HUNDRED GHOST STORY PARTY

Prologue

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic said one day, not long after they'd returned to Mobius after their trip to Earth. "Today's the last day of O-Bon! We should have a Hundred Ghost Story Party!"
"I don'tthink I even know a hundred ghost stories, Sonic!" Tails said.

"Well, it doesn't have to be a hundred," Sonic pointed out. "I think it'll work fine if everybody at the party tells…five stories."

"Well, I can tell five, easy," Tails said. "Of course, somebody else might tell me stories. Can this be open book?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. Even telling ghost stories, Tails was a geek! "Anyway," he said, "I think we can get the Chaotix to join in. I don't know about Knucklehead, though. He's not much fun."

"I know Cream won't want to join us," Tails said. "What about Amy?"

"Did somebody call my name?" Amy cried, suddenly throwing her arms around Sonic.

"Where did you come from?!?" Sonic cried, trying to catch his breath. "Amy! I can't breath!"

"What about me?" Amy asked Tails. "You'd better not be talking about me behind my back, or smashie-smashie!"

Tails took a step back, even though it was extremely unlikely that Amy would let go of her deathgrip on Sonic to go after him. "It's…the last day of O-Bon," Tails said. "We were going to get some friends together and tell ghost stories tonight!"

"Oo!" Amy squealed. "I love ghost stories! The best part is getting scared, and throwing your arms around the person you love! Isn't that right, my little hedgie-piglet?"
"'Hedgie-piglet?!?'" Sonic cried. "You are not calling me that around people!" He looked at Tails, who had his hand over his mouth. "Don't laugh, dude! You'll have the same problem someday when you get a girlfriend!"

"No way!" Tails said. "Not after the way Fiona treated me!"

"Ah, come on, Tails," Amy said, still not letting go of Sonic. "You're cute. You'd have girls chasing you like True Blue here if you weren't such a geek!" She glared at her would-be boyfriend. "You let any girl but me catch you, and you'll regret it, of course!" She smiled sweetly.

"I've got a girlfriend!" Sonic said. "Princess Sally is…"

"Sally?" Amy cried. "Sally took three days to even talk to you after we came home!" Amy said. "She's over you, buddy!" She started to crush him again. "But I'll never be over you! Amy Parlouzer!" she said, giving herself Sonic's last name. "Mrs. Nikki Parlouzer! Doesn't that sound dreamy?"

"Nightmares are dreams," Sonic muttered.

"I didn't hear that!" Amy sang. "If I heard that, I might get ANGRY!!!"

"I'll…go and ask Vector, Espio, and Charmy if they want to participate," Tails said.

"I'll ask a couple of girls," Amy said. She made a face. "Girls who have the sense to know that you're mine mine mine!"

"Uh…you don't think Big would want to come, do you?" Sonic asked, finally prying himself away from the pink hedgehog.

"Big still sleeps with a night light," Amy said. "Where should we tell our scary stories, honey? Your place or mine?"

"Don't call me 'honey,'" Sonic said. "And I think we should have it at the old Graymoor place."

"The old spook house?" Amy said. "They say that old man Myers murdered his entire family, then hanged himself from the top of the staircase! Boy, when you throw a party, you really go all out! I'll wear a costume!" She rushed off. "See you tonight…honey!"

"Good grief!" Sonic said. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"

On his way to see the Chaotix, Tails passed a dojo that had recently opened up. He saw a cat, blindfolded, attacking a dummy with a wooden sword. Another cat, a girl, turned the dummy from side to side. It had wooden arms that ended in boxing gloves. The male cat's whiskers twitched as he dodged and weaved, the dummy missing most of the time. Tails was impressed. This guy was good!

The girl cat noticed Tails and stopped. "We have company, bro," she said. She stepped forward and bowed. "I am Anzu! How may I be of service?"

"Um…uh…" Tails was caught off guard. "Hi! Um…I'm Tails. I was just passing by, and I was very impressed by your brother's skill."

"Yes," the male cat said, removing his blindfold and bowing. "I am wonderful, aren't I?" He laughed. "No seriously, I'm Ringo! Pleased to meetcha!" They shook hands.

"Are you interested in martial arts, Tails?" Anzu asked.

"Uh, well, I have a friend who's into them," Tails said. "His name is Knuckles, and…"
"You know the guardian of the Master Emerald?" Ringo said. "Cool! Can you introduce me?"

"Uh, sure," Tails said. "I was just going to invite him and his friends to a Hundred Ghost Story Party tonight. It's the last day of O-Bon, you know."

"Great!" Ringo said. "I know this one about a samurai and a ghost…"

Anzu snorted. "Everyone knows that one," she said. She looked at Tails. "Girls are invited, aren't they?"

"Sure," Tails said. "A friend of mine, Amy Rose, is going to be there. Um…I should warn you about something. See, Sonic the Hedgehog is going to be there…"

"Cool!" Ringo said. "The hero of Mobius, and the guardian of the Master Emerald togther in the same place! I am so there!"

"Yeah, well, I should just mention," Tails went on, "Amy, my friend, is very jealous of Sonic, and she's…uh…she can get very jealous around him."

Anzu snorted again. "Oh please! I don't want your friend! I hate popular boys! They're always so conceited! So where are we meeting?"

"There's this little house up on Green Hill," Tails said. "It belonged to a family named Graymoor. It's supposed to be haunted, but…"

"Cool!" Ringo yelled again. "Ghost stories, and a real ghost for us to destroy!"

"Uh…say what?" Tails asked.

"My brother and I are demon hunters," Anzu said. "It is our duty to protect the helpless from spirits and other creatures." She looked Tails over. "I thought, at first, from those two tails of yours that you might be a youkai, a fox demon."

"No," Tails said nervously, "just a mutant. I…hope you don't hunt those two?"

"Why?" Ringo asked, leaning forward. "What's your mutant power?"

"Um…I fly?" Tails said.

"Duh!" Ringo said. "You're Tails the Fox! Sonic's right hand man." He seemed disappointed. "I always pictured you as being taller."

"Well, um…I have to ask Knuckles and some more friends about the party," Tails said, backing away. "I…guess we'll probably be starting right at twilight."

"We'll be there!" Anzu cried as Tails took off.

"Cool!" Ringo said yet again. "He can really fly!"

"Okay," Tails muttered to himself once he was out of hearing range," that was sure weird! Oh well. I've met weirder."

Weirder included Vector, who was apparently talking to an audience only he could see at his detective headquarters.

"And so once again, I, Vector the great," here he flexed his biceps, "had saved the day, folks!"

"Hey, Tails!" Charmy said. "You'll have to excuse Vector. He's just about finished with the latest episode of the Vector Show! Nutty as a fruitcake, isn't he?"

"You know I can hear you, don't you?" Vector demanded.

"It wouldn't be any fun to say that if you couldn't!" Charmy said, laughing.

"What are you doing here, Tails?" Vector asked.

"Um…Sonic and I are having a Hundred Ghost Story Party at the old Graymoor house," Tails said. "Would any of you like to come?"

"Sure!" Charmy said. "I love ghost stories! I'm the best ghost story teller around!"

"What do you mean you're the best?" Vector demanded. "I'm ten times the ghost story teller that you are! And I know ten times as many stories!"

"Telling ghost stories during Urabon-e is bad karma," Espio said. "I'm not coming."

Vector and Charmy started making chicken noises and flapping their arms.

"Fine!" Espio said. "Ill come! Just stop that!" They kept it up. "Do you have any idea just how annoying the both of you are?"

Tails dived for the door as the Chaotix started fighting. They were best friends, but they were also like those three crazy guys that Chris' grandpa Chuck liked to watch on tv. As Tails took off, he heard Vector say, "I'll moider youse guys!" Charmy responded by saying, "Hey, leave him alone!" "You keep out of this, knucklehead!" Vector said. Obviously, they'd watched those three guys on tv too.

That just left Knuckles. Tails found him, of course, guarding the Master Emerald.

"Hey, Knuckles!" Tails said. "We're having a Hundred Ghost Story Party tonight! Want to join us?"

"I need to guard the Master Emerald!" Knuckles said.

"There's a guy that really wants to meet you," Tails said. "He's really good at martial arts, and he's always wanted to meet the guardian of the Master Emerald."
"So I've got a fan, huh?" Knuckles said. "Does he have a cute sister?"

"Um…well, I'm not an expert on cute girls," Tails said, "but his sister's pretty cute."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Knuckles demanded. "I'll be there!"

Tails gave Knuckles a few details about the party, then flew off. As Knuckles got ready to go, planning to carry the Master Emerald on his back, he had no idea that he was being watched.

"Cheating on me, eh, Knuckie? Well, if I can't have your heart, then maybe I'll have that nice big Master Emerald? Having a ghost party, huh? Well, no ghost party is complete without a ghost!" Rouge bared her fangs, then flapped her wings and took off.

The stage was set. The Hundred Ghost Story Party would begin soon.