(AN: Welcome back to the second part of the Prologue of Despair Hill Zone! Right now I'm super late for work so I can't make this too long, but due to the overall length of this prologue, I had to split this into two parts. I do apologize. For now, let's meet all the students of Green Hills Zone, and wonder... where do we go from here?

Because Despair isn't too far off...)


I looked at the first group of people in front of me. "I guess I'll start there," I thought to myself, walking up to the very large purple cat. He wore a fisherman's vest and had on a black shirt underneath it, complete with sandals and a pair of beige shorts. This guy just... towered over me, and I could easily tell he was the tallest and biggest person here.

The cat simply stared at me with his small yellow eyes, not saying a word.

"Uh, hello?" I said, trying to start up a conversation.

"Hi there... I'm Big the Cat," he said.

Ultimate Fisherman

BIG THE CAT

Oh yeah, I remember reading about this guy. From what the threads said, Big was orphaned at a young age, and lived by himself for as long as he can remember. However, he ended up taking up fishing, and soon made a name for himself amongst fishers around the world by setting records for biggest specific species of fish caught. He even once set a world record for largest fish caught in the world too.

I wasn't really the biggest fan of fishing, but in his little circle? He's a legend.

"Don't be afraid of me... I just wanna be friends... Is that okay with you?..." He asked. I won't lie, sure he talked rather slow, and while he was teased on the thread for being slow and simple minded... He didn't have any harm to bring me.

"Of course not. As long as you don't mind me not being the biggest fishing fan in the world," I replied.

"I don't mind. I'm glad to hear," he smiled.

"So uh, is those records you set really true?"

"Oh, you know about them? Yeah... I did do those, but I don't see why people make them out a big deal. I just like to fish with my pal Froggy."

"Froggy?"

"My pet frog. He's the bestest friend I ever had!"

"Your best friend is a frog? Uh... yeah, I can tell you're not really the MOST social person in the world," I thought. Of course, not that there's anything WRONG with that...

"Either way, Mr. Charmy Bee, I can't wait to meet everyone!" Big said. I won't lie, maybe his simple-mindedness makes him his own person. I guess I'll have to see how he's like later.

The next person to Big was a small fox, although he was a little taller than me. He had on an orange shirt, a pair of goggles around his neck, a messenger bag around his shoulder, dark blue shorts, and red and white shoes. The most peculiar thing about him wasn't his wardrobe, but about this fox himself. He weirdly had... two tails.

"I think I'll ask about that," I thought to myself.

"Ah, hello!" He said in a chipper voice, adjusting his goggles. "I kinda get a little weird when it comes to introductions, so you can call me... Tails."

Ultimate Sidekick

TAILS THE FOX

"Tails? Is that actually your name?" I asked. What kind of parent would name their kid that?...

"Ha ha, I'll neither confirm nor deny that!" he replied, smiling.

"Anyway, those two tails-"

"Are real. I get this question ALL the time. Yeah, I was born with them,"

He sounded rather defensive... Did I insult him?

"W-well, I guess that was my first question. I guess my second question is... Ultimate Sidekick?" I replied, trying to dance around the awkward situation. I saw him in the thread, but no one kinda did go into specifics about him...

"Ah that! You know the blue hedgehog guy you talked to? That's Sonic! I'm actually his best friend! So much that I'm basically his sidekick whenever he goes out to fight evil, or do any real thing actually! We've been best friends since kindergarten, and I don't see that changing anytime soon!"

"So that's why you're the UItimate Sidekick?"

"Yeah! He can depend on me any ol' time, and not to mention, since I'm a great mechanic, I know a thing or two about helping him with anything!"

Man... him and that Sonic guy must have an unbreakable bond. I'm rather jealous to be honest...

"So, you're Mr. Charmy Bee? Well, even if you don't have an ultimate talent, I won't make you feel alienated!"

"That's a relief," I joked.

This guy also seems rather friendly. Not full of himself, and he seems to have great bonds with people... Still, how did he and Sonic become such good friends if that's how he was earlier?

Whatever, I had to talk to the next person. After Tails was a short rabbit girl wearing a straw hat with a little sunflower on it, along with a yellow and blue gradient sundress. She smiled as she saw me walk up to her.

"Hi, I'm Cream the Rabbit! I look forward to getting to know you!" she said cheerfully, tilting her head.

Ultimate Gardener

CREAM THE RABBIT

"Whoa... the way she looks right now, that scent of hers too... It really does feel like a girl you'd find in a flower patch..." I thought to myself. "Cream the Rabbit... This was the gardener who grew many record-breaking fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and even was beginning to run her own business with her mother selling all the things she grew. All of them are in high demand from what I read, and she was at the height of her business when she got her acceptance letter to Green Hills... Although I can't lie, looking at her now... she almost looked like a doll. A really beautiful doll..."

Man, I sure sound like a weirdo, don't I?

"You know Charmy, I'm not a doll! And uh, yeah you are kinda sounding like a weirdo," Cream said.

"Wh-what the?! Did you hear me?" I said, flabbergasted. How in the hell did she know what I was thinking?

"I'm psychic."

"What? You are?!"

"Hee hee, just kidding! I just have a good intuition!"

What a sharp one...

"Again, just intuition!" she said.

"Okay, now you're starting to scare me..."

"Aw, don't be scared! I love to make new friends, and since you're a bee, I assume you have a favorite flower?"

"Oh uh... yeah. I rather like-"

"Uh, lovebirds?" Sonic the blue hedgehog said, tapping his foot. "This is no time for chitchat about pointless stuff like flowers!"

"O-Oh... sorry..." Cream said shyly. "We'll talk again later. I'd love to get to know you."

So much for that... If only she knew I wanted the same too...

But then again, we can talk later!

After Cream was a green hawk dressed up in some kind of racer's uniform, red and black boots, and some goggles on his forehead.

"Oh, a shrimp huh? What a shame, I need a new EX gear pal, and it seems like you aren't it. Blegh, what a shame. Well, let's just get this over with to get through my disappointment," he said in a rather... condescending tone. He pointed at himself, grinning. "The name is Jet the Hawk! Number one Extreme Gear racer in the world! Don't forget it, or I'll duct tape it to your forehead!"

Ultimate Extreme Gear Racer

JET THE HAWK

Oh that's right... this was another guy on the thread. Jet the Hawk... he's the leader of the Extreme Gear team known as the Babylon Rogues. He was taught racing by his father, Surge, and became the leader of his team at the age of 8 after Surge retired. Since then, he's won first place in every race he's been in, and refuses to lose. He also apparently has a MASSIVE ego, which... I guess he decided to show off to me immediately.

"So what's the lowdown? Wanting to be friends or wanting an autograph? Either way, not in the mood. Especially for being your friend. If you show me you're good on a board, you'll at least impress me, but I know you can't beat me," Jet grinned. "We Babylonians have racing in our blood, so if I did lose-"

"Sorry to cut you off," I said, not wanting to hear him ramble. "But that rumor about you and your teammates being thieves... is that true?"

This shut Jet up for a second as he looked at me. He simply frowned, turning away.

"Not like I'm gonna tell you, squirt..."

Point 1 for Charmy Bee... putting an egomaniac in his place...

Afterwards was the guy I was... kinda not really looking forward to meet. Maybe perhaps he was a lot nicer than my first impression of him?...

I walked up to the blue hedgehog as he smiled a toothy smile, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yo yo yo! The name's Sonic the Hedgehog! Oh hey! You're that bee guy, Charmy! Well, it's nice to meet you!" he said casually.

Ultimate Runner

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Sure enough, this was the guy who had the most amount of info on him in the thread. Apparently, Sonic was born with the ability of super speed, and from there, he would go on to do well... everything I read on the thread. Breaking zone records, professional sporting scouting, even Tails' account of being part-time heroes. If anything, I think he was the person so many people looked up to as a next generation hero. "Ultimate Hero" seems like a better title for him, but I guess the title of "Ultimate Runner" works too.

Although he's a lot more laid back than I thought...

"Maaaaan, this is supposed to be some giant zone assembly and they aren't even providing free food? I could sure go for a chili dog right now!" Sonic complained, crossing his arms.

"At this time of the day?" I asked. Who even eats a chili dog for breakfast?

"Yeah! A little snack does a body good!"

...okay, now that's more ridiculous.

"Is that how you prepare to run?"

"Hey, I burn off calories don't I? I might have to eat healthy and work out a lot, but Chaos forbid I ever give up chili dogs! Hey, Charmy! We should sit down and enjoy one someday! Since we'll be classmates, I think we can be good pals!" he said.

Well, the good thing is, at least he's friendlier than Jet...

"Heh, sure, as long as you don't mind a total loser," I said, trying not to make myself out to be some super cool guy because let's be honest: I really am NOT.

"Aw, don't say that! Honestly, if I wasn't a runner or a hero, I think I'd be one too. I'm not gonna take any kind of unpositivity!"

Well didn't this get from depressing to weirdly motivating. Well... I guess it's time for new people to meet besides these guys.

The next one I talked to was a pink hedgehog wearing the expensive clothes I saw earlier. Along with that, she had a heart shaped locket around her neck.

"Heya! I'm Amy Rose! Have no fear, I'm always here!" she said in a VERY perky voice.

Ultimate Shopper

AMY ROSE

Oh yeah, she was another girl I saw a good amount on in the thread. Amy is apparently called the "Ultimate Shopper" because this is the type of girl who has a LOT of money to spend on anything. She knows EVERY deal and sale any store has going on and how long it'll last, every trick in the book about getting any product first, and is even rumored to have 4 purses full of coupons. Even just looking at her outfit I can tell it costed her a fortune. I even saw plenty of people making guesses on where she has the money for this stuff.

Although... in spite of her being so rich, she didn't seem to be very judgmental towards other people's standards of living. Let's just hope she does donate that money from time to time, wherever she gets it...

"Um... so what was your name again? I'm sorry, I tend to forget names from time to time," she said.

"Uh, it's Charmy Bee!" I said. So far, she seems to be rather nice, if just a little TOO down to earth.

"Oh yeah! I guess that name does fit a bee! I haven't met too many myself, so I knew it was something like that!"

"Uhh, it's not really SOMETHING like that when it is actually my name."

"Okay okay! I got it! Don't worry though, I'll be sure to hammer it in my head!"

Amy immediately got out a pen and a heavily used notepad. I could see numbers and prices filled onto every page as she wrote my name on a blank sheet.

"Geez, it's like she could be a math major with how much she has on those..." I thought.

"By the way, how do you spell your first name?" she asked me.

"How it sounds."

"So with a Y right?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many people do it with two E's. Anyway, glad to meet you!" She then put her hands together. "Ooh ooh! Did you see? Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the students here! Ahh... he's so dreamy... He's always been my crush ever since I first laid eyes on him, and I'll make sure we'll be boyfriend and girlfriend once we leave!""

Well if there's one thing I learned, she's easy going and full of energy.

...and I think she likes Sonic a little TOO much.

As she put away her notepad, I moved onto the next person, an orange echidna girl wearing very traditional clothing. I could see the crown on her head shine as I walked up to her.

"Oh, hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm Tikal the Echidna," she said in a very soothing voice.

Ultimate Pacifist

TIKAL THE ECHIDNA

Tikal the Echidna... Yet another one mentioned on the thread with some... surprising discontent. Supposedly, she got her pacifism from her grandmother, who died when she was six. Since then, Tikal has become a well-known activist for peace, going to thousands of peaceful protests, made multiple petitions to local governments to help the environment or to stop social injustice for example, and even once made a speech in front of all the world leaders of Mobius to bring eras of peace talks between nations that have some bad blood between one another. Lately though, she's been practicing to become a maiden, so maybe this explains her get up. Either way, she's the ideal example that many activists try to follow.

"Sorry, I get a little embarrassed introducing myself like this. Either way, I'm so happy to meet you, Mr. Charmy. I hope we do get to know one another," she smiled. I could tell this was the girl who definitely could be a pushover, but her intentions are sweet. I couldn't even help myself from smiling.

"Same here, Tikal. It's nice to meet you!" I said.

"Huh? Wait, maybe it's just my imagination, but... have we met before?"

What? Now that's a little confusing...

"Um, I don't think so. We just met for the first time, which is why we're introducing ourselves, aren't we?"

"Oh... I see... I apologize, I think I may have mistaken you for someone else," she said, clearly upset.

"Y-You don't have to apologize for that," I said, waving my hands. "It's alright, I promise!"

"Well... okay, but... you aren't upset for me making a dumb mistake like that, are you?"

"Hey, I told you I promise it's alright, didn't I?"

"I guess that's true... Sorry, I'm not the best when it comes to interacting with others that aren't like me."

"I mean, that's okay. We all don't have to be queen bees around here, y'know."

"I see what you mean," she said, putting her hand to her chest. "Still, I'm glad. I was afraid you probably thought I was some freak. Hehe... I'm glad!"

"...maybe how she feels is as a result of the people who called her names on the thread I saw. Stuff like 'social justice bitch' and 'virtue signaling leftie', whatever those meant. Either way, I think she'll be another good friend with her peaceful attitude towards life," I thought.

After Tikal was a large green crocodile dressed up like he was Sherlock Holmes or something, in a massive beige detective coat and a black fedora.

"Hey there, kid. Or I guess shrimp with how small ya are! Heh, just kiddin', I ain't gonna be that rude this early on. The name's Vector! Vector the Crocodile!"

Ultimate Detective

VECTOR THE CROCODILE

I did read about this guy on the thread, but I only know about what he's doing now. Vector the Crocodile runs his own detective agency called Chaotix, which has been around since Vector established it about 6 years ago. Other than that... there wasn't much about him besides that. I wonder why?

"So uh, hey... what are you doing at this zone?" I asked.

"Huh? What kinda question is that?" He replied, seemingly... offended.

"Well, don't you have your own detective agency? Why are you in a place like this?"

Vector was silent for a few seconds before lowering his fedora down by a little bit. "Why does it matter?"

"I-I mean, you don't HAVE to-"

"Nah, I dun have an obligation, so I ain't gonna."

What was with this guy? He was seemingly cool but now he's just become cold. What a weird person...

After getting a little annoyed with Vector, I moved onto the next person, the white bat with some rather revealing clothing who told off Sonic earlier. She grinned as she gave me a peace sign.

"Hello, darling. I'm Rouge the Bat. I'm quite charmed to meet you," she said in a rather seductive tone.

Ultimate Jewel Thief

ROUGE THE BAT

Now this was a girl anyone could recognize. Rouge the Bat, as I saw in the thread, was the Ultimate Jewel Thief thanks to all the heists she pulls off to grab the world's rarest gems. She once even famously said, "All of the world's gems belong to me!". And she uses that motivation to steal, even in spite of working for government officials. As a result, she's famous amongst men across Mobius, for not only her charm but her looks too. In fact, in the thread they talked about her... proportions a lot.

For all the publicity shots I've seen her in however...

"She doesn't look the same as I saw online..." I said to myself, muttering.

"Huh?" I could hear her say. "Oh, are you talking my mole? Yeah, I'm not proud of that dumb thing. I always cover it up with makeup when I can, or I get people to photoshop it out from publicity shots. A lot of people confuse me with my sister, Opal because of it."

She was right. On her left cheek was a clear as day mole. It's no wonder she would want it removed for the sake of the people who obsess over her.

"Come on kid," The bat said, crossing her arms. "Don't act so surprised! You'll be shocked how many girls in professional industries are based on lies from what computers do. You'll make me all depressed. I'm rather proud of being all natural, darling."

"Oh..."

Wow, so many dreams are being crushed today...

Still, even with her flirty attitude, she seems nice enough. Thankfully I'm not rich, so she doesn't have anything to steal from me.

Although, this could also mean she's not interested in me at all...

"Whatever," I thought, moving onto the next person. This black hedgehog stood with his arms crossed, red streaks across his quills and wearing a biker's jacket and dark pants. He opened his eyes and rolled his eyes at me.

"Name's Shadow the Hedgehog. Nice to fuckin' meet you," he said in a 'I really don't want to be here right now" tone.

Ultimate Lifeform

SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

In truth, while I did see Shadow in the thread, like Vector I wasn't really told a lot.

From what I gathered, Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform, never getting sick and always being in top physical shape. But other than that, no one was really sure how he became this way, or what exactly being an "Ultimate Lifeform" really meant besides the fact that you were always in tip top shape physically. He was yet another person shrouded in mystery, all we really know about him besides his Ultimate status is that he owns a very expensive black motorcycle, made by some top brand in Megalo Station.

Other than that? Nothing else.

"Um? Nice to meet you too, Shadow," I said, just a LITTLE on edge.

"Yeah yeah, same here kid," he said, messing with his quills.

"Man, I REALLY have to be careful around him. One wrong word and I think I'd just have my face punched in like some angsty teenager punching a pillow," I thought to myself, feeling the sweat rise up inside.

Finally, there were six more people left. The first was a red echidna wearing nothing more than a tank top, cargo pants, and red shoes

"Greetings. I am Knuckles the Echidna," he said.

Ultimate Guardian

KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA

Knuckles... Once again, he was someone I didn't see too much about on the thread. What I did gather was that Knuckles, much like Tikal, are some of the last remaining echidnas on Mobius. However, unlike Tikal, who integrated into society, Knuckles kept to himself on a floating island called Angel Island, where he became the Ultimate Guardian due to his protection of a massive gem known as the Master Emerald. Supposedly, all of his ancestors have been guardians of the Master Emerald, and it only makes sense that he would be too. It also seems like he trains regularly, while not tall, his arms are rather big, and his diet is probably consisting of stuff he finds on the island.

Although, how and why did he accept coming to a place like this?

"Uh, hi? It's nice to meet you!" I said, trying to stir up a conversation. He just looked at my hand and then at me.

"Sorry," was all he said.

Oh right... there was one FINAL thing I did read about him on the thread. He apparently doesn't have very good social skills. That makes more sense.

After Knuckles, I walked up to a purple chameleon who was... rather extra with his wardrobe. He had on a full black suit, had a green scarf that went behind his back, and even a katana hanging from his hips. He closed his eyes as he spoke.

"The curtain of the night spoke, and I stared back into its eyes. It told me that we would be destined to meet, and so here we stand, the same curtain that spoke to me," he said rather poetically in a deep voice. "It is an honor to meet you. My name is Espio the Chameleon."

Ultimate Ninja

ESPIO THE CHAMELEON

I swear, I'm meeting a lot of people that I didn't see much about on the thread... Maybe it isn't a bad thing that I was so forgotten about...

Either way, what I did read about Espio here was that for centuries, his family was the owners of the ancient Dragon Dojo, one of the last remaining dojos in the world dedicated to the art of the ninja. It was through Espio's incredible ability as a ninja that got him the title of Ultimate Ninja naturally, and he's rumored to be the new master once his mother, the current master, dies.

People on the thread say that Espio is a force to be reckoned with, and that there's a reason he carries a katana with him. "Any incoming students, let me warn you: he can appear and disappear like that. Get on his bad side, and you might just find yourself with a shuriken in your head," I read them say.

But still... as I look in front of me, he doesn't SEEM all that bad.

"Hey, you," he said, closing his eyes.

"H-huh?! Yes?!" I said.

Suddenly, he began to poke and prod around my body. I REALLY didn't know how to feel about this...

"What are you?..." I began before he interrupted me.

"It seems your quality and quantity of muscle on your body is rather ordinary for someone your age. What a shame. I wish to acquire a new partner for practicing my abilities, and it doesn't seem like you're it. My apologies," he said, bowing.

I don't think that's a shame for me... Still, why would he just touch me like that? Can you say personal space?

After moving from one purple mobian, I moved onto another one. In front of me was a purple swallow girl with a white bandana tied around her head and a large pair of glasses on top of it, a pure white mechanics outfit (with a purple flame pattern at the base of the sleeves and legs), and a necklace with a large red stone in the middle. She didn't seem very pleased to see me however.

"Uh hi!" I said, hoping that she wasn't another rude bird.

She was silent for a second before looking at me.

"Name's Wave the Swallow," she said, a discontent in her voice.

Ultimate Mechanic

WAVE THE SWALLOW

Oh yeah, I remember now...

Wave is member of Jet's Babylon Rogues team. She's the team's mechanic, able to fix up anything she can get her hands on. She's even known in the Extreme Gear world as the best modifier in the scene, being able to create boards that are beyond anything normal EX gear mechanics can do while still having it be tournament legal. It's that, and apparently, her fixing up a faulty plane in 30 minutes while her and her teammates were about to fly to a tournament when it would have normally taken a day or two for mechanics to fix that granted her the title of Ultimate Mechanic.

"Hey shorty, we're done with introductions, right? How much longer are you going to stand there?" she asked.

"Oh, I just thought-"

"Well I'm not in the mood. Get lost."

Jeez, does EVERYONE in the Babylon Rogues look down upon anyone who isn't themselves?

Whatever, I blew her off and moved onto the next person: the first kid to say anything to me here. The silver hedgehog wearing the cyan hoodie nodded when he saw me.

"I'm Silver the Hedgehog! I'm someone who takes things easy, so I hope you can too!" he said, uncaring of his situation.

Ultimate Telekinetic

SILVER THE HEDGEHOG

Oh yeah, this was that really weird guy I read about. Silver the Hedgehog... born with the power of telekinesis...

I didn't believe in that stuff, but was it really true?

"Ahh... okay, I give up," he said.

"Huh? Give up what?"

"Well, I can tell from the way you're looking at me that you don't believe I'm the Ultimate Telekinetic, right?"

"U-uh..."

"Hah, no need to feel embarrassed! Here, what if I proved it to you like this?"

Silver motioned his hand to the security camera and began to move it on its own. I was blown away. I thought this stuff was in movies but this... this was real!

"Now do you believe me?" he asked. I simply nodded. "Hey, maybe we can get to know one another! I got more tricks than moving cameras!"

Shocked at what I had seen, I simply moved onto the next person. The lavender cat I had seen earlier straightened her hair as her lemon eyes stared right into mine.

"I don't think we've been introduced yet. My name is Blaze the Cat," she said in a rather normal tone.

Ultimate Pyrokinetic

BLAZE THE CAT

Yet another person who can use kinetic power... However, unlike Silver who can move things with his mind, Blaze was born with the power of being able to control and create fire. The rumors in the thread say that she's actually from a different kingdom, explaining the gem on her forehead.

Although...

"If you don't mind me asking, are you from this part of Mobius?" I asked.

"Of course, why?" she replied, seemingly surprised.

"Well I guess... Blaze? I mean, pyrokinesis is your power. Is that actually your name?"

She giggled. "Of course it's my name. Why else wouldn't it be?"

It seems like she wasn't going to let me pry about that.

"Either way, I do look forward to getting to know you better, Mr. Charmy. Don't worry about me, I won't set you on fire. I know how you insects are when it comes to it. Heh-heh-heh..."

Something about her aura gave me a vibe, but I couldn't explain what...

With Blaze done, there was one last person I had to introduce myself to. Walking up to him, I was overwhelmed by the large grey albatross I had seen talk earlier.

"So you're that bee guy, Charmy! Heh, not impressed, but I'm sure you're a nice guy at the end of the day," the albatross said. I could tell from the flame patterns on his arms that he was yet another Babylon Rogue member. "Name's Storm the Albatross. Forget it and uh... I dunno what the boss told me to say after I said that..."

Ultimate Bodyguard

STORM THE ALBATROSS

Storm the Albatross...

As the final member of the Babylon Rogues, Storm was born into a circus family, where he was touted for his size and super strength. He once famously performed had a show where he once pushed a two-ton slab of concrete, then a zone bus with his bare hands at 7 years old. This would have gotten him named the "Ultimate Strongman" if he didn't hit his growth spurt by age 11, where he became tall and muscular to the point that places like bars, official sporting events, and celebrity outings began to hire him as a bodyguard. He even once was the bodyguard of the president of Central City for a brief while. It was this that gave him the title of "Ultimate Bodyguard".

Since his days of bodyguarding, he has since taken up a role as the strength of the Babylon Rogues. He's simple minded and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but if you have his respect, he is VERY loyal.

"Hey kid, you just gonna keep standing there?" he said, cracking his knuckles. "I think you've already introduced yourself to everyone!"

"Y-yeah, I guess that's true," I said, still intimidated.

"Just listen, don't try any funny business with my friends, and we're fair game. You got it?"

"I-I got it... still, can't you guys work on being a little nicer?"

Storm was quiet for a couple of seconds before whispering.

"It's okay. I'm probably the nicest one of us three Rogues. But don't try to take advantage of me, kid! I know when you are, and I won't be afraid to get these hands dirty!"

I gulped. "Duly noted."

Well, at least he was... TOLERABLE...

But with that...

"All the introductions are done," I thought to myself. "Even though they're ultimates, they're more than just what they're perfect at. They have their own lives, their own past, families, etc."

Just then, Wave cleared her throat as Jet and Storm were already by her side. "Okay, time to get down to business," she began. "We introduced ourselves to each other and that's all fine and dandy, but are we really going to stand around doing this?"

"Wave is right, I still don't know why we're here..." Tikal said, worried.

"Oh right, that's true," I replied. "I think someone said something about a bigger problem or something? What was all that about?"

"Um, well you see..." Cream began. "Charmy, you said a bunch of stuff happened and then you were just 'asleep', right? That's because the same is true for all of us."

"What?! Seriously?!"

Tails rubbed his head. "We attempted to travel through the warp ring, found that the scenery turned red, and we all fainted before arrival. When we came to, we were somewhere in the zone. Sonic told me he was in some laundry room for example, and you were?"

"In a classroom."

"In a classroom, right. Now, isn't it odd that we all end up in different positions and locations?"

"But that's just... weird! All 17 of us were somehow knocked out as we came here through the warp ring. I mean, how is that possible?"

"Exactly!" Shadow said, nodding his head. "That's why we're all in a state of confusion."

"And that's not the only thing too. You saw how all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right?" Sonic said, finger on the tip of his mouth. "Instead of normal class windows, they were big metal plates! What's that about?"

"Oh yeah, I noticed that," Wave added. "Just to be clear, the screws used for those plates are far too big for any wrench I have on me, and I did see if any of my big ones worked. How odd... could this be the first thing I can't fix?"

"You still have your wrenches? That's not fair... all of my stuff is missing, even my cell phone..." Rouge bemoaned.

"Neither do I! And I paid top quality for mine..." said Amy, frowning.

"Nor did I find my PDA, either..." added Tikal. Now I was taken aback by what she said.

"People still use PDAs?" I thought.

"And then there's the main hall here," Sonic said, breaking me from my thoughts. "The front exit is blocked by this giant metal hatch. Is this REALLY the entrance? For Gaia's sake, what the hell is this and what is it doing here?!"

"Maybe we got caught up in some kind of, you know, crime or something?" Rouge said.

"Aren't you someone who commits crimes?" Storm asked. The bat was silent.

"Yeah well, at least I don't do something like this..." she said, arms crossed as she turned her head away.

"Anyway... it seems this metal door is too powerful to break down," Knuckles said, finally speaking up for the first time.

"Yeah... Do you think this whole thing is a kidnapping? Like, someone grabbed us and hauled us somewhere and we're not ACTUALLY at Green Hills?" asked Tails, scared. Silver shook his head.

"Hey, c'mon! Don't think like that! Cheer up!" He said. "I bet this is all part of the orientation procedure. Yep! I'm sure that's it, so I am taking it easy!"

Silver would go on to lay on the floor as he used his telekinetic ability to raise himself up, allowing himself to relax. Tikal breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled.

"Oh... so you think this a surprise... Thank goodness, I really was scared out of my mind," She said. Jet yawned loudly.

"Man, is that it? Well, if that's the case then I'm taking Silver's example. It's nap time for me," He began to stretch. "I stayed up WAYYY late, so I could use a little shut eye."

"It's not good to stay up so late, you know," Espio said, Jet sucking his teeth in response.

I sensed everyone's tension going away... Even mine too for a little bit. I mean, if this was a way to scare us, then damn they got us good. I shook my head as I even began to laugh at myself for being scared. How stupid was I to fall for something this dumb?

But then...

IT began.

Ding dong, bing bong*

It was the sound of a zone bell. And suddenly, the TV by the corner of the room turned on. Static was displayed on the TV as the silhouette of someone, or... something appeared. All I could tell about the shape was that it was... oval shaped, and had something sticking out from its sides. Was it a moustache or something? I couldn't tell, because before I could think about anything, a voice suddenly spoke through the TV speakers.

"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two!" The voice said in a type of accent I've never heard of before. "This is a test of the zone broadcast system! The broadcasters in this zone, in voluntary cooperation with the people who developed our wonderful system have created it to keep you informed of any zonewide message! If this had been an actual important message, you would have been instructed pay attention to the closest TV next to you, which I hope you're doing right now because this IS an actual important message!"

"Oh boy..." I thought. I shuddered as I listened to him. Not only was he referencing those scary weekly tests that interrupt whatever show I had on, but the way he sounded happy saying that... it gave me a vibe I couldn't explain. It seemed so out of place, so playful...

So unconcerned...

I felt a deep, unnerving dread listening to it. It was like hearing someone laugh at the scene of an accident.

"Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then, let us begin! To all incoming students, I would like to begin the official Green Hills ceremony at... right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. Anyway, that's all! I'll be waiting..."

The TV turned off, and I noticed everyone's reactions. The joking mood between everyone was gone now. Rouge I had seen bite her lip.

"What. The. Hell... was that just now?" I heard her say with fear in her voice.

"I don't know how to describe it..." Storm replied. "But it sounds bad."

"Yeah... really bad..." Big also said.

"Jet, Storm, you heard what that thing said. Let's go," Wave said, taking off.

"Wave, wait!" Jet said, running after her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"You heard what it said."

"I... yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, Storm! We're going now!"

"U-uh, right this way, Boss!" the bumbling albatross said, pushing Tikal and Tails aside as he ran towards his friends, almost bumping into me in the process.

"W-what?! Are you lot just going to take off like that?!" Rouge yelled at the three birds.

"Oh yeah!" Silver said, snapping his finger. "Now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped up for the entrance ceremony! Ha ha! Man, thank Gaia it was just a joke! I'd be freaked if this was real! Well, I guess I'll head out too. I wonder what they have planned for us?"

He began to walk away as Tails looked concerned.

"You guys? I don't think I like where this is going..." He said.

"Hey buddy, if you're scared, I don't mind going with you," Sonic replied, offering his hand to Tails. "Come on, I'm sure nothing will be out there."

The fox smiled. "Thanks Sonic... alright, we'll be going too. Let's meet up there."

Then the hedgehog and fox soon left. Tikal suddenly perked up.

"Oh, please wait for me! I wish to accompany you!" she said, running after the two hedgehogs. Before she could leave, Amy immediately stood by the entrance of the main hall.

"That girl! If she even tries to take my Darling Sonic away! Hold on, Sonic! I'm coming!" she said, running after the blue hedgehog too. Blaze rubbed her arm and smiled.

"Well, how unusual love is... I guess that is that. I'll see you all there," the lavender cat said before taking off.

As some of the others left, I stood there, frozen. That uneasy feeling I'd had before, I couldn't get it out of my head.

That thing on the TV... what was that?

And most of all: what was waiting for us at the gym?

Although as I turned around, I noticed I wasn't the only one. Cream had her hand to her mouth, clearly scared, as Vector and Rouge stood by.

"This... this doesn't seem right," she said.

"Yeah... that announcement was totally weird... I mean, what's going on? Why the strange manner of orientation?" Rouge asked.

"Maybe..." Vector said, adjusting his fedora. "But just stayin' here ain't guaranteein' our safety. Besides, aren't yeh guys just a lil' curious to figure out what's goin' on?"

Espio nodded. "I agree with you, Vector. If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only thing we can do is push ahead."

I guess he has a point... But still, I'm kind of- no, I'm REALLY nervous. We don't have a choice, we HAVE to go!

"They said to go to the gym, right?" I asked. "Then let's head there."

"But first, I want to know how everyone's holding up..." I thought to myself.

"Uh, guys? You're all okay, right?"

I could tell that wasn't the case. Cream was still in her nervous state. "Something weird IS going on here, right? It's not just me?" she asked. Knuckles was silent, only saying:

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Shadow was enraged. "Shit... what the hell kind of game is going on here?" he cursed to himself.

Rouge still looked shocked. "That announcement was creepy..." she said.

"Listen," Vector said, stepping in front of the circle of people. "I know how yeh feel, but... all we can do now is check the gym out and see what's there."

"But... what if something scary happens?" Big asked.

"No need to fear. I doubt that a simple talk in the gym could be anything dangerous," Espio said. "So therefore, I shall take my leave."

Everyone else nodded as they made their way out. I followed behind the group, looking around the multicolored halls. The only noise I heard alongside footsteps were the sounds of my wings as I finally reached the door to the gym. There, Vector, Espio, Rouge, and Shadow were in the lobby.

Shadow already began rubbing his quills behind his head. "Jeez, for Gaia's sake, I had no idea this Green Hills would be such a pain in my balls."

"I'll say, and I don't even have any," Rouge said, admiring a ring on her finger. "It really isn't different then the time I was sent to solitary confinement. Hell, I'd say it's worse."

"And why isn't there anyone here?" Cream asked. "Walking through these halls, I didn't see anyone but ourselves."

"Isn't that a bad sign?" I asked. "I mean, I GUESS they're trying to spook us with those metal plates and maybe they'll be taken down?"

At least, this is what I wanted to tell myself...

"All we can do now is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. My training has taught me that in times of despair, the only thing one can do is stride forward and to make your best effort," Espio said. The more he talked, the more it really felt like he could be some kind of poet. Shadow scoffed and nodded.

"Well hell, it's not like I'm scared or anything. Alright then, let's just get this over with," he said. I watched as Shadow opened the doors, yelling; "ALRIGHT, WHO'S THE ONE WHO CALLED US?"

Everyone else made their way to the gym sans Vector, Cream, and Rouge. Before I did, I looked around the room. I noticed a lot of trophies in glass cases, flags of the zone's crest, etc. With that done, I decided that with Rouge and Cream still freaking out, and Vector... calm, silent Vector, standing by the door, the only thing I can do was open the same doors everyone had gone through.


As I entered the gym, I noticed the stage at the farthest corner of the gym, complete with a podium and a red banner of the zone's emblem. All of the other students stood in front of the stage, waiting for some kind of announcement. Although, what I can say is...

"This looks like a normal entrance ceremony," I said.

"See?" Silver said. "Told you! It's a totally normal, totally basic entrance ceremony!"

I guess Silver was RIGHT... but in a way, that only emphasized how completely not normal all of us were.

Then, before anyone could talk, a voice rang out through the gym. I froze, it was the same voice from the TV announcement.

"Greetings, fools! Is everyone here? I see 17 students, so that's good! Okay, enough time has been wasted, let's get on with the show!"

I still continued to stay frozen, all of us staring at the stage, wondering what was going to happen. It felt like days passed as we suddenly heard something from the podium.

And that's when, for the first time, HE appeared.

I was completely taken aback at the person-no, the THING that just bounced onto the podium. I... I didn't know how to describe it.

His shape was that of an... egg. It's like, imagine Humpty Dumpty, except instead of overalls, he wore a lab coat which was red on one side, and pitch black on the other. In fact, his entire right-side sans his face was entirely black. The only noticeable was his face. He was wearing some kind of goggle over his left eye, but on his right eye, the goggle was blood red and shining. The last and noticeable thing about him was his moustache. It was one that I never saw before. It was very spiky on both ends, and looked like it had been growing for years.

"Huh?" Tikal asked. "What... what is that? Is that an egg?"

"I'm not an egg per say!" the... egg said. "I go by many names like Robotnik, Eggman, and Baldy McNosehair, but this time, I guess you could call me... Egg Robo! And, I am this Zone's headmaster!"

I... I couldn't even describe what was going on anymore. This was the strangest thing I've seen. Right before my eyes, it was... no, I couldn't even describe it. Nor did I even know where to BEGIN. I mean, this thing is our...?!

He suddenly jumped up and leapt through to the middle of all of us. I could see Jet, Wave, and Shadow take steps back.

"Nice to meet you all!" He said, arms out as if he were some old friend.

"Such a bright voice and a carefree attitude was so out of place..." I thought. And... and all of that anxiety carrying with me suddenly transformed into outright fear.

"Oh, oh no! The egg toy can talk!" Big said, freaking out.

Sonic shook his head, getting in front of the robot. "H-hey! Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside of it!" He said, laughing nervously.

"Hey! Come on now! I told you already, I'm not JUST an egg!" the thing that called itself Egg Robo said as he pushed Sonic out of the way, his red eye only glowing brighter. He began to yell. "I'm Egg Robo! And I'm your headmaster!"

"AUGH! IT MOVED!" Big cried, hiding behind Knuckles and shaking. The echidna looked like as if he was caught off guard by being a sudden human shield.

"Seriously, calm down you!" Shadow scolded. "It's probably some remote-control toy!"

Egg Robo looked down, seemingly depressed as his moustache fell down. "How dare you compare me to some child's plaything! You've cut me deeper than the depths of Chemical Plant Zone..." He said. "In fact, my remote-control system is so complex, not even the greatest scientist in the world could comprehend it! That greatest scientist being me of course!"

Suddenly, he became angry. "Ah, but don't make me stuff that'll destroy my own dreams! You would just make me look like an EGG-head!"

Everyone was silent for a couple of seconds at quite possibly the worst pun we've ever heard. I just felt my own brain crack into two hearing that.

It was Blaze that broke the silence.

"Egg-head? Really? You are... unfortunate," she said.

"Now then, moving on!" Egg Robo said. "We really must hurry and get started!"

"What, are you giving up already?" Rouge asked. "No other stupid egg puns to go around? Maybe like, 'time to crack open a-"

"Don't finish that," Espio said sternly.

"Quite down students! Or else I'll put you in time out! Ah, okay, so...! Everyone, stand attention and say, 'Good morning!'" Egg Robo said, spreading his arms out.

"Good morning!" Sonic and Tails said together. I guess they really were the model heroes they said they were...

"You don't have to say it back," Wave said.

"Good morning! See! I said it because my Darling Sonic said so too!" Amy exclaimed.

"Oh, you are pathetic..."

"Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony! First, let's talk a bit about what your zone life here will be like!" Egg Robo began. "Now, make no mistake, you have all come here to learn and leave here becoming the future Heroes of Mobius, representing the hope of the future and this world. And, to protect such splendid hope... you will all live a communal life solely within this zone, isolated from the rest of Mobius! Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the zone!"

"...huh?" I thought. What he was talking about, surely he wasn't implying?..

He continued, "Ah, now then... regarding the end date of this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the way of being a hero!"

"W-what did he just say? U-Until the day we die...?" Amy asked, scared.

She was right to be scared. What this thing was talking about, it... it can't be real!

Egg Robo didn't care for the reaction, as he suddenly looked happy and flowers sprouted from an aura around him. "Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences!"

"Hold on a second!" Cream said. "That's the least of our worries right now! I mean, explain yourself please!"

"Yeah, what the hell is this?!" Rouge exclaimed. "You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?"

An angry Egg Robo replied, "I'm not screwing with you! I'm not lying, you can be 100% certain of that! Ah, and just for your information, you're completely cut off from the outside world! So, you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty Mobius beyond this zone ever again!"

"Cut off? You're making less and less sense by the second!" I yelled. "I mean, all these metal plates over this zone? You're saying they're kept to keep us trapped in here?"

"That's exactly what they're for!" Egg Robo replied without thinking about it twice. "No matter how much you try to yell and scream, help will never come! So, with all of that in mind, feel free to live out the rest of your life here in this ring dimension with reckless abandon!"

...I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought this was some kind of joke, but the more Egg Robo talks... the more I realize just how serious he means business.

"Come on! What is this?!" Tails said, scared. "I don't care if the zone is behind this or whatever, it's not a funny joke and I don't like it!"

"Yeah! Whoever's responsible, the act can end now!" Sonic said, pointing at the robot.

"It's not funny, that's for damn sure," Shadow added.

"Unbelievable!" Egg Robo complained. "You all keep saying this is a lie, or a joke, or a whatever! Skeptics! All of you! Eh, but I guess you can't help it. You kids today have grown up in an era where you can't trust anyone otherwise they'll either abduct you or give you razors in your chocolate... Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And, when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the truth!"

"How unfortunate..." Blaze bemoaned. "Having to live here forever is quite... problematic."

"Come on, what's wrong with you all? You decided on your own free wills to come to Green Hills, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is finished, you want to leave? What a shame!"

He suddenly began to hide his mouth in his hands. "Although... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is ONE way for you to leave..."

"Huh, and what's that you dumb egg salad?" Storm said.

"It's Egg Robo! And just so you know, as headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it... the Graduation Clause! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule! As I mentioned, Green Hills is designed to shape you into the next generation of heroes! As such, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And, if someone were to disrupt that lifestyle by doing UNhero-y things, they, and they alone, would be allowed to leave the zone. That, in an eggshell, is the Graduation Clause!"

"And what do you mean by, "UNhero-y things" as you so put it?" Wave questioned.

"Ho ho ho... Well, let's say..."

And then, he said something that made my heart sink into my stomach.

"If one person were to murder another."

"M-Murder?!" was the only word to come from my mouth. I felt faint, almost as if I could stop buzzing at any second.

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, whatever! You must kill someone if you want to leave. Simple as that! The rest is up to you! Give it your all to achieve that hero status in the worst way possible!"

Chills went through me, and it was clear I wasn't the only one. I looked around, seeing some like Tikal, Tails, Big, and Cream look white in the face, while more stoic ones like Shadow, Storm, Espio, Knuckles, Vector, and Wave even looked a little unhinged.

"You must kill someone if you want to leave."

This sentence drowned my head. These words made my blood grow cold...

"Ho ho ho! I bet THAT got your brains flowing! Beats the heck out of training Chao for racing, huh? Egg Robo chuckled. "You all are the future heroes! But you know... taking the hope of being a hero, and seeing it get murdered creates the dark shadow of despair. And it's... so EXTREME! I FIND IT SO... DARN... EXCITING!"

"S-Stop it!" Tails yelled. "To commit murder is..."

"It's the ultimate sin of mankind!" Tikal added.

"Ultimate Sin? Killing each other is just killing each other! I'm sure there's a dictionary for all of you somewhere if you want to find the definition of murder."

"We know what it means! That's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other?!" Amy yelled.

"Yeah! What Ms. Amy Rose said! Stop with all this blabbering and let us go home! I wanna see my Froggy!" Big said.

Egg Robo was silent.

"...Blabbering?" he said calmly.

Suddenly, his face got dark, and his glowing red eye shined even brighter.

"Blabbering, blabbering, BLABBERING?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BLABBERING?!" he screamed. "Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it, do you? 'Let us go! I wanna go home! I wanna see my pets! My Chao! My Parents! My Chaos Emerald mockup I made in 3rd grade!' That's what you keep telling me over and over again. Listen to me, and listen to me GOOD. From this moment on, this zone, THIS RING DIMENSION, is your home, your life, your world. No pets, no Chao, no parents, no police, no Chaos Emerald mockup. Got it?! And, and and and! You can kill as much as you want! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

Silver sighed. "Alright dude, come on. How long are you REALLY going to keep this up?"

"Eh?"

"You got me! You got me good! You scared us straight into behaving like good little girls and boys, so go ahead and reveal the trick now."

"Reveal the trick?"

"Yeah, 'cuz I mean... This is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like..."

"Dude, shut up!" Shadow yelled. "Do you think this is some kinda game? That we can't escape? I'm gonna prove it to you!"

Shadow ran over to the metal plates covering the gym, trying to kick it down with his feet. No matter how hard he kicked it, it wouldn't budge.

"Ho ho ho... Try as hard as you want, you won't get any far doing that..." Egg Robo said.

"Argh! Storm, Knuckles, whichever one of you is the strongest! Get over here and help me!"

"Don't listen to him Storm, he's just being an idiot as usual," Jet said. However, the albatross wasn't listening, and he joined Shadow in trying to beat down the plates.

"You can try try try till the Cucky's come home, and even with all the strongest people here, none of you can't make a dent," Egg Robo continued to taunt. Shadow growled as he walked over to us, pushing me out of the way. He placed himself in front of Egg Robo, his voice rumbling like thunder.

"Listen up, you asshole! This shit has gone WAY too far! To even tell us to murder, what kind of sick fucking joke is this?!" he yelled.

"Joke? You mean like how you're pretty much an emo version of Mr. Sonic over there?" Egg Robo taunted. Shadow roared as he suddenly grabbed Egg Robo by the collar, spitting in his face. Egg Robo began to flail his arms.

"I have you now! I don't care whether you're a real egg a robot or whatever! Either way, I'll send you straight to hell where you belong!" Shadow yelled.

"Wagh! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of Green Hills' regulations!" Egg Robo yelled out.

"Oh shut the fuck up about all of this! Let me, and I guess everyone else out! But mostly me! I'm through with this shit, and I swear I'll-"

Egg Robo suddenly... began to beep.

"What's this? Are you done with your comebacks?" Shadow asked.

He began to beep a little faster.

"Hey! Stop with the beeping and SAY SOMETHING!"

"You! Watch out! Get rid of it!" Vector yelled.

"Huh?"

He began to beep even faster as suddenly, his head opened up, and a missile was aimed straight at Shadow. I held onto my helmet tight.

"Don't stand there! Hurry up and THROW IT!"

The ferocity in Vector's voice seemed to stun Shadow to a point where, without word, he did what he was told. Shadow took Egg Robo and threw him into the air, and...

BOOM!

I felt a bit of debris hit my helmet as everyone, including Shadow, looked rattled.

"What the hell?!" he said, stumbling back. "Th-that wasn't some joke, that was real! It really DID blow up!"

As more debris hit my helmet, there was a painful ringing in my ears, and the smell of gunpowder in the air. Explosions might happen all the time in movies or tv shows, but when it's in real life...

"I'd never seen anything like it..." I told myself.

"W-well... you know, this means the egg toy has been destroyed, right?" Tikal said, still looking scared at what happened.

"I told you! I'm not JUST an egg! I'm Egg Robo!"

Another Egg Robo popped into existence. Tails yelped.

"Ahh! ANOTHER ONE!"

"Oh, you son of a bitch! You ACTUALLY tried to fucking kill me!" Shadow yelled.

Egg Robo pointed his hand at Shadow, revealing some kind of laser gun for his hand now. "Well yes! I WAS serious about trying to kill you. You DID just violate one of the zone's regulations after all. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on! Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't be let off with a name on the chalkboard and a note for your parents."

"W-Wait! That's beside the point! The way you came back, does that mean there's a bunch more of you around somewhere?" Rouge questioned.

"Egg Robos have been placed all throughout the zone, yes. Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. And, if you're caught breaking any rules, well... you saw what happened, right? Ho ho ho...And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So, don't let it happen again!"

"T-That's not even a punishment, that's just... wrong..." Amy said.

"Yeah! Trying to blow me up, tch, I've had plenty of people try to do that and I get out of it fine every time," Jet tutted.

"Now then, lastly..." Egg Robo added, ignoring Amy and Jet. "To commemorate your joyous entry into this zone, I have a little something for you... This!"

Egg Robo held out rectangular yellow device. "This is our official student handbook, called the PAD! Standing for Personal Academic Directory, this is your key to everything around here! Pretty cool, huh It's fully digital too, no need for any special accessories for it!"

He coughed, which I didn't think a robot had to do. "Ahem, yes, well, moving on... The PAD is absolutely vital to a healthy life within the zone, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday handbook. It has so many more uses than that! Also, it's completely waterproof, so you can use it while you're in the tub too! And! Thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our zone regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly!"

Egg Robo once again had his shining red eye. "You guys... you'll hear me say this a lot, but let me remind you that any violation of zone regulations will NOT be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. So, the same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. Well, that brings out entrance ceremony to a close. Do we have any questions?"

We all were silent, not wanting to say a word.

"Well, I'm glad you guys understood so quickly. So, please enjoy your depressing and dreary zone existence for the rest of your life, unless you decide to kill! And see ya later!"

Egg Robo disappeared, and with that...

He left us all in a state of shock.

"S-so guys?" Sonic said, speaking up. "How would you define what we just experienced?"

"A circus show of nightmares?" Tails replied.

"Something that fucking blows," Jet added.

"My worst fears..." Tikal also added.

Espio closed his eyes. "I just don't understand any of this. How is this even possible?" he said.

"So it is true?... We have to live here forever, or kill?" Amy asked. She began to cry. "I can't even process this!"

"Everyone, we need to just calm down," Vector said, stepping up to the middle of the crowd of people. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Egg Robo said, we essentially have two choices: The first, we stay here at Green Hills until the day we die. And the other choice is..."

"Indeed," Blaze said. "If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone, right?"

"But... killing someone... That's!" Tikal said, crying just like Amy. Knowing that she was the Ultimate Pacifist, this clearly went against her.

"It's inhumane," Knuckles added.

"We were abducted, and placed in this prison that looks like a zone ..." Big added sadly. "And now... we have to kill each other? This is my first time I've been in a zone, and this is... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He began to cry loudly too.

"No no, this is a lie! Yeah, all of it has to be! It's pure ridiculousness... aha... yeah!... yeah..." Tails said, nervously grabbing one of his tails.

"Right now, it really doesn't matter what's real or fake. What matters is... Is there someone seriously considering this?" Wave asked. Nobody had a response. I could even see her only friends, Jet and Storm, being silent too. I kept quiet, looking around at all the faces in the room.

Everyone stared at one another. Some of the people who were friends like Sonic and Tails, and the Babylon Rogues, looked at each other knowing they'd protect the ones they loved, but with everyone else... it was a veil of uncertainty. I could almost taste the hostility in the room. As I looked around, I swear I saw a couple of people staring at me... Rouge, Cream, Knuckles, everyone just staring at someone then at someone else.

And that's when it hit me... I realized the true terror hidden within the rules Egg Robo had laid out.

"You must kill someone if you want to leave."

Those words had planted vicious thoughts deep within each of us. We all became suspicious of everyone else. We all wondered the same thing:

"Is someone going to betray us?"

And that was how my new life at my new zone began. This zone, which had come out of nowhere, to raise my spirits so high...

It wasn't a zone of hope, a zone that taught me to become a hero.

It was...

...a zone of despair.


PROLOGUE

Despair Hill Zone Act 1

END


Living

Sonic the Hedgehog

Tails the Fox

Knuckles the Echidna

Amy Rose

Cream the Rabbit

Shadow the Hedgehog

Rouge the Bat

Vector the Crocodile

Espio the Chameleon

Charmy Bee

Silver the Hedgehog

Blaze the Cat

Jet the Hawk

Wave the Swallow

Storm the Albatross

Tikal the Echidna

Big the Cat

Deceased

None


TO BE CONTINUED...