Alright, everyone! Here's the next chapter! I am sooooo sorry about the huge wait. Hope you can forgive me. I'd give you an apology, put I'm not sure you're willing to read 38 pages of that so here's the next chapter instead! - MH
A long silence hung in the air.
"Well, what kind of a thank you is that?" the red hedgehog said, chuckling.
"Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful and all, but you'll have to understand I'm not used to random strangers jumping out with a sword and saving my life," Sonic explained.
"I get it," the red hedgehog said, resting his sword on his shoulder and stretching out a hand. "Name's Luke. Luke the Hedgehog. And this is my partner Karyn." He motioned to the purple hedgehog standing behind him.
"Pleased to meet you," she told Sonic while shaking his hand, smiling warmly.
"Sonic," he told them both while shaking their hands. "So what brings you here Luke?"
"Well, I was kinda hoping you could help me," he started.
"Help?" Sonic asked.
Luke sighed. "It's a long story."
"It started when I was ten years old. That's when the Stormers came to my town, killing everyone and destroying everything. My parents led me to safety, then went back to try to protect the town. When I came back, there was no sign of them, and the town was in ruins. I was desolate.
I started to travel, hoping that my parents were still alive somewhere. During one of my journeys, I was attacked by a pack of wolves. I would have been doomed if it hadn't been for a group of strange figures with swords that jumped out of nowhere and fended off the wolf attack. When it was over, they introduced themselves to me as the Blademasters, a secret group of mercenaries who took in abandoned people like me and taught them in the art of sword-fighting. They offered me a chance to join. So I did.
They led me to their academy, a group of white stone and wooden buildings in the middle of a forest. For three years I trained there, learning to fight and honing my skills. The leaders of the academy were amazed at my quick learning. They soon began to allow me to go on training missions. It was on one of these training missions that I met Karyn. She was then part of a group of female assassins. I rescued her from a burning building, and we began to tell each other our stories. I was surprised to learn how much we had in common, and we kept in touch after that.
One day, the night before my first official assignment, a fire broke out in the academy. The leaders led us to safety, and we watched everything burn. When the head count was over, we realized that the headmaster was not with us. Somebody mentioned that they had seen him locked up in his office. I couldn't just stand there. I grabbed my sword I was carrying, burst from the crowd, and ran to the headmaster's office.
I quickly ran into the main building. The wooden floors and walls burst into flames all around me. At one point, I stumbled and fell straight into a flaming carpet. I squinted my eyes and braced myself for the pain. Yet I felt no heat. I opened my eyes and slowly stood up. I was shocked, but quickly moved on.
I used my sword to chop down the door to the headmaster's office. I looked around and found the headmaster underneath the rubble of his collapsed desk. I quickly pulled him out of there. While I was doing so however, a piece of the roof fell straight toward us. I once more braced myself and raised my arms. When I looked up the flaming wooden bar was hovering above me. I was completely confused. I threw my arms forward and watched the flaming bar crash through the office's window and go soaring outside. I was amazed, but I had no time to waste. I hefted the headmaster on my shoulders, grabbed my sword, and went soaring out the window just as the office exploded. I flew through the air, terrified of the moment when I would crash into the ground. I put my arms underneath me to attempt to soften the fall. Yet when I opened my eyes, I was floating, a current of air underneath me. I stood up, and the air underneath me disappeared, and I landed safely on the ground.
The rest of the members and masters crowded around us. When the headmaster finally woke up, he thanked me. He explained that the reason he was locked in his office was because he had been reading reports of a blue hedgehog and his friends helping to protect the planets. He told me that if I wanted to find out about myself, I should seek you out. I called Karyn and convinced her to come with me. So here I am," he finished.
"Wow..." Sonic said, amazed.
"So Sonic...do you know anything about my parents?" Luke asked, looking at him carefully.
Sonic slowly shook his head. "No. I'm sorry..." he said sadly.
Luke sighed, his ears drooping. Karyn tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"...but maybe the others know something," Sonic continued hopefully.
"Others?" asked Luke. Sonic grinned.
"Here, follow me."
Sonic led Luke and Karyn away from the battlefield to the outskirts of the city. Slowly, they came to the edge of the forest, where they found a large building.
"Whoa," Karyn said, impressed.
Before them stood a large building with a strange structure. There were four tall towers on all four corners. The building itself was large, with a medieval style architecture. Upon stepping inside, Luke and Karyn saw before the a large hallway, with two stairs on either side, leading to an upstairs level. They went neither way, with Sonic instead leading them to a room on the right. There were some couches, a fireplace, and a door leading to an underground room, from where flashes and sounds of machinery could be heard.
Stretched out on one of the couches was a red echidna, his arms folded behind his head. His eyes shifted slightly when he heard the door open, but he kept them shut.
"Hey Tails, come over here! I got some friends I want you to meet," Sonic called out through the open door to the underground room. A few moments later, a yellow fox with two tails came up the stairs into the room they were in, smiling.
"Hey, Sonic! What took you so long? I was-," he started, then noticed Luke and Karyn standing there.
He looked at them, puzzled. "Who are they, Sonic?" he asked.
Sonic chuckled. "Right. I guess introductions are in order."
"...and that's it," Luke finished after retelling his story.
Everyone was in awed silence. Knuckles finally spoke up.
"That's some story. You got anything to prove it?" he challenged.
Luke looked at him. Suddenly he raised his sword, and a bright light appeared at its tip, temporarily blinding everyone in the room. He then slashed the sword down, and a deep darkness enveloped the room. Luke stretched out his hands, and streaks of lighting shot out towards a lamp, energizing the light bulb and restoring light. He then stretched his hand behind him, and a rock came flying through the open window and into his hand. He turned around, threw the rock up, lashed towards it with his sword, and a gust of wind blew it out the window. He pointed his hand at a glass of water, and the liquid flew out of the cup, forming into a ball shape floating above his hand. He dissolved the water, pointed the sword at the fireplace, and a bolt of fire shot out, igniting the fireplace, causing Knuckles, who had been leaning against it, to jump in surprise.
"Show off," Knuckles grumbled
"How did you do that?" Tails said, awed. Luke shrugged
"Ever since the fire, I've found out about the rest over time."
He sighed. "So, do you know anything about my parents?" he asked hopefully.
Nobody answered. Luke's head drooped. Karyn once more tried to comfort him.
"Hey, wait a minute," Tails suddenly said, rushing next to Luke and looking at his sword. He ran his fingers through it, looking at something close to the edge of the blade.
"What is it?" asked Sonic.
"Look."
Inscribed on the the sword was a strange symbol. It consisted of a ring in which there were seven small circles, a different symbol in each one. In the space in the middle of the ring was a four-pointed star.
"We've seen this before Sonic, remember?" Tails eagerly asked him.
"What do you-oh! The cave!" Sonic remembered.
"Cave?" asked Karyn.
Everyone looked at Sonic. He couldn't explain why, but he got the feeling things were about to get a lot more complicated. Who knows what we'll find, he thought. I've got a feeling that we're just getting started. He smiled.
"What are we waiting for? Come on and we'll show you!"
Well, there we finally go!
Seriously, this has got to be a record for longest time to update. Don't worry though, now that the obstacle of Luke's backstory is finally out of the way, things are about to get really interesting!
Chapter 3 coming soon!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic, his friends, or anything that is property of SEGA.
All original characters, locations, etc. are Copyright 2013 to ME.
