his lungs carried more smoke than air. He was exhausted and dizzy. For a moment, he considered running through the fire as fast as he could and praying to Babylon that the fire wouldn't roast them before they reached the other side. How bad was it to die burned? Was it worse than drowning or crashing into the ground? Jet's mind wandered.

"Jet, Storm!" an irritating voice shouted over the flames. "Are you okay?!"

How bad was it to die burned? Jet thought again. Was it worse than owing his life to that damn Sonic the Hedgehog?

"Storm is unconscious!" Jet replied.

"We're falling!"

"No crap, Sherlock! Are you going to help or keep stating the obvious?!"

"Cover your nose and mouth! I've got an idea!"

Jet was too close to the edge to allow himself to question it, so he obeyed.

He didn't know if exhaustion was making him hallucinate, but he could swear he saw some kind of blue aura approaching. All the fire that entered the aura's area was immediately extinguished. When the aura enveloped Jet, he could feel the air escaping from his lungs through the small openings between his hand and his beak, his eyes hurt, and he felt a strange sensation under his skin. He saw Sonic signaling him to move forward. The aura seemed to emanate from the bracelet on his right hand, which was glowing brightly.

The hedgehog helped Jet carry Storm to the main deck. Once outside, Sonic looked around, confused, before putting his hands to his head. There was no sign of his Gear or Kit. Jet took his and Storm's Gears, throwing the albatross's to Sonic. The hedgehog activated the board and performed a Gear Change to turn it into a motorcycle, securing Storm on the back before getting on.

Sonic quickly retracted the aura, but as he did so, the fire returned fiercely, pulverizing the wood and splitting the ship in half. The hedgehog and the hawk were able to fly away in their Gears from the burning debris that was falling into the void, lighting up the clouds with their fiery glow along with the lightning.

"I can't believe that kid stole me," the hedgehog said indignantly.

"Get over it. By the way, do you know how to drive a Power-type Gear? Wouldn't it be better for you to run through the air like you did a while ago?" Jet asked sarcastically.

"No running for today... And as for the Gear, it's never too late to learn."

"Whatever, follow me. We're going back to the nest. The trap has already been set, now is when the hunters will show up to claim their prey."

Sticks was getting so bored she was falling asleep. It was no wonder. On the one hand, Amy had woken them up in the middle of the night to go out and help the birds, pulling the badger out of her comfortable trash can and depriving her of sleep. On the other hand, standing guard with the pink hedgehog turned out to be more boring than she had expected. Having seen that her powers were not as terrifying as Knuckles's, being only very resistant but totally harmless bubbles, the badger was curious to see if she was capable of creating a bubble large enough to envelop the entire nest. But after countless attempts, the task seemed impossible.

Amy began by forming small rose buds at the highest point of the nest, which bloomed and combined to create the layer that would cover the ship. But the moment the layer reached the lower parts, the hedgehog hesitated and the layer pulverized in the air. With each failure, Amy threw a small tantrum that grew in intensity.

"What's so difficult about it, rose?" asked the badger, more out of boredom than interest. "You made the other bubbles without any problems."

"That's because I can see everything the bubble is going to cover, and I know which parts to avoid! Since I can't see the whole nest..."

"And you can't, like, guess or something?"

"I've tried that before, it didn't go well AT ALL. I almost left someone without legs..."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. We'll just have to resign ourselves and Zzzzz," Sticks fell asleep and began snoring instantly.

"Sticks, you can't fall asleep now!" complained the hedgehog as she kicked the badger in the ribs. "Those flying pirates you're talking about could attack at any moment-!" The sudden appearance of a harpoon sticking between the two girls interrupted Amy.

"Damn dramatic timing that keeps everyone awake!," grumbled the badger as she stood up.

The rope tied to the harpoon was lost in the clouds, but it came from the north. From the east, another harpoon appeared and stuck into the roof of one of the bunkers. To the south, a harpoon pierced the roof of the dining room, sticking into one of the tables. Then the harpoons began to come in groups of two, then three. Amy tried to stop as many as she could by trapping them in bubbles, which ended up cutting the ropes, but they were coming from all sides and it was impossible for her to stop them all at once.

The nest shook violently, the sound of the ropes being stretched filling the air. Half a dozen ships similar to that lone galleon emerged from the clouds, attached to the harpoon ropes. And among them appeared the largest and strangest, a huge beast of wood and metal, with sails and propeller blades, and a figurehead of a bird spreading its wings. Its design was unconventional and unlike any other ship, but something about it gave Amy a strange feeling of familiarity.

The ships approached the nest until they suddenly stopped. A small silhouette appeared on the main ship, wearing what looked like a captain's hat. The silhouette raised his saber and pointed it at the nest. Immediately, a hundred pirates came out of the other ships, hanging from the ropes to board the nest. Thus began the battle.

The Babylon nest activated its defense system, deploying rotating cannons with dome cabins that fired at the ships, but the shots were pulverized by a strange holographic layer that enveloped the ships. The boys on guard moved to the points where the harpoons landed and tried to cut the ropes, some successfully, but others were unable to cut them before the pirates arrived. The vast majority of the intruders were koalas and other marsupials, but some were also wolves and felines. Their faces showed their experience and determination, far above that of the boys in the nest. They knew exactly what they had to do. It took no effort at all from them to subdue the boys.

One of the nest guards came face to face with a jaguar pirate who was twice his strength and height. The jaguar broke the poor rabbit's weapon with a swipe of his saber and was about to deliver the final blow... but suddenly stopped, frozen. When the rabbit turned around, he could see Sticks making a frame with her fingers and the Meta-Quartz bracelet shining brightly. The Badger signaled to the rabbit, who immediately understood, delivering a blow to the jaguar that knocked him out. The rabbit waved in gratitude to the Badger, who, visibly tired, waved back and took a bite of an apple she had tucked into her clothing before continuing the battle.

Elsewhere in the nest, a group of boys was intercepted by the pirates. When the pirates raised their weapons to attack, a pink bubble rammed into them, knocking them overboard. Amy landed in front of the pirates, wielding her trusty Piko hammer, and signaled to the boys behind her to move toward the center of the nest, the safest place, and they obeyed. Only the hedgehog remained against a dozen pirates.

She enclosed the first one in front of her in a bubble and with a wave of her hands sent him flying away. The attacks of the next two pirates were repelled by the hammer. Amy then created a small bubble in front of her and, hitting it with the hammer, made it bounce until it hit and knocked out at least five enemies. The next ones coordinated and managed to surround the hedgehog; she was able to block the attack coming from the front, but was caught by the one behind her. Amy immediately wrapped herself and her attacker in a bubble, taking the enemy by surprise and managing to free herself from his grip to deal with him inside the sphere. Once free, Amy made sure she hadn't amputated anything from the poor wretch. Everything in order, she let out a sigh of relief. The Hedgehog created a tiny bubble in front of her, hit it with her hammer, and when it was about to be dodged by the pirates, she made a gesture and the bubble became giant, knocking down the rest of the enemies.

The next thing the hedgehog did was try to cut as many ropes as she could by trapping them in bubbles, but she was interrupted by someone who seemed to be doing a more efficient job.

Knuckles was swinging from rope to rope with his chains and cutting them as he left them behind. On his last swing, he headed for one of the galleons, landing on the deck and being surrounded by the enemy. While the pirates watched him cautiously, planning the best attack, Knuckles simply made his chains disappear, releasing his ZOI until it enveloped the entire ship. The pirates fled in terror, screaming like madmen as they ran and fell overboard. All but one disappeared.

The lone silhouette did not resemble the other pirates, its figure hidden by a thick, finely stitched yellow cloak concealing a robust and well-trained body. Something about it set off alarms for the Echidna.

"I knew that Red Beast could only be you, old friend," said the figure as it walked toward Knuckles.

"No friend of mine hides their face from me. Revel yourself."

"On it," the silhouette said, then took a quick step to strike Knuckles, who barely blocked the blow, splintering the wood beneath the echidna's feet.

The enemy was very strong. Knuckles wasn't very good with faces or names, but he was able to remember someone perfectly by their fighting style and strength, and that strength was very familiar to him. The attacker delivered another blow to Knuckles' ribs, which he was able to stop, but the echidna felt like his arm was almost broken. He couldn't take the enemy lightly. Knuckles repelled the attacker and threw several punches, all blocked, all felt like hitting an iron wall. The enemy was slow, barely moving or dodging, but he didn't need to; his defense was impenetrable, just like...

When the echidna quickly searched his memory and found a match, he lowered his guard and took a step back, stunned.

"Mighty...?"

The silhouette took a step back too, removed its hood, revealing its polished, sturdy, shiny red shell. The armadillo gave a half-smile.

"You really only understand the hard way. huh, old friend?"

On another ship, a silhouette covered by a reddish hood ordered the pirates to throw more harpoons and continue the boarding. Behind her, Sticks landed, taking the last bite of a banana and throwing the peel on the ground. The badger pulled a pair of boomerangs from her clothes, with which she knocked out a good handful of pirates, but these were charred in midair by a fireball expelled by the figure in red.

"Hey, it took me weeks to create and refine those things!" protested the Badger.

"I won't let you hurt any more of my men!" the figure began to approach. "I was entrusted to protect them on this important crossing—Ah!" The figure slipped on the banana peel, dropping her hood and revealing a curious helmet.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but you may not be the best person for the job," the Badger taunted as she pulled out a ridiculously large boomerang to attack her.

"Sticks, stop!" Amy shouted.

The hedgehog was jumping using her bubbles as platforms until she landed between Sticks and the other girl, to whom she extended her hand. The girl looked up and froze.

"A-a-Amy...?"

"I'd recognize that helmet anywhere," the hedgehog's voice began to break slightly. "I missed you so much, Trip."

The girl took Amy's hand and stood up, then pulled off her helmet, revealing her spiked scales. The orange-scaled lizard seemed unable to process what was happening, unable to know whether to smile or not.

"Don't worry, sister Trip! I'm coming to the rescue!" a younger voice called out from afar.

When Amy looked up at the source of the voice, she could see a silhouette flying above their heads, changing direction and diving to attack her.

"No, Ray, stop!" Trip stepped between Amy and the attacker. "They're our friends!"

The silhouette stopped in midair and landed in front of the girls. Like Trip, it wore a hood, but it was green. When it saw who the lizard was with, it quickly pulled off its hood.

"M-Miss Amy?! Y-You're alive!" The young flying squirrel couldn't contain his joy and jumped up to hug the hedgehog. "M-mighty has to k-know this! He's... wait a m-minute. W-why are you h-here?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you. Why are you with these pirates?"

"Pirates?" said Trip, confused. "No, we're not the pirates. They are," she pointed to the nest.

"A-are you their p-prisoners? A-are they f-forcing you to f-fight?" Ray asked.

"I think this is a terrible misunderstanding."

"Ye be wrong, Strawberry Shortcake!" The shout was energetic, louder than all the noise of the battle.

From the main ship, the figure in the captain's hat stepped forward, climbing onto the top of the figurehead and revealing herself to everyone: a young raccoon no older than Ray, with a smile that defied the storm.

"M-marine...! I mean... C-captain Marine!" Ray approached the rail so the raccoon could hear him better. "I-I think t-this is a m-misunderstanding! T-these people a-are our friends...!"

"Shut it, two-steps! If ye be on one o' me ships, ye be under me command, cuz I be the one in charge!"

"Argh, I-I hate it when s-she gets like this..." Ray complained under his breath.

The raccoon jumped from the figurehead to the starboard side of her ship. Amy could see her face more clearly now. She had never seen her before, but she looked energetic and a little crazy. A large claw scar ran across her left eye, nose, and mouth, but she still had a huge smile on her face.

"Strawberry Shortcake! I be goin' to ask ye a question an' ye answer aye or nay! be ye mates with these Babylon Rogues folks?"

Ray and Trip turned to look at Amy. The hedgehog had a feeling that being honest was the worst option, but in her eyes it was the only valid one.

"...Yes," she replied, staring at the raccoon.

"Well, say no more... Two-steps, Trippy! cut their throats an' throw them overboard, they be in our way!"