*Blazie* Hey guys, it's me again! I've got myself another story, involving my first-ever fancharacter! Yay! And so, if there are any of you out there who like epic plotlines (with the appropriate twists a must, of course ;D), a lotta bit of romantical happenings (Eeep!), and wonderful character abuse caused by a certain author (: ) Heeheehee), I recommend diving into the world of Eternal Chains! And if you do so, all I ask is for a review, if you'd be so kind! So, scroll on down and have fun!
*This is gonna be a third-person narrative, so boys (if there are any out there that are actually reading this; I haven't met any yet : /), you don't have to freak out about being a girl ('cause I know that's awful). But before we go anywhere, you people need to know a little bit about this new character first…*
Name: Amira (uh-meer-uh)
Species: Hedgehog
Age: 16
Appearance: Her fur is a very light blue, almost white. Her quills hang just above her waist, are the same color as her fur, and each have a deep purple streak in them. Three thin quills hang over her right eye like bangs, and each have a purple streak as well. Her arms and legs have the same purple streak that begin halfway down both pairs of arms and legs and end halfway down each, running across the elbows and the outsides of the knees. Her eyes are a brilliant emerald green with a thin ring of crimson around the pupils. She has a red birthmark in the shape of a "z" that begins above her left eye and ends below.
Clothing: She wears a dark purple midrift tee-shirt with short black sleeves, blue jeans, black gloves, black sneakers with a small purple stripe along the top, and a tight purple ribbon around her neck with a red z-shaped charm hanging from it.
Powers: Ice projection, super speed, master of the martial arts, healing powers (relatively unknown in the beginning of the story)
Personality: Um, yeah, I'm gonna let you learn about that as you read ^v^ I don't wanna spoil everything for you right off the bat! (Translation: I suck at writing up personality descriptions, no lie haha)
*Now, just one last bit of business to take care of... The disclaimer! Ahem: Amira is mine, all other characters that will be mentioned that you haven't heard of are mine, and the general plotline is mine. Everything else is, for better or worse, the property of our dear company SEGA, without whom this tale could not be told.
Well, with all that hoopnah outta the way, we can once and for all get this narrative going! Let us go!*
Cold. It was the last feeling she could remember. Cold, even for someone like her, the very essence of such a frigid temperature.
Faster! she silently pushed her sprinting body. Faster! However, she could not do as her mind commanded. She had exhausted every bit of her strength in her attempt to escape. Now she would pay for it.
"Stop!" her masculine pursuers called out. "You will not escape us!"
How'd they find me? the girl questioned, panicked. I thought I lost 'em miles ago! She threw a brief glance behind her to gauge her distance from them. Marring the serenity of the icy wilderness that encompassed her surroundings were fourteen figures, their full-length cloaks rustling backwards as they ran. One hundred feet of empty space was all that remained of her freedom, and it was closing fast. The pursuers then drew from beneath their cloaks a weapon; each instantly pointed a lethal handgun at her, fingers steady on the triggers.
"They wouldn't!" she gasped aloud, shocked. A bullet whizzed past her ear, missing it by mere inches. The girl rolled her eyes. "They would…" She focused all of her remaining energy on her feet, urging them to increase their pace. The feet utterly refused; rather, they chose to do the exact opposite—they began to slow. Come on! Please, don't give up on me! she begged them desperately. Their pace continued to slacken, however, their strength completely consumed. Soon, her legs felt the feet's agony; they gave out as well, causing the girl to involuntarily fall to her knees. "No!" she whispered harshly. "I failed!"
"That's right, you," the tallest of the cloaked figures sneered at her. He, along with the other thirteen, walked up to where their target knelt. Then, the tallest roughly pulled her upright by one of her quills, placed a firm hand around her neck, and pointed his handgun at her head. "You thought you could actually escape, did you not?"
"Well, that was the plan, but I guess you guys outsmarted me again," she said with a nervous laugh.
The cloaked figure was not amused; he tightened his grip on her neck. "We'll see how entertaining the Master will find you when he sees you back at the base."
"I'm not going back," she growled defiantly.
"Very well. As it is, the Master had given me clear instructions: to eliminate you if I met any resistance, and since I clearly have, I will gladly carry out my duty."
The adolescent girl was unsettled, but she refused to let it show to the others. She would not give them the satisfaction of her internal defeat. Instead, she glared directly into where her assailant's eyes would have been, were they not obscured by the brown burlap hood pulled over his face. "Fire at will," she said simply.
The cloaked figure smiled darkly and secured his finger on the trigger. Taking a deep breath, his victim closed her eyes one final time, preparing for it to end. The trigger began to receive pressure, contriving the weapon to carry out its lethal function, when suddenly another voice cried out, slicing through the silent tension.
"Not if I can help it!"
All countenances snapped towards the direction this voice came from and watched helplessly as a blue body charged at them, his immense speed blurring his features. Within seconds, all of the cloaked figures were swiftly being beaten down, one by one. In spite of the chaos amongst them, however, the figures saw to it that the girl's fate was fulfilled.
One of them fired the shot.
It pierced her body, and she collapsed from the agonizing pain the metal shrapnel provided. The last scene her eyes registered was a brief glimpse of her rescuer's face, staring at her with a truly horrified look in his own eyes, the irises as emerald green as hers. Then her head connected with the ice-covered ground with tremendous force, and all instantly went black.
*Well, that's quite the opener, huh? Did the girl survive? What about her rescuer? I'm not gonna tell... (That's what the rest of the chapter is for, sillies! XD)*
The same fearsome scene replayed itself persistently in her mind, giving her a restless sleep. However, her nightmare ended abruptly when she snapped in to a sitting position after hearing the gunshot sound once again. For a brief moment she was locked within terror, but she was quickly released as she realized that it was only a dream, and there was nothing to fear. She then collected herself and looked around to observe her new surroundings.
The frozen tundra she kept recalling was no more; instead, it was replaced by a white hospital room. She discovered that she was sitting in a hospital bed, and noticed that her head and left arm were bandaged. Also, she was still wearing the same clothes she had escaped in, with the exception of her black sneakers; they rested at the edge of the bed. To her right, there were two windows with the curtains drawn, and a small nightstand nestled in the corner, holding a vase filled with wildflowers. Sometime in her unconsciousness she had been connected to a monitor located to the left of the bed. Various medical charts and numbers flashed across its screen, and it made beeping noises that were exactly in time with her now accelerated heartbeat. Across from the bed was a door, and next to it were three chairs, two of which she was surprised to find occupied.
Two strange creatures were sitting in the chairs, what kind they were she did not know; the only species she had seen before were those like her-hedgehogs. One of them was a yellow color, while the other was a bright red; both were intensely staring at her. Cautiously, the golden twin-tailed one nudged the other, excitement in his light blue eyes.
"Knuckles, she's awake!" he exclaimed in a whispered tone.
"Yes, I can see that, Tails," the red one responded flatly.
"What do you think we should do?"
"Well, let's start by saying hi. I think we've scared her long enough."
"Okay, then!" the first male cried. He hopped out of his chair and skipped over to the left of her bed. "Hi! My name's Tails!"
"Oh, yeah, way to go, Tails, let's freak her out even more," the adolescent scolded, shaking his head. He let out a sigh as he rose from his seat and walked casually to the side of the bed opposite of where his young companion stood. "I'm Knuckles by the way."
"What's your name?" Tails directed to the girl.
"Amira," she answered softly.
"Amira…" the small boy repeated to himself, his countenance thoughtful. "That's a cool name. I like it!"
Her cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink. "Well, thanks… So guys, can you tell me something?"
"Sure, what is it?" Knuckles asked.
"Well… Could you maybe tell me how I got here? I was kinda unconscious for the past…" She looked around the room, trying to find a clock; she did not see one. "How long was I out?"
"Seven hours or so."
"Right. So anyw—" Her eyes suddenly widened in shock. "Did you say seven hours?"
"Yeah, I did. You were knocked out pretty bad. We've all been worried you wouldn't make it; there were some times when we thought you definitely were…you know."
"Oh…" A solemn moment passed before the hedgette spoke up once more, confusion in her question. "Wait a minute, who's 'we all'?"
"How stupid of us!" Tails exclaimed, slapping his hand against his forehead. "We totally forgot about Sonic!"
Her bewilderment was heightened. "Sonic? Who's that?"
"He's our friend," Knuckles answered. "Sonic brought you here and told us about you. He's the one to ask if you wanna know what happened."
"Great!" she replied with a delighted smile. "Where is he?"
"He should be out in the hallway, but…" Suddenly discomforted, his amethyst eyes fell to the ground.
"What?"
"Well, the doctors said that you wouldn't be able to walk for a while."
The girl scoffed heavily, irises blazing. "Excuse me? I can walk just fine, thank you!" Amira detached herself from the monitor then, swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up on the floor. She wobbled for a moment, but she soon regained her balance and paraded around the room a few times, her face lit with cocky satisfaction. The two males could do nothing but stare in disbelief. "See?" she said, smiling. It soon faded when she saw their stunned, transfixed gazes upon her. "What're you staring at?"
"That's not possible," Knuckles muttered distantly.
"You weren't supposed to regain mobility for another two weeks, you tore your leg muscles so badly," Tails added in the same tone. "Yet you're walking like as if nothing happened. Amazing!"
Glancing down at her legs, Amira became as astonished as they were. "Well, what do you know," she commented passively. "I guess I'm just full of surprises." She then regained a more serious tone before continuing. "But anyways, onto more important things-this Sonic guy. He's right outside in the hallway, right?"
"He should be," the crimson male answered.
"Well, I'll see you guys later then." Amira walked over to grab her shoes, put them on and made her way to the door. Quietly, she opened it and peeked outside. At first, nothing of intrest in the dreary white hallway caught her eye. She flicked a swift glance to her right-nothing. An identical gaze was cast to the left-something. A very intriguing something that kept her eyes locked in place.
A row of chairs was lined up against the wall where the door resided, the majority of which were empty. However, a single seat was taken, its occupant the captor of Amira's attention. He was a hedgehog, leaning forward in his seat. His arms were set on top of his legs, his hands clasped together. The hedgehog's fur was a deep cobalt, the richest shade of blue she had ever seen before. It was the eyes, however, that stole the focus of Amira's own. They were just like hers-a vibrant emerald green-which mildly surprised her; she had never seen such an eye color anywhere previously. His eyes stared intensely at his hands, and they seemed to harbor an array of emotions: nervousness, anxiousness, and most notably, tiredness, as if they had not seen allieviation in a long while.
Did I do this? she wondered. She could not help but feel a little guilty; it was only logical that she was the cause of his unease. As Amira continued to look at him, however, her thoughts shifted. He somehow made her feel a sense of…familiarity. Her heart jolted with this seemingly impossibility. She knew she had never met this person in her life, yet she was positive that she had seen him before. Nevertheless, she swiftly dismissed the confusing feelings and stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind her.
The noise alerted the other hedgehog, and he slowly turned his head toward her, his exhaustion making any effort to fake cheerfulness impotent. When he saw her standing there, alone and unaided in the hallway, the look in his eyes suddenly changed from tired agony to surprised shock. Then, they shifted once more, showing intense relief and happiness, which soon spread to the rest of his face.
"She's alive," he whispered to himself. He jumped out of his chair then and ran to her with impossible speed. In a split second, he was a mere foot away from her, a large smile on his countenance. Amira automatically took a small step backward, somewhat apprehensive of him. "You're alive!" he exclaimed, excited.
"Yeeeah...?" Amira responded cautiously.
"Oh sorry..." he said, realizing what had her unnerved. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, calming himself, before looking at her again with a more approachable expression. "I'm just so relieved. To be honest, I wasn't sure if...you were gonna make it." His face fell slightly.
"Really? I was hurt that bad?"
"Yeah, you were..."
Sensing his discomfort, Amira changed the subject. "So, what's your name?"
"Oh crap!" he cried suddenly, slapping a hand awkwardly to the back of his neck. "Sorry! I should've said so earlier. I'm Sonic."
"So you're Sonic?"
His irises hardened slightly in concert with his tone. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"Oh, no no no! That's great, actually. My name's Amira."
"Amira?" Sonic questioned, bewildered curiosity tightening his features. "What kinda name is that?"
Amira stared blankly at the blue hedgehog before her, momentarily stunned by his bluntness. "Well, what kinda name is Sonic?" she retorted, sarcastic.
Sonic laughed softly to himself, the sound low and warm, causing the girl's heart to strangely skip a beat. "Touche, Amira. But just so ya know, I didn't say I didn't like it."
Amira felt her cheeks tingle, the gentle burn staining them an embarrassing shade of pink. "Um, thanks. So Sonic..." She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how he would react to the question she wanted to ask.
"What is it?"
"Can you tell me how I got here?" Sonic closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry! If it's too much of a problem—"
"No, don't think that," he cut in. "It's okay that you asked; you have a right to know." Despite the honesty in his words, Amira was not completely convinced; she looked at him skeptically. "Honestly, it's fine! Really!" He beamed another stunning smile at her, a genuine one that caused Amira's heart to lose its rhythm once again. Finally persuaded, she laughed softly to herself. "Good! Now that I have you convinced, please sit down, and I'll explain what happened." He waved his arm across the length of empty chairs, motioning for the hedgette to choose one. She did as instructed, and he then sat to her left.
"Well, today started out as normal as any other. I was just takin' a casual run through the town when the weirdest thing happened. I suddenly had a really strong urge to go up north. Now, I had no idea why, and I don't think I ever will. It kinda felt like something inside of me was pullin' me there, like there was somethin' up there I needed to see, as crazy as that sounds. It wouldn't let up, so I figured I might as well listen to it. I ran up north, and that's when I saw you there with those cloaked guys. At first I thought, 'why should I care?', but then I saw the tall one next to you...with that gun..." Sonic tightened his hands into two individual fists and assumed an infuriated, hateful look at this thought. He continued in a quieter, but angrier tone.
"They were gonna kill you, and I can't just 'let' someone die. And so I tried to protect you, but I didn't try hard enough." He looked at the bandage on Amira's left arm, and his expression changed from rage to guilt as he gazed at it. "One of 'em...managed to hurt you. You fell then, and when you hit the ground, you totally blacked out. I defeated all the other guys except for that tall one; he ran away before I could get to him, but he didn't matter to me at that point. I picked you up and brought you here. Then I called Knuckles and Tails, and they immediately came, too. Soon, there were a million doctors checkin' in on you, along with the three of us, and they were constantly talking about how they 'questioned your chances for survival' and depressing crap like that. They said it so much that after I while, even I couldn't help but start to believe 'em, but I'm glad I never entirely gave up hope, 'cause here you are," he finished with a smile.
Amira sat silently for a minute, trying to absorb all that Sonic told her. "Thank you," she said finally.
"For?"
"Saving my life. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now."
The skin on the cobalt hedgehog's cheeks flashed a faint rose color. "Oh, it was nothing, but you're welcome."
At that moment, Amira heard snickering from behind her, and when she looked back, she saw Knuckles standing just outside the doorway with a smirk on his face.
"Well, who wouldda thought," he teased. "Sonic, if you turn this red just talking to her, I'd love to see what would happen when you really get to know her."
A spark of chagrin flashed across his emerald irises. "Shut up, Knucklehead!" Sonic shouted at him. He leaped from his chair and pounced upon the echidna, relentlessly attempting to smack him. Tails soon appeared inside the doorjam, saw the two of them wrestling on the ground, and subsequently rolled his eyes.
"Not again..." he moaned.
"You mean they've done this before?" Amira asked, walking to him.
"Only every day."
"And you're not trying to stop them why?"
"It's impossible! Do you see how they're fighting each other? Interfering will just get you hurt, too!"
"We'll see about that." Amira carefully walked over to where Sonic and Knuckles were brawling and eventually managed to gain a solid hold on the back of each of their necks. She pressed her fingers down on them with a controlled amount of pressure, causing frigid tendrils to rush along their spines; so cold, their vital organs were paralyzed for one entire second. The two boys instantly froze, collapsing to the floor; then, they slowly turned their heads upwards to look at Amira, shocked. She merely gave them a satisfied smirk.
"Glad that's over with," she said, dusting her hands against each other.
"H-how'd-d you d-do that?" Sonic stuttered, shivering.
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out-maybe," she answered, a playfully sarcastic giggle intertwined in her voice. "Now, we're not gonna do this again, are we?" Neither of them said a word. "I'll take that as a 'no'. Now if you guys don't mind, I'd like to get outta here. Hospitals...just aren't my thing."
"But Amira-" Tails started.
"But what?" she interrupted, turning on him. "The doctors won't let me? Like I care! And besides, hospitals are where sick people go, right? As far as I'm concerned, I'm not sick, so technically, we don't need to be here."
"True, but-"
"Thank you. Now let's go!" Amira held out a hand to Sonic and Knuckles to help them up. They each grabbed one, and she pulled them swiftly to their feet. The foursome then walked in a single-file line out of the hall: Sonic and Knuckles on the outside, Amira and Tails on the respective inside.
"So Amira," Tails began after an extended period of silence between the group, "what exactly did you do to stop World War III?"
Amira laughed; Sonic and Knuckles simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"Nothing really. I just used my powers to temporarily freeze their vital organs."
"Yeah, we got that part," Knuckles snapped at her. "How did you do that?"
Sonic's green eyes darted to Knuckles' then, the piercing glare they projected somehow disagreeing with his usually casual features. "Don't talk to her like that," he growled in a low, threatening tone.
"And what're you gonna do about it?"
"Lemme show you what!" Sonic attempted to charge at him, and the targeted echidna instantly followed suit. Tails and Amira became the only barriers between them, restraining the two of them with all of their might.
"Guys, cut it out!" Amira shouted to them. Sonic and Knuckles refused to listen, pushing harder against their restraints. "I can't believe you're making me do this again… Tails, let go of Knuckles!"
"What?" he asked frantically over his shoulder.
"Just do it, and get outta the way!"
Tails did as commanded, and Knuckles subsequently came rushing at Amira and Sonic. The hedgette grabbed onto him and spun to two of them around to gain a hold the back of their necks. As she applied an identical amount of pressure as she had prior, they both fell to the floor once again, shivering.
"I hate you guys for making me do that," she muttered as she crossed her arms, her irritation obvious.
"W-why?" Sonic stuttered.
"Oh for goodness sake…" Amira moaned softly. She dashed over to a nearby maid's cart, snatched two towels from it, and threw them at the adolescent males. They wrapped them around themselves, attempting to warm up. "And as for your question, I'm not gonna answer it, if you don't mind."
"What is it?" Tails asked her innocently, his curiosity genuine.
Her vibrant eyes fell to the tiled floor, and a hand reached up to finger the charm on her necklace. "I… It's something I don't like talking about."
"Well, f-fine then," Sonic said with reassurance.
Glancing to him, she smiled softly. "Thanks. Now can we please get going? I really don't like it here."
"Sure, b-but do ya m-mind?" He held out a hand to her.
Amira rolled her eyes playfully, any resentment against him or Knuckles eliminated. "Come on, guys…" She pulled the two boys up once more, and then all four continued to walk toward the exit.
After a few minutes, they reached the main lobby.
"Checking out, I see?" the female receptionist called out to them from behind the front desk.
"I guess so," the girl responded simply.
"Well, I need you to sign out before you leave."
"Oh, sure, no problem."
The foursome approached the desk.
"Alright," the receptionist began, with no attempt to disguise her boredom, "if you could just sign next to your name on the list, please..." Blindly, she pushed forwards a clipboard and handed Amira a pen. The hedgette quickly scanned the list and signed the line next to her name. "Thank you. You're free to—wait a minute." Inspecting closely, she brought the list closer to her paling face. "You're Amira?"
She cocked an eyebrow. "Yeeeah…? Is that a problem?"
"Well, I was given special instructions to not allow the one named Amira leave."
Four sets of eyes widened, astonished and confused.
"What? Why?" Amira demanded.
"I was told about you; the doctors wouldn't stop talking about this 'medical miracle' they've found. They've apparently learned about you're amazing recovery, how you've managed to regain full mobility in your legs when the slightest chance of that happening shouldn't be until weeks from now. So, they've decided that they want to keep you for further research, and told me specifically that I'm not allowed to let you leave."
"And what makes you think that I'm gonna let you use me as a guinea pig? I'm outta here!" Amira whirled around and began to march towards the glass door exit.
"Very well," the receptionist muttered darkly. She discreatly pushed a button that was hidden underneath her counter, and soon six large, muscular security guards bounded out from the surrounding hallways, encompassing Amira.
The teenage girl burst out into a short fit of disbelieving laughter. "You've gotta be kidding me! Security guards in a hospital? It's pathetic what the world's come to. I guess people can't be trusted anymore—" Amira charged at them, and in a flurry of perfectly executed attacks, knocked them all unconscious in a matter of seconds. "—and I guess that's why."
"Hey, you!" The youthful woman pointed a shaking finger at her. "You leave me no choice but to—"
Amira ran up to her and was sitting on the counter in a fraction of a second, placing a hand on the back of her neck and glaring at her with intimidating, half-closed eyes. "Listen to me," she murmered in a low, menacing tone. "We're gonna pretend that none of this happened, or else I'm gonna do things that neither of us will like." Her index finger and thumb tightened closer together, pinching a small patch of the receptionist's skin between them. "You got me?" The woman nodded her head in many small, rapid movements. "Good. And if anyone asks you about these guys, you say that you just came in when you saw them on the ground. You. Know. Nothing."
"What if they ask where you were?" Her voice was high-pitched and cracking.
"Crap, I hadn't thought about that. Tell them…that someone gave me the okay to leave, and I listened to them."
"Okay!"
"Great. Ya know, you're not half-bad. See ya!" Flashing a crooked smile, Amira freed the receptionist's neck from her grasp and casually moved towards the door. Three sets of masculine eyes merely stared at her as she glided through them, both shocked and amazed by what had just occurred. When the hedgette realized she was still walking alone, she stopped and turned to face them, hands on her hips. "Well, what're you waiting for? C'mon!"
The other three said nothing, and they carefully walked to where Amira waited. Joining with her, the foursome proceeded to leave the hospital. Soon, they walked through the doors and into a medium-sized city. There was a clear blue ocean to the right, a train station to the left, and a triangular plaza in front of them, the encompassing streets eventually winding around a corner opposite the hospital, obscured by small skyscrapers. As the three boys continued to step into the overwhelming chaos, Amira's legs stiffened underneath her, keeping her frozen in place. She felt completely lost; this was not the home she once knew.
"Whoa," she breathed, looking around. "Where am I?"
"This," Sonic answered with a smile, "is Station Square."
*And this is where we stop! So, what did you think? Was it good? I thought it was very interesting. A mysterious new person, who a certain someone seems to show interest in… Gasp! I said too much! lol And yes, maybe this did move a little quick, but there really weren't many details I felt were neccessary to add. Sorry if you feel differently. : / Well, that's all for now, so proceed to Chapter 2!*