Sonic Series Fan Fiction / Sonic X Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Adventure: The Mobius Saga ❯ Mobius, Part I: The Chaos Emerald ( Chapter 1 )

(Disclaimer: I own the plot and Original Characters, but not Sonic the Hedgehog)

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Author's Note: Please note that Mobius looks nothing like the Mobius from Sonic X, the cartoon shows, or the comics. Plus, this has no connection to them, either, so ignore them. Plus, don't rush to judgment. Everything will be straightened out in the end. All clear? Good, now on to the story.

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The Ultimate Adventure: The Mobius Saga

 

Mobius, Part 1: The Chaos Emerald

 

New York City is the home of many things. From Central Park and the Museum Mile in Manhattan, to Yankee Stadium and the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, to the coastal beaches in south Brooklyn, to old Richmond Town in Staten Island, to the Airports and Shea Stadium in Queens. It is also the home of some of the tallest buildings and the greatest places in the world. There, the people explore and enjoy some of the city's finest treasures. These are spots where families can walk around and spend a lot of quality time and have a lot of fun together.

 

Some families also live in luxury, as to this known family: the Halbery family. There, on the outskirts of the city lies a beautiful clean-swept mansion. The Halbery Mansion is as big as four football fields, the biggest mansion in the entire country. The structure was mind-boggling. The entrance had a huge and shadowy façade, with four poles that had long, fancy indents with huge flat supporters along the corners of the façade. The floor to the marble door had six steps that go around the entrance, with each step decreasing in size as it ascended to the door.

 

At the gate, in the middle of the cul-de-sac, there stood a glimmering fountain with the water coming out of a large platinum statue, in which there are three spouts, one from the marble cone, and the other two coming out of curved triangles that slanted off to the sides.

 

Along the sides of the outside entrance lied the body of the house. The body was structurally made of thick concrete with a special chemical that give it a bluish tint.

 

The right side of the mansion was huge in size and height. On the outside, twelve lengthy windows rowed along the mansion, in which white bars in the shape of an “X” stretched from all four corners of the rectangular windows. The roof contained a large golden dome, which had fancily-designed onyx lines that twirled like a DNA lance. The top of the dome had a small little cone-style bump and a flag pole with the American flag being blown in the wind.

 

The inside of the room, however, was where its beauty had been caught. Inside the dining room, there was a beautiful marble floor, with a couch that spread from wall to wall around the edges, and a gorgeous round table that had angels painted on the surface. Inside the dome hung a golden chandelier with seven layered levels of lights, with the biggest layer closest to the ceiling, and the smallest layer closest on the bottom.

 

The inside of the room, however, was where its beauty had been caught. Inside the dining room, there was a beautiful marble floor, with a couch that spread from wall to wall around the edges, and a gorgeous round table that had angels painted on the surface. Inside the dome hung a golden chandelier with seven layered levels of lights, with the biggest layer closest to the ceiling, and the smallest layer closest on the bottom.

 

Along the left side of the mansion, the wall had five circular windows that are spaced out like binoculars, with an indent that protruded outward. The windows were divided into sections, connected by steel bars in a shape of a circle.

 

The inside was about as beautiful as the dining room, but a lot bigger. The living room had a glass coffee table with copper frame-and-legs, along with chairs that had its wood polished and cushions spotless and new-looking. Along the wall spread a huge couch with blue fabric and pillows on them. Covering the floor was a wall-to-wall carpet that had the designs of all the seven continents and all the countries. On the other side of the room rested a huge antique ebony shelf with spotless silver handles on them, and on the wall hung a large platinum flat-screen high-definition television.

Then, right between the two conference rooms stood the luxurious lobby. The walls were painted in blue-grey, with the ceiling in pearl-white paint, and the floor covered in a red-and-purple striped carpet. On the ceiling, there stood a dome-like bump that was covered in copper polish, and a chandelier hung inside the copper dome. Finally, split halfway in the hallway was a marble stairwell with wooden bars and rail all covered with white paint and smoothed out with polish.

 

It was the perfect life for a family. Living in a nice, big house, with everything you can dream of. It was like a paradise. Nothing bad can come out of it, can it?

 

“ALEXANDER HALBERY! GET UP HERE NOW!”

 

Yes, it can. On the right side of the lobby, a door, camouflaged in the shadows of the stairwell, opened, and out came a 4 foot 11 inch boy of thirteen years old. His name was Alexander Halbery.

 

Alexander was very much scarred from head to toe. His untidy, greasy dirty-blonde hair contained burnt marks in various spots on his scalp; his face all covered in bruises. His grey shirt was so oversized that it sometimes slipped off his shoulders and down his arms, exposing the skeleton outline and whip marks on his collar. His black jeans were very loose and very much oversized, in which it was dragging along the floor behind him. It was so huge, not even a leather pant belt could help it stay on.

 

After hearing a woman shout for his assistance, Alexander walked up the marble stairwell and turned left and down a very brightly-lit hallway, with fancy candle-shaped lights hanging upside-down on the white ceiling. Alexander walked just a few steps and gave a knock on the wide eight by thirteen foot door.

 

“Come in, you bum,” shrieked the woman voice in a Turkish accent.

 

Alexander opened the door and went inside. Inside the room, there was a huge closet with fancy shirts, tuxedos, pants, jackets, and hats hanging neatly on the coat racks. Left of it rested a huge dresser with fine polished wood and there were four drawers with two gold-polished handles on each of them. On its tabletop was a collection of perfume and cologne in which they were placed carefully and neatly. Over it was a large wall-to-wall square mirror with an ebony-wood frame on it. On its right was a huge sliding glass door, currently open, which lead to the balcony outside. The balcony was spacious and very gracious. Marble tiles glazed its reflection off the sun, and high thick wooden rails encircled the balcony's perimeter and eave to the mansion. In the dark left-hand corner nearby the glass door was a folded oversized beach chair, which had been scrubbed and washed. In the middle of the balcony, there was a beach chair completely unfolded, along with a glass balcony table aside it, and a glass of beer resting on the tabletop.

 

Alexander walked up to the huge double-king-sized bed in front of him and stared down the woman with utter disgust. “Yes?” he asked to her.

 

The woman, known as Carddall Halbery, was a very beefy and very rude woman. She had no job, rarely got out of bed except for special services, and rarely took a bath. She had a very beefy face and wore a very tight red dress. Her long black hair was tied tightly in spindles. Her face was breaking out persistently; and her mouth looked so small from the fat that drooped off her cheeks that it looked like she sometimes inhaled her food.

 

Speaking of food, Carddall was eating her chicken as though she had fasted earlier that day, and she ate very sloppily. Lots and lots of chicken grease dripped down her broken-down face and onto her ruby-colored dress, in which it continued down her big chest, glutted stomach, and onto the stainless steel tray.

 

“Go to the kitchen and cook me some more chicken, Alex!” ordered Carddall in a muffled, but sharp voice and pointed at the tray, which was covered with saliva-coated chicken.

 

Alexander stared down at the tray and grunted queasily, showing signs that he did not want to pick it up, but when a man, in a Turkish accent, shouted from the balcony, “DO WHAT SHE SAYS, SLAVE!”, Alexander wasted no more time and picked up the saliva-filled tray.

 

“I'll be back to cook some more chicken, Carddall,” said Alexander and was about to walk through the door when the man's voice bellowed from the balcony again.

 

“Come here, young man,” the man ordered and chimed the cup with a metal spoon.

 

Alexander decided not to ignore his orders and walked through the open glass doors and onto the balcony. When he walked up to the chair, he looked down at the man relaxing on it. “Yes, Mannato?” he said, trying to keep his agitation buried internally.

 

Mannato Halbery, Carddall's husband, was lazy, carefree, and vain. He almost never left his old comfortable beach chair and he always combed his shiny black hair, which he always used his hair spray, day and night. He combed his hair so often that he was known as the Vain Man from all over town.

 

Mannato always wore fancy clothes. At the moment, he is currently wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, gray pants that matched his suit, which was hanging on the glass door handle, and his dark brown shoes had been shoe-shined.

 

He was always known for being very picky, especially if it comes to cleanliness. If he saw one speck of grime anywhere, from the marble floor, to the dresser, to his own suit, he would freak out and scream like a girl.

 

However, he was in a happy mood today, since he had yet to find a dirty spot anywhere in the house at the moment, but that was about to change.

 

“Alexander,” said Mannato and snapped his fingers. “Take this with you.”

 

Alexander did just as he required and put the empty cup on the tray. As he walked back through the doors, he inadvertently bumped into his suit, making a small grease spot on the collar.

 

Mannato heard the impact and turned around to see the speck on his shirt. Once he saw it, is face contorted to utter anger.

 

“ALEXANDEEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!” yelled Mannato ferociously. “GET BACK HERE NOOOOOWWWWW!!!!”

 

Alexander, not knowing what happened, turned back to Mannato, holding his tray very tightly in his hand. “Yes, sir?” he asked. “What's wrong?”

 

“What's wrong? What's wrong?” said Mannato squeakily, on the verge of exploding.

 

And that was exactly what he did. “YOU MADE A GREASE SPOT ON MY BRAND NEW SUIT!!!” he roared and pointed at the suit on the handle.

 

Alexander walked up to the suit and took a look at the grease spot on Mannato's suit collar. “So what? I can wash it off,” he said casually.

 

“SO WHAT?” he roared. “THIS SPECIFIC SUIT WAS TO BE USED TONIGHT, YOU NUMBSKULL!! NOW, I CAN'T GO TO THE PARTY THAT I'VE BEEN DYING TO GO TO FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS!!”

 

“Well, then, use another suit,” said Alexander. “You have plenty of them in your closet,” and he made a head motion to point all the suits and various clothes hanging on the racks.

 

“WHO SAID YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!?” Mannato roared, now throwing a temper tantrum.

 

“I'm not,” said Alexander, ignoring the outburst. “I'm just givin' you ideas,” and, with the tray in hand, he walked through the glass doors and closed the bedroom door behind him, leaving a trail of Mannato's obnoxious slurs in his wake.

 

Alexander walked down the stairs, through the dining room, through a naked doorway, and into the kitchen.

 

The kitchen was just like the two conference rooms: spotless and neat. On the door side, there was a huge refrigerator and freezer, with every genre of food put together in orderly fashion. Right beside it is the slate kitchen counter mixed with quartz minerals, which gave the counter some sort of romantic swirl. In the middle is the stainless steel sink with a stainless steel water faucet and soda fountain. Nearest to the wall is a huge dishwasher, for which had been cleaned so well, it looked like it was brand new. Along the walls are long wooden shelves in which all the pots, pans, skillets, and strainers were placed in orderly fashion, from big to small.

 

On the right-hand side, nearest to the wall was the stove, cleaned and scrubbed from top to bottom; the four grills cleansed and shined with no burnt or rusty spots on them; the oven scrubbed down with like it used a lot of elbow grease. Right next to it are all the meat knives, in which they are face-down and placed in size-order, from the smallest to the biggest. Facing the doorway, hanging on the wall, are huge cabinets in which the bowls, cups, glasses, and plates were placed and positioned neatly on each of the four shelves. And underneath the countertop is a huge drawer with all the butter knives, spoons, and forks cleaned and placed in the right order.

 

Alexander walked up to the garbage bin beside the oven and dumped all the chicken in it before putting that and the cup in the dishwasher.

 

“Oh, well,” muttered Alexander as he closed the dishwasher and turned it on. “I'm gonna get yelled at by Mannato anyway.”

 

And as if he could read people's minds, Mannato let out a loud girlish scream that echoed and reverberated off the walls. Alexander ignored it and went on to cook the chicken that Carddall requested.

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He was freed him from duty at around 10 o'clock that night, and Alexander quickly ran to the kitchen to make a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then, he walked through the dining room and turned right back to his bedroom door, which was still shadowed thanks to the stairwell.

 

When he opened the door, he walked in and inside, his bedroom was almost barren and ragged. On the left side of the door was an old dresser. The tabletop was scratched and splintered, while the legs were weathered agedly. Alexander believed that, one day, that dresser will collapse.

 

On the wall next to it, there lied his clothes, which were all piled up in a corner. They smelled so badly, not even flies wanted to go near it. To prove how bad they smelled, three months earlier, Alexander tried to sneak them into the laundry room, but Carddall and Mannato caught him and punished him. Now, the laundry room was off-limits to him.

 

The other side of the room was extremely empty. There was nothing there, except an old dresser that Alexander hand-polished and smoothed out with sandpaper. There, the dresser had strange carved lines that curled up its legs and meet in the center, which spun like a spiral. Hanging right over it is a thin black curtain that had the designs of flower petals dancing all around it. On the right side of the curtain, there hung a lever in which once it's been pulled down, the curtain will roll up like window blinds.

 

Opposite it, there was a bed with shiny golden bars that twirled and bound together, steel stubby legs on the corners. The back of the room was very stark, with a golden coat rack that stretched from the bed to the wall. It was complete empty if you discount a black spring jacket hanging right by the wall.

 

Alexander walked by the scratched-up desk and up to the fancy dresser opposite from his bed and pulled down the lever. As he pulled it, the curtain started to roll up slowly, but surely. There, Alexander kept pulling and pulling and pulling. When he finished, he put the lever in a knot and tied it around a bar. What was behind the curtain was a huge portrait with a black background. There, sitting on a wooden chair, cross-legged, was a woman in her twenties. She had long black hair, a face that was smooth as silk, golden earrings, a ruby red dress with a white cuffed hem on the bottom of the dress, and black high-heel slippers. Standing over her on her right was a man at around the same age holding her hand. He wore a black top hat, an indigo suit with a white necktie, indigo pants that matched his suit, and black shoes.

 

On the bottom of the frame, there bolted on the wall were two plates with an inward curve on each corner. On the left, under the man, the plate was gold and it had these words in ancient-style Italic letters.

 

“Veipher Halbery: January 4, 1963 to September 30, 1993.”

 

Right next it was a silver plate with the same design and same font, but this one was under the woman.

 

“Lilac Halbery: August 7, 1962 to September 30, 1993.”

 

Alexander stared at the portrait and sighed sadly, trying to hold his tears back. Lilac and Veipher were Alexander's own parents.

 

On the top of the dresser, there were six platinum plates in which they stood upward because of the supporters on the back. These plates had these words on them, with one name on each.

 

“Viktor Halbery.”

 

“Stephan Halbery.”

 

“Alexander Halbery.”

 

“Vanessa Halbery.”

 

“Jennifer Halbery.”

 

“Vicky Halbery.”

 

Alexander took one glance at the plates and started to shed some tears. “I wish you were all still here,” he thought. Why did he think of that? They were all siblings, with the oldest child, Viktor, on the left, and the youngest, Vicky, on the right.

 

Alexander used to have a very nice family. His siblings, Viktor, Stephan, Jennifer, Vicky, Venessa, and Alexander himself, were the children of the famous Lilac and Veipher Halbery. They were a great family, with no problems and no sadness. They were known as the happiest family in the world. As time went by, everyone thought that Lilac, Veipher, and their children, were going to be the happiest and most graceful family of all time.

 

No one thought about that more than Alexander. He had told his parents and siblings many, many times, but stopped after they got annoyed about it. However, that did not stop him from thinking about it.

 

That all changed on September 30, 1993, when his entire family was gone in a snap. Afterwards, Carddall and Mannato moved from Ankara, Turkey and, according to a will, became his guardian. However, they did not care about Alexander or anyone else; they only cared about themselves. On many occasions, they mocked Alexander about the family that he no longer had and that he was nothing, but a little dishrag to their own kind. Alexander never really believed any of that verbal abuse, but later in time, the two pigs used Alexander as a scapegoat, saying that he was the reason he no longer had his parents or his siblings. Alex kept fighting back that personal attack, but when they started to assault him physically, it became too much for him to handle that he later accepted defeat and became their personal "slave" to him.

 

Alexander stared at the portrait and plates for about 45 minutes, but grief and sorrow overcame him and he withdrew the rope and positioned the curtain to where it was right behind the artifacts.

 

After smoothing it out, Alexander climbed in his bed and put his hands behind his head, thinking, wondering what would happen if he would be able to avenge for the family that he had lost.

 

"Mom, Dad, sibs, I hope that one day, I can prove that I can do things right again," Alex thought sadly and sighed before going to sleep, hoping that he would, someday, accomplish this dream and accomplish what he wanted to do.

 

What he did not realize was that his luck was about to change and change for the better.

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New York City was now still, quiet, and dark, something that does not really happen in the city. The streets were barren; the parks as silent as a whisper. Almost no lights were on in the buildings; people were in these high-rise apartments, sleeping, dreaming, and hoping that their dreams would come true. Party-going adults walked around Time Square to gather last minute shopping. The buses roared downtown into the village; the trains clattered down the lines one final time for the night. Taxis gathered weary people in need of a ride, and the street lights were now only specks from an airplane's point of view. It got so dark no one could tell which place ended and another one began. It was now completely camouflaged in the deep blackness of the night.

 

In about a few minutes, it would not be that way.

 

At around 2 o'clock in the morning, the midnight sky suddenly flashed like a camera taking a picture. Above the Atlantic Ocean, two balls of light, one sky blue, the other yellow, fell out of the sky and showered down onto the surface.

 

However, halfway through its fall, the two balls hit an airplane wing and took off in different directions. The sky blue ball landed in the bushes of a yard near a huge mansion, while the other landed into the sea.

 

Afterwards, everything returned to normal, with everyone hoping that this bizarre event would not cause a chain reaction. What they did not know was that things were just beginning…

 

CRASH!

 

…Because suddenly, something crashed into the pier in Downtown Manhattan, creating a huge dust cloud that fogged the lower west side of the island. The crash was so loud, that it came at such brute force, everyone nearly fell out of their beds.

 

What happened next was pandemonium. The people issued emergencies of a possible explosion. Panic rose throughout the city. Bridges shut down; late-night flights were cancelled; traffic halted everywhere; the late-night stores closed in record time.

 

When the cops heard about this, several police cars went out of the police stations and raced down the barren streets, the sirens blaring, the warning lights rotating like a top, in hopes of investigating the cause of all this chaos.

 

“Attention, attention, we're approaching the Hudson Pier!” the sergeant called through his radio.

 

“Copy that!” a policewoman's voice replied back.

 

The cop cars blared down Broadway and turned west on 23rd street. As they drove, the cops began to notice something very eerie.

 

“What's happened? I can't see!” cried a policeman through the sergeant's radio.

 

All the cars drove right into the huge, thick dust cloud, and, there was bound to be trouble. With the cloud blinding the cops' visions, several of them that trailed behind the sergeant crashed into poles, bus stops, fire hydrants, or parked cars on the curb. While the crashed cars were being taken care of by the trailing policemen, the three police cars that were in the lead continued onward.

 

The cars continued blaring cross-town until they noticed they noticed a green street sign that said “12 Av” on the street lamp. It was through the thick cloud, but it was transparent enough for the cops to see it.

 

“Attention, attention!” roared the sergeant through the radio. “We have just arrived at the pier, over!”

 

The radio was silent for only a few moments, when it returned with a blare. “Copy that,” said a woman's voice.

 

The three cars went to a complete stop, and six policemen, with surgery masks and flashlights equipped with them, climbed out of the cars and went to the area to where the crash came.

 

“I can't see through this fog,” coughed a male officer as dust clouded his eyesight.

 

“Yeah,” a different female officer wheezed as she tried to shield her eyes from the dust. “And it's very stuffy, too.”

 

“The next time we're on duty,” growled a scruffy male's gruff voice, his bulky form invisible from inside the dust cloud, “we'll bring our gas masks.”

 

“Wait!” called the Sergeant suddenly, and everyone held their ground.

 

“What is it?” said a third female voice.

 

“I think we can make out what is inside in this cloud,” and he was right.

 

Slowly, but surely, the cloud evaporated into the sky and in its place was a small office house. It had a red shingled roof that curved inward, a khaki body structure, small windows in the front of the house, and a brown turnstile gate at its entrance. However, everything inside was pitch black, which caught the officers' interests, especially the sergeant's.

 

“Let's take a look,” said the sergeant sharply as he and the others walked inside.

 

With their flashlights on, they crept up the small stairwell and walked through the turnstile. Inside the office was what it looked like from the outside: pitch black. No one could see their hands in front of faces. Heck, it was so dark not even the flashlights were able to brighten up the surroundings.

 

“Darn! It's dark in here!” one of the women screeched suddenly.

 

“Yeah!” growled the scruffy male. “Where a stinkin' light where you need one?”

 

The sergeant was about to reply, but someone else did it for him.

 

“I don't think that will be necessary,” interrupted a mysterious male voice from out of nowhere.

 

All six officers jumped. They didn't quite expect someone else to be inside. Yet, this office just popped up out of nowhere, creating havoc in the city, so, there should be something lurking by.

 

“Who said that?” whimpered one of the three females.

 

“I did,” said the voice again, and what everyone saw made them jump. Big yellow slanted eyes peered onto the six, glaring at them ominously.

 

“Aaaarrgghhh!” screamed the females and ran out of the office faster than they had never run before.

 

“Hey! Come back here, worrywarts!” roared the sergeant, but they were long gone.

 

“I think those worrywarts aren't the ones you need to be worried about,” said the monotonous voice, his big yellow eyes glowering dangerously at them.

 

“What do you mean?” a male voice said frighteningly.

 

“He means me,” squeaked a high-pitched male voice, his big orange oval eyes blinking at the three males. “And me,” he said again, but this time, from the other side of the dark room. “And me!” he said from behind the scruffy man's neck.

 

“Grr! Why you…” he roared and swung at the orange-eyed figure, but he zoomed out of the way so fast that a sound of buzzing from his wings echoed the room.

 

“Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, NAH!” taunted the squeaky figure from behind his neck and blew a raspberry at him.

 

The man got so furious and so embarrassed at the hands of the troublemaker that threw his fist at him with all his might. He missed the figure again as he zoomed out of the way…

 

POW!

 

"YEOW!"

 

...But he didn't miss the sergeant.

 

“YOU COMPLETE IDIOT! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING!”

 

“Oops, sorry, Serge,” whimpered the gruff man, but their argument was to be spared for the time being as the orange-eyed troublemaker created more chaos.

 

“I think you missed me!” he sang again and buzzed around the three, driving them insane.

 

“Great,” said the sergeant with a groan. “First, we got a yellow-eye monster come here and surprise us. Second, my group of worrywarts left us to dry. Then, I got clocked in the nose. And now, THIS ZOOMING ORANGE-EYED FREAK IS DRIVING US CRAZY! WHAT ELSE IS GONNA HAPPEN NEXT!?”

 

The sergeant would soon find out.

 

“I think you're looking at him,” said a gruff male voice, but it was a little higher than the one from the officer's. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and glared his half-oval red-orange irises at the three. “And I think you've been in my home a little too long,” he added and they could hear his knuckles cracking.

 

“Espio, Charmy, let me take care of this,” he finished firmly as his knuckles cracked even louder.

 

The ones with the yellow and orange eyes complied and disappeared into the dark, knowing exactly what would happen next…

 

POW-POW! POW-POW! POW-POW!

 

With two punches each, the officers were thrown through the gates and onto the doorstep, completely battered and bruised.

 

“And don't even think of coming back here again!” the male voice warned sharply and pointed his large arm at them threateningly. Afterwards, he disappeared in the dark.

 

As for the officers, they wasted absolutely no time as they scurried off into their cars and drove off.

 

Once they were all gone, all three males suddenly broke into hysterical laughter.

 

“Man… I never had… this much fun… since that dark whirlpool case!” said the gruff voice between laughs.

 

“Yeah… I remember that!” laughed the squeaky male between breaths.

 

“And do you know who was the person that got stuck in that washing machine?” the monotonous voice said crossly, not in very high spirits anymore.

 

“Oh, come on, Espio!” said the squeaky voice and zoomed around the yellow-eyed figure. “Lighten up!”

 

“I am lightened up here,” Espio finished sharply.

 

“All right, all right, quit your arguing here,” said the gruff voice and turned on the lights. There, sitting on a black computer chair was a green crocodile. His body was very bulky and very strong. He had red spikes down his back all the way to the tip of his strong tail. His khaki-colored arms contained metal cuffs on his shoulders, black wristbands with a beige stripe on each of his wrists, and gigantic white gloves on each hand.

 

His scales overlapped on his front part of his body that trailed down to his tail; short stubby legs were crisscrossed on the dresser. His feet had black tennis shoes with a grey sole, a grey hem on his ankles, and a tongue with a silver hem on each of them.

 

His huge crocodile snout had two pits on the tip, huge square surround-sound headphones over his ears, and around his bulky neck was a shiny gold chain.

 

Another thing about him was that he was very excited. “Besides, it's time to begin a new era of the Chaotix Detective Agency!” he cheered and he pumped his fist high into the air, narrowly missing the ceiling fan above him.

 

“What do you mean by that, Vector?” asked Espio dully, who was leaning on one of the lockers, his eyes closed while meditating. The violet chameleon had slanted yellow eyes that curved downward towards his beige muzzle, a yellow horn protruding in the middle. He had a violet chameleon-shaped head, with three slanted triangles, one on each side and the other on the top of his head.

 

His purple body had three black spikes down his back, and a beige belly with a little point that went downward. His long tail curled upward like a monkey's prehensile tail, resting itself on the locker without any muscle damage. He had long legs, which had black anklets with a grey center, ten golden buttons that connected the anklets, and deep rich violet shoes with a black frame on each foot and ankle.

 

His arms had the same design, too, except they had a wrist guard with three gray vertical strands, followed by a dent on the top, which had a horizontal grey stripe. The gloves were also unique, but in a very special way. They were sparkling white, but on the top of the hand, it had a rich purple triangle pad with a grey outline on them.

 

“Well, what do we always do,” said Charmy. Charmy was a huge, hyperactive bee. He had a huge head, with orange oval eyes with an opening in the center, a black helmet that had a red bump on it, goggles stuck firmly on top of hiss helmet to make sure they wouldn't fall down in flight, huge yellow-and-black striped antennae the come out from the holes in the front of the helmet, followed by a beige muzzle and a long black nose.

 

He wore a bright orange zippered jacket with a pin of a bee on the left side, the sleeves of his shirt cuffed high to his shoulders. He had tan arms, black wristbands, and white gloves on each hand. His legs were black and he had cupped black socks and his snow boots were white with a white zipper, except they had an orange top on each of them.

 

His body had black and yellow stripes, and on his back are transparent blue wings that flap back and forth as fast as a hummingbird, followed a sharp black stinger as a tail. “We hunt down the crooks and earn our money!”

 

“Oh, yeah. I forgot,” said Espio sarcastically and rolled his eyes, his tone is a gloomy drone.

 

“Now, now, here,” said Vector soothingly, trying to stop the argument between his two workers. “We know we've gone off on the wrong foot since our last case. However, that doesn't mean we should stop it altogether.”

 

“Oh, you mean after what happened at Eggman's air base when he escaped from our grasp?” said Espio and crossed his arms, his tone full of contempt. About three months earlier, the three detectives, along with Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, the rebel robot E-123: Omega, Cream the Rabbit, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna defeated Eggman, then they went on to defeat Metal Sonic, Eggman's own robot and Sonic's cloned rival. However, Eggman snuck off the destroyed ship, leaving the Chaotix Detective Agency empty-handed. The three detectives hadn't forgotten about that ever since.

 

“The next time that slimeball tries to do that again, he'll get more than just a couple of stings!” said Charmy as he zoomed around the office and sat on the radio, which was on Vector's paper-piddled desk.

 

“Hey! Careful with it!” warned Vector and shooed Charmy off his radio.

 

“Sorry, Vec.”

 

“No worries, kid,” said Vector with a shrug as Charmy flew off. Afterwards, things got very quiet as Espio and Charmy got bored and did some meditating.

 

Meanwhile, the relaxing crocodile was not relaxed at all. Vector, who was known for being calm and carefree, was exactly the opposite as his mind buzzed with questions. “With these cops coming into the office, I wonder where we are exactly,” he thought. Then, he looked at Charmy, who was now sitting yoga-style on a tall lamp in the corner of the office. “And I think he could give me some help.” After clearing his throat, he called his comrade forth. “Charmy!”

 

The bee immediately shot up and flew down to the desk to face Vector. “Yes?”

 

“Go zoom around the city to see where we are.”

 

“Aye-aye, mon capitan!” promised Charmy and saluted before flying out of the office to explore the city.

 

Afterwards, everything went deadly quiet as Vector and Espio started cleaning up the office. For Espio, he took out a feather duster and cleaned out the lockers, which were foggy thanks to the dust. There, he cleaned the lockers up and picked up his stack of shuriken stars, which were cluttered all over the wooden floor.

 

For Vector, he went to pile up all the papers on his desk, before placing his notes on the bulletin board, which were in a huge pile behind his computer chair. Then, he went to the water dispenser and placed it right-side up before drying up the floor with a mop.

 

Both kept on cleaning for about two hours. Just as they finished, Charmy buzzed through the gate and into the office, a look of desperation on his face.

 

“What is it, Charmy?” asked Vector as he sat back down behind his desk.

 

“Vector,” said Charmy calmly, but he would not be calm for long. “CHAOS CONTROL TRANSPORTED US OUT OF MOBIUS!”

 

Espio, who went back to do some meditating, became wide-eyed and turned to the frantic bee. “We're not in Mobius anymore?” spluttered Espio as he approached him.

 

“Yes. Come look outside,” said Charmy and buzzed outside, his two comrades following him.

 

“Take a look at all the buildings here,” said Charmy and pointed at all the skyscrapers in the distance.

 

Vector and Espio gawked at the sight of the skyline. Instead a beautiful countryside with all the sparkling water, fresh air, and several moons that romanticized the marvelous sky, they were now in a very busy city with dirty rivers, rowdy people, and cars that honked like crazy.

 

“Vector?” said Espio from Vector's left.

 

“Yes?” Vector queried and looked at the violet chameleon directly in the eye.

 

“It looks like we're all trapped here.”

 

“Oh,” said Vector sadly and sighed. Now, the three were stranded in the city and, without a Chaos Emerald, they wouldn't be able to get back home. For the first time in his life, Vector felt lost.

 

“What d'ya we do now, Vector?” asked Charmy pleadingly.

 

“I don't know, Charmy,” said Vector, but quickly thought of something and cracked a huge grin. “But I do know what we can do while we're here, though.”

 

“And that is?” asked Espio, his eyes closed and arms crossed.

 

“Solve cases, of course!”

 

“Now?” grumbled Charmy as he sank into the ground.

 

The quip led to a chain reaction from Vector face-faulting, to Espio slapping his forehead, shaking his head, and humming three short notes of disapproval.

 

“No, silly! Tomorrow!” Vector answered as he got up.

 

“Oh,” said Charmy and looked down, trying to hide his blush. Espio, meanwhile, cracked a small chuckle from the scene.

 

“It's okay,” said Vector and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “We've been through a lot these past few hours. Let's go to sleep,” he finished with a wide yawn.

 

“Good idea,” yawned Charmy and fell asleep on the asphalt.

 

Vector chuckled and picked up the tired bee. After acknowledging to Espio about calling it a night, the chameleon nodded and walked inside.

 

Vector, with a sleeping Charmy in his arms, was about to walk inside, when he gazed at the full moon above him and began thinking about his friends back on his home planet. “I hope you guys are doing better than the rest of us,” he thought before going through the gates.

————— ————— ————— ————— ————

Meanwhile, there was another world, a world similar to Earth. However, there are a lot of differences. Firstly, it was mostly quiet and that the planet contained mostly wildlife rather than cities, people, or huge skyscrapers.

 

Secondly, several moons orbited the planet, ten of them to be exact. At the moment, a huge green moon orbited the nighttime sky. It had dark green patches that went diagonal, with some brown pieces of land on the upper-left hand corner. Yellow-green lines stroke the center of the brown spots, along with dirty yellow upside-down “U” in the lower-right-hand side of the circular moon. The rest of the circle was solid green, along with its bright green aura which illuminated the black starry sky.

 

Thirdly, many spectacular treasures were to be found on this planet. High in the sky was a huge floating island. Underneath the floating island were huge stalactites of dirt, rock, and soil. There, the rocks looked a lot like big chocolate cones that hung upside-down. Many were big, many were small; some were just in between.

 

Meanwhile, on the surface side of the island, huge trees covered and hid most of the surface. North of the island lied a huge stretch of desert land along with a huge lake in the middle, known as the Sandopolis Reservoir. Right next to it stood the majestic Angel Mountain. There, the summit, known as Ice Cap Trail, glowed pearl white full of snow while the body shadowed into a baby blue color. The island was very peaceful and calm. With the bright green moon orbiting nearby, it seemed to blend in with the surroundings.

 

Inside the island, however, was where the ecosystem lied in. There, right nearby Angel Mountain, there was a commotion going on in the forest as several figures were hunting and exploring inside that area for any whereabouts for the thing they were searching for. Whatever it was, they were not having much luck.

 

“Jeez! Where is that Chaos Emerald?” grumbled a deep male voice as he looked on the ground and through a huge bushel of flowers. The figure had purple slanted eyes in which glared darts at his opponents. His long seven dreadlocks wilted down his head and around to the area where his eyes met.

 

His body was very buff and strong, with his chest bulging out like a soldier. On his back was a long tail which jolted up then back down like a lightning bolt.

 

His legs were very long and very slender, with huge shoes and hard anklets on each foot and ankle. His arms, however, were his most potent weapons. They were as long as most of his body, and he had very huge gloves, more like boxing gloves, except with two spiked knuckles that popped out on the corner of each hand.

 

He continued looking through the bushel, but all that was left was a ton of loose soil that messed up the grass. The purple-eyed figure grunted loudly in frustration from this.

 

Suddenly, a blurred figure raced around the bend of a long and narrow path, up a stone staircase, and stopped short of the figure of purple eyes. “Any luck, Knuckles?” asked a teenaged male voice. This figure looked much different than his counterpart. His eyes were huge and oval-shaped with an opening right in the center. His eyes were bright green, greener than the moon in the sky. On the top of his head were huge triangle-shaped ears that were about as big as his green irises.

 

Along the back of his head are six long quills that curved down into upside-down “U's.” Two quills curved down directly from the back of his head, while two quills lined up on each side of his head, overlapping the bigger quills from behind him. His body was very slender, but very strong. His back had two small quills that curved downward, one on each side of his spine. His tail curved upward into a crescent shape, sort of like a slanted smile.

 

His legs were long and strong, needed for his running abilities. His socks were cuffed with a crease in the center, and he had slender running sneakers on each foot. His arms were as long as his midriff. He had gloves that cuffed along the crease, and he had normal-sized hands, a size that was not close to his dreadlocked fellow.

 

“Not one trace, Sonic,” grumbled the purple-eyed silhouette as he got up. “This is strange. The Chaos Emerald was right here. I'm sure it's here.”

 

“Maybe you looked in the wrong place, Knuckles,” said a woman's voice mysteriously. There, hovering above Sonic and Knuckles was a silhouette of a huge bat. Her head was bigger than her midriff. Her eyes were slit wryly, with only part of her teal eyes gazing down at the two, her eyelashes floating like a small wave in the ocean. She had huge bat-like ears on the top of her head, along with six bangs of hair on the back of her head. Her wings were large in length, in which they could cover her entire body.

 

Her body had a very feminine shape, with her big chest to add some sex appeal into it. Her legs were very slender and very streaky, but strong and powerful. Her arms were very slender and feminine, and her tail was very short and stubby.

 

There, the female bat hovered over the two males, gazing at them confusingly and seductively, before veering slightly and perching herself on a tree branch nearby the bush. “Perhaps, it was in another area that you saw that glow,” she said to the dreadlocked male.

 

“No, it was right here,” persisted Knuckles and gawked at the plant. “Something must've happened to it.”

 

“Oh, well, at least Eggman didn't find it,” enquired the teal-eyed bat.

 

“Yeah, Rouge, but what about his robots?” Sonic said.

 

“That would be impossible, Sonic,” said a boy's voice as he approached the three. There, walking around the bend of the path and up the stairwell was the black outline of a huge two-tailed fox. The fox had a huge square-shaped face, with four tuffs of fur coming out from each side. His eyes were huge and bat-like. His big blue eyes blinked and glittered in the star-lit sky, with three streaks of hair that flop just above them. His triangle-shaped pointed ears were huge in size as they protruded out from the top corners of his head, making him able to hear things very clearly.

 

His body was very healthy and strong. His stomach had four tuffs of fur in which popped out from the side. His arms were long and slender, with gloves that were cuffed, along with a strap on each of his wrists in order to prevent the gloves from falling off. His legs were pretty stubby, with them only as long as his arms. The socks were cuffed along with a strap on them, too, along with thin sneakers on each foot.

 

However, his most potent tool was right on his back. On his back, there are two huge fluffy tails, in which curved upward like a cat's tail in the air. How potent were those two tails, you asked? You will see…

 

“What do you mean, Tails?” asked Sonic to the two-tailed fox.

 

“I mean, Eggman has yet to launch a robot so far. Besides,” he reached behind him and looked at a digital map, which had a blue screen and four buttons on the bottom, “we're high up in altitude. None of Eggman's robots can fly higher that about forty feet.”

 

“Hmm, yeah, interesting,” pondered Knuckles, his big right hand over his muzzle.

 

“But still,” interrupted the bat, “Eggman would be bound to think of something in order to grab those Chaos Emeralds, right?”

 

“Perhaps,” Tails shrugged as he put the digital map away.

 

“Well,” said Sonic and pounded his right fist on his left palm, “wherever it is, we'll find it.”

 

“Not me,” said Knuckles as he backed away. “Remember, I got the Master Emerald to guard.”

 

“C'mon, Knuckles,” said Rouge. “What about the others? Should you help them…?”

 

However, a stern look on his face and a cough made her stop her sentence, as she realized what would happen if the Master Emerald shattered. “Oh, right. The island will plunge into the ocean.”

 

“Yes, but I will help if you need it,” Knuckles added.

 

“Thanks, Knux. We need that,” said Tails.

 

“Yeah, but what about Shadow?” wondered Sonic as he gazed at the group with confusion.

 

“I'll look after him,” promised Rouge.

 

“Well, it looks like it's back to the drawing board for the three of us,” said Sonic. Then, he looked at Knuckles. “If you need us, give us a call.”

 

“I'll do that.”

 

Then, Sonic switched his attention to Tails. “C'mon, Tails. Let's go!”

 

“Roger that!” said Tails as he tied his two tails tightly like a helix. Then, with a fast motion, his tails jerked the opposite direction as his tails twirled like helicopter propellers.

 

Afterwards, Sonic and Tails scurried off down the path, while Knuckles jumped on a branch high up a tree and glided away.

 

Once the three left, only Rouge was there, and since she promised to look after Shadow, that was what she was going to do. With that, she flew off opposite where Knuckles went. As she was flying, she looked down and noticed the ground was blanketed with darkness, but that did not faze her since she can see in the dark better than the others. A few seconds later, her face had a look of calm and determination. However, there was more etched on her face that could not be seen. She also felt very remorseful for Shadow. Why was she feeling that way?

 

After a few minutes of flying, she noticed in front of her was a huge lake below her and quickly dove to the surface. The lake shined and sparkled from the stars. There, the trees cut off about twenty feet from the shoreline, with huge naked stretches of land that inclined downward into the water.

 

As she landed on the ground, there, sitting, crouching in front of her was the outline of a hedgehog. However, there were a few differences. Along the sides of his head, the four side-quills, two on the left, two on the right, went downward, then went upward, sort of like the shape of a boomerang. Also, the quills were not parallel to his head. They were spread out along outward like a delta on a lake. Secondly, his shoes were not that flat. The soles were huge with a metal outline on them, including an upward incline in the front. His socks and gloves had hard cuffs, including a ring and tongue on each of them.

 

However, the biggest difference was how he acted. Shadow had red eyes, compared to Sonic's green eyes, and they looked distant and vague.

 

As a matter of fact, that was what Shadow had been for the past several months. He was dazed, confused, and bewildered. He sometimes did not where to go or what to do. And, sometimes, he did not even know who he actually was. In other words, he was just very lost. In many cases, he would just sit alone on the embankment and stare at his own reflection, wondering who he was and how he became this way.

 

That concerned Rouge greatly as she sighed and looked at her friend with an expression of sadness and remorse on her face. “Don't worry, Shadow. You will get your memory back,” thought Rouge. “You just need some more time, that's all.”

 

What she did not know was that back at the torn-up bush quite a few miles away, the plant glowed faintly, and a silhouette of a ladder protruded out from the plant. The only problem was that no one noticed it.

————— ————— ————— ————— ————

After a very eventful night, morning finally arrived in New York City. Unlike last night, the city and her people acted as if nothing ever happened. Cars rolled down city streets, the businesses opened for shoppers later that day, kids and their families walked to the parks to have a picnic later that afternoon, lawns being mowed by the landlords and house owners, and fishing boats were being prepared by the bay.

 

However, Alexander never had that kind of fun; always stuck in the house day after day, with almost no food, almost no water, and no air conditioner. However, this was something he wished he didn't have to do: mow the lawn on a 90-degree July day. He remembered the first time he did it: it was on an August day two years ago, and he sweated like a pig, especially being out there on a very hot 100-degree day with no clouds and no rain. He was dehydrated and was sunburned all over his body. In fact, he was burned so badly, he has not fully recovered from it. Every now and then, he would still feel the dryness on his shoulders and arms as the hem of his sleeves and collar irritated the skin. For Alex, he felt today would be the worst day of his life.

 

However, he was going to get a big surprise.

 

As he walked down the half-round steps under the façade wearing a long-sleeve shirt and heavy black pants, definitely not a perfect mix on a hot summer day, he put the lawn mower down on the grass and began mowing the lawn.

 

“Man, of all the days to be forced to do this job,” muttered Alexander as he cut the grass adjacent to the walls of the mansion. Then, his muttering became sarcastic. “If they only lend me some water and sunscreen, I'd be fine, but no, they care only about themselves. I'd like them to see them workin' for a change and have me relax.”

 

He should have not said that, because, just then, Mannato came from behind and whirled him around.

 

SMACK!

 

Then, he slapped him across the face so hard, he fell to the ground and hit his head on the thin grass.

 

“SHUT IT, YOU BUM!” roared Mannato as he messaged his red left hand. Then, he picked Alexander up by the throat and threw him hard into the wall, making him fall to the ground and loose consciousness.

 

Mannato looked down at the crumpled Alexander and smiled evilly from the sight. Afterwards, he picked Alexander's swollen body up and made him face Mannato by holding his chin tightly and painfully.

 

“You listen, and listen good,” snarled Mannato as spittle flew right onto Alexander's black-and-blue face.

 

“You ever say things like that again, you will receive the worst beating… of… your… life! You understand that?”

 

But Alexander was so sore he was not able to respond.

 

Mannato smiled satisfactorily at his own dirty work and spoke to him in mock kindness, “Good,” at least for a moment, “GET BACK TO WORK!” And he threw Alexander hard on the ground and walked away.

 

As Mannato entered the house, Alexander regained consciousness and got up, feeling very stiff, sore, and weak. However, he wanted to finish his task and finish it quickly, so, he went back to work, even though his body was telling him not to.

 

As he turned the corner, he noticed a very faint glow coming from a rosebush right nearby the tree. Alexander was not really sure if it the glow was real or if the heat clogged his brain, so, he continued mowing the lawn, but as he walked closer to the bush, the glow became brighter and brighter. With that, Alexander began to realize that the glow was real. So, he shut off the lawn mower and walked towards the bush. When he peaked into it, what he saw nearly caused him to stagger. There, tangled in the thorny branches of the rosebush was a type of sky blue gem. However, from the thickness of the rosebush as well as to how tangled and crowded the thorny branches were, it was not quite recognizable.

 

Wanting to take a closer look, Alexander spread the branches apart with one hand and dug in the bush with the other. The experience was a tough and painful one as the thorns scratched his skin, but he was willing to take the pain as he continued digging into the bush. When he reached it, he grabbed the object and with one hard pull, he yanked it out of the rosebush.

 

When he looked at the artifact up close, what he saw stunned him. There, holding in his bleeding right hand, was a medium-size sky blue gem. The top of it was very flat on the top and had ten sides on it. Then, it expanded it a little bit outward on the way down; not quite towards the center, but about a quarter of the way. After it expanded, the gem shrunk in size as it went into a very sharp point on the bottom.

 

The appearance and behavior of the gem confused Alexander as to what this gem was and what it does. He would soon get his answer, because, moments later, the gem glowed brightly, creating a blinding blue light. When it died down, Alexander looked at his hand and noticed all his cuts were gone. Also, he could no longer feel any kind of pain that Mannato gave him about a few minutes ago, but Alexander was confused even more as to why a gem would do such an activity like this.

 

The gem, however, was not done. While thinking about its “attitude,” something appeared from inside the gem. Alexander was very confused as to what it was trying to tell him, so he looked closely and noticed something familiar. The picture had a very dark shadow, and there was a red-and-purple striped carpet. Right next to it was a marble stairwell with wooden handlebars on the edge. Alexander was extremely confused as to what that was about. Suddenly, he noticed a resemblance coming from the picture inside the jewel.

 

“Is it me,” he thought and turned his attention toward the mansion behind him, “or was that the lobby of the mansion?”

 

Suddenly, the big sky blue gem glowed brightly, as if it read his mind. Alexander, hot being used to talking to jewelry, looked at it confusingly. “You want me to go there?”

 

The gem glowed brightly again, but this time, there was a scripted message coming from inside. It said, “Yes, but not today.”

 

Alexander's heart sank before asking, “If not today, then when?”

 

The gem answered again, but with a new message, “In two days.”

 

Alexander made a short, but quick nod and smiled. “Sounds good to me,” he finished and went back to work.

————— ————— ————— ————— ————

Two more days passed by and Independence Day, one of the biggest days of the year, had finally arrived. There, the people of New York City were getting ready for the big celebration as the fireworks begin later that night. Families were preparing picnics, and the highways were closing down as everyone arrives to watch the display.

 

For Alexander, he never got that shot as he lied on his bed, his hands behind his head. For him, he was hoping that, one day, he would escape this place and that he would get treated like a person rather than like a slave. With the gem's guidance, there was a very good chance he was going to get that shot…

 

“Alexander!” barked Mannato as he opened the door. “Outside now.”

 

...But, first, he had to deal with Mannato and Carddall in hopes of getting them out of the house.

 

“Okay, sir,” said Alexander as he got up and walked to the front door, where Carddall, in a black dress, and Mannato, in a black suit, were waiting for him.

 

“What is it?” Alex asked as he walked to them.

 

“We'll be going back to our home place of Ankara for the next several months,” said Carddall.

 

“And?” asked Alexander, expecting something else to pop out from their mouths.

 

“And you won't be joinin' for the ride,” added Mannato with mock sympathy.

 

Alexander's expression faulted into anger and sadness, but what Mannato and Carddall did not know was that he was only playing along in the conversation. His insides were actually doing back flips from the announcement.

 

“It looks like the limo should be here any minute now,” said Carddall as she checked her watch.

 

Suddenly, a car horn honked from outside. The limousine had finally arrived.

 

“Good, it's finally here,” said Mannato as he peered out the window. “Alex, go back to your room,” he added forcefully, not looking at him. “I don't want them to see an ugly figure such as yourself.”

 

Alexander complied and walked back to his room and closed the door behind him, and a few minutes later, he heard the limousine drive off to the airport.

 

After making sure they were actually gone, Alexander wasted no time packing. He grabbed some of his spare clothes, some food from the kitchen, and new toothbrush and toothpaste from the bathroom upstairs and put them in a black traveling bag. Then, he walked to his coat rack and put on the black sweater.

 

Once he was fully dressed and completely packed, he grabbed the gem and walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him.

 

“Okay,” said Alexander to the gem. “Now where do I go?”

 

The blue gem glowed brightly and created an arrow to the cupboard right next to him.

 

Alexander eyed the jewel confusingly. “You want me to go through there?” he asked, pointing at the cupboard.

 

Suddenly, the jewel floated out of his hand and aligned itself to a hole in the wall, making itself a doorknob to it.

 

Alexander raised his eyebrow confusingly, but he soon understood what it was doing. “Thanks for helping me,” he chuckled and turned the “doorknob.” When he turned it, he pushed on the wall and in front of him was a gate of darkness. He could not see what was inside there, but Alexander was very curious as to where it goes, so he walked through the gate, uncoupled the jewel from the “door,” and entered inside.

 

The tunnel was as cold as winter and as dark as night. Alexander was having difficulty as to which direction he was going, but with some guidance from the jewel, he was able to navigate through this tunnel a little less vaguely than what it would be if he did not have the gem.

 

“Man oh man,” said Alexander with a little speck of excitement in his voice. “I can't believe that I got away from my owners out there,” he said, saying “owners” emphatically. “Now, I wonder where I'm gonna be going to.”

 

Suddenly, the sky blue gem shot out from his grasp and hovered above him, releasing a very bright blue glow.

 

Alexander realized that it was trying to tell him something and began shouting at the gem. “WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE DOING?”

 

He soon found his answer as the black background began to show some sort of description. It was vague at first, but as a few minutes passed by, the background became more and more detailed. After the transformation was finished, he noticed he was inside a very deep well, with the walls being round and covered in black bricks. High above him, sunlight was breaking through a small plant from above him. Also, on the wall was a steel ladder that protruded out of the well.

 

Alexander went to the ladder and began to climb up, grabbing the gem in the process. He kept climbing, and climbing, and climbing. That was starting to fatigue Alexander, and with all the clothes he was wearing, along with the heavy travel bag on his shoulder, it was a lot of hard work for him.

 

However, he just had enough strength as he reached the top. When he finally made it, he pushed the branches of the small plant out of the way and climbed out. What he saw amazed him. He was in some kind of forest, where tall pine trees blanketed the entire area. Also, there was a pathway that led to a stone staircase that goes down only four steps. That path enticed Alexander to his highest. With nowhere else to go, he decided to walk down the path.

 

With that, he, with the gem in his right hand, walked down the four steps, turned around the bend, and down the road. As he trekked, he realized that this path was now going steadily downhill as he can see the huge pine trees reach to its completeness. Then, the hill went straight once again and Alexander climbed up a few flights of stairs similar to the one by the well.

 

For Alexander, he could not help, but admire at the scenery. It felt like home to him. Sure, he was in the forest for about two hours, but he felt extremely comfortable here. He was now wishing that he remained lost here in this beautiful forest.

 

“Man,” said Alexander absentmindedly as he gazed at the trees, which the leaves sparkled in the sunlight. “Of all the things I've seen, this is something I never expected. I've never seen a place so beautiful before.”

 

Out of nowhere, the sky blue gem glowed brightly, as if it was blushing from the compliment.

 

“You like it, too, don't ya?” Alex smiled, his eyes twinkling in the light.

 

The gem glowed in reply.

 

Alexander chuckled and looked ahead, sighing dreamily and without conscience. “I wish I stay here for the rest of my life,” he thought happily.

 

As he walked deeper and deeper in the forest, he began to feel extremely warm and sticky from all the humidity around him.

 

“Jeez,” he muttered as he fanned himself with his shirt. “Where's a fan when you need one?”

 

However, knowing he was in a tropical forest, he improvised by taking off his sweater and putting it in his bag. “Ahh. Much better,” he sighed contently as he flapped his hair away from his forehead, but his journey would be temporarily halted as he reached a junction that went two ways. One went right; the other went left.

 

“Hmm,” pondered Alexander as to choosing which direction he would like to go. “I'll go this way,” he decided and went down the left path.

 

While walking, he noticed that many of the trees were a little different than from what he saw earlier. Instead of pine trees that had healthy green leaves, the trees were as high as sequoias and the leaves were in a golden brown color, which were dazzling in the bright midday sun.

 

“Man, oh man,” whistled Alexander as he sighed in awe as a result from the spectacular sight he was seeing. “I never thought I would ever see something like this. This place is way better than where I came from.” He knew that he might have said it a little too prematurely, but he felt very happy and safe here rather than in the city.

 

When he reached the end of the path, he noticed he was in a plateau full of sequoia trees that contained red leaves, orange grass on the plateaus, and huge wobbly mushrooms that towered the sky. Mushrooms? Yes, mushrooms. These mushrooms ranged anywhere from six to fifteen feet tall. Some of them, to Alexander's greatest surprise, were wider than compact cars, while others were sometimes taller than most pine trees. However, the thing that was similar to each mushroom was that the stalks were bright gold, about as gold as the sun, and the cap of the mushroom was dark red with yellow polka-dots all over it.

 

“Hmm,” said Alexander as he eyed the area with curiosity. “I wonder what this place is.”

 

Out of nowhere, the sky blue gem glowed and on it had these words in it, “Mushroom Hill.”

 

“'Mushroom Hill'?” said Alexander as he surveyed the area again. “Hmph. I should've known the name quite a while ago."

 

As if insulted, the gem glowed dark blue as it became scalding hot, too hot for Alexander to handle as he dropped it, allowing it to hit the ground.

 

Alexander looked down and wondered why the gem reacted like that, but he quickly realized it and crouched down upon it remorsefully. “Sorry,” he apologized and the gem glowed its normal sky blue aura again, as if it was accepting it.

 

When Alexander picked it up, he looked at Mushroom hill and sighed deeply. “I think we should go down the other path now.” With the jewel's glow, as if agreeing with him, Alexander walked back the other way.

 

When he reached the junction once more, he quickly turned to the path he had yet to go to and began walking down that direction.

————— ————— ————— ————— ————

As he walked, he realized that the tree bark was becoming very damp from condensation and the leaves were spilling dew down onto the damp road. Plus, it was getting very sticky and steamy as he walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

 

The humidity made Alexander sweat profusely, but it did not bother him as much as it used to. Now, he was over it as it suited him into this kind of environment.

 

For Alexander, he couldn't help but smile at the surroundings around him. “I can't help, but loving this place here. In my opinion, this is starting to feel like a new home.” Then, he gazed at the jewel. “And I plan on staying here until the day I die.”

 

The cerulean gem glowed again, as if it was confused.

 

Alexander realized that. “Why would I say that even though I've been here for only a few hours?”

 

The jewel glowed in reply.

 

“Well, I must say that I haven't liked where I live. Yes, it's a very huge mansion, where I would have everything,” he sighed sadly, “but I don't. With Carddall and Mannato giving me bumps and bruises, I don't feel very safe being there anymore. Now, I'm here and they're gone for a few months.”

 

The gem glowed brightly again and it had these words inside it, "Why are you so comfortable here?"

 

“Why, you asked? Well, in my opinion, this tropical paradise is sort of a haven to me." He returned his attention to the road ahead of him and sighed dreamily. "I don't think I ever want to leave this place.”

 

Then, out of the blue, the glowing object shot out of his hand and flew off down the road.

 

“Hey! Wait! Come back!” called Alexander as he hurried after it. He followed the gem's path and ran as fast as he could. Even when he got tired, he was still determined to go after the jewel.

 

Just as he was out of steam, he saw the gem floating off the ground at about Alexander's eye level. When he walked toward it, he looked at it with narrow slits in his eyes. “What do you think you're doing?” he scolded.

 

Suddenly, the gem glowed and it had these words inside it, “Look ahead of you,” before the light subsided.

 

When Alexander looked ahead, what he saw was a plateau that was covered with thick grass. In the center of the hill was a small lake in which the water was black and shiny. On the right side of the lake, there was a 60-foot high ledge. Coming out from the ledge, a huge waterfall comes crashing down into the lake. Around the lake are huge evergreen trees which sparkled in the humidity. Along the horizon lied Mushroom Hill, in which the tallest mushrooms shot out from the background evergreens.

 

Alexander looked at the plateau with utter awe. “What is this place?” he wondered in a murmur.

 

The words, “The Midnight Grove,” flickered from within the gem's glow.

 

“'The Midnight Grove'?” murmured Alexander and returned his attention towards the lands of the grove, especially at the black pond and waterfall.

 

“I can see why this area is called the Midnight Grove,” he added in thought while staring intently at the black, but transparent pond ahead of him.

 

Then, out of nowhere, the jewel glowed again, but with a much brighter flicker than before.

 

“What is it?” Alex asked it, thinking that it was signaling something bad to him.

 

Another quote scratched itself within the jewel's illumination, with the dark words, “Look up,” appearing from within.

 

Wondering what the signal was all about, Alexander looked up towards the sky. Instead of seeing something sinister or horrific, what Alexander saw was more of marvel, excellence, and most of all, beauty.

 

In the crystal blue sky, a sparkling mango-colored moon floated above one of the tall background mushrooms. On the top of the moon, there were dark orange spots in which one of them trailed downward to the moon's equator. Along the left side, bright yellow streaks met together near the equator and curved down toward the South Pole. Other than that, the rest of the moon was in a dirty gold color. The beautiful sight made Alexander speechless, and if that wasn't enough, its golden aura gave the moon even more beauty.

 

However, his continuous gaze made him completely forget as to where he was or what he was supposed to do, and his precariousness was about to cost him.

 

Still looking up at the moon, Alexander began to walk down the hill lackadaisically, when he suddenly tripped on a small rock and somersaulted down the hill, dropping the gem and travel bag in the process. There, he continued to roll painfully down the hill until he hit the embankment and splashed, back first, into the black water.

 

Alex stayed down for a few moments before sitting back up, groaning and bruising from the tumble he just suffered. “Man, I should watch where I'm going next time,” he thought as he rubbed his sore back.

 

Out of nowhere, the travel bag crashed onto the grass, landing with a soft thump. Following the bag's fall was the gem's crash landing, too… right on top of the bag, glowing harmoniously.

 

Alexander smiled and picked up his stuff. “Memo to myself: don't stare at anything to long. Otherwise,” he stared at the rock that he tripped on, “it's an accident waiting to happen.”

 

Suddenly, a teenage male voice echoed the entire area. “Hey, you should watch where you go, kid. There are lots of unexpected things going on here at the moment.”

 

The out-of-the-blue voice caused Alexander to lose balance and fall back into the water.

 

“Gee, you need to toughen up inside in order for you not be surprised like that,” he said concernedly but casually.

 

Alexander got up and looked around, but there was nothing to be seen except all the nature that encircled the pond. “Who said that?” he called, hoping he was not hearing things.

 

“I did,” the male voice said.

 

“Where?” he asked uncertainly.

 

“Look up at the rock, then turn to your right.”

 

Alexander did as he instructed by, first, looking at the rock he tripped over. Then he turned his head to the right. What he saw in the thickness of the forest was the hazy silhouette of a healthy young hedgehog.

 

“You see me?” the hedgehog asked.

 

“Yes, I do,” Alexander answered back. However, he was not satisfied. “But…”

 

“But what?”

 

“But who are you?”

 

“Who am I?” the figure asked confusingly.

 

Alexander nodded.

 

The figure shrugged and walked forward. As he walked out of the forest, his appearance became more and more specific.

 

As he got out completely, his appeal caused Alex to internally jump. The hedgehog had huge oval-shaped white eyes with an opening in the center, and his irises were bright green. His ears and muzzle were beige, along with a long black nose in the middle of his muzzle. On the back of his head were six long curved quills.

 

His body was very slender and strong. His belly had a beige oval, along with two downward quills and an upward tail on his back. His arms were the same color as his ears, muzzle, and belly, and he wore white gloves that were cuffed and creased in the middle.

 

His legs were long and slender. On his feet were cuffed white socks and his shoes were completely red, minus the gray sole and white strap on the top of each shoe.

 

There was another thing about him that made him unique. Other than the extracurricular appearances on him, he was blue all over.

 

With that, he gave out his name. “My name is Sonic the Hedgehog.”

 

To be continued…

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