Author's note: My story was inspired by yasha012's story Hero, so I might make references to her story. For example, the ages that make them be considered adults. There will also be OCs introduced in this story and I will let you know when I am going to accept more OCs for the story.
She was scrounging around for food to eat something before she collapsed from starvation. She was a light blue hedgehog with a tuft of white on her chest and had emerald green eyes while wearing a pair of capris, a white tank top, and black shoes. She was blaming herself for falling asleep and not eating at all yesterday.
'I am so stupid for fighting Robotnik on an empty stomach and then falling asleep under a tree out in the open instead of my makeshift home,' she berated herself.
She then tripped on a root, but quickly caught herself before she fell flat on her face and that is when she noticed that an apple tree was in front of her. She began to scan her surroundings to make sure that there were no enemies nearby and then she climbed the tree while picking the apples she thought were ready to be picked. As she was climbing the tree picking the apples, she was eating some of them to fill her empty stomach and putting the rest in the bag strapped across her left shoulder to take home with her.
"These should do," she told herself after picking the bright red apples from the tree. "Now to get home before Robotnik sends out some more of his robots."
She jumped down from the tree and began to run to her home in the middle of Green Forest still thankful that Robotnik never found her out her despite the fact he had his robots search for her in there. The trees were a slight blur in her vision as she was running through the trees in Green Forest making it to her broken down home that was destroyed long before she discovered it.
"Home sweet home," she said with a sigh while walking in.
She dropped the bag of apples down onto the counter deciding to deal with them later. She knew that she had nothing else to do except for go check on her friend, Jacki, but she was sure that Jacki would be fine without her checking up on her today. She turned and walked out of the kitchen into the living room, which she turned into a bedroom for when Jacki visited and went out of the house. She double checked that she still had her sword Stormfury strapped across her back and once she was done doing that she took off running once again to Apatos since she remembered from her last encounter with Robotnik that he was planning something there, but she didn't know what. She suddenly skidded to a halt when an explosion went off right in front of her to reveal several robots in front of her and behind her. She immediately unsheathed Stormfury grasping it with her right hand and as soon as she saw movement from in front of her, she slashed the robot's head clean off. She then had to start ducking and weaving around the other robots while slashing and stabbing at them with her sword. Suddenly, two robots grabbed her arms from behind her causing her to almost drop her sword. She began to struggle against the robots, but they tightened their grips on her arms while lifting her up into the air. They started marching towards a big gray ship that she failed to notice during the fight and began to walk down the many halls of the ship until they came to two big metal doors that the robots pushed open while throwing her to the ground in front of a tall man with big shoes and with a body that always looked egg shaped to her. She could never tell if he was wearing a red buttoned up jacket or if it was his shirt and he was wearing long black pants.
"Well, if it isn't Astrid," the man said.
"Robotnik or should I say Eggman," Astrid shot back at him causing his face to grow red in anger. "What the hell do you want from me now?"
"Why you of course," Robotnik answered. "You have been a thorn in my side for too long and now I am either going to kill you or keep you as my prisoner."
"Not happening," Astrid growled out while slashing at the two robots destroying them and she ran out of the room while destroying other robots left and right.
She skidded to a halt when she came upon a room that had deactivated robots and she set bombs down in the room to go off in two minutes and she took off running from the room while setting bombs down in other rooms as well. She got out onto the ship's deck to notice they were in the air, but still low enough that she could land safely on a tree branch and they were heading towards Apatos. She sheathed Stormfury while checking her watch to see she had ten seconds to get off the ship, which she did by jumping off over the edge. She plummeted fast down into a tree while grabbing onto a branch before she hit the ground. Once she was sure that her fall had been stopped, she jumped down onto the ground just as the ship exploded damaging it badly making it fall onto the ground and ruining Robotnik's plan for Apatos. She took off running into the forest not paying attention to where she was going just thinking that she needed to get away from Robotnik's ship before he sent out the robots that survived after her to capture or kill her. She then saw something red appear in front of her that she skidded to halt so fast that she fell on her butt to the surprise of the other.
"Hey, are you okay?" the stranger asked.
"Trying to get away from Robotnik before he sends out his robots to either capture me or kill me," Astrid answered after picking herself up and brushing the dirt off of her clothes.
"You must have done something to piss off Robotnik," the stranger said with a low whistle.
"Thwarting his plans and fighting him at every opportunity," she agreed. "Although some of them were because he was harming innocent people and I hate that."
"Well, why don't I take you to my home so that you can lay low for a bit from Robotnik?" the stranger asked her.
"That would be greatly appreciated, but you never told me your name," Astrid replied.
"Neither did you," he shot back.
"True," she agreed.
"I am Knuckles and if you couldn't tell I am an Echidna," Knuckles answered.
"My name is Astrid and you could probably tell that I am a Hedgehog," Astrid told him.
"That I could," Knuckles said while nodding his head in agreement. "I forgot to mention that my home is on Angel Island, so you need to be able to fly there."
"Well, my friend Jacki has a plane called the Tsunami that she lets me borrow, but I am not sure if she is at her home," Astrid finally said.
"Where does she live?" Knuckles asked her while scanning the area for any robots.
"She lives in Emerald Hill," Astrid answered.
"Well, then lets get going," Knuckles said. "You run there while I glide."
"All right," Astrid replied while watching Knuckles take off into the sky and she took off running after him.
"So where do you live?" Knuckles finally asked. "Also, how old are you?"
"I have been living in Green Forest in a broken down home and I am fifteen. Why?" Astrid responded.
"Because you look too young to be living on your own since you're not considered an adult until you're seventeen," Knuckles answered causing Astrid to huff.
"Its not my fault that I was separated from my parents and brother during one of our family vacations when I was five," Astrid snapped at him.
"Take it easy," Knuckles snapped back at her. "I never said it was your fault."
"I'm sorry," Astrid apologized to Knuckles. "It's just that I have been doing everything on my own that I am not used to others being concerned for me anymore."
"Understandable," Knucles replied. "And I am sure when your family realizes you are still alive then they will be making sure that you know that you are not alone anymore and that you have everything that you want in life."
"I just can't remember where they live or if they will even recognize me since it has been ten years," Astrid said quietly that Knuckles barely caught.
Knuckles wasn't sure how to comfort her and just continued to fly towards Emerald Hill with Astrid still following him. They remained in a awkward silence as they arrived at Emerald Hill and Knuckles landed next to Astrid, who stopped.
"Since I don't know where your friend lives it would be better if you lead," Knuckles told her.
"Right," Astrid said while leading him past several houses waving at the people who greeted her until they came upon a plain looking house with a workshop built on the side. "This is where Jacki lives, but don't touch her projects without her permission. She hates that."
"All right," Knuckles said while nodding his head while Astrid knocked and then a brown fox with white hair and peridot eyes opened the door.
"Astrid!" Jacki exclaimed hugging her best friend in a death grip and then she noticed Knuckles. "Oh. Hello. My name is Jacki."
"Knuckles," he simply replied.
"What do you need Astrid?" Jacki asked getting straight to the point.
"I need to borrow the Tsunami in order to reach Knuckles home since I need to lay low from Robotnik," Astrid answered.
"All right, but I expect it back in one piece," Jacki said while giving Astrid a friendly glare causing Astrid to grin at her.
Astrid motioned for Knuckles to follow her to the plane while Jacki closed the front door after saying goodbye to Astrid and Knuckles. They walked to the back of the house and Knuckles noticed that the name Tsunami was fitting since it was a sea green color while thinking that it reminded him of Tails' Tornado-1 that he made since he saw no weapons. Astrid hopped into the pilot's seat and began to start the plane up with them both soon taking off into the air once more. Knuckles began to lead the way towards Angel Island with them both not talking just flying in comfortable silence. Astrid wasn't sure how long they had been flying for when she noticed a floating island and deduced that she was looking at Angel Island. Knuckles led her to a clearing for her to land the Tsunami safely and soon they were both on their feet once again. Knuckles then led her to the only house on the island and Astrid noticed another red echidna wearing a brown hat standing outside in front of the house.
"I was beginning to wonder if I should send one of your friends to go and find you," the red echidna said to Knuckles.
"I'm fine dad. Astrid here nearly ran into me trying to get away from Robotnik," Knuckles replied while pointing at Astrid. "So I offered her shelter here to lay low for a bit from him and because I don't think she should stay alone now that Robotnik wants to kill or capture her."
"Hmmm," he said while looking at Astrid. "The name is Locke and I must say that you remind me of another blue hedgehog even though he is a darker blue.
Astrid's heart began to beat fast and she swallowed thickly while asking, "What's his name?"
Knuckles and Locke both noticed that her demeanor changed at the mention of the darker blue hedgehog and finally Knuckles said, "Sonic."
Astrid had to begin to blink back the tears of relief and shock away quickly trying not to look weak in front of Knuckles and Locke. Her whole body was shaking and Knuckles wasn't sure why she was reacting in this manner or how to comfort her. Locke immediately saw that Knuckles was out of his element and walked over to Astrid's side while grabbing her shoulder gently.
"What's wrong Astrid?" Locke asked her and when he saw that she wasn't going to respond he continued to talk. "It's okay to cry and talk to us. We won't judge you."
"I-its just that Sonic is my brother," Astrid finally replied while tears were streaming down her face causing Locke and Knuckles to look at one another in shock, briefly. "And if you need prove then our parents names are Viktor and Diantha."
"We believe you kid," Locke calmly said. "We just didn't know that Sonic had a sister, but that was probably because it hurt to talk about you since I am guessing that he blames himself for your disappearance."
"No, it was my fault for not listening to our parents when they said not to go wondering past the campgrounds into the surrounding forest," Astrid said while shaking her head and not noticing that Knuckles was typing a message to Sonic via his communicator.
Knuckles:
Sonic get your ass over to Angel Island immediately.
Knuckles got a response a minute later from Sonic.
Sonic:
What the hell is wrong that you need me so badly?
Knuckles:
Just come over to Angel Island before I set Amy on you.
Sonic:
Alright! Just don't do that!
Knuckles faintly smirked in victory on getting Sonic to come without giving him a reason of why he had to come. He watched as Locke continued to reassure Astrid and then noticed Locke look at him in suspicion.
"What did you just do?" Locke asked with narrowed eyes.
"I just contacted someone through the communicator," Knuckles replied with a shrug.
"You have a communicator?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah. It was built by my friend Tails," Knuckles answered. "I am sure he has plenty of extras laying around his workshop and will be willing to give you and Jacki one. They would have the names of everyone who has a communicator making it easy to be in contact with one another."
"Astrid!?" a new voice suddenly exclaimed causing all three to jump in surprise and turned to look to see a royal azure colored hedgehog standing there in shock while Astrid shakily walked towards the hedgehog.
"Sonic?" she asked quietly and received a nod from said hedgehog.
She tackled him in a hug and Sonic returned the hug fiercely with neither one of them wanting to let go of the other. Knuckles and Locke smiled faintly at the reunion of the two siblings. Finally they broke the hug, but still had held each other by the arms.
"Now, I know why Knuckles told me to get my ass over here while also threatening to send Amy after me if I didn't come," Sonic said with a small grin.
"Exactly," Knuckles replied.
"Who is Amy?" Astrid asked while silently thanking Knuckles for getting her brother here.
"Amy is a pink hedgehog, who happens to be in love with Sonic, but Sonic doesn't return those feelings," Knuckles answered while Sonic was glaring at him. "Its true and you know it Sonic."
"Do you have any other friends?" Astrid inquired them both. "Knuckles already told me about Tails."
"There is Cream, Cheese, Vector, Espio, Jet, Wave, Silver, Blaze, Rouge, and Charmy," Sonic replied.
"Don't forget about Shadow," Knuckles said.
"Right," Sonic agreed with Knuckles. "Do you have any friends Astrid?"
"I do. They are Jacki, Cahira, Pyralis, and Halina," Astrid answered.
"You know Halina and Pyralis?" Knuckles asked with a scowl.
"Yeah. Why?" Astrid asked.
"Pyralis and Rouge both like to try and make my job of guarding the Master Emerald more difficult," Knuckles replied. "Halina on the other hand likes to try and steal my treasure that I found while also flirting with me."
"That sounds like Halina and Pyralis," Astrid said with a small grin.
"What do they look like?" Sonic asked.
"Jacki is a fox with brown fur and white hair along with peridot colored eyes. Cahira is a hawk with white feathers with hints of red and green stroon about her body and green eyes. Pyralis is a bat with black fur with tufts of white around his head and chocolate brown eyes. Lastly, Halina is an echidna with pink fur and hair with magenta colored eyes," Astrid answered.
Sonic blinked in surprise and said, "A pink echidna?"
Astrid giggled and replied, "Yes."
"So why are you on Angel Island and how did you get here?" Sonic asked.
"Knuckles offered to shelter me from Robotnik since he is trying to capture or kill me and I got here by flying Jacki's plane the Tsunami," Astrid responded.
"Wait, you have been fighting Robotnik?" Sonic questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, but there has been a couple of times that Jacki, Pyralis, and Halina have helped me fight him. Cahira is too young by our standards to fight Robotnik since she is only twelve," Astrid told him.
"I wouldn't consider a twelve-year-old too young to fight Robotnik," Sonic responded. "I mean our friend Cream is eight and she helps us fight him with her Psychic powers."
"Does she have Clairvoyance?" Astrid asked with wide eyes.
"No. Why?"
"It's because one of my powers is being Psychic and Clairvoyance is one part of it for me."
"Any other powers that you have?"
"The only other power I have discovered is being magical, but I am also Omni-linguism and have a healing factor. Cahira has told me though that I have still have one more power that is laying dormant for now and she believes that it will come out when I am in great danger or if my friends and family are in danger."
"She can sense that?" Knuckles asked butting into the conversation.
"Yeah. It kind of makes sense since she can see and sense auras," Astrid replied with a shrug.
"Wave can do the same thing except she can't sense other peoples' powers," Sonic said with a low whistle.
"Oh! I just remembered that Cahira met a swallow named Wave a couple of days ago and she was teaching her how to build Extreme Gear if that is what they are called," Astrid exclaimed suddenly.
"Wave is a swallow and yeah, they are called Extreme Gear," Sonic confirmed.
"Why don't we continue this conversation inside since it is getting dark and I am sure everyone is hungry and tired of standing around," Locke suddenly said causing the three of them to look at him. At the moment both Sonic's and Astrid's stomachs growled in unison causing Knuckles to laugh at them.
"You are most definitely related," he managed to finally say in between laughs while Locke was smirking. "Also, Sonic she can run faster than Blaze, but not as fast as you."
"How fast can you run Sonic?" Astrid asked him while they walked into the house.
"Faster than the speed of sound," Sonic replied while Astrid whistled in awe.
Soon, Locke cooked up a meal of ramen with tempura on the side to go along and Astrid's eyes were wide not used to cooked meals anymore or the sight of ramen or tempura. Sonic gently nudged her and gave her an encouraging smile to let her know that she wasn't alone anymore. She smiled back a little while grabbing some ramen and some tempura while the others dug into their food. She ate the ramen with chopsticks perfectly after Sonic showed her how to hold them once she asked for help and soon everyone was done with their dinner. Astrid offered to help Locke and Knuckles clean up, but they politely declined her offer saying she was a guest therefore she didn't have to help while Sonic told her to just drop it since they were both stubborn gaining glares from both echidnas. Once both echidnas were done clearing up the dinner table and washing the dishes, they led Astrid up to the only guest room while Sonic stayed downstairs already going to sleep on the couch. Astrid walked into a plain room with white walls and a wooden floor with a bed with white blankets.
"It's not much, but this is the guest room kid," Locke told her.
"It's perfect," Astrid told him with a grateful smile. "Thank you for feeding me and letting me sleep here for the night."
Locke grunted in acknowledgement and then left the room after saying goodnight to her and Knuckles did the same thing while closing the door behind him. Astrid walked over to the bed while kicking her shoes off and plopped onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.