The Two of Us.
Introduction
The world is never what we think. Despite what scientist and the general population believe, there are numerous universes all existing at the same time. One of them was Universe 57-b, an offshoot of Universe 57, more commonly known as the sonic the hedgehog universe.
This universe was created due to one simple event: when sonic and his friends defeated Dr. Eggman and he never was seen or heard from again.
Strangely, peace came as a shock to the population, long since used to the threat Eggman posed. So, with him gone, things changed immensely.
G.U.N started a reconstruction effort with splendid results: governments and nations were rebuilt and peace reigned throughout.
With nothing else to do, sonic and his friends wandered the world trying to find their place in the New World. Eventually, they all settled down
in New Emerald. New Emerald, named so because it was built on the ruins of Emerald Town, combined the splendor of a small town, with the opportunities of the big city. Here there was plenty of housing, businesses, and even a school. When they settled down here, Sonic didn't know what would happen. Unfortunately for him, he was forced to attend the school. At least it provided free housing for students.
Another shock to the residents was when portals began appearing. The people that these gateways brought identified themselves as citizens of Universe 36.
U-36 was nicknamed the mainstream universe since almost all universes split from it at one point or another. The people that lived there became incredibly advanced technology, one of which was the portal devices. Unfortunately, U-57b was the only other universe they could get to at this time.
Eventually, a booming trade market between the two universes opened.
Our Story begins almost two years since Eggman's disappearance.
The alarm blazed in her ear, and for a reward, it earned a fist. She got up, glanced at the calender, and was glad for two reasons.
The first was that it was a Friday, always good news, and the second was that it was her birthday. Amy just knew that today was going to be a good day.
After all, you didn't turn fourteen every day. As she walked to the bathroom, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she got ready for her usual morning routine.
This consisted of a quick shower, breakfast, and brushing her teeth. After that, reaching for her school uniform, a thought struck her.
Sonic probably doesn't know, she thought and decided that at the first chance she got she would tell him, and hope he actually got her a present.
New Emerald was sided on two sides by thick forests. It's in one of these forests where our other hero found himself.
He woke with a start and, with a quick glance around, remembered where he was. He also cursed himself for almost wasting a bullet on a porcupine.
That was one of the side effects with the portals, that sometimes a animal from U-36 would get in one and would quickly set up a population in U-57b.
I got to calm down, He thought, holstering the pistol he had. He also had a morning routine: checking that the fire was still okay to be used, getting some fresh water, and with that set off to find some breakfast.
Emerald School was quite the school, Amy thought again, the school's grandness never losing itself on her. It was equipped with twenty classrooms, a gym with a swimming pool, and a large quad area. Soon she remembered what she was doing and quickly set off to find her friends. No sooner had she stepped foot in the quad had one of them found her. Cream ran and met Amy with the usual smile."Happy Birthday, Amy," she beamed, "no sign of Sonic if you're wondering."
Typical, Amy thought; always leave it to Sonic to make himself scarce when he was needed. With that, she went off looking for him or Tails.
He burst through the top of the Lake, gasping for air and holding his prize. It was easily a two inch round water snake. With his catch, he set off
to where he set up camp. Once ashore, He quickly broke the snake's neck and proceeded to skin it with his knife. While it was cooking, he performed maintenance on his pistol. The .45 1911 was His pride and joy, having made it himself almost three years ago. When the snake was ready, he resembled the pistol and set it aside.
As he was eating, the inevitable happened: he started thinking.
How long had I been here, He thought, about a year and a half was about right, and he couldn't have been farther from the truth. I need to hurry and get to Central City, was his next thought with snake juice running from his mouth, where there were real meals. He finished it and threw what he didn't eat into the lake for the fish, put the fire out and gathered his things. He always traveled light, the only things he had was the clothes he had on his back, the pistol and about 50 rounds of ammo for it, a survival knife, flint for a fire, a compass and a map. He hadn't used the last two for about a year since he became used to navigating by the Sun.
With his gear, he went off to the West.
When Home room started, Amy finally found Sonic and Tails. When she walked into the room, Sonic felt a chill down his spine and knew why. "Hey Sonic, guess what today is." Amy said a cheerfully as she could." Uh, Friday?" was Sonic's response and he knew it was the wrong one.
"NO, It's my fourteenth birthday!" she almost screamed, "and your not weaseling your way out of getting me a present this year," Amy said as forcefully as she could.
"Tails, help," Sonic whispered. "Sorry, I'm not busting you out this year," Tails replied apologetically. Luckily for Sonic, the teacher came in and called for order.
" Before we get started," the teacher said when everyone was in their seats," a couple of announcements: firstly, next Monday we'll be getting two exchange students."
That earned a couple of whispers from the class. "I don't have to tell you to mind your manners to them when they get here, right?" He taught the class long enough to know what the answer would be and he was right. "Yes, Sensei," the whole class said. The next announcements were standard: a reminder of rules, club activities dates, and lastly, about Amy's birthday. After these, the class started proper.
From the top of the tree, He could see a long way and knew he was making progress. He could see the outline of New Emerald. It's about two kilometers, he thought.
He always judged distances in metric. So close, he thought, remembering his plan he had spent so long planning. There was a train station there, and from there to Central City where he can disappear into the crowds. He climbed down, checking to make sure there were no predators, and continued.
When lunch break came, it was with a general sense of relief. The cafeteria was well stocked with food for all appetites. Amy chose a meal fitting the diet she was on.
With her lunch, she looked and, not seeing Sonic or her friends, she chose a table almost empty. Sonic was glad Amy hadn't seen him, but then he hoped that she had when he saw the Trio coming toward Amy. The Trio was a group of three senior girls that had a nack for two things: spreading rumors and picking on girls less popular than them.
Everyone in the school knew them and few tried to stand up to them, they were so good at the first talent, when they practiced the second. So, when they got to Amy, she knew what would happen even before it started.
I been in the sticks too long, He thought, I can't even remember my name. Not that it ever bothered him, since there was no one to use it. His lunch had simply been some fish he prepared the previous day, enough to keep him going, but not enough to fill him up. He almost checked the watch he had before he remembered it didn't work, courtesy of the first few months out here.
Amy sat under the usual tree and discussed what happened during lunch."Man, I hate them," Blaze said," Can't wait till they leave school." Blaze, not an original resident of this universe, settled pretty quickly to the peace, but the Trio always made school hard. Of course, Her statement was an opinion shared by most of the school.
"It's nothing, Blaze," Amy lied," I'll just try to enjoy the rest of my birthday." That caught Blaze's attention. "Oh right, that's today isn't it? Almost Forgot." she said, handing Amy an ornate box. "Spent all afternoon making those," Blaze stated as Amy unwrapped the gift: a box of Rolls. Blaze recently became famous for the Rolls she gave Amy.
"Thanks." Amy said, overjoyed that something good was happening after lunch, which the Trio stole most of. Tucking the rolls in her bag, Amy was almost scared to death when Sonic came over. "Hey," he said, almost embarrassed to be talking to her," I've been thinking about earlier, and I think I may have an idea for your birthday, Amy."
Amy, shocked asked what. Sonic's only reply was to wait after school to find out, and with that he was gone. Amy didn't have much time to think about it since lunch break was over.
He was exhausted, which was why he stopped for a quick breather. He could hear the sounds of cars nearby, meaning a highway was close, but he was too tired to keep going.
He'd been waling non-stop since morning and needed rest, so he found a branch just high enough that a bear couldn't get him. He especially wanted to get out of here before nightfall, since night in the woods without a fire was incredibly dangerous. He settled in the tree, His pistol holstered, but ready should it be needed, and fell into what was supposed to be
a quick nap.
The school day ended without further incident, and the students either went to their dorms or outside the gates to the houses, depending on where they lived. So even though he lived in the dorms, Sonic was waiting outside the gates for Amy to show up. When she did, He quickly joined her on her walk to her house. "So, Sonic, what was your idea?" She asked without hesitating. And so, Sonic told her what it was." I'm a little short on cash for a present right now, so here what I was thinking: We'll race to your house." Amy, more than a little confused, asked for Sonic to clarify what he said. "You and Me, a race to your house from here; If I win, I get out of getting you something this year, but if you win, I'll take you out on a date," He stated confidently, only now realizing what he was getting himself into. The natural objections came from Amy's mind, the most prominent was that Sonic was faster than her.
And to this, Sonic said he would slow down to half his top speed, enough for Amy to have a fair chance. With it out, they both decided on a plot for the race.
The race, they decided would start from the corner they were on right now, go through some of downtown, go out onto a stretch of highway near South Emerald Forest where they would take a short break, and from there on to Amy's house, the first one to touch the front door of Her building would be the winner. "No complaining if you lose, Sonic." Amy said when they were about to start."Don't worry," Sonic replied, "I'll hold to my word either way." And with that, they lined up and, on the count of three, began.
"Dammit," was the first word out of his mouth when he woke up and quickly safed the pistols, having almost blown the head off of a scavenging fox. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, He was surprised to find it was almost dark. At first he wondered how, then remembered that at this time of year, the Sun set at an ungodly hour. Must of slept longer than I thought, He thought as he climbed down and continued on his way. After a minute's walk, he reached the tree line to the highway. There was still enough light to see, but it would get darker fast. Better be careful, He thought,
Some careless driver could hit me. He was about to step out when he caught something coming fast from his left. He quickly blended in and saw two figures coming fast. 'Could they have found me?' was his main worry, so he waited and watched.
Both Sonic and Amy had to stop to catch their breaths. "Man, It's been a while since I've had a run like this." Sonic said truthfully. He'd been surprised that Amy had kept up with him, and sometimes, passed him. "You've gotten pretty fast, Amy." he said between breaths. "Thanks," Amy managed to gasp out. She'd been pushing herself for quite a while to become as fast as Sonic and it showed.
"Hedgehogs," He whispered to himself," Male and female, Blue and Pink respectively, what are they doing out here at this hour?" He still didn't show himself, choosing to watch.
He spent quite a while in the Sticks, so he was very observant. Both of them wore school uniforms, so he knew they were both students, probably in the same grade judging by the uniforms. He found that peculiar, since the female looked quite younger than the male by about four years. 'Must be smart,' He thought, that being the only explanation he could think of. His time out here also enhanced his senses immensely, so when He was putting his gear aside, he saw the female, exhausted, step into the road briefly, and He heard the car before it even rounded the corner.
"I'm getting kind of dizzy." Amy said, stumbling a bit, not knowing that she could be facing the end of her life soon.
When he did see the car, He did some quick math in his head. The road was pretty straight, enough for the car to gain speed, which it did, and Pinky was still in the road. Once he finished the math,
He knew only one outcome would happen if Pinky didn't move now, and the mental image was pretty bad. "Fifteen seconds, max," he thought aloud," if she doesn't move now, she could die." Blue was still catching his breath and wasn't even looking at Pinky.
The sports car, recently imported from U-36, could reach a top speed of about 120 mph, and the driver was determined to see how fast it could go.
'The driver doesn't see her,' He thought to his horror and he thought about what he could do. He came only to one choice of action and immediately bolted from the trees. 'I got to hurry!' He quickly thought.
Amy finally caught her breath when she finally noticed the car coming at her, and more than anything she was shocked as she thought what would happen and her life flashed before her eyes, as well as the future that she knew would never come to pass. Sonic also saw the car and, even though he wanted to, knew he would never be able to get her out of the way in time. He would just get them both killed.
Sonic was so focused on the car that it came as a surprise to him when the Fox ran past him.
To the Fox, time slowed to a crawl as the adrenaline in his blood reached a peak and, without thinking, knocked the female hedgehog out of the way of the incoming vehicle, already accepting what would happen.
When the driver saw the female hedgehog, he reacted predictably: He quickly stepped on the brakes, knowing it was a futile move and waited for the inevitable. So it also came as a surprise to him to see the fox push her out of the way. For Amy, time also was crawling along, so much that she actually saw the fox knock her out of the way and knew that he saved her at the cost of his own life.
The crash was largely what the Fox expected: the impact, the pain, and the distance he flew from the impact. Since adrenaline was still being pumped through his blood, He actually was able to hear the sound of bone and metal breaking. The speed that the car was going pretty much guaranteed that he would hit the windshield and felt the glass enter his head. When it was all done, the one thought in his head was whether or not the hedgehog he saved was alright.
When time returned to normal for Amy, Sonic was quickly by her side and, through the shock and confusion, could see that he was genuinely worried."Amy, are you alright!" he screamed unnecessarily.
A quick check and Amy found that she was only scrapped and bruised."I'm fine," Amy finally managed to say and then she remembered something, "but what about him?" At this time, the driver of the car was there and explained what happened. When he was finished with the short story, Amy finally saw what happened to her savior.
He tried to move his body, but found only pain. He knew now that his body was shattered and now he saw the blood pooling around him. He then saw Pinky running toward him, Blue trailing, and the driver calling someone on a cell phone. Probably 911, he thought, and also knew that by the time the ambulance got to the scene it would be too late.
Amy was almost on the verge of tears when she saw the Fox, still alive amazingly, and quickly ran to his side and turned him over. The scream she heard was bad enough to chill the dead.
Through the ragged breathing, He spoke."Are you alright?" he barely managed to say. Amy was shocked by the question. Despite the state he was in, he was more worried about her than himself.
"I'm fine." she said, choking back tears. Sonic was silent throughout. The Fox said only one thing after that."Good." He gagged, cause the impact on the asphalt stuck a rib into one of his lungs, and said one last sentence.
"Heh heh heh, Some sixteenth birthday today was." He managed to last one last chuckle and then he died right in front of Amy. Now the tears broke through and she cried harder than she ever had in her life.
The last cruel irony came when the ambulance arrived, just moments too late.
Sonic didn't know what to say. That evening didn't turn out to be as much fun as he had thought, that was all he could think of on the long, dark walk to Amy's house. When they finally got there, Amy reached out and grabbed the door.
No words could be said between them, so Amy just went inside and Sonic, with a heavy heart, walked back to the dorms. Amy couldn't get the sight of the Fox out of her head, especially his last words. She didn't even bother to remove her uniform.
She just collapsed on her bed, and cried herself to sleep. She didn't know it yet, but two things happened that night: one, her life would never be the same again, and two, she wasn't alone in her thoughts.
Continued in Chapter One.