Hello everybody! It's been a while since I've made any kind of progress on here. I have a perfectly legitimate reason for that; I was literally in a state of depression. It was all caused due to unforeseen circumstances that does not involve any kind of death whatsoever. I've now recovered for the most part after having taken almost two months to recover from it. Here's to me breaking out of that not-so-happy time!
Anyway, let me just say that this is not a new story per se. Rather, it's a rewrite of one of my old stories that's based on the same characters and plot. It had been abandoned by me for like over a year, and I decided to bring it back to life while also implementing what I've learned about fiction writing from my college classes. Needless to say, I'm sure that this version is going to be a lot better than the original which I've already deleted from this site.
Please don't forget to leave a review before you leave. They are always very helpful in both morale and to see how you as the readers are enjoying the story. That and whatever suggestions or advice you have are always welcome. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!
Chapter 1: Separate Lives, Conjoining Destinies
"Jeez, I didn't think it'd take this long to get here," a blue furred hedgehog murmured to himself as he rode on dark blue motorcycle through a quiet countryside street. He was heading towards a city with its lights visible along the barely noticeable nighttime horizon. He had on a black helmet that blended well with the dark street that had blue lightning bolts colored on both sides and a black leather jacket that provided cover from the motorcycle breeze. "Then again, I did manage to shave off almost an hour when I took the wrong road that ended up being a nice short cut through Empire City's killer traffic. I still don't understand, though, why I have to relocate all the way out here instead of staying in Station Square or working somewhere closer. I'd have settled for regular security duty at the boring Mystic Ruins Tour office if I knew I had to move this far!
"Then again, I guess it's a bit late to be complaining about that now," he continued on with a sigh as he continued with his self-monologue. He would have normally settled for listening to the radio, but he neglected to fix it during the past two months it had been broken. That and he was pretty tight on money to have it fixed for nothing short of free. "I've already been by the police department here as a cadet, and I'll have to live here as part of the job description. Thank god my little brother already lives here and has a place of his own he's letting me crash at for free. I still can't believe the cheapest apartment there costs almost a grand! How do they expect me to live for the first month if they can't even pay for my first month of working?"
With a small sigh escaping his lips, the hedgehog decided to kick up the speed a bit. He chanced a glance at his wristwatch and saw that it was almost ten. He had first figured that he would arrive sometime near the midnight hours when he planned this drive. However, the surprising lack of traffic made it all that much faster and easier. That was certainly one less thing for him to worry about. Now if only he could say the same thing about his new trainee position…
"At least my little brother managed to have his own place that he's letting me crash at for free," he wondered out loud with a small shrug of his shoulders before hearing a light beeping sound coming from the inside of his helmet. "Hmm, I swore I told everybody I wasn't going to be taking calls until tomorrow when I settled down," he wondered before pushing a button on his motorcycle.
"Hey Sonic!" a young voice suddenly greeted happily inside the cobalt hedgehog's helmet. "I'm sure you already know, but this is Tails speaking. Don't bother trying to respond to this since this is just a prerecording I made. I'll probably be busy when you arrive, so this is the next best thing at welcoming you here. I'm guessing you're already inside the city limits if you're hearing this. In case you're wondering, I programmed this to go off when it senses your helmet's built-in cellular signal in range. I recorded this right after hearing that you made it into the police force under trainee status.
"I don't have a lot of time on my end, so I'll just get right to the point," Tails continued on as the faint sound of clanging along with a hyperactive voice could be faintly heard in the background."I'll meet you at the Speedy Diner located in the downtown area. It's pretty hard to miss the downtown area and even harder to miss the diner, so you don't have any excuse for getting lost. The place usually closes around eleven, so I hope you'll arrive before then. If you do end up coming after closing, then just ask the cook there for directions to my place. He tends to stay around until midnight getting things ready for the next day's menu, so you don't need to worry about the place being empty. Don't mind him too much if he gives you an off impression. I'll see you whenever you get here!"
"Heh, I should've expected Tails to have recorded a message like that for me," Sonic replied with a smile as the recording ended. "He probably figured that it'd take me practically the whole day to get here. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it was nice of him to give me a heads-up on where to go so I don't end up wandering around like a lost kid. He always likes to think ahead for any occasion.
"Geez, I love how he made this helmet double up as a phone so I can make and answer calls with just a press of a button," he added as an afterthought. "It really makes it a lot easier to make and take calls without having to take my hands off the wheel. Then again, I guess he only made it because I gave him a good scare when I tried taking a call from him with my regular cell phone and almost got into an accident a few months ago. Still, it was that guy's fault for almost killing me when he made an illegal left turn."
And with a small shrug of his shoulders at the memory accompanied with a loud revving sound of his engine, Sonic drove his motorcycle at a quicker pace. Now that he had a meeting place in mind courtesy of Tails, he did not have to worry about being so desperately lost in the dead of night at an unfamiliar city. And perhaps he could grab a bite to eat at this diner since he really did not have anything to eat since his late lunch almost seven hours ago. He did not care that he had to wake up early tomorrow to work the morning shift; he was not going to sleep on an empty stomach.
"I wonder if they make good chili dogs at this diner place?" he wondered as he started to daydream a bit about his perspective dinner. "I wonder if they make it the same here as they do back in Station Square. I can't wait to find out! Hope Tails doesn't mind picking up the tab if we eat and understands I used all my money for gas. But geez, first day working in this city and I'm probably already the poorest employee in it."
A few minutes later…
"Boy, that vacation at the beach was something I really needed to unwind," a red furred echidna responded with a contented sigh as he drove into the city limits in his normal-looking car. However, it was far from regular normal being that it was outfitted with official police material consisting of a radio and computer for tracking incoming crime calls. Pinned on his brown vest was a gold badge that looked a lot like that of a detective's. "Being a private investigator who frequently works alongside the local police department with their cases isn't an easy job. I just hope that they don't end up swamping me with work the moment they see me walking in. I'm going to petition for another vacation right there if they do and hide out at Emerald Coast Resort for a year."
For the next couple of minutes, he rode in his high-tech car through the empty country street leading into the city. The sun had since set a few hours ago, the full moon and occasional street light being the only things providing illumination in the pitch darkness along with his car headlights. With his thoughts being more than enough to stay preoccupied, he preferred to ride in silence as he grew closer to his destination.
"Boy, it sure feels good to be back at home," he replied happily as he fiddled with a knob on the dash and turned on his police radio as per regulations whenever he was inside the city. As much as he hated it at times, he preferred suffering through endless calls than to lose his job. "This city may have its occasional weird moments and may not be as beautiful as Emerald Coast, but there's seriously no place I'd rather be. I guess being born and raised here can have that kind of effect.
"It's too bad I now have to come back to this frustrating job. Seriously, being a private investigator can have its share of fun and annoyances. Now if only I could get my hands on some new information regarding the pharmaceutical company that owns the city. We've been investigating the place for a while now and still haven't gotten anywhere. Is the money they're receiving really all for medicinal research purposes?"
"Are there any available police officers out there?" his officer radio suddenly blared to life. The person on the other end spoke with a rather strong accent and abruptly tore the echidna out from his thoughts. "Any officers, both on and off duty, who can hear this transmission, please respond immediately! The department is currently shorthanded and requires every officer to be made available to quell multiple riots throughout the city! I repeat; all officers within the vicinity of this transmission must respond immediately."
"So much for hoping to have at least a moment's worth of rest upon coming back home," the echidna said with an annoyed sigh before turning the music down and picking up a black receiver with one hand while continuing to drive down the straight street towards a city in the horizon. "This is Knuckles here. I'm a freelance private detective currently under contract with the police department. What's this about multiple riots?"
"This is Police Chief Sleet," the man on the other end responded in a calm voice. There was some kind of strange sound emanating from the background, but it was hard to discern over the radio static. "I'm sure you've heard of this already, but the entire city is in an uproar! Many reports of attacks have been made to the police from various points. As such, our forces have been stretched thin and we can't respond to all calls for help. I need you to answer a few calls for help within the downtown city area in order to quell the massive back-up."
"I've just come back from vacation and have only been in the city limits for a couple minutes, sir," Knuckles responded while repressing a sigh of disappointment at having to immediately go back to work. "I've yet to enter the city proper and have no idea what's going on right now. However, I'll try to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible and handle whatever problems are present. Perhaps I'll be able to learn just what is going on when I see it for myself. Just don't expect me to be doing this for nothing."
"Don't worry; you'll be well compensated when this is over. I can't tell you how much I appreciate having you help us out with this. I want to first check out the area around the Speedy Diner since that's where we received our most recent call. Be aware that some of these attacks seem to involve murderers, so I suggest that you exercise more caution than usual. I expect to hear back from you the moment you've make progress on the problem. We'll talk about your pay after all this craziness has been taken care of," the chief responded before cutting off his end of the communication with a click.
"I should've just kept my radio off instead of listening to regulations," the detective whined under his breath as he placed the receiver back onto its rightful place and concentrated on driving into the city. "It would've saved me the trouble of having to go through something like this tonight. Oh well, better see what's up downtown before going home. They better be thinking about paying me good for this, or I'm going to personally march into that crazy chief's office and demand some extra vacation time!"
As Knuckles drove further into the city with his mind now concentrated on the work he had just been assigned, he passed by a green sign that had some white lettering on it. The sign read, "Mobius; a scenic vacation destination and home to the world's greatest pharmaceutical company." Underneath these words was a picture of a face that had an obscenely large brown beard on a man's round face.
Sorry to those who felt that the title for this chapter sounded a bit cheesy. To be perfectly honest, it's like 1:30 in the morning and I'm tired. That and I highly doubt I'd even be able to come up with a better one when I'm well rested. Oh well, I hope the title for this story more than made it up with its mysterious project title. Just what exactly does it mean? Read on to find out!
Once again, please don't forget to leave a review before you move on. They are helpful in showing me what you as the readers think about what I've written as of now. But please don't tell me that you think this is short and a waste of time. One of my very old stories that has since been deleted had a commenter like that who kept bashing all of my intro chapters; including some of my much better ones as well. I've since made sure to delete his or her comments whenever they come up, but just a heads-up to not do that please unless you really mean it as constructive criticism and provide a reason for you feeling that way.
Anyway, that's enough about my rants on what a constructive review should be like. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!