Welcome all to Chapter One of Lost in a New Zone. For those of you familiar with my original work on deviantArt, I've decided to make an entirely new tale based on a what if scenario that's been running in my head for a while. There's probably a lot of these, but I don't care in the slightest. Quick heads up that any change in the setting will be signaled by This Example.... Enjoy!

In a dark sewer...

Run. That's all I could do. I had no ideas left, my gun ran out of ammo, and the only weapon I had left is a knife. The sloshes of water echoed as I dashed through the sewers, hoping to escape my enemy. I looked back to see if he was still behind me. He was. My heart beat immensely and my fingers wouldn't stop trembling as I rushed to get away. I reached the staircase and quickly proceeded to race up the metallic planks. I was almost home free… until I was cut off.

Someone I defeated many times before blocked my exit, and was eager for vengeance. Aiming his loaded rocket launcher at me, I stared inside at what was sure to be a guaranteed fatality. I had no choice. It was either this, or something far worse. So I just sat there as he fired, the rocket glowing a beautiful deep blue and the only thing I heard was a quick bell ding… and the sound of revenge.

In a bedroom...

"Damn it!" I shouted as I slammed my headset down on my hardwood desk, surprisingly not snapping it in half. I looked at my computer screen to see the words 'Just Paragon GOT REVENGE ON Stealth The Fox'. I put my headset back on, and immediately regretted doing so as I could hear the sound of hysterical laughter on the other end.

Allow to self-introduce. My name's Logan Andrews. I consider myself a hardcore gamer, and I live up to my title. My dad recently bought me a new laptop with a better graphics drive, so I've been wasting my day playing Team Fortress 2 with my friend, Joey. And I loved every minute of it… up until that point. At the moment, I was dressed in a light blue t-shirt, blue jeans, and black cowboy boots with the lengthy parts tucked under by jeans. I didn't have anywhere to go, but it was comfortable attire for me.

What ended up happening in my game was while playing as the Spy, my all-time favorite, I was being chased by a Pyro who caught me sapping the sentry gun of an Engineer. Since my Ambassador had no ammo, and I wasn't near any deep water to retaliate with my tiny little knife, I took the liberty of fleeing until Joey cut me off. Essentially I was caught between a rocket and a hot place, and I decided to take the rocket. I hate Pyros so much that I would rather kill myself in the game over being killed by one. Call me a sore loser.. but I don't care.

Joey and I were in a Skype call during the game. After Joey caught his breath, he responded to me saying "Ohh.. I'm sorry, man. That was just too big an opportunity to pass up. How did you even end up down there?"

"If you really wanna know," I began, "I ended up being caught and hunted down by a muffler and ran into you. I took my chances."

"You mean a Pyro. Dude, why do you hate Pyros so much? They're a credit to the teams."

"They're a freakin' plague! A plague that can't even be killed by fire, considering it starts the fire."

"Is that because you keep getting outed when trying to sap an Engie?"

"I-…. Lucky guess," I sighed, running my fingers through my dark-brown hair. Yes, the main reason I hate Pyros is because they can discover Spies so quickly just by spamming their flamethrowers, then tail after them or leave them in the hands of their teammates after igniting them. They are Spy-checkers. My worst enemy. Especially this one since he's essentially set up his territory beside the Engie's. "So how did you find me?"

"Heard the water splashing around in the sewers while I was in your base. Got curious." 'Damn it,' I thought. 'No wonder. We must've made a lotta noise down there.'

"Well enjoy your victory while it lasts, bud. I'll get my domination back the best way I know how."

That comment left him sitting silently on the other end of the call for a moment. "… You wouldn't."

I smirked at his disapproval. "I will now." As I respawned, I immediately switched to the Scout, my best class in the game. While I enjoy playing Spy, he's only my third best class, second being the Demoman. My absolute "server-clearing" class is ultimately the Scout by a landslide. Plus I installed a mod that changed his model into that of Sonic the Hedgehog, so there's also that.

Ever since I first got to play the SEGA Genesis when I was six, I've been a die-hard fan of Sonic. The blue blur has been engraved in my thoughts for a long time. While I was still a console gamer, almost every time a Sonic game comes out, I'll own it. I switched over to PC gaming after starting high school, and I haven't been able to play any recent Sonic games aside from Generations. That game certainly brought back the classic style. I'll still watch other Sonic walkthroughs on streaming sites from time to time, just to bring back the hype.

But moving on, I spent the last five minutes I had left hunting down Joey. The reason why I say the last is because my phone started ringing by then. "Hang on a sec, Joey. My phone's ringing." I took off my headset and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Logan!" I heard the other voice on the phone. I instantly recognized the voice as my girlfriend, Bethany. She's not a gamer like I am, but she's a really fun girl to be around. We met in the second semester of our freshman year and started off as friends. Over the course of two weeks, we started falling for each other, but couldn't bring the nerve to say it. Then she explained her feelings for me, who responded saying the same thing. So we hit it off, and we've been together for over three years.

"Ohh hey sweetheart. What's up?" I asked.

"I was able to sneak away from my house for the day. Johnathan's been acting up, so I needed some time away from it. I'm headed over to the old place near the lake. Wanna meet me there?" She referred to a place I go to just relax and think about my life.

"Sure. I'm in a game with Joey, though. I'll finish it up and head your way."

"Okay then. I'll be waiting. Oh, and tell Joey I said hi!"

"I will remember to do so. Love you!"

"Love you too! Bye!" The phone cut off. I sat it back down and put my headset on to explain to Joey the news.

"Hey Joey, I just got a call from Beth. She's over at the old place waiting for me," I said to him.

"Gyaaah. That means you have ta go, doesn't it?" he groaned.

"Yeah, it does. But hey, this was a good game none-the-less, right?"

"Mm, yeah. Especially since I ended your domination on me."

"About that…" I kept my mouth shut after that and waited for him to answer. On my screen, my Scout snuck up behind his Soldier.

"… What?" he asked skeptically. I held back a laugh.

"BOOSH!" I clicked on my mouse and my character used his Scattergun to blow Joey's character away, the words popping up; 'Stealth The Fox IS DOMINATING Just Paragon.' "Drop dead and gimme twenty!" I shouted in my best Scout voice.

"AHH! You son of a bitch!" he cried.

"Payback's just that." Then I let loose the sinister laugh. As I ended the game, I told Joey "Good game," and ended the call after saying good bye. I powered down my machine and got out of my chair, stretching my limbs to wake them up. Needless to say, I knew how to work around those awkward positions. I put my cell phone in my pocket, grabbed my signature black jacket and left after leaving a note saying where I was going.

Near the woods...

Spring was definitely coming by. I could feel it. And by now, you're wondering why I'm wearing a black jacket in the middle of that season. I like wearing it where ever. No real reason behind it. So whenever it's around that time, which is essentially anytime it's not Winter in Texas, I keep it under one of my AC vents. Luckily, that one hovers over my dresser, so it's not hard to find. Keeps it cool so I can wear it during this weather. I approached the lake and proceeded to walk around it, hopping over a broken concrete platform. I assumed it was there for picnic-ers. But no one really comes by anymore.

I waltz past the woods and walk toward an old, broken down garage building. The building was around for a long time, I assume as old as around World War II. But it looks like forestation took over, and with all the activist trying to save the trees, this forest was thankfully spared. But the building's seen better days. There was nothing of value though, so we assumed it had been straight-up abandoned, and I occasionally come by to clear my head. This was a calm place to be.

"Hey, you made it!" And today, I wasn't alone. Right around the corner, I saw the love of my life standing by the rising door. Bethany stepped away from the door as we both embraced each other. Today she was wearing a maroon dress with spotted artwork over it and brown sandals. It was a dress that she wore commonly, so she's gotten used to not finding ways to wreck it.

"So, aside from your brother flipping the lid," I started as we separated, still holding hands, "how've things been?"

"Ohh you know, getting ready for major tests, and all that," she replied. 'Ohh that's right.'

"Crap. I almost forgot those were coming up." She glared at me semi-seriously.

"Logan, don't say that. We've got only three more weeks to prepare for them-"

"I know, I know," I said, cutting her off. "I did say 'almost', meaning I've been reading up on notes."

"Do you think you'll be able to ace them?"

"Ehh…."

"Maybe?" she finished. I nodded in response. When it came to academics, I wasn't on top of the world. I'm not failing any classes, but I'm not acing most of them either. Mainly B's and C's in anything not involving computers. "Well don't worry. As long as you keep up the studying, you'll crush them."

"I actually don't worry about that unlike you. That's probably why you stay so on top."

"Logan, the reason I do so well in my classes is because I study. Why do you think almost every student in our classes comes to me for help?"

"That includes me sometimes," I muttered.

"Mainly because you keep living in your own little world when it comes to our classes at times. What even goes on in your head, huh?" she said as she started poking my head.

"Gah! Hey, stop that!" I said laughing at her.

"Nevaaah!" I eventually grabbed her hand and pushed it away from me, both of us laughing and sitting down beside the rising door. We looked up, seeing the sun setting past the trees. Snuggling close, we just sat and watched it for several minutes until I broke the silence.

"Hey… do you mind if I ask you something? And, you won't laugh about it?"

"Of course. Go ahead."

"What would…. What would you do if you once met a character you thought never existed?"

"…. What's bringing this up?" she asked curiously.

"I dunno. It's just something I keep thinking about. Like, maybe if one day I'm at home, and for some strange reason I see Sonic himself standing outside of it. I honestly don't know how I'd react."

"Well I definitely would. If I saw a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog standing out by my house, I'd freak out. That's really creepy, even if he is harmless!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Not what I meant, but okay. Seriously though, what would you do?"

She thought about it before responding. "To be honest…. I don't really know either. I'm not expecting it to happen, so.. really it's whatever ends up happening. We don't really control what all happens in our life. And even if we did, it wouldn't be on a paranormal level. So how would we figure that out?"

She had a point. Even if someone's crazy and expects a fictional character to come to life before their eyes, how would they know how to react? Though I still wonder… ".. Never mind, forget I said anything."

"Well if you don't mind me asking, what made you bring that up?"

"Just, pointless rambling. Guess I'm feeling a bit stressed out from the academic torture that's 'preparing' us," I told her. That wasn't a lie. I knew this next month was gonna be hell in a well-made hand basket.

Moments after sitting in silence again, her phone rang. It was most likely her mother. She picked it up and answered. "Hello? … Hey, mom. What's going on? …. I'm by the old place with Logan."

"Hey Mrs. Porter!" I said to the phone.

"… She said hi back," she turned to me saying. Turning back she began speaking. "So what's up? … Aww.. do I have to?" 'Crap.' "…. All right, I'll be home soon… Bye." She ended the call and stuck her phone back into her pocket. "I have to go. It's getting dark and my mom wants me back home."

"Aww. Do you have-"

"Yes, I do. I really don't want to though." We both stood up.

"Well it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow on Monday, okay?"

"Okay." We embraced again. "I love you."

"I love you too." We broke away and said good bye before leaving in different directions. After I circled around the lake, my phone rang again. I'm certain it was my mom asking where I am because she didn't even bother looking for the note. I answered. "Yes, mom?"

"Hey, I found your note." 'Huh. That's a first.' "It's getting dark out, though. Are you on your way home?"

"Yeah, I just left about five minutes ago. I should be home soon. Why?"

"Well, unfortunately, we had a blackout, so we're going out to eat tonight," she informed me. 'A blackout?'

"Hold on, is it just us?"

"No, it's the entire neighborhood. Hopefully it's that and not the whole town. We'll find that out once we leave. Let me know when you get home, okay?"

"All right. I'm gonna go now. Bye." I waited for her to respond, then hung up. It was uncommon for our street to have a blackout unless due to a severe thunderstorm. I eventually got back and it turned out it was more than just our neighborhood that had a power outage. That was definitely weird. It came back on after maybe an hour or so, and we'd gotten food beforehand. I wondered if our transformers were screwing up. I couldn't ponder on it anymore as it was getting late, and I was senior in high school. Not a good mix. I fell asleep still ever curious about what if.

Chapter End

And 'zat is it for now! Lemme know what y'all think. I'll be updating this as ideas keep smuggling in. Expect new chapters sometime soon.