Chapter 1: New place… and a new face

It was cold and rainy as he ran through the jungle. He had been in a laboratory compound for who knows how long. His joints hurt badly but he still ran. He'd fly, but he was afraid they'd see him.

He stopped to catch his breath. His ribs ached, and he put a hand on his chest to ease the pain. He could only lay his forefinger and his thumb on his chest since his wings were attached to his arms and other three fingers. His arms were covered in needle marks and there was a thin white scar behind his right ear, gleaming from his grey fur. He was a Mobian fruit bad that much he knew, and he knew he was a rare species on Mobius, the last colony of his kind was his actually. But his people were in trouble, and he had to find them or find help. But who would help a mobian that no one has even heard of? He was told that his kind would be treated like Mutants.

Well, it's better than how that scientist has treated me. He thought.

It was thanks to him that he no longer remembered much of his past. Like the faces of his friends, who his family was, or even his own name.

His joined ached dully. He sat and messaged them gingerly. They've been hurting ever since that man had injected him with something. He was half conscious when it happened so he wasn't sure what it was.

A buzzing made him freeze. He looked up and saw
DRAGON-flyz coming after him. How did they find him so quickly? He got up and started running again, a motion hard to accomplish when you were made for flying and your wings connected from your thigh to three of you five fingers.

He ran so far that he wound up at the edge of the island, which ended in a steep cliff with a reef below. He looked back and saw a large metallic beetle coming at him. He had to take flight.

He leaped off the cliff and opened his arms. The wind caught his wings and lifted him away from the water below and upwards. He was panting already, but he was glad to be free. The rain pounded against him, making it hard to see and the wind made flying tricky. At least those flying robots won't come after him in this.

He kept flying, searching for the mainland. He soon spotted a land mass ahead and sighed in relief. At least it was something. He glided in and made a rather rough landing on the sand. His spine jarred against itself, but he was otherwise not hurt. Besides the pain in his spine and arms, he made his way to a groove of trees and crawled under them to keep dry. He lay there and listened to the pounding rain. His shoulders, back and legs were sore as he leaned back against a trunk of a tree. He closed his eyes and tried to remember where he came from. He hums a little to call up the memory better.

He could see others like him harvesting fruits from trees and repairing homes in the trees. Younger mobian fruit bats flitted among the trees as well, testing out their wings. He smiled at these memories. Soon he saw a cave, but his memories wouldn't allow him to go inside. Suddenly, there was confusion in the memory and the horrible memories of the Scientist began. That's when he stopped humming. He didn't need to see those. The rain had turned into a drizzle and he soon fell asleep.

Crack!

An egg dropped from its shell and into a frying pan next to some bacon. The breakfast already smelled good. I smelled the cooking bacon in my new kitchen set that I had gotten as a house-warming gift for my new studio. The rent was cheep enough for me to have a few luxuries like internet and cable, and it was big enough for me to be comfortable.

I look up at a stir from my 'room' where Metal was still sleeping. With my new home being a studio, it was more of a one-room deal besides the bathroom. So a divider from Mobius separated my room from the rest of the studio.

I was letting Metal sleep in since he was still getting used to his new android body. He was now equally half robot and half organic, but instead of bones, he had steel, and his warp engine was still intact. He also had nanites that acted as blood cells and blood. They repair his organic matter faster than blood would, but I wasn't about to try it.

I finish making my breakfast and sit in my eggchair. As I eat, I look around my new home. It was spacious, even with my dividers separating my bedroom. I had a small TV, but it got ABC and fox news, and I had a playstation3 for rainy days. I had a dinning room table, but I saved that for my family and for dinner. My kitchen was a moderate size for one person; with my teapot on the stove with nothing in it right now, the pan of bacon waiting for Metal, and new plates.

Sonic and the gang said they would help me move in, and so far they were doing a great job. They said I'd be in by the time I get back from college tonight. It started at noon so I had time to relax.

Soon Metal finally came out. His quills looked messed up, but he would brush them out later. I smile at him. "Good morning sleep head. Looks like you slept well."

Metal smiled back. "I did. Is there sustenance left for me?"

"I left some bacon for you." I replied. "I would have made you an egg too but I didn't know how long you wanted to sleep."

"It's alright," Metal said, heading for the kitchen. "Thank you though for the bacon."

I smiled. "No problem."

He got his bacon and started a poptart. I smiled at him as he sits down on the couch and eats. Beside him were biology books, since he wanted to know how an organic body worked.

"Are you going to college today?" Metal asked.

I nodded. "At Noon. I'll help clean up until I have to go though. Think you'll be alright here?"

"I'll be fine thanks." Metal replied. "I have a lot of reading to do anyway."

"Alright." I answered. I hoped Metal would be alright. He and I have been inseparable since the incident with Dr. Ryan attacking The Refuge. He had given up his own life to save mine. I flinch at the memory of seeing him deactivate.

Metal saw this and smiled.

At least it's a warm day. He thought as he rode his motorcycle up to the college for his first day. He parked it and took off his helmet. He was a handsome young man around 21, with dark brown hair and eyes, but his hair was styled more like Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet. He wore a brown leather jacket to protect him from the wind on his bike.

He grabbed his backpack and walked inside. College girls were everywhere. Most of them where looking at him and giggling. This only made his eyes roll. He disliked girls like this.

He made his way to his first class, engineering. He wanted to start repairing motorcycles as a business. He figured since he was already good at it, he might as well put it to use.

He was lost in thought as he walked, scowling at some memories and smiling at others. He's had a hard life, full of trials and errors. His only escapes were his music and motorcycles.

"Hey! Pardon me!"

He looked up as a… He couldn't tell what her age was because she looked young, maybe late to mid teens. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail and tied with a green ribbon. She wore blue jeans with a solid t-shirt and a western blouse tied in the front. The thing that caught his attention were her eyes. They looked older than a mid-to-late teenager. And around her neck was a green stone. He was sure it wasn't electric, but was it slightly glowing?

She smiled at him, in a way that he hadn't seen in a long time. Friendly, not caring about how he looked.

"Hi." She said. "Um, I'm kinda new here, and I sort of got lost. I'm trying to find Professor Higgins class, its Mechanics."

She's in my class? He thought, looking her over. She looks like she belongs on a ranch.

The girl's smile slowly faded. "Or I could find it on my own-"

"No, sorry." He said. "I just didn't expect a girl to be interested in mechanics."

"W-well," She looked down as if embarrassed. "I'm doing it for a friend of mine. But he couldn't come to college because of finances. So I'm helping him out a bit."

"I see." He said. "Well I'm heading there myself, and I think it's this way." He started leading her to the class.

"Thanks." She said, her smile returning. "I'm Emily by the way."

He looked at her and offered a small smile. "Ty."

I was glad Ty helped me find the classroom. If he hadn't helped, I was sure I was going to miss the class. And I really wanted to know how a machine worked so I could repair Metal when he needed it. Sure I lied to the guy, but how could I tell him I had an AI Android living with me?

I sat in the class and took as many notes as I could. We even looked at how a car's engine worked. Metal would have to help me figure out how it all worked.

After that class, I went for lunch. It looked more like the cafeteria at the mall. So, I went to the Mcdonalds booth and ordered a simple burger.

That's when I heard a snickering. I turned and spotted a group of girls. To me, they looked like they belonged in the New York models. One was a bright blonde with straight hair. The one to her left was had jet black hair tied into a fishbone braid. And the one to the blonde's right was a redhead with wavy hair. They all wore designer clothes and top of the line makeup.

I looked at what they were snickering about and saw it was my shoes and bag. I wore the shoes Shadow and Tails have me for my eighteenth birthday, and the pack was from Sonic. I roll my eyes at them and get my food. I sat down and started reading my favorite book from my iPod Touch, The Scorpio Races. Sure it was a little gory, but it was still good.

I read my book until I felt someone close to me. Looking up and there were the girls. I smiled at them. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"We just realized that you're new here." The blonde said. "So we thought we'd introduce ourselves. I'm Samantha, and these are Victoria and Alexandra."

"Nice to meet you guys." I said, standing and holding out a hand to shake. "I'm Emily."

Alexandra, the redhead, took my hand, but instead of shaking it she Inspected my hand. "Oh. My gosh! Your hands look like a boys!"

I blushed and tried to pull it back, but Victoria took my hand. "No kidding there! Look at all those calluses! Haven't you heard of caring for your hands?"

"I take care of my hands." I said, pulling it back and looking at the calluses. They were from training with my sword on Angel Island, and helping rebuild The Refuge after a nasty rainstorm.

"By those calluses you don't." Samantha said. "Looks like you just climbed down a mountain!"

I was starting to get annoyed, but I decided to stand my ground. "Well, it is my favorite hobby. You should try it sometime."

My comment was ignored. "I saw her earlier with Ty." Alexandra said. "The guy you've been chasing Sammy."

Samantha looked at me, but it wasn't a friendly look. "Is that right? Well, let me tell you, Ty's a nice guy, but he deserves better than a farm girl hanging off his arm."

I cross my arms. "All I did was ask directions and we happened to be in the same class."

Samantha stepped closer. "You just stay away from him."

"Why?" I asked. "Is he you're boyfriend?"

"He will be."

"Maybe you should let him pick who he wants. And if he's supposed to be yours, why are you so worried that he may like me?"

"I'm not worried ab-"

"Then how about leaving me bee so I can finish my lunch huh? Because you're starting to make yourself look really bad in front of All these people."

Samantha looked around and soon saw that a few people were looking our way. She looked at me and I just stared back with the stare Shadow taught me.

Soon, Samantha smiled. "It was nice meeting you Emily."

I smiled back. "Likewise Samantha." With that I sat down again and started eating my lunch again.

As they left Victoria tipped my tray, spilling my drink onto my iPod and making me gasp as my things clattered to the floor.

"Oops!" Victoria said, looking like it was truly an accident. "Sorry about that Emily."

I gritted my teeth and started to clean up. "It's okay… No big…" But it was a big…. the soda had landed on the touch and I had to be careful not to het it into the iPod. I hardly noticed they were leaving.

Well, I thought. I knew I'd be coming back to things like this. All I can do is stand up.

"You okay?"

I look up and there was Ty. I blush as I realize there were tears on my cheeks. I quickly wipe them away and smile up at him. "Yeah, I'm okay." I press the button on my ipod to start it up, but nothing came. "My touch isn't though… I had some really important stuff on it too…"

Ty knelt down and helped clean up. He gently took my iTouch and looked at it. "I think I can fix it for you actually. It was just Soda right?"

I nodded.

He offered another small smile. "Then fixing this should be easy. I'll start working on it tonight if you want."

I wasn't sure, there were Mobian secrets on there that were supposed to be kept that way. "Actually, I think my friend can fix it. He's always telling me I'm rough with my iPod."

Ty smiled and gave it back. "Alright then. And sorry about Samantha, she's like that with everyone."

I laughed. "She sure is a charming girl."

Ty rolled his eyes. "She thinks she is. I'll get you a new burger."

I blushed. "Oh, that's okay, I was almost done anyway,"

Ty looked at what was left. "Then how about a cheesecake?"

I looked at him. I couldn't say no to a cheesecake, so I lower my head in defeat. "Yes please."

Ty smiled and got two. He gave me mine and sat down with me.

"Wouldn't this upset Samantha?" I asked.

Ty looked at me. "You want to appease her?"

I look back and shake my head. "Not one bit!"

"Well then," Ty said. "dig in, it'll be fun to watch her squirm anyway."

I laughed. "In all those designer clothes, I don't know how she's not squirming now."

Ty chuckled and took a bite of his cheesecake. I was able to get a better look at him this time. Shadow and Knuckles said I was good at reading people, so I quietly started reading Ty. His dark brown eyes held a slight pain in them. He kept to himself, but he had a firm gentleness about him.

Ty soon looked down and spotted my arms. One of which had a long scar I had gotten from my adventure on the blue typhoon, when Fleetway attacked me. I drew it back. I know how it looked. A hand slowly moved to my other scar, the one from a gunshot.

Ty looked up at me and I could have sworn I've seen him before. The look in his eyes told be that he was thinking the same thing. But before I could ask, my watch chimed. I look at it and gasp. "Art class! I'm going to be late!" I quickly grab my things and pull on my backpack. "Thanks again for the cheesecake Ty!"

Ty Watched her leave, surprised that she left so quickly. He had a feeling that she was holding secrets. But there was something more; she looked… familiar? He wasn't sure why, she looked like someone he's seen before.

Ty sighed and started to clean up, when he saw that her necklace had come undone and had fallen onto her seat in her hurry. He picked it up and felt a slight tingle on his fingers from touching it.

Who the heck is this girl? he thought as he looked in the direction she went.