Chapter 1

Celerity was so frightened by all of the shouting that she realized she was holding her breath. As she relaxed and her breathing returned to normal, she panned the room to see all of her family and friends. Then her eyes gazed upon the cake.

"Is…is this all for me? Is that my cake?" she asked curiously, still examining the cake from afar. She thought it was beautiful, but odd at the same time. She had never seen anything like that before. And something was shimmering on top. She knew it wasn't a candle but she couldn't quite tell what it might be.

"Of course sweetie. We have been planning this party for days now," answered her mother, "and Julie-Su made the cake for you. Doesn't it look amazing?"

"Yes ma'am it does. Thank you Ms. Julie-Su," said Celerity as she admired the cake. It was very interesting. It was almost the shape of a triangle, but it was standing erect on its point with the flat part facing the ceiling. How was it standing like that? She was also impressed with the completely smooth frosting. It even looked like it was shining it the light. Celerity decided to try and put the thoughts of the cake in the back of her mind and enjoy the rest of her party. She was sure everything would be explained when it came time to cut the cake.

As all of the greetings, congratulations and other party banter went on throughout the rest of the afternoon, Celerity kept catching herself getting distracted by the item atop the cake. It looked familiar even though she knew she had never seen anything like it before. She brushed it off once again and went back to having fun.

Aurora turned everyone's attention to her when she began tapping her glass with a spoon. "Okay everyone it's finally time to cut the cake. Sonic, will you do the honors?"

"Certainly," Sonic said without hesitation and took his place beside the cake. "Before I go any further, I have to say Julie-Su really outdid herself with this cake. It really brings back memories and it's a way past cool way to present Celerity's gift. It looks just like a real Chaos Emerald…"

Chaos Emerald! Celerity immediately remembered that from the stories Sonic would tell her. Then she thought if that's what she kept seeing on top of the cake.

"…Let's get started!" Sonic said and reached for the item on top of the cake. As he removed it, the bright red Emerald lit up in the light. Sonic motioned for Celerity to come beside him, calling her by her nickname, "Cella, this Chaos Emerald is for you. As you might recall, it is powerful by itself, but when combined with the other 6, they unleash unimaginable power."

"That's how you would transform into your super forms, right?" she asked.

"Yup," Sonic chuckled, "but that was a long time ago. Mobius is peaceful now. When me and Tails, Knuckles and everyone else that helped to defeat Eggman in the final fight, we decided to keep the Emeralds separate and keep guard over them just in case another force threatened Mobius. Your grandmother and I have one. Knuckles and Julie-Su keep one and their daughter, Lara-Su, had one. Lara-Su is also the Guardian of the Master Emerald, so we all talked about it and decided that you could have her Emerald so that she can focus on her duties as Guardian."

Cella was in awe as Sonic placed the Emerald in her hands. "Are you sure it's okay Grandpa?"

"It's fine Cella. We all agreed that if anyone could take care of it then it would be you," her mother answered.

"But what if something bad happens? What if I lose it? What if…" Celerity questioned, but was interrupted.

"What could happen? We haven't had any trouble in decades. It's no big deal," Manic said. "Now, let's have some of the delicious looking cake!"

Sonic began cutting a slice of the emerald-shaped cake for everyone. Celerity was still amazed by the red Chaos Emerald in her hands, and how she could feel its power resonating through her body. She couldn't stop staring at it and wondering if she really deserved the responsibility? Could she handle it all? She was only sixteen after all, and surely they didn't really expect her to be able to keep it safe. She had been lost in thoughts over this Emerald for a couple of hours. By the time she remembered it was her birthday, the party guests were already leaving. Now it was time to wash up and get ready for bed.

"Mom?" she asked as she placed the Emerald on her dresser.

"Yes Cella?" Aurora replied.

"How important is taking care of this thing? Like, is it something I really have to devote myself to or is it just kind of a joke since nobody is trying to take over the world anymore?" Cella questioned.

"Oh honey," her mother paused briefly, "don't worry so much about it. It is important, but it's mainly a way of showing we trust you and you are grown up now. If there's ever another evil being that appears on Mobius, your father grandfather and the others know where all the Emeralds are and can easily gather them all and use their power to keep you and everyone else safe."

Celerity, still uncertain about being in charge of the Emerald, gave her mother a hug and got in bed. "Goodnight Mom, and thanks for the party and trusting me with the Emerald. I'll try not to let you down." She fell asleep not long after her mother exited the room, unaware that the glow of the red Chaos Emerald was attracting the attention of a shadowy figure outside the house.

End Chapter 1