Hello everybody! This is a story idea I came up with after I finished playing a video game for the ds called "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors". It's a very fun game that is mainly just finding things and solving problems. Yes, that might sound boring to some of you, but the script that goes along with it is very captivating and will keep you questioning things until you finally reach the end where all the answers to the questions risen from the game will be answered.
Anyway, the reason I felt the need to write this story was because of the setting the story of the game was based on. No, the story does not revolve around the game I just described, as it should be obvious due to the fact this is under the Sonic the Hedgehog category. I won't say too much about it since I kind of want you guys to figure out how this story will be written out. Don't worry, I'm sure you all will be able to figure out what other famous story this is based on. Oops, I've already said too much. Best shut up now and let you read on and discover it for yourself. And no, this story won't have a summary, as I'm sure you'll understand what the whole thing will be once you read this first chapter.
Don't forget to leave a review after you're done reading!
Chapter 1: Boarding the Ship of New Beginnings
"The ship shall be leaving the harbor in approximately half an hour from now!" a loud voice from somewhere shouted over the hustle and bustle from what had just been identified as a ship harbor. "All passengers please make sure to leave your luggage with the ship crew momentarily for standard search procedures and proceed through the designated checkpoints so we can thoroughly scan you for any banned or illegal items on your person. I repeat...,"
It was a terribly busy day down at the harbor, as it was indicated by the loud commanding voice of a man directing a large and even louder crowd of regular people walking around with others and what looked to be luggage in their hands. It was a place where both passenger and freight ships dock side by side and allow themselves to be loaded with either cargo or paying passengers. Such was the norm on almost every day of the week in the always bustling Robotropolis Harbor.
However, today was an exceptionally busy day with a bunch of people with luggage in their hands walking up and down the harbor and only one ship currently docked there. Today, this lone ship with crewmembers and passengers alike walking into its interior is the grand star and is being celebrated as such. This passenger cruise liner has just been completed after a few years' worth of careful planning and crafting and is soon to be embarking on its first ever journey across the sea and to the neighboring continent's city's port, Port Mobius.
Normally, people would not pay so much attention to the completion of a ship and gather at the harbor just to look at and watch a ship's first voyage out to sea. What made this one so special from the others is that all of the engineers and technicians involved with the creation claim that it would now be the fastest ship ever to set sail across the long expanse of the Mobian Sea. Instead of taking a good month and a half to traverse the great sea with no signs of civilization in between, it will now take no more than a month for the journey to be completed, a great and almost unbelievable claim that is cause for such a great turnout for the beginning of the ship's first voyage.
It was about this time that a fancy and lavish-looking black car that looked to be able to easily accommodate seven people pulled up just beside the entrance to the harbor that could only be accessed by foot at a speed just slightly above the recommendation. A few bystanders that were near the vehicle jumped out of the way initially scared of being run over by such a fast and potentially reckless driver. A few even dared to throw a few choice words at the people inside in anger before moving on to whatever it was they were doing.
"We have arrived at Robotropolis Harbor, sirs and madam," the driver, a man who looked to be a green feathered bird, announced as he opened the door and stepped out, feeling and smelling the salty sea breeze against his face. He then quickly approached the passenger door on his side and opened it for the occupants to exit with little hassle. He was dressed fancy with black pants and jacket that held the designs similar to that of a limo driver. His hat was black and squishing down some of his hair at the back with some kind of symbol adorned just above the tongue showing who it was he was working for. The way he carried himself as he walked the short distance displayed his professionalism and the years of experience he had driving people around to their destinations.
"Thank you Jet," a man thanked as he exited the vehicle and stood up tall and proud, his very posture showing off that he had some semblance of power and flaunting it around so that even those who did not know him would notice. He then said as he quickly spread the wrinkles off the front of his shirt, "I was afraid for a moment that we wouldn't be able to make it here before the ship took off. It would really be a shame if it were to go off on its maiden voyage without us on it."
He was a portly man dressed in clothing lavish enough to match his ever confident posture. The tails of his tuxedo rippled slightly behind him due to the sea breeze as he looked down on the concrete port around his feet as if making sure he was not stepping on or anywhere near something unsightly and thus dirty his immaculate shiny black dress shoes. In his hands was a gold pocket watch that he had drawn out of his pockets upon exiting the vehicle. He ruffled his bushy brown mustache a bit after confirming the time and putting it back into his pocket before turning back to the driver who had just walked around to the other passenger door.
"I promised you before our departure that I would get you and your party here with time to spare sir," the driver known as Jet responded with a cleverly masked pride in his words as he bent down slightly and opened the door for the other riders to exit. "I never make it a habit to propose promises that I know I can't keep. I hope that this is a clear testament to that."
"Indeed it is, my good man," the man agreed as he placed a hand over his belly covered by a white dress shirt as he let out a hearty laugh. "I would like to have a man like you to shofar me around with such confidence and reliability. Are you sure that you don't want to come along with me to Mobius? I know that they'll allow for the last-minute purchase of a first-class ticket upon entering the ship."
"I thank you for the kind offer, but I'm afraid that I must decline," Jet responded as he gave a small bow to a woman with a beautiful emerald green hat on her head that had a peacock feather ornately stuck to its side. "I have my family to attend to here in Robotropolis, and I can't possibly leave them without any warning whatsoever."
"My, that sure sounds like a man truly dedicated to nothing but the wellbeing of his family," the woman said in a voice that was beautiful and easily made the words that left her throat flow like a strand of delicate silk. "I do wish that I can have a family like the one you have one of these days before I grow too old."
As she began to walk around the car and to the side of the portly man, she was now easily seen by those on the harbor. She had on a beautiful black dress with green leaves snaking along the sides and travelling up on vines with a red rose in full bloom at the end. On her back was a pair of black wings that were identical to those of a bat, although she could not fly with them because of a childhood accident that had rendered one of them completely useless. Her pale white skin seemed to indicate that she did not see a lot of sun, yet she wore makeup on her face that seemed loud and easily covered it up. Her purple high heels clacked along the concrete as she continued walking around the vehicle with her chic leather purse held tightly in her hands.
"Oh Rouge, you're not even literally a day over thirty yet," the portly man responded with a smile on his face as he lightly scratched his balding head and lightly ruffled the hair that was still on his sides. "There's no need to be talking like you're some kind of woman who's already reached the end of her prime years."
"Well, I consider the age of thirty to be reaching the end of my prime years, Dr. Robotnik," the woman known as Rouge stated as he fiddled with a purple stone earring for no apparent reason. "It isn't every day that one can find someone they love so strongly while they're young, you know?"
"I suppose you're talking about my son, are you?" the man who was now identified as Dr. Robotnik asked as he peered over to the car behind him to see if said person had exited. "Come on son, its best you hurry up in there before the ship decides to leave without us."
Almost as if on cue, a third and final person had exited the passenger side door that the woman had come from earlier. He gave a small nod to Jet before moving around the vehicle in order to get a better look at the harbor and the ship that he was about to board.
Once he was away from the obstruction of the car, others could see who this person was. He was a black quilled hedgehog with streaks of red combing through his quills and the sides of his arms. He had on a pair of ivory white gloves with a gold bracelet on each of his wrists and shining brightly against the sun, easily blinding a few who happened to have walked within the path of the shine. Unlike the others he was driving with, he had no clothes on him. However, the fact that he had a good amount of fur on his body rendered the need for them optional and, to him, obsolete. The only thing he did have on besides his gloves was a black bowtie around his neck that was set just above a white tuft of fur on his chest as an indicator of his social standing.
"Yes father?" the person inquired sourly with a voice that sounded relatively deep yet still held onto a faint trace of an undeveloped nature to it. "Do we really have to be in such a rush? We already made it here and only have to board the ship with our luggage in tow."
"Please tell me you're still not sulking about having to leave Robotropolis," Dr. Robotnik said with a sigh as he picked up the hint of sadness and disappointment that was carefully masked in his son's voice. "We don't have much of a choice in the matter, you know? We need to move to Mobius in order to lead a life better than the one we have here now."
"We were already leading a good life here father," the other countered in a monotonous tone as he allowed his eyes to wander to the grand ship in front of him. His face showed no emotion, a clear reflection to what he was currently feeling inside, which was nothing. "Wouldn't it be easier just to start over in somewhere familiar rather than at a place where we don't know anybody and nobody knows us?"
"Oh, my dear Shadow," Rouge said sweetly as he walked up to the hedgehog and gave him a light hug from behind as a gesture of reassurance. "Your father just wants us to start a new life with a change of scenery. After all, starting over tends to be easier when you're starting out with a clean slate."
"Ha, as if it were that simple," the hedgehog named Shadow spat out as he felt the bat loosen her grip on him. He then took the chance to politely escape her grasp and walk back to the other side of the car to strike up one last conversation with Jet before they officially left Robotropolis behind.
"My, somebody's feeling a bit moody here this morning," the woman said in a teasing tone at the hedgehog, but it fell on deaf ears. She then asked the man still beside her as she walked up to the trunk that had been popped open a few seconds earlier, "Is your son always this hard to please?"
"No, he's only started acting this stubborn ever since I introduced the idea of moving to Mobius as a change of scene for my business," the portly man answered as he allowed another sigh to escape as he watched his son conversing with their shofar. "I can clearly tell that he's not wild on the idea, but it's something that can't be avoided lest I want to lose my standing as a first classman. It would not do well for my image in the business world."
"Always thinking about your business image, aren't you?" she questioned with a light chuckle. "Then again, you were known as the King of Stocks inside the Robotropolis Stock Exchange, so I suppose that losing that rather important image is not something you'd be willing to do.
"By the by, you said that Shadow has been feeling snippy since you first told him of the move," she continued on. Are you sure that was when he first started acting like this? I'm almost certain that he's started acting stubborn when you announced that you were planning to arrange a marriage with us. He didn't exactly seem eager to embrace the idea when he stormed out of the house."
"I admit that it was a very sudden proposal of marriage that I threw in his direction. I can't say I blame him for feeling that way. When I was his age, I acted the same exact way when I discovered that my parents had arranged a marriage for me in an attempt to keep the family business alive. I've come to accept it, and I only hope that the same will go for him."
"And I suppose that you want him to marry me simply because you want to keep your title as a first classman while trying to get your business back onto its feet, right? Now believe me when I say that I don't think you're doing wrong to him by marrying him off at such a young age. Seventeen year olds don't technically think of being married to someone then. However, I do truly love Shadow, and I promise to give him as much space as he needs after our marriage for him to adjust."
"You do not know how good it does my heart to hear you say that," Dr. Robotnik responded as he helped Rouge with the luggage and placed them neatly on the ground. "With you next to him, I know that I won't have to continuously worry about his wellbeing every waking second of my life. And I do thank you for your understanding as to why I'm marrying him off at such a young age."
"Oh, stop saying things like that you old fart," the bat said in a teasing voice that the older man clearly caught and chuckled lightheartedly to show he accepted it as a tease. "You're making yourself sound a lot older than you really are. As I said earlier, I do love your son, and I would gladly give him all the attention and space he needs whenever he needs it. You just worry yourself in trying to get your business back to its rightful feet."
"Speaking of business, how has yours been coming along?" the man questioned as he helped take out a large and heavy suitcase that was practically stuffed into the back of the trunk. "The last I heard, you were doing very well in terms of merchandise, and your stocks even managed to surpass mines just before the start of this economic slump."
"Unfortunately, the sales of designer women's attire and accessories have taken a turn for the worse here," she replied with a sigh as she cast a quick loving glance at Shadow's direction who was still busying himself in conversation with Jet. "Blaze Inc. has somehow managed to make a line of clothing that has surpassed the popularity of my brand of exquisite clothing. I don't understand what's the big craze about owning fake furs that are both inexpensive and offer great beauty for the fraction of the price. If you want to look nice, why don't people just go the whole nine yards and buy real fur scarves and soft mink coats and skip the cheap road altogether? I know that I'll be embarrassed to wear fake items on my person and even more so if someone points it out to me."
"With the economy here steadily turning for the worse, it's good enough reason for people to go looking around for cheaper ways to become beautiful. Even some of my fellow first classmen have stooped so low as to purchase mediocre items as a plausible replacement for what they usually own. This lack of adequate money flow is another reason I have to move across seas. Mobius is still under a healthy and steady flow of money, and that means the chances of regaining my lost profits are better."
"Well, thankfully for me, I pulled out of my partnership in my business, The Chic Rouge Boutique, right when I heard the solid rumors of both my rival company starting to surpass me and the ever growing hole in the Robotropolis economy. I still can't believe that I managed to keep all of my assets in both reasonable value and order because of that rash yet necessary move. Had I kept up with my business a few days more, I would probably be in the same problem you're facing. I don't understand how that Blaze is able to thrive in this failing economy by selling fake fashion items fit for mainly the lower class."
"Attention all passengers!" a man was heard shouting over the loud sounds of the people in the harbor. "The ship will be getting ready to move out of the harbor in fifteen minutes from now. For those who will be boarding, please hurry and put your bags through the designated checkpoints for standard search and to have your person be searched for any illegal possessions on your person. Also, any people with third class tickets on them must go through the medical inspection in order to declare whether or not you have any kind of lice or other medical condition that could make the entire ship sick. Failure to comply with either of these will result in the inability to board. I repeat...,"
"I suggest that we put this conversation on hold until we board the ship," Dr. Robotnik suggested as he picked up some luggage as Rouge picked up a few. "It wouldn't do to come all the way here and miss boarding the craft simply because of distractions from idle chatter. That would be quite unfortunate after going through all the trouble of securing these tickets and not being able to use them.
"Shadow, do you mind helping us take care of some of this luggage?" the man called out to his son who looked over the roof of the car upon hearing his name being called. "We need to hurry and get these bags checked over by the ship crew lest it drags on and forces us to miss our chance at making a new life for ourselves."
"I'll be right there, father," the black hedgehog responded with a small nod of his head before quickly turning back to Jet and saying goodbye to him for the last time. The bird then walked around the front of the vehicle and opened the driver's side of the vehicle in preparation to leave.
"Oh, don't you worry about the bag checkpoints," the woman responded with a sly smile on her lips as she began walking into the crowd with her bags in hand and towards the nearest crew member that was checking bags. "I know of a way for us to get through it quickly with little hassle."
"Wait for us Rouge," the man called out just as the teen came from around the car and took a few bags into his arms after securely closing the trunk. "The harbor is no place for a woman like yourself to be wandering without a man escorting you. Come on Shadow, we best catch up to her before she gets herself lost." He then called out behind his shoulder to Jet just before he shut the car door, "Thank you for your services Jet. Your payment has already been sent through the mail, and you should receive it shortly."
"I'm sure that Rouge can take care of herself being that she's helped run an entire business on her own," the black hedgehog murmured under his breath that was drowned out by the loud noise at the harbor and went unheard by his father. He then added thoughtfully to himself with bitterness he dared not show outwardly in front of him, You just want to make sure nothing bad happens to her before we're supposed to be married. I'm all for making sure that she doesn't get hurt here, but I'd wish you'd worry about her wellbeing for reasons other than her money that you'll inherit after our matrimony ceremony. At the least, you could try showing the same amount of care you have for her money on me, your only son.
After traversing through the dense crowd for no more than a minute, the two managed to find Rouge and catch up with her. Even if they were not so close to her, they could have easily spotted her amongst the other people because she was the only woman with a beautiful green hat with a peacock feather on top. That was when they noticed she was standing in front of a man dressed in a blackish blue jacket with a black hat on top emblazoned with an anchor sewn in yellow string. It was clear that he was a worker of the grand ship and quite possibly one of the designated checkpoint areas for passengers and their bags.
"Are you and the two men behind you going to come aboard?" the man addressed the woman as he looked at the bags in their hands. After receiving a small nod that was accompanied with a small smile that could easily enchant a small child and possibly a very gullible man, he said, "I'll have to ask that you leave your bags here momentarily and allow me to go through them for anything not allowed on the ship. You all have quite a lot on your hands, so I'm afraid that the ship will be just about done boarding by the time I'm through, meaning that it'll be quite a rush for you to board."
"Oh, there's no need for you to bother with going through all of our bags here," she said in a tone that was so sweet it could easily catch a grown man off guard and not knowing how to act. The man's resolve had wavered slightly upon hearing the fluidity of her words accompanied by her captivating voice. She then opened her purse and pulled out a few bills, took the man's arm with her free hand, and tenderly placed them into his open hand. She then said, "Can you please do us this one little favor and allow us to move pass this checkpoint and right to the ship? It would save all of us a lot of time, and it would make your job a lot less strenuous. I'm sure this will compensate you for both your troubles and the long hours you surely work here."
"I-I don't know," the man replied skeptically with a slight stutter to his words as he stood unsure of what he should do at this point. He looked down at his hand and saw that there were three bills in there, each of them valued at a hundred dollars. Although he made no move to return the money back to Rouge, he added in a clearer tone, "Rules dictate that I should check every passenger's luggage before allowing them to pass. That and I should also conduct a medical check for any lice of sorts, but you're all clearly first class members, so that's already out of the question."
"Oh, I understand completely how you feel about this," the bat responded in an understanding tone with a smile that was brighter than a hundred watt bulb. She then dug into her purse again and pulled out three more bills while saying in an even sweeter voice, "It is your job to make sure that everybody who boards the boat doesn't bring on any undesirable belongings with them. However, I do hope that you'll be able to do this one small favor for little old me and overlook us. You see, my party and I have been looking forward to this maiden voyage for the longest of times, and we would hate to miss the boarding call simply because we got held back here at the checkpoint. Won't you please let us skip the baggage check and go straight onto the grand ship?"
With the three extra bills added to the others already in his hand, the man barely managed to count all of them and realize that he had now been offered six hundred dollars just to bend the rules. In this tough economic time, to be able to earn such an amount in a short amount of time was a reality turned into a simple farfetched dream that only fools dared to dream. After his moment of shock had worn off, he pocketed the money in his hand with no hesitation and shot a welcoming smile to Rouge and the other two behind her while tipping his hat off and bowing slightly towards them, clearly accepting her proposal.
That's her plan on helping us get through here without having to go through the luggage check? Shadow thought with a raised eyebrow as he watched the man slowly starting to consider accepting the rather generous offer being offered to him. I can't believe that she's actually bribing the poor man into getting us out of this checkpoint at the risk of him getting into trouble if his boss finds out about it. If I'm going to have to marry her just to satisfy my dad, then she best start learning that bribing others isn't always going to give her the results she wants. Knowing how tight money is for everybody right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the checkpoint man actually accepted the offer.
"Well, I suppose I can overlook just one group of people's bags this time around," the man finally replied as he tried to sound and act as casual as possible so as to not arouse suspicion from those around him, "especially since you're willing to pay me so much for my cooperation in this kind of economy."
"Why, it's my pleasure to help better the life of someone whenever I can," Rouge happily responded as Dr. Robotnik and the black hedgehog walked towards the plank with their bags in hand that connected the harbor with a door on the side of the ship a few paces away from them. She failed to notice the eye roll she got from her young fiancé as he passed her by along with the look of disapproval written plainly on his face. "Thank you for letting us pass without having to go through the bag checkpoint."
"Well, it's my pleasure to allow your wonderful presence aboard the ship, madam," the man responded as he happily waved towards her while she started to catch up with the two others ahead of her. "And allow me to be the first to welcome you and your party aboard the wondrous passenger cruise liner, the Titanic."
Well, there you have it. Now you know where this story is going to be based on. Yes, the game "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors" was based inside the interior of a ship designed similarly to that of the Titanic. To be more precise, it was modeled after its sister ship, the Gigantic. For those of you who've played this game already, hope you enjoyed it. For those who didn't, I recommend that you try it out if you have a DS.
Anyway, that's enough about a game that's probably the most captivating one I've ever played. I basically came up with the idea to write this after playing a game in the setting much like the Titanic and soon chose to use the Sonic universe as a base for it. It was something that suddenly popped into my head, and I could not think of any other game that would work as well for what I had in mind than the Sonic universe.
Sorry if I bored you all with my probably pointless rant. Hope you enjoyed this new story I made. Don't forget to leave a review saying how I did. Until the next update everybody!