Sonic X : Planet Zero

The Chao Garden

The next day, Caitlin walked outside of the house and took a long, deep breath in and smelled the fresh air around her. She was very eager to go and explore around the land. She took a long glance at the environment around her before taking any further step.

Suddenly, a small airplane had flown by around. It was Tails who had been flying in the X Tornado. He then landed safely nearby the house.

"Hi Caitlin!" the young fox exclaimed, waving from his airplane up in the air.

"Hi Tails!"

She waved back at him as he flew down and landed safely nearby the house.

"Wow that's a real sweet ride you got there."

"Yeah, thanks! This is the second plane I've owned actually. The first plane we had, the Tornado 2, was actually owned by Sonic which he then handed over to me."

"That's so cool!" the young girl exclaimed.

"We also had help from one of our friends back on Earth."

Caitlin had a double take for a moment, wondering if she had heard correctly.

"Wait...you've been on Earth before?"

The yellow fox began sweating a little as he recounted his bizarre history of transporting over to Earth.

"Yeah well, it's a long story but I made a great friend who was a human just like you and he was a mechanic like me."

The human that Tails was talking about, was none other than Chuck Thorndyke.

"Wow cool! Someday I hope I can build a plane just like this."

"Well, I'd be happy to assist you with that."

Cream then came come over to greet both of them.

"Hey Caitlin! Are you ready to come see the Chao Gardens?"

She replied back, "Oh yes, definitely!"

"Hi Tails! I'm gonna take Caitlin to visit the chao. Would you like to come too?"

"Thanks for the offer Cream, but I have to catch up with Sonic right about now. Maybe next time. Hope you two have fun though!"

He gave them a wave and then soared off on his plane once again.

The two of them then headed off into the forest.

"The Chao garden is a very secret place and we try our best to protect it from any intruders who might come and invade their land."

It took a lot of walking to get to the garden. After passing through a very dark tunnel, the two finally made it through. The environment had looked so bright. Caitlin had never seen so many tiny creatures roaming about. Most of them flew in the air, and a lot of them had swam in the water.

Caitlin tried giving them a wave. A flock of chao then immediately came to greet both girls. A few of them started singing and one came over to give Caitlin a hug.

"Aww they're very friendly."

"Yeah they are. Cheese and I always come to visit and check up on them regularly."

Caitlin then took notice at a small chao that was sitting alone by the pond. The chao was of a light purple color.

"Hey, this one's sitting by itself."

She tried waving at it and saying hello, but the chao didn't respond back.

"She's very shy. I think she misses her previous owner" Cream had explained, "The chao told me that they found her left alone one day and they helped bring her into the garden."

Caitlin kneeled down close in front of the little chao and looked into her face.

"Hmm, I think I'll call you Lilac."

The purple colored chao then lifted up her head and tilted it in a confused manner.

"Um, I'm not sure if she likes that name or not", said Caitlin nervously.

The chao then gave her a faint little smile and proceeded to give Caitlin a hug.

"Aww I think she likes you!" Cream said with excitement.

Lilac then began singing a light little tune which gradually became stronger in tone. All the chao were surprised to hear it sing. Never had they heard such a melancholy little being sing to its heart's content.

After seeing how happy Lilac had become, Caitlin then made a promise to her that she would try to check up on them regularly and pay a visit.

After a full day of exploring out with the chao, the two made it back home safely.

"Well you're looking a lot brighter today sweetie", said Vanilla.

"Yes ma'am, I certainly am! I had a great time out today with Cream and Cheese."

Caitlin couldn't wait to just sit down and relax after a day of exploring. The four of them then shared a nice dinner together which was cooked by Vanilla.

Later on, before bed, Caitlin sat down on the chair in her room. She made an attempt to try and call her mom using the Wi-fi access that she was given, but there was no pickup. She figured the signal would be too weak to reach over to Earth, but it was worth a try. She then took out a photo that she had packed in a very secure space in her bag. The photo was a picture of her as a small child with her mom and dad.

"Don't worry mom, dad. Soon everything will be back to normal."

She held the picture tight close to her and felt a tear drop down her face. She tried wiping it off quickly as she didn't want any of them to see her upset. Only, a mere few seconds later, Cream came over to her room to check up on her.

"Caitlin, what's wrong? Why do you look sad?"

"Oh I'm fine Cream. Sorry, it's just that I've been trying to call my mom, letting her know everything's alright, but it looks like the signal is too weak to reach all the way to Earth."

"How come your mom didn't come along with you for the journey?"

"My mom...doesn't really like traveling all that much, and she also has to watch the house for us."

"Oh ok. I understand. I'm sure she's alright, and I'm sure she trusts you to handle yourself on your own right?"

Caitlin responded back, "Yeah, I'm sure of it."

The two then wished each other goodnight as Cream headed back into her room.

As for Caitlin, she looked at the photo one last time before placing it back in her bag, and then went on to get some well needed sleep.