Chapter 2

Begin

You can hear it from everybody, I live life in the fast lane. I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog.

That night, I felt it. Hard. What I felt was fear. I just couldn't believe it, that's all. I ran to the Jewel shop. The police were yellow-taping everything. "Is it true?" I asked.

"Yep." Replied Espio the Chameleon. He works for Team Chaotix, a small detective company. "They've called in Ladycop. She's inside with that Echidna friend of yours."

"Knuckles??" That was a surprise. "They'll let that knucklehead in, but not me???? Not fair!"

"I've been told that she asked him to go in. They just called me to identify the weapon."

That made me mad! What type of supreme dingdong would take Knuckles in, but not me? I became angrier than just mad, I became fuming irritated!

"Don't go thinking nasty thoughts about me, Blue." Speak of the devil; Lil strolled right up to the yellow tape I couldn't cross.

She has a habit of calling me, "Blue". Why not just Sonic? Is Sonic too hard to remember, to spell, or to say? Sonic is S-O-N-I-C and pronounced, "s-on-ick"!

Anyway, she strolled up to the line. Her half-closed golden eyes; her hands (with long claws instead of nails) on her hips; her gun in the holder... I could've run. She was scary to mess with if you mad her mad. "What type of a dingdong am I, Blue?" She purred. Had this kitty read my thoughts or what?? "Or would I have to ask the supposed 'knucklehead'?"

"N-n-n-no, ma'am!" I stuttered. She's probably the only thing that can scare me. "I mean, you're the most b-b-b-beautiful dingdong in the universe, Chief Inspector!" I'm a supreme idiot what talking to women, especially attractive cops.

"Are you an idiot?" Lil raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! Of course! I'm the most supreme of idiots! Why would you ask?"

"It's my job to read you like a shopping flyer with bold print, which is exactly like you are." She had a point there, didn't she? She blew her bangs out of her face. "If you want," She turned around, "you can follow me to where your friend's working."

I ducked under the tape to follow. It's actually quite easy to do so, seeing how I can just roll up into a ball.

We walked to behind the Jewel shop. Knuckles was examining the broken glass window, in which the thief had escaped. "The chief was alone here, right?" He thought out loud.

"Yeah." Lil walked over to the echidna. "And the only things stolen were 3 flamestones and another crystal of somesort."

"3 FLAMESTONES??!!!" Knuckles looked shocked…for once.

"Yes. Why?" Lil, on the other-hand, had an expression I couldn't recognize.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"Problem?" Knuckles turned toward me. "Problem?? Flamestones the rarest gems to find in our galaxy! At least we can track down Chaos Emeralds. They give off the illusion of fire when small bright lights shine on them. Nobody, not even me, knows where to find them."

"Apparently someone did." I replied. "They looked here." Then, it hit me, "Why was the chief here anyway?"

"To get a ring for his girlfriend." Lil nodded. "I think I know what you're getting at. He was going to ask her to marry him."

"What type of stone did he want?" I was hoping a flamestone.

"Probably the other missing crystal." Knuckles interrupted my thoughts. "You only use flamestone for wedding bands if they glow on the person's finger without a light source. Tradition states that clearly."

UPDATE! Lil frowned. "So much for that lead." She was right for calling him. Neither Lil nor I knew anything about these gems.

"Who's the owner of the store?" I asked. "Why isn't he or she here?"

"Jericho Birdman," the Ladycop began, "bought the store from the original owners –a husband and wife team I believe- just a few years ago." Lil, being the inspector she was, obviously knew how to do her job correctly. "As for where Jericho is," she shook her head, "that information remains unknown.

Knuckles nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, it hit me.

If you've known Knuckles as long as I have, you'd know when he was hiding something. Believe me, I knew from the expression on his face, he was hiding something vital.

Lil saw it too. Like she had said, "It's my job to read you like a shopping flyer with bold print". Unlike me, who knew better than to ask, she actually ventured to ask. "So, Red, aren't you going to tell us what you know?"

"That's for me to know," he started to walk away, "and you to find out."