LoM Book 7 Special Edition: Chapter 5, Part 1

: CHAPTER FIVE :

FROST

   

    "Come on, Amber!" Coby called as he hurried up a rugged hillside, toward the distant trees. "We don't want to be late!"
    He paused and looked back over his shoulder. His young apprentice came running up to him, puffing heavily as she clambered up the slope. She kept fretting with a red necktie she was wearing.
    "It keeps coming untied," she said.
    "Here, like this," Coby said, stooping down and helping her to tie the tie into a perfect knot.
    "How do I look?" Amber asked, looking up at him with her bright blue eyes. She stood up straight and held out her arms to show off her outfit. Along with her necktie, she was wearing a tan jacket that had been neatly pressed, dark green shorts, and a sash that was decorated with a colorful collection of badges. Her red fur looked smooth and glossy, and her hair had been combed and pulled back into a neat ponytail.
    "You look perfect," Coby smiled. "Just like a real Freedom Fighter! Now come on, we'd better hurry."
    "OK!"
    They were on their way up to Knothole Village to meet with the other junior Freedom Fighters and their counselors. The time had come for Amber's final assessment, where she would be tested on all the skills Coby had taught her. If she passed, she would be ready to graduate to the next level of her training. Her assessment had actually been planned few days before, but it had been delayed by the storm and the Darkness. Coby was somewhat nervous. He had never presented a junior Freedom Fighter for assessment before; Amber was the first he had ever trained. But he knew she was ready. She had excelled in all her training exercises, and could now answer anything Coby asked her with ease. He could teach her nothing more.
    As they ran together through the trees, Coby noticed that Amber was lagging behind a little bit.
    "You're not nervous, are ya?" he asked, glancing back at her.
    "Maybe a little," she replied quietly.
    "Don't be. You'll do fine. You've done excellent on all your tests, and you've placed higher than most of the other apprentices. Just stay calm and remember everything you learned."
    "I guess I'm just worried because I've never had such a big test before," Amber said. "Will it be hard?"
    "Not too hard," Coby replied. "The counselors will give you tasks and objectives like I did when we were training. They'll also test you on things like your self-defense, your tracking and survival skills, stuff like that. It sounds tough, but it really isn't. You'll ace it, I know you will."
    "I sure hope so," Amber murmured.
    They kept going, deeper and deeper into the heart of the Great Forest, until they came to a place where the trees grew so tall that they seemed to scrape the sky. These were the redwoods, mighty pines that reared up more than a hundred feet or so from the forest floor. Their massive tops spread so far and so wide that they formed a thick canopy that almost completely blocked out the sky. And nestled safely beneath the sheltering boughs of the redwoods was a tiny village.
    It was a quaint little place, comprised of several tiny wooden huts with thatched rooves. Most of them were clustered together on the ground, but a few had been built up into the trees themselves, connected together by rope bridges and wooden ladders. The dwellings blended in so perfectly with the forest around them that, from a distance, they could be hard to spot. This was Knothole Village, the once secret location where the Freedom Fighters of old had lived and staged their rebellion, and where the young apprentice Freedom Fighters of Mobotropolis now trained.
    All throughout the village the youngsters could now be seen, sitting at picnic tables, scouting through the woods, running through obstacle courses, chatting around campfires, and fishing from the docks on the edge of a wide river that wound its way around the settlement. The whole place echoed with their voices and their laughter.
    As Coby and Amber entered the village, they made their way over to an area where a bunch of other apprentices were gathered with their mentors. Amongst the group they quickly spotted Aethon and Lex, who was dressed in a uniform just like Amber.
    "Hi, guys!" Aethon called, waving to them.
    "Hey, Aeth," Coby said as he and Amber ran over to join them. "What's up?"
    "Just waiting our turn," Aethon said. "We've been here a little while now. Looks like they've planned a lot of assessments today."
    "I'm not surprised," Coby commented. "After the storm they probably ended up falling behind on a lot of them, and I bet now they want to promote as many young Freedom Fighters as possible." He paused and glanced down at Lex, who was shifting impatiently. "And how are you doing today, Lex? Are you ready for your assessment?"
    "I just can't wait to get it over with!" Lex cried. "I've been freaking out about it all morning!"
    "I hope they get to us soon," Aethon whispered to Coby, snickering. "She has more energy than she knows what to do with. I keep telling her she should really save it for--"
    Suddenly a teenage boy carrying a clipboard walked up. "Aethon and Lex, we're ready for you now," he announced.
    "Oh, perfect timing!" Aethon said.  "Come on, Lex, time to go! Wish us luck, guys!" he called over his shoulder as he and Lex quickly hurried away.
    Coby waved to them, then turned and walked over to a hollow log that was laying on the ground nearby. "We'd better sit down," he said to Amber. "Looks like we might have to wait a bit."
    They sat there together for several long minutes, Amber fidgeting nervously, and Coby boredly plucking grass from the ground. The Prince's mind was just beginning to wander, when all of a sudden someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, startled, and came face-to-face with an adult fox. He was middle-aged, perhaps about thirty or so, though it was hard to tell, for he looked younger than he actually was. His fur was light orange, with patches of white on his muzzle and belly, and his eyes were bright sky blue. He wore a tool belt around his waist and aviator's goggles on his forehead. But the unusual thing about him was his tail -- or rather, his tails. He had two of them.
    Coby's mouth fell open. "Tails!" he cried delightedly, jumping to his feet. "Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in years! How are you?"
    He ran forward, throwing his arms around the fox, who laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
    "Hey, Coby. It has been a long time, hasn't it?" he said, smiling.
    Meanwhile Amber leaped up and ran over to the two-tailed fox. "Hurray! You came, you came!" she cried, bouncing up and down joyfully.
    "Of course I came," Tails smiled, bending down to hug her. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
    Coby was overjoyed. Tails was an old, old friend. He had known Sonic for years -- ever since he was a little child, in fact. He had once lived here in Knothole, along with all the other original Freedom Fighters, during the reign of Robotnik. In those days he had been Sonic's apprentice, and something like a little brother to him as well. He used to follow the blue hedgehog everywhere, imitating everything he did and listening eagerly to all his grandiose tales of stealing into Robotnik's city and fighting the evil tyrant.
    As Tails had grown older, he had displayed an incredible talent for tinkering and building machines, and now he worked as the chief engineer and mechanic for Mobotropolis's entire air fleet. He designed and built the airships that the city used, and sometimes piloted them as well. His job kept him extremely busy, though, and as a result, Coby had not seen Tails in a very long time.
    "So bring me up to speed," the Prince said excitedly, as Tails finished talking to Amber. "How've you been? How's the job going?"
    "It's been busy, as usual. Been working on a lot of big airships. As a matter of fact, your dad has asked me to take a look at the old shuttle and give it a tune-up. Something about a trip to Ice Cap?"
    "That's right," Coby nodded. "They want to go there to check out the melting polar ice. They think it has something to do with all the weird weather events going on around Mobius. It hasn't been officially confirmed yet, but we're definitely going. Mom and Dad are just trying to get everything in order."
    "Ah, I see. How is your old man doing?" Tails asked suddenly. "It's been a long time since I've seen him. You look more and more like him every day, you know."
    Coby smiled sheepishly. That was something he heard a lot. "He's good. He's been a little worried about all that's going on, and he's been trying to keep everyone calm. But other than that he's fine."
    Tails nodded. His eyes suddenly looked wistful. "I miss him. I'd love to just sit down and talk to him again, catch up on all he's done."
    "You should go up to the palace and ask to see him. I'm sure he'd make time for you. He may be busy, but he hasn't forgotten about all his old friends from Knothole. In fact, I think it'd make him really happy to see you again."
    "Yeah? Well, maybe I will do that sometime. It's been way too long. I want to see what that old rogue has been up to. We're all so busy, but we've gotta remember to make time for our friends and family. Right, Amber?" he asked, smiling down at the little fox.
    Amber beamed up at him.
    "Amber? Amber and Coby?" the young teenager with the clipboard called out suddenly. "It's time for your assessment! Are you ready?"
    "Yes! We'll be right there!" Coby called back. He turned to look back at Tails. "Well, we better go now. But it was great seeing you again, Tails. I've missed you. I'll tell Dad that I ran into you, OK? And I'll let him know that you were asking about him."
    "That would be great. Thanks, Coby. It was good seeing you again too. You've grown so much! It's hard to believe you're the same little bugger that used to run all over the palace. Gosh, that only seems like yesterday."
    Coby chuckled, then looked down at Amber. "You ready there, squirt?"
    Amber hesitated, and glanced up nervously at Tails. But he smiled reassuringly and gave her a little nudge. "Go on. You can do it. Go and make me proud, sweetheart."
    "OK, Papa," Amber said.
    Then she turned and scampered after Coby, the little fox following the blue hedgehog like his shadow.


   A few hours later, Coby and Amber made their way back to Mobotropolis, Amber proudly wearing gold medal around her neck, a sign that she had passed her assessment. According to the counselors, she had performed flawlessly. Coby couldn't have been more proud of her. He knew that, as Tails' daughter, she was destined for great things.
    In the meantime he was curious to hear what his mother and father had to tell him. They had sent a message while he was in Knothole, asking him to return to the palace as soon as he was able. Something about the trip. With any luck, they had finally made all the necessary preparations, and were ready to announce their plans to leave to the city. Coby couldn't wait. Something told him that this trip to Ice Cap would be an experience he'd never forget.


    "I can't believe we're going to Ice Cap!" Aethon exclaimed happily. "It's like the best place in the world to board!"
     All around him his friends were chattering excitedly. The trip had been confirmed. Accompanied by a team of researchers, Sonic, Cyan, Uncle Chuck and the children were all setting off for Ice Cap Village today, where they could begin investigating the melting ice. Everyone was now sitting in the courtyard, impatiently waiting for the shuttle, the massive airship that would transport them to the north pole.
    "I hope I have everything," Keesho said, rummaging through his bulging duffle bag. "Jackets, overcoats, earmuffs, scarves, mittens, snowshoes, my sleeping bag, my toothbrush, my radio, my--hey!"
    Aethon had suddenly swiped the bag away and peered inside. "Keesho, why are there like fifty books in here?"
    "So I can do a bit of homework on the trip," he answered. "Can I have my bag back?"
    "Homework?" Aethon blinked. "We're on vacation!"
    "Well, I've been assigned work over the break. And besides, a little extra credit never hurt." Keesho grabbed the strap of the bag and tried to heave it onto his shoulder, but it was so heavy that it unbalanced him and he fell right over. All the books went toppling out of the bag, along with a letter written in very fancy handwriting.
    "Hey, what's this?" Aethon asked, picking it up curiously.
    Keesho suddenly went red. "Uh, that's nothing. It's just a paper I was--"
    "It's from Shea!" Aethon announced, loud enough for the others to hear. Keesho winced.
    "Shea?" Coby asked, running over. "That girl we met in the library?"
    "Ooh, what's it say?" Raena asked, peering over Aethon's shoulder.
    "Read it!" Charon grinned.
    "Give that back!" Keesho cried, grabbing for the letter, but Aethon dove out of his reach.
    "Charon, catch!" Aethon slipped the letter in Charon's hand as he dashed by, and it took Keesho a few seconds to realize what had happened.
    "Come on, guys, give it to me!" The tiger demanded, his tail fluffing out angrily.
    Charon was the tallest of the group, so when he held the letter up over his head Keesho had no chance of reaching it.
    "Let's just see what it says," the black-and-red echidna grinned mischievously, holding Keesho away with his other hand.
    "No!" Keesho wailed. "Please don't!"
    "'Dear Keesho,'" Charon began to read, and now the others gathered around him to listen. Keesho buried his face in his arms. "'Heard you were going on a big trip to Ice Cap Village. How exciting! I've never been that far north. You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back. I'm so sorry I can't be there to say good-bye. I have a huge exam that was scheduled late. I'll miss studying with you, but I hope you have a really great time! Love, Shea.'"
    "Awwwwwwww!" Coby, Aethon, Turq and Raena all chorused.
    Glaring lividly, Keesho stomped up to Charon and snatched the paper out of his hand. "I knew you guys would make fun of me..." he muttered.
    "Aw, bro, why didn't you tell us?" Coby smiled.
    "Tell you what?"
    "That you and Shea were seeing each other?"
    "We're not seeing each other like that!" Keesho yelled. "We just study together!"
    "Study what?" Charon smirked. "Each other?"
    Now Keesho was thoroughly flustered. "What--No! Charon! You guys are taking this the wro--we're just friends!"
    "Then why are you freaking out?" Aethon grinned.
    "And why are you so red?" asked Turq, tugging his cheek.
    Keesho pulled away and stalked off, muttering irritably.
    "Here, Keesh," Coby offered, still snickering, as Keesho started to throw the books back into his bag, "let me help."
    "No thank you," the tiger growled, gingerly tucking the letter inside a book and zipping up the bag. He then pointedly turned his back on his friends and trudged off, dragging the duffle behind him.
    "Come on, Keesho," Aethon called after him, "you know we were only playing."
    But Keesho said nothing. He just put several feet between him and the others before sitting alone on a bench.
    Aethon frowned. Perhaps he had gone too far. He hadn't meant to upset Keesho so much. But before he had much time to think about it, Nihara suddenly walked up, followed by Amber and Lex. Nihara was carrying a large pack.
    "Nihara," Coby blinked, "are you coming with us?"
    Nihara nodded. "Of course. You're not getting out of training that easily." Her face was stern as always, but there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
    "But who'll organize the guards?" Coby asked.
    "Vren will take over while I'm gone," Nihara said. "He's feeling well enough now to go back to his duties, and he's promised to protect the city during our absence. Then we have Shadow and Khare of course."
    As usual, Shadow and Khare had been left in charge of things while Sonic and Cyan were away. They would mainly oversee the reconstruction of the damaged homes, which were already starting to be worked on.
    "We came to say good-bye!" Lex piped. "I wish we could go with you! It sounds like fun!"
    "I wish you could, too," Aethon smiled. "But you're both senior Freedom Fighters now! You'll have new mentors to train with!"
    Lex had passed her Freedom Fighter assessment too.
    "Do we have to change mentors?" Amber asked Coby sadly. "I don't want a new mentor. You're the best one I've ever had."
    "I'm the only one you've ever had," Coby laughed. "I've trained you since you were five. But I've really taught you all I can. It's time for you to move on and learn bigger things, like piloting ships. Don't you think that'll be fun?"
    "Yeah..." the fox murmured. "But I'll miss you, Prince Coby."
    "I'll miss you too, squirt."
    Lex suddenly ran up and hugged Aethon. "And I'll miss you! No mentor will be funnier than you, Aethon!"
    Aethon laughed, and was suddenly aware of Turq grinning at him. "You got that right, kiddo. But if he gets real grumpy, just try telling him some of my jokes. That oughta lighten him up."
    "Or make him give her extra work..." Charon grumbled under his breath.
    As the red-and-black echidna sauntered by, Lex suddenly squinted at something on his back. "My name is Charon and I'm fat..." Suddenly she burst into giggles.
    "Excuse me?" Charon asked, spinning around. But as he did so he realized that something had been taped to his back. Reaching around, he ripped off a piece of paper, upon which the same insulting words had been written. There were snorts of laughter as the others saw.
    Charon bared his teeth. "All right, who--"
    Aethon whistled innocently and started to edge away. Lex was giggling madly.
    "You!" Charon roared. "When did you--"
    "When you were reading the letter," Aethon grinned slyly.
    Charon lunged toward him. Once again Aethon was on the run, running in circles around his friends as Charon charged after him.
    "You know," said Raena as she watched, "I never thought I'd say this, but he has a point, Charon."
    "I'm not fat!" Charon shouted. He jumped on Aethon, flattening him to the ground, and seized him in a headlock.
    "Of course not, for a terrapod!" Aethon managed to choke as he struggled within Charon's grip.
    "You are bigger than the rest of us," Turq put in.
    "And you're always eating," Raena added.
    "Whoa!" Lex gasped suddenly. "Look at it! It's huge!"
    "I know, right?" Aethon said. "I mean, just look at him! How does the Floating Island still float when he's on it?"
    "Not him!" said Lex. "The shuttle! Look, they're driving it up now!"
    From the docking bay near the palace, a great, shining black airship was rolling toward them. It was easily large enough to hold more than two hundred people, and it looked extremely fast. Sonic had also appeared, walking slowly beside the ship as it came cruising up to them.
    "All right," he called, "we're about to board, so everyone get ready!"
    But then, just as they were making their way toward the ship, someone else came bounding up. To everyone's annoyance, it was Michelle.
    "Coby!" she exclaimed in her squeaky voice. "Coby, wait for me!"
    "Oh no... " Coby groaned. Reluctantly he turned around. "Hey, Michelle..."
    "I just heard you were about to leave!" the blonde hedgehog cried. "You were going to go without telling me good-bye? Oh, I wish I could go with you! What fun that would be. We could go ice skating and watch the northern lights from a mountaintop and drink hot chocolate..."
    "Uh, sorry, Michelle, I gotta go," Coby interrupted hastily, edging away toward the shuttle. "We're about to take off..."
    "Bye, Coby!" Michelle called after him, waving furiously. "Have fun! Send me a postcard! I'll be waiting for you, then maybe we can go out on a date!"
    Turq rolled her eyes, and once he was far away from Michelle Coby gagged. Aethon snickered to himself. He didn't think that date was ever going to happen, not if Coby had anything to do with it. The kingdom would have to do a little bit better if they wanted to marry off the Prince.
    Together the children climbed inside the ship. As the engines began to rev, a crowd slowly gathered in the courtyard to watch the take-off and to bid the team farewell.
    "Everyone buckle up," Sonic said inside. "Once we're up, this thing's gonna move."
    The inside of the shuttle was wide and spacious, unlike most commercial airships. The seats, two per row, were big and cushy, with tiny screens on their backs and a number of buttons and knobs on the armrests.
    "Hey, this is sweet," Aethon said, looking around in amazement. He plopped down in a chair and reclined it back so that it nearly laid flat, then he crossed his legs and folded his arms behind his head. "Looks like we'll be traveling in style!"
    "That's good," Turq replied, sitting beside him, "because sitting cooped up in a ship for twelve hours with nothing to do would drive me insane. What, Coby?" She had just noticed her brother looking at her oddly as she took her seat.
    Coby looked between her and Aethon, and for some reason he seemed slightly affronted. "Nothing," he shrugged. He moved on to the next row, where Keesho was sitting on his own. "Uh, Keesho, can I sit here?"
    The tiger was still scowling, but after a few seconds he nodded wordlessly.
    Within moments the rest of the team was seated and strapped in, and the shuttle began to lift off the ground. They continued to ascend straight up, until the courtyard was far below them, and the crowd became nothing more than a writing mass of colors.
    "All right, let's see just how fast this thing goes," Aethon said excitedly, peering out the window. "We're hardly moving yet."
    "Any minute, Aeth," Sonic said, "they're increasing the thrust now."
    Charon and Raena sniggered.
    "It's supposed to go nearly as fast as a fighter," Aethon went on, "we'll just see about--WHOA!" Suddenly he was thrown back against his seat as the shuttle took off with an enormous burst of speed.
    "WOOHOO!" Turq laughed, clutching onto Aethon's arm tightly. "Hang on, Aeth! Here we go!"
    Clouds flashed past them as they hurtled into the sky, and seconds later Mobotropolis was left far behind.


    Several long hours later found the team still flying. Coby slumped back in his seat, bored. They had been on the airship all day, and though he was trying to fight it, he was beginning to feel stir crazy. He looked out the window and saw that dusk was falling, turning the sky and the clouds to a deep purple. How much longer would it take them to reach Ice Cap, he wondered? By the looks of it, they were going to have to spend the night on the shuttle.
    Sighing, he looked around. Keesho had hardly said two words to him since they took off. Right now he had his head buried in a book, so Coby knew he wouldn't get much conversation out of him. Across the aisle, Charon and Raena were busy playing a game of cards. And up ahead, Turq and Aethon were talking and laughing together quietly. As he heard their happy voices, Coby suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy. His sister had pretty much ignored him on the entire trip. He didn't know what she and Aethon could possibly be talking about that was so interesting, but they had been chatting almost nonstop for hours. He could remember a time, not so long ago, when he and Turq used to while away the hours, talking and playing together. They had always been close as siblings, even though they were three years apart. Besides Keesho, Turq was probably the closest friend he had. But now it seemed that Aethon was taking up all her attention.
    He didn't know why this bothered him so much. Turq and Aethon had always been very close too, and this was definitely not the first time they had laughed and joked together. Perhaps he was just reading too much into it. Or perhaps their incessant chatter was just getting on his nerves because he had no one to talk to.
    Suddenly feeling ill-tempered and lonely, Coby got up, stretched, and looked around the shuttle, searching for something to do. Eventually he wandered over toward his parents, who were sitting up at the front of the ship with Uncle Chuck. The three hedgehogs were deep in conversation, but when she noticed her son lingering nearby, Cyan looked up.
    "What's wrong, Coby?" she asked.
    The Prince shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I just had to get up and move around a bit. I was starting to feel antsy."
    "You're bored, aren't you?" Sonic asked. "I told you it'd be a long trip, kiddo."
    "Didn't you bring anything to do?" Cyan prompted gently.
    "I did, but I've already done most of it. Everyone else is doing their own thing, so I just thought I'd come and see what you guys were up to."
    "Well," said Sonic, "we've been trying to dig up information on the events going on in Ice Cap, but it's hard. It's so remote that any news takes forever to reach the rest of the world."
    "How much longer till we get there?" Coby asked, sitting down in a seat behind his parents.
    "We should be there early tomorrow morning if all goes well," Uncle Chuck replied, "I've been tracking our progress on my computer and so far we're on schedule." He held up his handheld computer, which displayed a map of Mobius. Moving slowly across it was a small red triangle that Coby assumed indicated the shuttle. According to the map, they'd already traveled more than five thousand miles.
    "Wow," Coby said, "we're so far away... I hope everything will be OK at home while we're gone."
    "Don't worry," said his father. "Shadow and Khare will take care of everything. The two of them together are more than capable of protecting the kingdom if something happens, and then we have Vren. We've been in contact with them since we left, and so far everything's fine."
    "What if there's another attack of Darkness?" Coby fretted.
    "I've set up instruments around the castle to monitor the weather, and detect the same toxins that were present during the initial attack," Uncle Chuck said. "If something like this happens again, they should have plenty of warning."
    Coby nodded, reassured. At least the people of Mobotropolis would have time to get to safety now if the Darkness came again. But as he thought about the Darkness, and how far away they were from Mobotropolis, an unpleasant thought suddenly sprang into his mind. What if Storm summoned the Darkness again? What if it had been his plan all along to get the King and the royal family to leave the city? Had they just left their kingdom virtually unprotected?
    No, that couldn't be, Coby told himself. Storm wasn't that smart. He couldn't have predicted that they would travel to Ice Cap of all places, and so soon. And like Sonic had said, Mobotropolis was in very good hands. Even if Storm did try something, Shadow and Khare would be able to stop him.
    He tried to put these troublesome thoughts out of his mind and focus on lighter things as the evening wore on. There was no sense in scaring himself. He chatted with Sonic, Cyan and Uncle Chuck for a while, but gradually, as night fell, the conversation began to die down. One by one, the ship's passengers began to fall asleep, pulling pillows and blankets down from the cargo area above their seats. After a while Coby too dozed off, stretched out across the seats behind his parents.
    He didn't know how long he had been asleep -- it felt like ages -- when suddenly he was woken by a noise. Startled, he lifted his head, blinking hard to clear the sleep from his eyes. The cabin was dark and quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the snores of the sleeping passengers, and the soft hum of the engines. Confused, he sat up, listening. He was sure he'd heard a sound. Why else would he wake up so suddenly? But everything seemed perfectly normal. Everyone was sleeping soundly, and the ship seemed to be flying without trouble. Perhaps he had just been dreaming...
    He laid his head back down, and was just beginning to dove off, when suddenly the sound came again -- a loud knock. Coby sat up, fully awake now. So he hadn't been imagining it. There was soon another knock, and another. The sounds were coming from the seats in front of him, where his parents were sleeping. Leaning forward, he peered over the seats, and immediately saw the source of the noise. Sonic was twitching violently in his sleep, trembling and kicking his feet against the floor. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and he was breathing rapidly. Every now and then he muttered a sound under his breath.
    Coby blinked. He had never known Sonic to have nightmares. Cyan always said that he was a restless sleeper, but she had never mentioned anything like this happening before. Coby glanced over at his mother, but she was still fast asleep, her head pressed up against the window of the ship, apparently undisturbed by her husband's thrashing. Coby was just wondering whether or not he should try and wake her up when suddenly Sonic's eyes flew open and he shot up, panting and looking around wildly. Coby froze as his father swung around and looked right at him.
    His eyes... Something about them made Coby's fur stand up. Sonic didn't even seem to see his son. He looked straight through him, as if he were a ghost. Coby stared back at him, unmoving, unsure of what to do.
    Then Sonic stood up, still breathing hard, and stumbled away. He went up to the front of the ship, toward the cockpit, and disappeared through the door there.
    Coby was baffled. He waited a long time to see if his father would come back. Eventually he did. He came walking slowly back to his seat, rubbing his eyes. Cyan lifted her head as he sat back down next to her.
    "You OK?" she murmured sleepily.
    "Yeah..." came the answer. "Just...Just had a really bad dream."
    "Do you want to talk about it?"
    "No... No, it's all right. Everything's fine. It was just a dream... Let's just go back to sleep."
    Cyan didn't press him any further. She laid her head against his shoulder, as if to comfort him, and after a second, Sonic pressed his head against hers. A few moments later, their slow, even breathing told Coby they were both asleep.
    The Prince blinked, unsure of what to make of the whole thing. It was odd... But perhaps even kings had bad dreams once in a while. Coby knew he certainly had vivid dreams all the time. He always had, ever since he was a kid. Perhaps it was just something he inherited from his parents.
    Shrugging to himself, he settled back down, burying his head in his pillow, and promptly drifted off to sleep once more.
    He would not reflect on the strangeness of this incident, nor would he realize the cause of it, until much, much later.