Finding Memories

(Okay, Caen thank you for clarifying. And thanks Storm, I hope I don't disappoint.)

The shining glow slowly become even brighter than before and could easily be spotted from miles away. If anyone dared to look further at the shine, they would notice that the shine came from a strange, large rock. This rock was black as basalt with lime tints to it; the rock itself was shaped similar to a squished ball but had a more rough, natural look.

As the shine began to disappear, the water from the lake, drop by drop, began to rise out of the lake and above the trees. The water soon formed this giant water cloud above the lake and the cloud, while it didn't float away, the cloud would randomly project some water in a certain direction but the water would float back into the main bulge.

The rock now lay at the bottom of the dry lake, now revealing the rock in all it's glory. The black rock seemed to be a cage with different sized holes in it, revealing some sort of teal liquid. The liquid would feel like jelly and seemed to have an eyecatching shine to it. It definitely looked strange, possibly from extraterrestrial origins. However, if someone were to look closely at the green goo inside the rock, they would notice a figure in it, about the size of a Mobian but curled up in a ball.

"That light... Yeah, it isn't to be ignored. Let's just hope I don't have to fight anything..." Caen said, still staring at the slowly reducing amount of light "at least we know what direction to go in..."

Caen noticed that the chaos had begun to follow the light, almost entranced "I guess we have no choice. The chaos don't wanna follow us. I'm getting more and more worried this might be dangerous..."

Once the light died down to tolerable levels, the wolf slowly opened his eyes. He looks around blinking frequently. His eyes were no longer dark adjusted so everything around him in the forest was indistinguishable from each other. It was only when he looks back out towards the lake that things were easier for him to see. He takes in a breath, releases it, then picks up his belongings and cautiously walks back towards the lake.

Once he reaches the treeline and glances around, the wolf is shocked to see the water hovering up in the air, moving and shifting around on its own. He eventually gazes away from it and looks towards the now empty lake bed. There he sees this out of place... rock sitting in the middle of the area, glowing faintly.

*Is that the source of... whatever just happened?* the wolf wonders, *What... is it?*

He considers heading over there to take a look... but the thought of the water suddenly dropping down from above onto him is more than enough to keep him from making such a trip.

Looking at Caen for a second to see him gazing intently in the direction of the light source, Tala nodded to nobody in particular and set off behind the Chao to wherever they were going to. She had a horrid feeling in her gut that they were going back to the dreaded lake that just happened to be the root of all their problems at the moment.

She felt the energy she hated so much increase tenfold all of a sudden, making her almost double back in her path.
 
'No! I must protect those Chao!'

The negative energy was growing more and more, and it frightened her to no end at how much she could feel seeping into her very body but she set her fears to the side in order to see this through. 

It was then that she realised they had left that other Mobian somewhere around here. Finding him around here should be a priority also, seeing as he could be in trouble.

The clouds above began to darken and lower themselves about the forest as a whole, and before long it had began to rain.

Tala looked to the sky with narrow eyes, silently cursing the drips of water that slowly began to fall from the heavens, and also noticing just how long and deadly her horns had grown while putting other matters to the front of her mind. She needed to find a way to stop the energy flow, or she was going to be overloaded, and that hurt more than anyone knew.

The young female began to recall something her captors spoke of back before she was put to sleep. 

Chao are normally carefree creatures who only follow their guardian. These creatures were Chao from what she was told earlier and before a few minutes ago they were completely happy and content with playing around. 

Did this mean their guardian was nearby? Their 'true' protector, calling them back to help them?

(( I'm so sorry guys  Feel free to skip me from here on out. I'll jump back in the RP once I get my internet situation figured out.))

(Aww, hope everything turns out okay Storm.)

The rock still had that blinding light radiating from it but anyone could now look at it without shielding their eyes. Movement came from the rock indicating that whatever was in the rock was most certainly alive. The movement was small and almost unnoticeable but over time it became more frantic and animated.

Soon, from the top of the rock, a section of the green goo began to extrude as well but it wasn't very large, about the size of an arm. It began to stretch out more until a black arm tore through the green goo, sending the green goo back into its original position. The arm waved around like it was trying to grab something before it was sucked back into the rock with incredible force.

((Who's turn is it next? I'm unsure))

((crap! Sorry for the wait, I completely forgotten about this rp!))

Caen held out his arm when Tala began to run after the chao, leaving him behind in the middle of the forest "w-wait, you could get-" Caen cut himself off when he realised that Tala was not going to stop, and continued towards the lake, again. "At least I know the rough direction. Hope she can make her way there,"
He shrugged his shoulders, and rolled his neck whilst he walked, holding up his arm and summoning a flame to make the forest less pitch black than it would be if he were to just wander without any light, much like Tala. He was worried that she could lose her way, but then realised that she was following the chao, and if they were headed towards the lake, she should find her way there relatively easily. He held his arm towards the ground, the grass reflecting some light due to the drops of water that had settled upon it. There were some muddy footprints, most likely the chao's, due to the size. He murmured "that way," to himself, following them.

A thunderclap sounded throughout the forest and, slowly, it began to rain. The flame in Caen's hand flickered and hissed when the odd droplet fell into it "great, now if I get in a fight, I'm gonna be even further handicapped," he sighed "now I hope more than ever that this thing isn't a threat."

The wolf sees as something emerges from the... rock... he assumed that's what it was. Some sort of glowing rock... Regardless, something had emerged and was flailing about.

*It there something... alive in there?* he wonders, surprised and shocked by that possibility, *Should... I go take a look?*

There is a rumble of thunder nearby and the wolf looks up as it starts to rain as well.

*Oh good... a storm... Like this wasn't foreboding enough with the floating lake overhead...* he thinks.

He sighs softly, pushing his bags aside, but withdrawing a sword and sheath from them first. He starts walking cautiously towards the rock as he fastens the sword to his waist.

*Well... I suppose I should see what this is...* he thinks, *I really hope I don't regret this.*

He then glances up towards the lake water above him, which ironically, kept him out of the rain.

The Chao were getting further away as they floated between the many thick trees. Tala almost lost them a couple of times, but managed to catch the very last little creature that lagged behind the group. 
 
The rain started to fall heavier, soaking the red wolf to the skin. She looked up at the sky and silently cursed the infernal grey clouds that were crying their acidic tears. The ground below began to get softer underfoot and by the time she saw the trees thinning out once again her feet were caked in mud and wet grass.
 
 
She looked ahead into the clearing to see the strangest sight. 
 
 
No longer was a lake in the center of the forest: instead there was a giant whirlpool -like structure swirling angrily in the air above where the water should have been sitting. At the bottom she sensed an energy which made her grow curious.
 
 
'What could there possibly have been at the bottom of that water all this time?' She thought as she cautiously approached the swirling water defying gravity.

(Storm, do we skip you again? Or is your Internet okay?)

((Skip again for now.))

(Okay, thanks.)

Now, the creature inside the rock began to squirm around as if it was trying to escape the rock. Just like the same glowing shine that emitted from the rock before, a beam from within the rock burst from within and shot up straight towards the sky. When it came to the water cloud, the cloud moved out of the beam's way so the beam could reach the sky.

The beam seemed to contain a small creature in it that you could see floating above the lake but still noticeable. Soon the beam disappeared and the small creature fell back down to the rock which, wait what? The green goo seemed to now have disappeared leaving a hollow black shell that contained another, bigger creature that was coughing and spluttering. The bigger creature managed to grab the smaller creature as it fell. The bigger creature stayed in the rock and held the smaller creature close, "hello?" It called. It had a smooth, gentle voice with a tone of worry in it .

The rain had begun to grow heavier. The droplets fell with a higher and higher frequency, each time making the flame in Caen's hand hiss like a snake. It had begun to Soak Caen, but luckily, he stayed mostly dry, due to his coat being waterproof. He growled "just my luck that it'd get heavier," he muttered, staring up at the sky. Each star had been blotted out by the thick cloud. The footprints had begun to grow larger, and much soggier, making them harder to distinguish from the ground. Luckily, the exit from the thick treeline was in sight. Caen sighed "this better be good..."

Suddenly, an enormous pillar of light clouded Caen's view, and he held one arm in front of his eyes to stop any damage to his retinas. He muttered "a flashbang? No, it's too bright, and the range is too broad. "
Caen edged forwards cautiously, keeping his arm up. When the light had finally subsided, Caen could hear someone calling out "i-is someone in trouble?" He asked noone in particular.

The wolf continues his slow approach until the beam of light suddenly erupts from the rock and shoots up into the sky, creating a pillar of light. In response, the wolf stumbles back a few steps, having been flash blinded by the light, and raises one arm to shield his eyes.

When he's finally able to look back towards the rock, he's able to see the small form drop back inside of it. Since he'd been blinded for those moments before though, he had no idea where it had come from. He stood there staring at the rock, unsure if he should proceed even though his instincts told him to leave immediately.

He turned away from the rock to do so... then he heard a voice coming from in the direction of the rock. It sounded... concerned. The wolf turns and looks back towards the rock once again.

"Hello...?" he calls back tentatively.

Walking closer to the lake area, the energy only got stronger and more potent as Tala neared the suspended liquid at a slow, cautious pace. She saw the silver wolf from before and her ears perked. She saw him looking down rather than up and followed his gaze.

A strange rock-like structure was laying at the bottom, having previously been covered by the water. She spotted some greenish gooey substance that seemed to form a slight sheen on parts of the rocky surface.

Suddenly a large beam of light burst from where the rock was, blinding the female for a few moments as she didn't shield her vision in time.  Not being able to see properly, she instead narrowed her eyes as best as she could and could make out a bigger shape in front of the rock that wasn't there previously.

Hearing the uncertain call of greeting from a newer, gentle spoken voice. Tala looked to the wolf now opposite her, knowing it wasn't him who had spoken as he replied to the voice in concern. She blinked the light flashes in her vision away to look at the form now clearly in her sight. It had unfurled and now and was just standing there looking around.

Bending down towards the creature a little she called out to it.
"Are you alright? Do you need help?"

(Storm, you skipping your turn again?)

((Ah, yeah. Sorry guys. I Haven't been keeping up with this topic. Until I officially jump back in, just feel free to keep skipping me.))

((No worries Storm, these thing happen. Whenever you're able to rejoin just find a convenient time and go for it ^^))

(It's okay Storm, I hope everything turns out okay.)

The big creature still hid in the rock holding the small creature close. They were conversing quietly and were obviously scared about the Mobian's around them. Unexpectedly, the larger creature screamed in pain before the black shell that held them captive exploded in a way that sent parts of the shell flying across the forest Iinto trees and getting stuck in the ground.

The blast might have made the other Mobians stumble but it generally wouldn't have hurt them. The big creature stood up revealing himself to be a black hedgehog. His spikes pointed backwards and had dark blue tips. His left eye is green while his right eye is blue; he had blue streaks on his arms, legs and chest. The hedgehog was slouched over a little but this was from nerves rather than natural posture.

The creature the hedgehog was holding was actually a Chao however it had half indigo skin on its left side and purple skin on its right. It had a red orb above its head and had red eyes. Now free from the rock the Chao flew around the hedgehog with its wings, obviously unaware of the possible peril they were in, "no," the hedgehogstraightened their back as he gathered courage, his voice becoming less worried, "I'm in no need of any help, thank you very much."

Caen brushed aside a branch as he finally emerged from the forest, and into the large clearing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Tala standing next to the lake, as well as the other wolf from earlier. There was another figure. It appeared to be a male hedgehog, although this was difficult to ascertain from where he stood. He ran towards the group, and stopped next to Tala "there you are! Not the best idea to go running off in the middle of the forest." He said "but I can kinda understand, after what just happened. The hedgehog screamed in pain as the shell around him appeared to explode, making Caen stumble slightly. Bits of it went flying everywhere, no doubt sticking in the softened ground easily. The hedgehog spoke, saying that he was in no need of help. Caen walked onto the bed of the lake, which appeared to block the rain. Something made Caen think the hedgehog was frightened of them, "we mean you no harm, so you needn't look so scared... Although, you have good reason," he looked back at Tala and the wolf "we don't exactly look like the least suspicious bunch in the world," he finished, laughing.

The wolf remained where he was, waiting for a reply.

What he eventually got was a scream and then he was suddenly lying flat on the ground, staring up at the water above him. The shockwave from whatever had shattered the rock ahead of him had knocked the wolf off his feet and left him dazed for several moments.

Once the wolf had regained his wits, he struggled a little to get back up onto his feet. He hardly noticed that there was a layer of mud now caked on himself. Right now he was trying to piece together what had just happened and where the dark coloured hedgehog like form ahead of him had come from. He was so absorbed in that, that he didn't even realize that the hedgehog and canine he'd met earlier had returned and were trying to talk to the strange arrival. The wolf knew that whatever had hit him, came from the direction this new stranger was standing from him. So the wolf began backing away, worried that something else was about to happen, and just wanting to be far away if it did.

The scream was unsettling in Talas ears. She folded them back and found herself getting pushed back by some unknown force. Bracing herself prevented her from getting blown off of her feet by lowering herself a little and centering her gravity.

She heard Caen calling as he caught up to her, but she paid him no mind; there was a figure in the bottom of the lake which looked like a hedgehog with a strangely coloured chao floating around him as if it didn't have a care in the world.

The black hedgehog said spoke so softly that it barely reached the wolf girls ears, but she caught it and visibly relaxed the tiniest bit. Regardless,he just appeared out of nowhere and was making a phenomenon happen right before the groups very eyes. She couldn't just overlook that.

It was then that Tala realised the chaos she was 'protecting' began making their way down to the hedgehog and unusual chao, still in a trance-like state, their little wings beating in unison.
'This is definitely not normal.' Tala thought to herself. 'This guy... who is he and why are the chao attracted to him?'

The hedgehog watched as a red wolf and a red hedgehog began conversing at the top of the barren lake which distracted him momentarily from the other wolf so the hedgehog didn't answer his question. Now the red hedgehog was walking towards him so the black hedgehog began taking steps backwards and away from him. Now the black chao got scared and retreated to behind the hedgehog's back.

The black hedgehog eventually got to the edge of the lake that was too steep to walk up so the hedgehog just looked away from the red hedgehog, expecting the hedgehog to hurt him. Then the red hedgehog spoke to him and, just before answering, the black hedgehog looked to the chao, gulped and looked back at the hedgehog, "I'm not scared, not for me anyway," he still spoke softly but not as quiet as before, "it's my chao, he's not as strong as m-"

The black hedgehog cut himself off because he could hear the sound of flapping wings, well the sounds seemed almost synchronised that it sounded like one large animal. The black hedgehog thought this until the chao/chaos appeared and spilled into the lake, surrounding the black hedgehog and his chao, " you summoned them, good work Blimp," the black hedgehog hugged his black chao before greeting the chao and playing around with them.

Some of the chao began to look at Blimp funny and they inspected him, making Blimp anxious, but unlike most chao, these chao seemed to like Blimp and the black hedgehog sensed this. The black hedgehog looked up at the red wolf, several chao sitting happily on his head and arms, and asked, "are you the keeper of these chao? I can sense you are very attached to them. I'm the Guardian of the Chao; I speak for all animals," the whole scene would warm even a physcopath heart

((Red? I believe its you to go next ))