Chris Thorndyke sat at the kitchen table, drinking hot cocoa. He was having a birthday party, and all of his friends were there.
Well…almost everyone.
Chris hasn't seen his friend Tails for a long time. He would always hear tinkering in the garage, but whenever he knocked on the door, he would always hear, "I'm busy."
Chris sighed and stared into his cup, seeing his bored reflection staring back at him. He heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and he turned to find Tails, holding something wrapped up.
Tails smiled, and walked over to Chris. "Hi, Chris."
Chris smiled happily, feeling as though he hasn't seen his friend for weeks. "Hi, Tails. What do you have there?"
Tails looked at him seriously, "It's your present. Do you mind if you open it now? I don't want anyone else to see." Chris raised an eyebrow at him, taking the present gently out of Tails' hand. "Of course Tails."
Tails looked around nervously, as if Eggman might appear out of nowhere, as Chris opened his gift.
It looked like a mood ring, but, instead of a regular stone in the center, it was a small fragment of a blue Chaos Emerald!
Chris stared at the ring in wonder and looked at Tails, his eyes glazed over. "Tails…thank you." His voice shook a little from trying not to cry.
Tails looked down, an embarrassing blush covering his cheeks. "I…want to show you a second invention I'm making. Hopefully, I get to test it soon…"
Both boy and the fox rushed over to the garage. Chris gasped in amazement. A black metal machine stood in the middle of the garage. It had tendrils curved into the center, used to sustain energy…or that's what it looked like.
Chris, remembering the movie Spiderman 2, joked, "Tails, I know you are a scientist, but you're not going to trap the sun, are you?"
Tails shook his head, "No! It's a time machine." Chris looked at him as if another tail sprang out of Tails' backside.
Tails shrugged, "It will work. Time travel will be possible." Chris nodded his head, "Whatever you say…"
Tails sighed and went back to the house. "Don't touch anything," he called over his shoulder. Chris smirked slyly, "Tails, it's me remember?" He pulled his birthday ring out of his pocket, and placed it on his finger, having a sudden urge to wear it. He walked a smidge closer, admiring the black metal. He turned around to walk into the house…until it happened.
Chris tripped on a brick, and his palm accidentally touched a large red button. A green ball of energy appeared between the tendrils. Chris felt a bit of the energy begin to pull him. He tried running, but it kept getting harder. He fell into the green ball and his world grew black.
A couple minutes later, Chris woke up and found himself lying in a cramped dark hallway. He tried to sit himself up, but his muscles felt as if they were on fire.
"Oh my!"
Chris looked up. An elderly man wearing a lab coat and glasses stood over him.
Chris crawled away and asked, voice soft with horror, "E-Eggman?"
The man raised his eyebrows, "I don't know about this 'Eggman' boy. You're mistaking me for someone else. My name is Gerald Robotnik."