Espio's Nightmares

Summary: Espio the Chameleon tried long and hard to forget about the past. He didn't want to be haunted by the hellish days spent at the Ninja Academy where he trained. Now, the memories are rushing back to him as he is attacked by someone related to the person he never wanted to remember: the one he killed.

Chapter One

Chaotix Detective Agency

Espio lunged up, his hand at his neck. It was the third time in as many nights that he woken up in the early morning. He found that his body was covered in sweat and his head was booming. The latter was most likely caused by Vector's insanely loud headphones. Panting, the chameleon swung his leg over the side of his bed and fell into his boots from the top bunk. He checked on his smaller friend, Charmy, before heading downstairs.

He checked the answering machine to see if their were any messages. There weren't any. He stepped into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He cursed under his breath when he found they were out of milk. He pulled on a light jacket and stepped out onto the snow covered ground. As he headed for the mini mart down the street, he began to think about the dreams he had been having.

The correct word would be dream, since it had been the same each night. Every time, he was back at the academy. Specifically, he remembered three things. The first was the day he arrived and meeting his teammate and roommate, Spex, who was a chameleon like him. Second, a day eleven months later, when they found out what their final assignment would be. And third, when he had to? Espio stopped himself. He was sick as it was. The chameleon found himself at the mini mart door, but he decided to forget about eating. He figured he would just retch it back up.

Instead of returning home, he decided to take a walk to the small strip of sand that Station Square considered a beach. On the way, he remembered the good days before ninja training. Hanging out on Angel Island, scaring the others with his natural camouflage ability, picking fights with people he had no chance of beating.

Then he thought about his first encounter with Knuckles. He had just gotten the shit beaten out of him by someone he knew he shouldn't mess with, so when the echidna found him, he had helped him survive by getting him to a hospital. After his first adventure with the Chaotix and taking part in the tournament to find the world's strongest, Knux had suggested Ninja Academy.

Espio walked down the pier slowly and sat down at the end. Far offshore, he could see Big the Cat sitting in his tiny fishing boat, doing exactly that. His amphibious friend Froggy sat next to him, flicking his tongue out whenever he saw a fly. The purple ninja sighed, wishing his life could be as simple as the feline's.

The chameleon got back to his feet and continued to walk through the city street. A weak smile came onto his face as he passed by the Spotlight nightclub. The entire building was shaking from the loud music. The people inside reminded him of the early days, the happy looks on their faces.

Suddenly, he jumped back as a katana buried into the cement where the reptile had been standing. He looked to see that a teenaged, female chameleon was holding onto the blade. Her skin was a dark blue, dyed black on her shoulder blades. She was wearing a black tank top and pants, a pair of red sneakers on her feet. Her hair, which hung loose about a quarter of the way down her back, was dyed silver.

The thing that stood out the most was the girl's earring, which was hanging from her left lobe. It was an amber cube, a diamond hanging from the bottom. In the center of the amber, there was a small ruby. Espio took notice of this because it was what Spex had worn before the final test. The chameleon asked, his voice cracking, "Who are you?"

The girl paid him no attention as she pulled her katana loose from the sidewalk. While she returned it to the sheath hanging on her back, she turned back to the Chaotix member and said, "Hello, Espio. I've heard so much about you in the past few months."

"Who are you?" he said again, not wanting to mess around. He wasn't in the mood to get his head messed around with by some kind of assassin.

"Your as pushy as Spex said you would be.' a shock came to the purple chameleon's expression, putting a smile on the other's. "So you do remember my brother?" the color drained from Espio's face. "Didn't know he had any relatives? Thought he was an orphan like you?" a shuriken came flying at the hero's head, who was barely able to dodge it. "You must not be as good at fighting as he said though. This should be over fast."

She was about to charge at Espio, when a voice boomed out, "Stop this at once, Cress!" they both looked up to see a large chameleon standing on top of a nearby rooftop. He couldn't see what he looked like, but the detective could tell it was a male. "How dare you come out here and attack Espio when your brother specifically asked you not to do so yet?"

"How can you agree with him right now, Gares?!" she yelled back to him. "This is the guy who tried to kill our brother! Don't you want him killed?!"

"Of course I do, but like Spex, I plan to make him suffer first. Now come, Cress. Let this fool live his last few days."

"Of course, my brother." her icy blue eyes gazed upon Espio, "But first?" she ran at the chameleon and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying through the soundproof windows of Spotlight. "Now we can leave." the two assailants disappeared to the sounds of screams coming from the shocked dancers within the dance club.

Espio tried to get to his feet, blood beginning to run down his body. He took in a deep breath before falling back to the ground, unconscious.

To be continued?