The 5th Guest

The 5th Guest

A novel by Alter-Ego

I don't own rights to Sonic the hedgehog or any other character related to Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the echidna.  Their respective owners own them.  But, I do own the mysterious guy who lives in the mansion.  He's mine, but if for some odd and unexplainable reason you decide it would be cool to put him in one of your fics, you had better get my permission otherwise you'll find yourself flying to Russia…cargo…in many small packages!  Just kidding, but get my permission, okay!

Also I would like to state that, although I do use evolution in this fic, I totally think the theory is a piece of crap.  I, myself, am a firm, Bible-believing Christian.  Thank you…

Theme song: One Armed Scissors by At the Drive-In

 

(I own no rights to this band)

And now, our feature presentation…

A white mist flew over the trees.  Winter had thrown a blanket of snow ever the entire landscape.  In the distance lay an old Victorian mansion, comprised of brick and mortar, showing its age.  Inside the house dust covered everything in a haze of blinding smoke.  One could leave footprints on the floor from the amount of dust that had accumulated on top of it.  All would seem that the mansion had been abandoned many years ago, but one door is still opened and the hallway lit.  Inside laid a vast library of books stacked from floor to ceiling, all still covered in dust from lack of use.  A single window at the back wall of the vast library lit the surroundings with the brilliance of a clear day.  Facing this large pane lay a single solitary lounge chair, about the age of the house itself, and a desk, probably used to check out books.  In the chair sat a figure, about the age of 14 or 15, silhouetted by the light of the noon sun.  He rose from his comfortable position and stood at the window, watching the snowfall.  He smiled and laughed to himself as he remembered how he used to love the snow.  It would always bring a joy to his heart.

*But those days are over* he thought to himself, *Now I have more important things to worry about* He held his hands out as if he were placing them on a keyboard, and moved them in a typing fashion.  The sounds of working machinery could be heard as the bookshelf on the left wall rolled back to reveal a vast computer network, equipped with a keyboard and cluttered with video screens projecting visions of every angle of one planet, almost identical to the Earth, except for minor differences in land formations.  There was still an atmosphere, a radiation belt, and a water cycle used to distribute life-sustaining liquid across the vast plains and mountains.

He smiled in self-admiration as he walked over to the network and quickly scanned over every screen.  He pressed a few buttons, which caused the screens to display radiation levels and precipitation levels and land formations.  *Well it will never be exactly the same* he thought to himself, *but I'll have to make due.  Now to look at the life forms* He pressed his finger up against a screen, causing it to enlarge and eventually cover almost the entire wall.  It was a large map of the planet he had been studying before, except less in detail.  He punched in a few keys on the keyboard, and part of the image was maximized to fit the entire screen.  He pressed some more buttons and the view went from a normal, color picture to a thermal view.  He scanned the whole planet, making sure everything was in order.  *All the plants are growing successfully* After about 10 minutes of scanning he came across a life form.  He pressed a flurry of buttons on the keyboard.  A wave of excitement flew over him. 

*Could this be…a…* He couldn't even finish the sentence in his head.  What lay on the screen before him filled him with confusion and disbelief.  *But…it's impossible…how could this have happened? It was all perfect* He was about to fall back but remembered that there wasn't a chair to fall into.  Without taking his eyes of the video playing out before him, he reached out toward his chair, which was about 15 feet away from him, and extended his palm.  The chair literally flew into his hand, and he pulled it behind him and sat down.  He put a hand on his forehead to make sure that he wasn't overheated and hallucinating.  On the screen lay the image of a creature, having two legs and two hands, lounging in what looked like a beach chair.  Except it wasn't a human, it was a fox…with two tails. *How the hell did that happen* he wondered, staring at the fox who was obviously enjoying the noon sun.  In disbelief he typed on the keyboard, and the screen moved to yet another life form, this one even stranger than the last. *Oh sweet Jesus! *  A hedgehog…blue…standing taller than the last life form, was working on a car, possibly a convertible.  How these beings got here was all but a mystery to him, as yet another life form popped up on the screen.  This one was red, standing as tall as the last, but he was different from the others.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and then recognized its key features.  *Is that…an…echidna? * He asked himself in disbelief.

First a wave of complete and utter confusion flew over him.  *How did it happen?  What caused it? *  Than anger. *I left it alone for too long.  I was so ignorant!  How could I let this happen? * Soon all of his emotions combined, causing him to sweat heavily and almost pass out.  He didn't know what to feel.  He sat there, silent, only the sound of his heavy panting echoing through the room.  Then he smiled.  A weak smirk at first, but soon he was laughing hysterically, an insane laugh that would have cut to the soul of every man happening to be in that room.  *Of course, the answer is simple* he thought, still laughing uncontrollably *A test…yes that's it…get them here…and test…of course!  Yes! * He quickly sat up and began typing into the keyboard on the computer console.  Soon a display map was put up, and the life forms exact locations were pinpointed.  Each of their addresses was posted, as well as e-mail. *Perfect* He began typing a letter to every one of them. *Yes, soon now.  You will all be mine* The enter key was hit, and his letter was sent to the appropriate addresses.  "Hmm," he said in his British toned voice, "Guess it's time to get ready for my 'guests' to arrive.  This place is a dump."  He pressed the 'escape' key and the bookshelf covered the computer console once more.