1.

Once upon a time, a non specified timeline, in a land, or perhaps someone's dream, far far away, but closer than you think, someone died for some reason at some point of his life. He has had a life full of fun and laughs, just like anyone should have, sadly though, for him the laughs were over, thanks to his killer, who, appropriately, laughed at his expenses. Now, ladies and gentlemen, you are probably thinking "Dimentio, who was this guy and why he was killed?" Or maybe "Dimentio, why the Author's stories must always have people who randomly die for no logical reason?" And I shall answer the first question immediately, oh loyal crowd… This person was a very special individual and for someone, he was a threat. As for his killer… Well, I'm afraid we'll have to do a step forward in time… Or maybe backward, since Time has the habit of being so illusive. Let's introduce our main character, shall we?

In the midst of pure nothingness, Miles "Tails" Prower was still falling… And screaming. The horrible and bone crashing weight of his actions were too much for his surprisingly weak physic and mind to handle. Can you see him? I want you to give a very good look at him, at this failure of a living being, this would be genocide, this delusional and pathetic individual, yelling his way towards infinite torment… How exquisite! Eternal loneliness could have been his more than justified condemn, for being so stupid to fall into that inter-dimensional pipe (but that's another story), if it wasn't for the rather curious fact that, he was not alone… Someone, or better, something, was there too. It was a creature of unknown shape and appearance, except for its glowing blood filled eyes, and its claws. It was heading towards the vulpine's terrified form with obviously bad intentions. Escape was impossible for the terrified fox as he witnessed the inevitable advance of the innominable beast, that was getting closer and closer… Until it could finally reach his body and with one of its almighty claws, slashed the fox's head, who could barely avoid a fatal blow. Blood spilled mercilessly from his head as the creature began to laugh his inexistent lungs out of its unshaped shape. It laughed and laughed and laughed… Until its obnoxious sound slowly vanished from the Kitsune's sensitive ears as he fell deeper and deeper again, slowly losing his consciousness, as well as his vital fluid. Luckily for him, clutched in the tight grasp of his hand, lay a certain item… A certain light blue emerald, who, as if animated by the vulpine's emotions, began to glow. Undeserving salvation was upon the accursed boy.

Did I manage to grip your attention spam? I hope so… Because this story thrills me every time I recall it. Who is the mysterious beast and what are its intentions with Tails? And what was wrong with that gem of his? Be patient, oh dear saliva dripping spectators, soon enough all the mysteries shall be uncovered like a top model in a calendar… Only to create whole new questions, like a disfiguring narrative cliffhanger…

Like this one!

…

….

…….

Naaaaah, I was just kidding. This chapter is far from being over. Let us change scenario.

Tails woke up in a soft and warm bed, his head hurt like a valley of lumps during a rain of hammers, his facial features were twisted by the sheer pain of his injury. He put a hand on his wounded head, only to find it finely bandaged. Despite his current mental status, the vulpine was still in possession of one of his primal qualities… Logic. He realized that someone was taking care of him for some reason he couldn't remember. Once his gaze exited from the inevitable dizziness of the awakening, he gave a look at his surroundings. The small wood hut he was stranded in, was modest but comfortable, it brought him a strange yet, refreshing sense of security, as if he had lived all of his life in such environment. Slowly, he descended the comfy softness of his bed and tried to walk… Only to miserably fall and hit the ground hardly. A charismatic series of unpronounceable words crossed his sour mouth while he tried to recover a proper standing position. With several efforts, he eventually did, but now the numbness was stronger than ever… He fell from the sky, after all. Unable to stand erect, Tails began walking with the same balance of a drunk man on a Saturday night. His dizzy form crashed to several items and mobiles the house possessed, before finally reaching the exit door. As he opened it, to his utter dismay, he found himself a little too high from the ground; apparently, he has ended up in a tree house. Pushed by unknown forces and very well known curses, he tried to descend from the giant tree the house was built on, which would have been an easy task if it wasn't for the simple fact that his obnoxious headache made him see not just one but three different ladders… That was quite annoying, to say the least. It didn't take too long for him to eventually put his foot on the wrong place and unceremoniously fall to the merciless ground… For the third time in just one chapter! Miraculously, this time things went pretty different from the usual, as he noticed the very curious situation was locked in… Not only he didn't crash on the soil, but to his justified bewilderment, he found himself… Suspended in midair. Once again, his rational part prevented him to panic, as he turned his head to look in the eyes of the one responsible for his lack of brand new fatal injuries.

There he was, blue tracksuit, Pac-Man hat and all, our co-protagonist, Klonoa, who was using his long, large and fluffy ears to fly like a white dragon dog from some bewildering fantasy book. His young feline eyes were showing, if possible, both preoccupation and cockiness, while his gloved hands were easily keeping the fox's body from falling , which was amazing since Tails was heavier than he used to be. This kid was definitely stronger than he looked, and he knew it. Their gazes remained locked to each other for a while, one in shock and gratitude, the other in genuine childish curiosity and sincere concernment, before the black furred boy delicately released his guest on the ground, then landed on his own, apparently un-tired. Our two heroes, or maybe anti-heroes, stood in front of each other for a while, as if inspecting and / or judging the other one's appearance or life style. During this short time of sacral contemplation, Tails could notice a couple of things about his obviously younger savior: his height was a few inches smaller than his own and the fact that he was wearing dresses managed to disturb him… Even though, he didn't know why. The awkward moment was abruptly broken by the strange kid's voice, who was childish but weirdly cocky as well.

"Ehmm… Hey, do ya like videogames?" Klonoa randomly said. Tails thought about it for a moment, then answered.

"Sure!" At this, the kid's face brightened like the namesake side of the moon… You know, the bright side.

"Do ya know Pac-Man?" He said, pointing at his own cool hat.

"Who doesn't know Pac-Man?" The vulpine's casual answer.

That was all Klonoa needed. With a grin that could have matched the one of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex, he grabbed his guest and brand new co-player's hand and flew over his hut at lightning speed, before Tails could even say: "Ehi, let's play Pac-Man together!"

So… The two heroes officially met, in a unique and thankfully un-corny way, and their adventure was just about to begin… Just as this chapter is about to end. But before that, let's take a quick look at another scenario… A darker and scarier one. In other words, the typical final boss's dungeon.

A pair of mysterious individuals, engulfed in the classical darkness of such environment, were discussing about the recent events.

"The two have met, sir."

"Excellent… The Author shall be pleased."

Cliffhanger!