The Timely Tale of Enitan

At some point, someone had had the wisdom to draw the comparison between adversity and wind.  Sonic knew a lot about wind; the way it was everywhere, veiled in the deceitful mask of stagnant air, begging for the slightest suggestion to send it into a fury of disruption and entropy. He knew how it thrust against you when you ran, how the harder you pushed against it the thicker and more impenetrable it became, until you reached the threshold of equilibrium. It, succumbing to your own intentions, would be a boost- pushing you further once you've beaten it.  He also knew that it was currently spitting ashy remnants at a less than grateful echidna.
"Gah! It doesn't matter where I go, it FOLLOWS ME!" Knuckles stood up for the upteenth time, kicking sand into the arching flame of the fire.
Rouge snorted, "Don't flatter yourself, Knuckie."
Knuckles stopped before whipping around to glare at her. "I'm not doing anything! It wont leave me alone!"
"It's just smoke Knuckles." Amy toyed with a marshmallow on the end of her stick, absently teasing  it between the flames.
"It doesn't help you keep sitting in the opposite direction of the breeze." Tails said, breaking from his extensive cataloging of the constellations.
"How am I supposed to know where its gonna blow?!"
Sonic opened an eye from his spot away from the fire. "Takes talent." He smirked.
"Oh, so now you're the exp-"
"Guys!" Tails interjected. He sighed. "Why don't we tell stories?"
"Oh I love stories, Tails!" Cream squealed, her chao following her excited bouncing. "Let me tell one, please?"
Tails smiled. "Go ahead Cream."
She cleared her throat dramatically. "Once upon a time-"
"No. Oh no." Cream pouted as she looked at her rude interruption. Charmy was perched on Espio's shoulder, looking absolutely adamant. "No fairytales!"
Amy put her hand on her hip. "Why are you guys here, anyway?"
Vector shrugged. "We were in the neighborhood and-"
"We're in the middles of a forest!"
"Forests have neighborhoods too, or else how would we know where we are?"
"A map usually works-"
"Guys!" Tails rubbed his temple, frustrated with the lack of progress. "Shadow, how about you-?"
Everyone looked, but Shadow's log was unoccupied.
"Um, how about…"
"I'll go!" Charmy squeaked, jumping up on his log. "There once was a tale of swashbucking rogues!"
Espio pulled him down by the leg. "If we're going to tell stories, it should be about darkness, danger, ninjas…"
"At least make it appropriate!" Vector bawled. "We're camping! It should be about three brave ghost hunters-"
"I think that's been done before."
"Yea. Like a lot."
"GUYS!" All present parties stopped, looking at a flustered and exausted Tails. "How about I tell one?"
Everyone nodded in agreement as they reclaimed their seats, Tails butting a hasty note in his sketchbook. He breathed in.

"There's a legend of a great warrior called Enitan."
"Oh, so it's a true story?" Knuckles quipped, before quickly being silenced by a look from Amy.
Tails continued.
"He was born to a respected tribal counselor, Udo, and his wife Nsia, as the last of six children. In late years, the tribe had thrived. The harvests had been bountiful and there was peace between their neighbors, and an overall feeling of bounty settled the land. Enitan led the warriors home after a successful hunt, and everyone showered him with praise and affection. Everyone but Tapiwa. He was a strong warrior, chosen to marry the chief's eldest daughter and next in line to lead the tribe himself. But he was jealous. As a boy, villagers stared at his back and whispered that he had been corrupted by the greed of his father, who had been banished and left him to be raised by his cruel mother. 'Never listen to them, Tapiwa,' she would tell him, 'You will come to decide all their fates.' As time went on, Rashida, the chief, saw darkness in his heart, but could not deny the wishes of his daughter, who wanted the strongest of men as her husband. But a year behind him, another boy showed great promise. Enitan was kind; he shared his food with the village children and told them stories of the greatest heroes of the past. Tapiwa was vindictive, and he envied the other children. He stole their meals and treated them poorly. 'I will be your leader,' he said, 'You will obey me.' Enitan was young, but he did not fear Tapiwa, and confronted him. But Tapiwa would not listen, and became angry and violent. Enitan stood strong and braced himself to take a blow, refusing to fight. Rashida saw his courage and valor, and told him that, when he was old enough, he would lead the warriors and have the hand of his most beautiful daughter, Zuri. Tapiwa become disconsolate and enraged, his own wife, Tafari, belittled his talents and envied her sister. In his outrage, Tapiwa sought out Ogechi, a powerful spirit that controlled time itself."

Knuckles muttered under his breath. "Yeah, right."
Rouge elbowed him roughly in the side.
"Why you-"
"Shhh!" She growled.
Knuckles relented, adjusting himself with a grumble. Tails gave him a look before clearing his throat.

"Tapiwa pleaded with Ogechi, hoping he could convince the other gods to get rid of Enitan, but Ogechi was suspicious and said, 'And what would you get that would reward you so?' Tapiwa was wise and manipulative, and decided to tick the spirit. 'I would get nothing,' he said, 'But satisfaction.'
'And how would you get this?' asked Ogechi.
'You are the greatest god of all!' he said. 'You control time and the fortune of all things. What being is more powerful than you?'
Ogechi thought about this. 'It is true what you say, that I have great power.'
'The greatest!' said Tapiwa. 'And who else is more feared for his talents?'
'This is also true.' Ogechi said, but he was still unsure of Tapiwa's intentions.
'How can I tell you are true to what you say, that you are only a humble servant?'
Tapiwa smiled. 'We will make a trade. I will give you something of great value, and you give me the power to enforce your will to my people.'
'What would you give to me, such a great and powerful being?' Ogechi asked.
"I will give you my wife,' said Tapiwa, 'A daughter of a chief and more beautiful than one thousand suns.'
Ogechi gave Tapiwa a golden jewel. 'This will let you do one thing, and only one thing. Do not fail.'
Tapiwa raced back to the village and sought Tafari, but she was too cold and cruel to give to such a spirit. Then he saw Zuri, the wife of Enitan, and showed her the gem. He told her she was to visit Ogechi , but Zuri had been gifted with foresight and knew of Tapiwa's coming betrayal. At night, Zuri claimed the jewel from Tapiwa as he slept and gave it to Enitan.
'Enitan, Tapiwa has grown jealous and cruel towards you. This jewel is meant to destroy you.'
Enitan thanked Zuri, and took possession of the gem, When Tapiwa awoke, he realized the jewel was gone, and set off to the time spirit.
Ogechi was outraged. 'Where is my gem? And where is the wife?' He demanded.
'Both have been stolen from me, by Enitan.' Said Tapiwa.
'And how can I know this?' boomed Ogechi, 'What can be done to determine the truth?'
'Enitan is mad with power, he will answer true to your questions.'
Tapiwa hid in the shrine, waiting for Enitan to come and return the gem.
'Who goes there?' Demanded Ogechi.
'I am Enitan, here to return your jewel.'
'From who did you receive the jewel?'
'From my wife.' Enitan said.
'And whose daughter is your wife?' Ogechi asked.
'She is the daughter of the chief.' Enitan answered.
Ogechi boomed. 'You have stolen from me and you flaunt your beguiled power, for this you shall pay.'
Enitan tried to reason, but Tapiwa intervened.
'You are foolish, Enitan; this god does not care for the likes of you and your trickery.'
Enitan and Tapiwa fought over the jewel, and they were all consumed by it, never to be seen again."

Tails looked around at his audience. "It is said that their fighting caused so much disruption, that the jewel became one with Ogechi, infusing him with the chaos that surrounded it."

There was a silence, before Knuckles spoke.
"So….what happened?"

Tails shrugged. "No one knows, but some believe that Ogechi became so powerful that a hole became ripped in reality itself, and that he forever travels in the loopholes of existence."

Knuckles snorted, "What, like a time loop?"

Tails lifted his hand deftly. "Actually, Knuckles, the whole idea of time travel is dependent on the idea that time travels linearly. Since travelling forward is the natural course of action, and without a constant equilibrium ever being achieved, it is impossible to generate a force great enough to shift the causes of reality to reverse in any organized fashion-it violates the law of causality, provided, of course that there is some merit to the theories of either lunar gravity or string theory-"

"TAILS!"

Tails pouted, crossing his arms indignantly over his chest. "All I'm saying is that in order to induce a temporal flux, something would have to upset the natural balance of things.  Like a black hole or a worm hole-something with enough gravitational mass that it manipulates the space-time continuum to a noticeable degree."

"That didn't make any more sense than the first time!"

"Guys there's no point in fighting about it!" Amy interjected.

"I'm not fighting, I'm just saying he's a nutcase!"

"What! You started it!"

"I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!"

It didn't take long for the camp to dissolve into anarchy, Chaos coming mainly in the form of empty threats and heated challenges thwarted by random blunt objects.

Sonic lay back on his hands. "Time travel, huh?"

A star shot across the night sky.

He smirked. "Maybe some day."