Piercing blue eyes, staring at his own, a gentle smile on his face... and then there was nothing.
He couldn't breathe. His small hands, desperate for life, desperate for anything, clawed out of its once protective white blanket which was the first to slip into the deep abyss below. Too young to think, he continued to fling his arms up and down, his mouth painfully filling up with water. Unable to hope yet too young to even comprehend death, an unstoppable fear shrouded his blood-shot vision; and the pain was soon too much to handle. Water entered his lungs, and he didn't even begin to understand what was happening... but a very strong, solid thought was formed as the four-month old baby struggled with the inevitable. He wanted it to end, wanted everything to stop...
"Nggg..."
"Izzy? What's wrong? Please, wake up!" A small voice of a young boy broke through the dull silence, echoing through his dying world in an attempt to return him to the land of the living. Sure enough the startled figure known as Izzy shot forward, his eyes snapping open in complete surprise. An audible sigh of relief came from his savior. "A-are you all right?"
"Mmm." Izzy wordlessly replied, closing his eyes once more and pressing two gloved fingers against the bridge of his jet black nose. What a nightmare... but it seemed so real...
"You sure? I could get you a glass of cold minerals, if you need anything to drink." The young boy continued, a large hint of obvious concern in his voice. "You don't look so good, and I know--I've read plenty of books that have echidnas in'em!"
"Oh... you mean all those pop-up books I bought you?" The boy nodded proudly and Izzy smiled, his mood lightening up a little as his gaze went towards the wall clock. "Well, I've also come across some pretty detailed documentaries myself about little foxes, and it's already way past your bed-time, Walt."
"Hey, don't look at me... you woke me up you know." Walt yawned, still clutching one of the stuffed chao that Izzy'd made for him. "But... you're gonna be okay, right? Right?"
"It was just a bad dream... I think I've gotten a firm hold over myself now." Izzy smirked, placing a reassuring hand over the young fox's head. Walt never really did cease to surprise him. "For a ten year old; you think too much... but I appreciate it."
"Heehee, no problem." The bushy tailed fox allowed himself a big smile. It wasn't everyday the green echidna that's taken care of him for as long as he can remember ever praised him for anything. That being said, if he was going to get more of that in the future then he'd better stay on his uncle's good side. "All right, I'm gonna go back to bed. Night night."
"G'night."
Izzy waited patiently for Walt to close the wooden door behind him before slumping back on his chair and sighing in disturbed fatigue. A nightmare was no stranger, it's plagued him for years, but this was the first time he had experienced one in such greusome detail. It was like being immersed into the past itself. Was he really drowning? Why was he so young? Was it an accident? Walt's father had told him a few nights before he and his wife were killed in a forest fire that he found him on the shore of the beach, looking very healthy. The description definitely did not fit a drowned, four month old echidna. Izzy sighed once more, his gloved hands running through the messy, vertically pointed strands on his head. He didn't look much like an echidna either. Perhaps he really was something else... but that couldn't be, Pops told Izzy himself that he was indeed an echidna after performing some laboratory experiments on him, and Pops was 'never' wrong. Besides, what could have all those damned needles been for?
"I need to get out more..." The green echidna mumbled, his voice now soft as a whisper. He had been so busy taking care of the young fox all these years... but of course, it would not be called diligence if it didn't have its fair share of rewards. Walt was growing to be an excellent marksman, just like his father. And he himself had grown more mature... it seemed like only yesterday when 'he' was the one being taken care of. Seven years just seemed to fly by so quickly. "hah, maybe I should throw in a girlfriend while I'm at it."
In fact, now that Izzy thought about it, he didn't even know the people in his own village very well. Working inside Pops' workshop, teaching Walt the tricks of the trade in the beach or in their backyard, that was all he usually did. And both didn't take very long to finish... so what really killed all of Izzy's free time was meditation. Truth be told it was actually the one thing he needed the most, because it helped contain yet another major problem; a kind of... disease that came to life when he did. A flesh-eating virus that felt like it would consume him at any given moment, if not for the bio-augmented gloves and shoes that Walt's dad invented specially for him. It had a kind of greenhouse effect on the gaseous, acidic energy that seeped out of his hands and feet, trapping it until the substance evaporated completely. Pops said that the only cure would be to learn how to effectively control the greenish overflow inside him--and that's where meditation came in.
Izzy closed his eyes, yearning for sleep to take him over once more. True, if he didn't know any better then that would have been all there was to it, a simple, hard to cure virus... but his other dreams have somehow clued to the origins of his condition--hinting that maybe it was something much more than spontaneous combustion. For now though, he was just glad Holt thought ahead and created a pair of gloves and shoes for nearly every size, God rest his soul.
But all things aside, there was a point to what he said. He definitely could use a vacation... and Pops did say something about Knothole being pleasant in spring.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter 1; 'Odd beginnings'. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
It was a hot day in the productive forest village of Knothole, the sun was in the peak of the sky, giving off strenuous amounts of heat. But because of all the incredibly large trees generously giving out shade to every nook and cranny, one would probably have to stay still for a full ten minutes to even notice the climate... which also didn't seem to happen often, what with the fast-paced environment and impatient crowds.
But no one could blame them, years of being constantly troubled by the famed doctor Robotnik had left nearly the whole population wanting a piece of retribution. But for the most part, the highly respected king of castle acorn had a rare talent for keeping the peace. Besides, it had been quite a while since the evil doctor trampled the grounds of Knothole, so all was well.
In fact, all was great. Many of the heroes that were responsible for foiling Robotnik's plans were staying in Knothole for the rest of the season, their deeds etched in stone. Among those were Miles "Tails" Prower, genius two-tailed fox and partner to the legendary Sonic, the hedgehog; Julie-Su, the pink cybernetic echidna from Echidnapolis; Knuckles, the red echidna from one of the nobler tribes whose ability to influence the chaos emeralds remained unequalled; and Amy Rose, the pink hedgehog. All of the local heroes including princess Sally, Mina and Bunnie Rabbot were also present. As for the blue streak himself, there was still no sign of him since the last battle against Robotnik... but they all seemed to believe he was all right. Tails reassured everyone in advance that Sonic was simply around Station Square getting a few things done and would be coming back in a month or so.
Three weeks have passed since the team's fateful encounter against Robotnik and his former, most dangerous invention yet. The bar, once a very melancholy place now bursted with continuous activity... the fact that it had become a daily hangout for the heroes of Knothole 'might' have helped too.
"Aw, darn it." Bunnie snapped her fingers, her red dart missing the board hanging on a wall with a drawing of Robotnik clipped on it. "It's kinda hard to aim."
"See? What did I tell you." A yellow mongoose wearing a white unbuttoned polo over a black shirt, blue faded jeans and orange sun glasses smirked. "You can't beat me."
"That's because you practiced on it everyday since Sonic beat you, Ash." Mina shook her head, a smug little grin on her face. "Bunnie's just played this game once."
"Actually, we both missed. But mine was closer, so there." Ash grunted.
"Yeah, but you told him he'd win if you missed."
"I said no such thing. Besides, he chickened out when I wanted revenge on him for round two!"
"Wait, if you 'beat' him like you said, then why in the world did you want revenge for winning?"
Bunnie just sighed as the two teenaged mongoose bickered with each other again. She really couldn't care less if she lost, it was just a game... what really bothered her was that every conversation had to include Sonic. It was annoying that everyone kept talking about him--she was already starting to miss the guy and there they were, reminding her of the blue hedgehog again and again. Sure it was fun hanging out with the others, but now Sonic's absence was starting to depress her. She really just needed to see if he was doing okay... and knowing some of Sonic's closest friends a little too well, she wasn't alone.
These days, her best friend Sally just spent most of her time walking around Knothole like some kind of ghost. And Amy seemed down on the dumps too. Mina didn't show it very well, but she probably missed him just as much, if not the most among all of them. But she had to admit, it would be pretty funny if Sonic did come home.
His break-up with Sally just seemed to open up a near infinite amount of possibilities, something that Amy was definitely looking forward to. Even Mina was pretty flushed about the subject as well, though a lot more subtle than the naive pink hedgehog.
"And not only that I... hey, what are you grinning about, you didn't win!" Ash pointed towards the baffled rabbit. "Wanna have a go at it again?"
"Oh, I wanna have a go I wanna have a go!" A small voice interrupted the very wierd conversation, and they were surprised to see an even smaller fox with brown fur and black highlights already looking up at the dart board, a silly smile on his face.
"My my, what a cute little boy." Bunnie smiled, totally ignoring Ash's challenge.
"Oooh, and who's this cutey?" Mina squealed, totally ignoring Ash.
"Eh? Who the heck're you?" Ash asked rudely, his sights now set on the new face. He couldn't
"My name's Walt, thanks for asking!" The fox's smile grew wider. "And who the heck are you?"
Ash sighed as Bunnie and Mina exchanged chuckles. That was a pretty insulting and sarcastic choice of words, but it sounded like the boy didn't even know it 'was' insulting. "Crazy parrot. My name's Ash, don't forget it."
"Okie dokie. But don't forget mine either, so we're even now, okay? Okay!" Walt said quickly, pointing towards the dart board. "Can I play?"
"That's a really neat name." Mina smiled, offering Walt a dart. "Sure you can play."
"Pft, yeah, whatever. Just keep up with me, kid." The dark haired yellow furred mongoose grinned, skillfully throwing a dart. It imbedded itself onto doctor Eggman's paper chin. "Hah, beat that!"
"If you say so... where's the bulls-eye?"
"Why bother knowing where the bulls-eye is? You aren't going to beat me any--" Ash's potential monologue was interrupted by a forceful nudge from Mina. "The eye."
"Which one?"
"Doesn't matter, both are good."
"Both huh? All right." Walt turned to Mina, with an open palm outstretched. "You and miss rabbit are both very nice ladies. May I have another dart?"
"Here you go, sweetie." Mina handed him another dart, curious as to what he was planning to do.
"Thank you very much!" The young fox happily took the second dart and; flashing a small smile on both Bunnie and Mina, playfully threw both darts at the same time and hitting 'both' Eggman's left and right eye dead on.
"Wh-what...?" Ash gawked, his jaw nearly reaching the floor. "No way..."
Mina had exactly the same expression. Bunnie on the other hand wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be. "Ouch... quite an ego-blow there, mister cool."
"Oh, wait a second!" Walt pointed towards the board again, disappointment in his voice. "I threw two darts when I was supposed to throw just one... aw, man. I lost."
"Th-that's right! You did." Ash took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. He spent nearly a month working on his aim, damnit. "Hahah, I won!"
The violet haired mongoose just stared at him in amazement. "You are reaaally something, aren't you?"
"Yeah, the best there is."
Just as Mina was about to start yet another fight with Ash the bar doors opened and a hooded figure with what appeared to be green spikes on its head entered, calling out to the small fox beside them.
"Woopsy, I gotta go." Walt smiled sheepishly, shoving the bag he carried a little more towards his lower shoulder. "Thanks for letting me play."
"No problem, come back anytime." Mina replied, her attention glued on the hooded figure. "Who's that, Walt?"
"Oh, he's my uncle."
"Your uncle...?" The female mongoose whispered to the fox, a little surprised. "He doesn't look like you..."
"No no, not a blood related uncle... my parents died when I was about two years old, and he's taken care of me since then."
"Oooh, wow. How old is he?"
"Sixteen."
"What? Then how old are you?"
"Ten." Walt answered, earning another jaw-dropping expression from Mina. Ash simply kept quiet, knowing that at least the spiky headed dude was respectable. "Sorry, but I really have to go to--"
"No need, I'm already here."
"Whoa!" Bunnie was shocked to see the hooded figure already in front of Walt. It was like her sense of sight didn't even pick him up as he moved... like it was in slow motion or something. "Did y'all see that?"
"You know, the wierd thing is I didn't." Mina shook her head slowly, a confused look on her face. "You must be Walt's un--uhm..."
The figure's hood was already off, the shadows retreating to reveal a very pleasing sight. He looked like Knuckles, except his fur was green and his demeanor seemed so relaxed... his nose was also quite small and pointing slightly upwards, almost like a girl. But the most curious thing about him was that the spikes on his head were scattered around instead of being concentrated on the lower back... she'd certainly never seen an echidna like this one before--not that she'd seen very plenty in her time, but it was still pretty unusual. What really got her though, were his eyes; mysterious, piercing silver orbs that looked like it could bore a hole through anything if given the chance... his gaze held such intensity, yet at the same time; seemed so kind... it was hypnotizing.
"Pssst, hey Mina, you okay?" Ash snapped his fingers in front of the mongoose's face. "It's rude to just stare like that."
"H-huh? Oh... sorry." Mina smiled sheepishly, earning a jealous grunt from her boyfriend. "My name's Mina... pleased to meet you."
"Oh, heheh... likewise." The green figure replied, a little embarrased at the sudden attention... but somehow he already expected it. Walt could make friends with anybody. "My name's Izzy."
"Izzy, huh? That's a cute name..."
"Mina!"
"What? I didn't say anything!"
"Huh? Then who did?" Ash looked across Mina to see a grinning Bunnie, her eyes glazed over. "Okay--now something is terribly wrong here... he's not 'that' good-looking is he?"
Bunnie just nodded in reply, and Ash nearly yelled in frustration.
"And? So what if he 'is' good looking?" Mina asked sternly.
"More good looking than me?"
"Oh for heaven's sake, stop being so vain Ash!"
"You didn't answer my question Mina!"
"Would it change anything between us if I did answer your dumb question?"
"Oh, so now my feelings are dumb?"
"It has nothing to do with that! It's your pride that's the problem!"
"Sonic is the prideful one, not me!"
"Don't bring Sonic into this!"
Izzy just stared on, wondering if it was his fault as the two lovers started fighting yet again. He didn't even know he 'was' attractive. "Errr, Walt? We should go."
"Aw, we're leaving Knothole already?"
"Of course not, we just got here... but if we have any intention on staying for a while, then we've gotta look for a place to stay." Izzy smirked. "Unless you wanna camp out."
"N-no! You're right, we should go look for a place to stay..." Walt sighed. If there was one thing that really freaked him out, it would be the creepy crawlies that hailed from the insect family. "let's go?"
Izzy looked back towards the bickering mongoose and nodded. He never really was comfortable with crowds.
"Hold on there." Bunnie said, finally snapping out of her little trance. "You two need a place ta stay?"
"Uhm... yeah." The green echidna answered, his gaze meeting hers. "I only noticed now... your eyes have a solid green color."
"Yep, is somethin' wrong...?"
"Nah..." Izzy shook his head, his face a mix between embarrasment and curiosity. "it's just, I've never seen eyes of that color before... pretty."
Bunnie's eyes widened at the compliment and she felt her cheeks grow warm. He was certainly something else. "Ah, er, well... th-thank you... uhm... heh..."
Izzy smiled, her half cybernetic body not disturbing him even the slightest bit. He turned to leave when he and Walt were both stopped again by the same rabbit. "Wait, I wasn't finished... you and Walt could hang out in my place... if ya want ta, that is."
"Really? You mean it?" Walt asked, almost oozing with innocent gratitude. A place to stay meant no bugs!
The echidna on the other hand wasn't quite as enthusiastic. "Uhm... are you sure? We've only just met and I wouldn't want to impose or anything..."
"Naw, heheh... heck, maybe having a gentleman like you at home could make a lady out of a street smart bunny such as m'self." Bunnie grinned, which of course Izzy took with a small blush of his own. "But it's definitely roomy enough... most of my old robot workshops have been replaced so you two can even have a room each if ya enjoy some time to yourself."
"That's... convenient." Izzy whispered, a little relieved. Privacy was an essential part of his life. "How much would you like per week?"
"Haha, don't, please. Havin' some company will be more than enough for me."
To say that Izzy was surprised was an understatement. All throughout his life--since the tragedy eight years ago, he was inclined to believe that everything had a price... even Pops had asked for something in return for sheltering them. Yet this pretty eyed rabbit seemed happy with just being able to help... it certainly tugged on his heart strings. Very soon his expression mellowed down to an even softer look. "Thank you, I... appreciate your generosity. Really."
For a while Bunnie was at a loss for words... to her obvious shock, she truly believed everything he said. A highly unusual amount of trust for a stranger--well, almost a stranger anyway. "Darlin', you saying that means a lot to me."
"Well then, I'm glad Walt and I aren't the only happy ones, miss..." Izzy's silver eyes immediately shot to Walt, who shrugged sympathetically in return.
"Aheheh, I forgot to ask too..."
"I reckon you boys don't know who I am?" The rabbit grinned, and the two smiled sheepishly. "Say no more... my name's Bunnie. Bunnie Rabbo--"
Bunnie was suddenly interrupted by the clattering of plates and utensils. Soon enough the bar was filled with frightened yelps as the shaking grew more and more intense. Adding to her surprise was the fact that Izzy had just thrown what looked to be a gun of some sort to Walt, and then ran off with him.
"Bunnie!" Mina called, trying to keep her balance as the ground shook harder. "Is it another Badnik?"
"No idea girlfriend," The rabbit answered, the boost feature of her cybernetic legs humming to a start. "but if it 'is' a Badnik... it's probably really big."
Izzy gawked at the monstrosity that had just set foot on Knothole. It was a huge mechanized robot, bearing doctor Robotnik's insignia... he had never really met the mad doctor in person, but he 'has' seen him and that emblem in the television and in the occasional book more often than not--Izzy even had a couple of run-ins with the robot's smaller brethren in the past. The green echidna stared on, noticing that the being's huge metallic legs were connected to some equally hard looking metal pipes and shafts, that seemed to form into a ballistic weapon when it reached the robot's upper limbs. His theory was proven right when something explosive was indeed shot out of the cannon, levelling one of the wooden homes of Knothole and injuring some of the inhabitants that were near the area. Gritting his teeth, Izzy stopped himself from attacking it head on and wasted no time in searching for a weakness. It didn't look like it had anyone operating it, but it did have a head of some sort shaped like half an egg, with two yellow tinted optic sensors that looked like eyes...
"Whoa, that is one nasty looking robot." Walt muttered, unsure of what exactly to do. "Izzy, do you think this has happened to Knothole before?"
"Yep; I've read all about the freedom fighters and their epics... Bunnie Rabbot, Mina the Mongoose, Tails Prower, Amy Rose, and of course, the infamous Sonic the hedgehog."
"Huh? Then why didn't you tell them?"
"It seemed to me that they'd be more relieved to see a potential friend, than a potential fan." Izzy unzipped his shoulder bag, removing a black and brown modified dart gun. "Besides, there's a certain red echidna in that group who just might be able to help me re-trace my past--and maybe even tell me something about the markings on my chest."
"Oh, you mean Knuckles?" Walt asked, unzipping his own shoulder bag and removing three dart ammo clips.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Heheh, I watch the television more than you do, and Knuckles comes out a lot." Walt threw Izzy a clip, which the echidna gracefully caught and loaded onto the gun. "But that's in a place called Central City... Knothole just doesn't seem to pop up when I'm watching."
"Well, it pops up in the books often enough." Izzy said frankly, handing Walt the weapon. "I need you to do me a favor."
Meanwhile; in the outskirts of Knothole, a frustrated maroon echidna sped towards the sound of the explosions, being very careful not to accidentally ram his head into a tree and knock it down... seriously. But oddly enough, Knothole's condition was the least of his worries. 'Argh, the master emerald... could they have taken it? Damnit, Knuckles you numbskull! How could I have left it unprotected...'
The echidna who referred to himself as Knuckles in a rather confusing train of thought finally managed to make it to the entrance of the town, skidding to a quick halt. There was no doubt about it, he felt an incredible surge of energy; energy that could have only come from the master emerald, in Knothole. How that came to be seemed impossible, since only he, Sonic and Tails knew the exact coordinates after it was relocated... but who was he to go against reality?
"Eggman's robot probably has it... humph, this'll be easy picking for my fis--oh shoot!" Knuckles interrupted himself, lifting one of the very large rocks surrounding the gate and throwing it towards the bullet that was shot out of the mech's cannon, aimed on one of Knothole's younger inhabitants. The resulting explosion threw the kid off his feet, but at least he wasn't dead. "Phew... looks like I'm going to have to help evacuate these people first. Oh well, at least today wasn't as boring as I expec--aw man!"
Hurling another rock above the unlucky boy, the bullet was once again parried... this time it was personal. "Nobody interrupts my thoughtful words of wisdom twice in a ro--kid, watch out!"
Bunnie couldn't believe it... her cybernetic arm couldn't even dent the metal! Carefully hovering over the Eggbot's shoulders, the persistent rabbit continued to throw punches, hoping that she'd get lucky and finally manage to hit a soft spot... which was highly unlikely since even the eyes seemed to be just as hard as the rest of the monster.
"Miss Bunnie! Miss Bunnie!"
"What in the world..." Bunnie looked down to see Walt waving, and felt a small weight lift itself from her chest. She had no idea what had happened to them since they ran off... "thank goodness you're okay--wait, where's Izzy?"
"He's okay, but I need you to help me with something!"
"Gimme a sec!" Bunnie immediately flew down to where the young fox was, curious as to what he wanted. "Need anythin'?"
"Yep yep... can you lift me up right beside the head of that thing?" Walt asked, unholstering both dart guns strapped on his belt. "It's too far away from here to work..."
"Wait, you're gonna shoot the eye? But that thing's impenetrable, I tried."
"I know what you mean, but the high velocity gun springs paired with the needle explosive darts I've loaded can hopefully stick on the bullet proof glass long enough for it to explode... at least, that's what Izzy said."
"Needle explosive darts...?" Bunnie asked, but carried Walt out of harm's way before he could answer when a piece of concrete wall very rudely landed on where he was originally standing. "never thee mind honey, you can explain later."
"Okay..."
Soon enough the two climbed to a point where the robot's eyes were in a reasonably close distance.
"Well... maybe this is good enough." Walt aimed both weapons at one eye and pulled the trigger, but the needles bounced off as it smashed onto the lens. The crack that ensued lessened his and Bunnie's alarmed states though. "Oops, still kinda far... I guess we need to be really close and drive it in like a nail gun."
"All right, now's my chance!" The red echidna down below finally caught an opening and jumped off of the ground, having gained enough speed to throw an incredibly powerful punch onto the robot's torso. But just as his near indestructable spiked fist was about to collide with the near indestructable metal of the Eggbot, his glove was hit by a small dart... followed by a not so small explosion.
"AAARGH!" Knuckles was blown away by the point blank force of the blast, crashing onto a nearby tree. As soon as the pain had dulled, he opened his eyes to see the boy from earlier once 'again' the target of the robot's cannon. "Hey! That's not fair!"
"This is the closest I can get, Walt! Any closer and we'll be in the sights of that thing!" Bunnie yelled, trying her hardest to hover them out of the robot's line of sight.
"Hmmm... this is still too far for the darts to pierce..." The brown and black fox whispered to himself, changing one of the gun's ammo clip with a different type from his shoulder bag and aiming both at the same eye. "but maybe if I do this..."
Walt pulled the trigger on one of the guns, and as expected the needle bounced off--but not before making a bigger crack on the eye. Giving the next shot all of his focus, Walt kept aim and let loose the dart in the second gun, this time carefully aimed on one of the bigger cracks that formed. Just as he had imagined it, the dart's point managed to get by deep enough to stay still. "Yes!"
"You think the explosion'll do?"
"That dart I just used is filled with a small emount of extremely concentrated modified nitro glycerin... I actually had to beg Izzy to let me use them." Walt smiled, motioning for Bunnie to move them away. "The only drawback is that when it gets riled up, it takes a while for it to go unstable... actually, it's more of a safety feature, heheheh."
"It's really that poweful?"
Bunnie's question was answered by a loud booming sound that echoed all throughout Knothole, the disastrous explosion that came from the dart making the robot's head recoil backwards. Both its eyes and part of its egg-like head was pretty much decimated, but the damned thing was still operational.
'W-Walt!' Came a voice from inside the small fox's head, which he was already used to; Izzy talked to him this way when there was something wrong with his gloves, because his sickness disabled speech. For the life of him Walt didn't know how he did it, since he sure as heck can't... wait. His gloves!
'Izzy! Why'd you take off your gloves?' Walt thought back, wondering if the echidna could hear it.
'Never mind that; Walt I need you to knock that robot down on his back...! Urk... the mental shield I made is sucking too much energy, I can't move... I'm right behind it, and I need you to make it fall on me!'
Walt's eyes widened, realizing what Izzy had planned out... the green energy that seeped out of his body also acted as a kind of super acid... and his mental shield was an incredibly focused and fixed thought, like a protective coating that stopped the substance from overflowing and destroying his body. He needed the robot to fall on him so he could melt whatever part of it he manages to touch. 'But... it looks heavy.'
'I-I can't keep this up much longer... I need you to knock it down now!'
"Walt? You ok?" Bunnie asked, having already landed them on stable ground.
Walt didn't answer at first, but soon let out a disheveled sigh and aimed both his dart guns towards the blind bot. "Please stand back miss Bunnie, I'm gonna empty this clip and knock it off its feet--"
"YOU STUPID RUSTBUCKET!" Knuckles suddenly appeared from behind them, dashing towards his recently crowned most hated enemy in the entire universe, at breakneck speed. There was absolutely no way it was going to get destroyed without feeling his fist first. "EAT THIS!"
Walt blinked. It all happened in a heartbeat. Knuckles' surprise appearance had very suddenly stopped him from shooting, but it wasn't so bad, the disgruntled echidna ended up creating a huge dent on the robot's torso causing it to fall on its back... and the next thing he knew the robot's entire upper body was consumed by a green pillar of light. "Izzy!"
Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter One, Epilogue...
Mobius was a beautiful planet... even its most desolate places boasted beauty, and the thrill of the unknown was often sought for as a constant source of adrenaline.
So being in one of the very few caves that was yet to be set foot on by man would be more than enough to overwhelm any normal person. But if you're a hedgehog that's ran around the world hundreds upon hundreds of times in a nearly countless amount of ways, then it'd obviously be nothing new...
"Damnit Eggman, I'm dying of boredom here!" A blue hedgehog wailed at the futuristic intercom, nibbling on some crackers he'd kept for the trip. He was seated on the edge of a large rock, and looked to be in an insurmountably deep and unexplored cave. His only source of light were two magnificent looking stones that sparkled with a bright, luminous energy. "Haven't you pin-pointed the location of the third emerald yet?"
"Patience, you furry little pain in the bottom!" A baritone voice erupted from the intercom, the small monitor catching static. "Being suspended in space isn't helping my chaos radar spot the emerald in one of the deepest caves of the world, so you're just going to have to keep still and wait Sonic!"
"I've been sitting here for nearly an hour!" Sonic yelled, shaking his fist at the face of the evil doctor in the screen of the intercom. "You keep telling me to hurry up when you're the one causing all the idle time! I don't need the chaos emeralds to stop you, Eggman, so why don't you just--"
"A-a-a! Quite the contrary, I'm afraid. You are going to need every single one of those emeralds if you're even going to stand a hair line's chance of seeing your friends alive and well!" Eggman smirked, showing off a small console with a very shiny egg-shaped button. "And just remember what will happen if you even try to disobey me!"
Sonic's face went red for a good while, but remembering the very lethal situation that all of his friends were in, his mood dropped to a much more reasonable one. "Yeah, yeah."
"Very good, hedgehog." Eggman laughed his evil laugh, and pressed a few buttons on the console of his main computer. "Ah, here it is. The third emerald."
o-----
Author's notes - All right, what do you guys think? I've left a lot of questions unanswered, but some of them I kept secret on purpose, to keep the story and any kind of emotion felt by the reader going in the right direction :). Also, I apologize if Sonic isn't in here much, he plays a veeery important role that comes out later in the story. In the next chapter however, more of Izzy's 'sickness' is learned, and a shocking past is revealed. Oh, and to anyone who recognizes and likes Ash the mongoose--he's pretty insignificant here but he could probably even play a pivotal role, who knows :P. As for what happened to the mongoose lovers and everybody else after the disaster in Knothole, it'll be in the next chappie.
P.S. - Be sure to throw a review my way when you have the time... I don't bite :).