Me: Ohmigosh, that took forever! Before you murder me, allow me to explain. I wrote the first couple of chapters of Gifted on paper! Do you have any idea how boring it is to copy something from paper to computer! That's, like, 53 pages! Anywho, hope you enjoy! R&R! ^_^

Gifted

Chapter 2

~18 years earlier…~

The sun slowly set over the towering cliff that bordered one side of the small, homey town of Emberly, splashing fire across the cloudless sky. A young silvery-grey cat lounged in her uncomfortable desk chair, clear chocolate brown eyes drowsily scanning the pristine white halls of the town's local hospital. Sarah was bored…in every meaning of the word. She had been sitting at her desk for a good seven hours and with absolutely no activity. The nurses never came unless there was an emergency, and there was no way a doctor would stoop so low to speak to a mere receptionist.

Sarah sighed. She had just moved here after two years of collage, wanting to get away from her dull town and see Terah in all it's glory. She wanted to see the great falls of Kartia and visit the shining metropolis of Ashinra (ah-shin-rah), the silver city. If she was lucky, she might of even run into Ross Crencial. He was said to be the only Taren to have gone to Raheshiwah (rah-he-she-wah) and made it back alive! And where did she end up? Sarah groaned, banging her head against the wall. The most dramatic thing that happened since she had moved here was giving an old lady directions to the library and tending to a rabbit who broke his toe kicking a wall.

Of course there was the local folklore and legends. One of the most popular was the oh-so-spectacular "Star of Latsula". From what she gathered, it would shine it's "holy light" upon their "humble little town" annually on the tenth of March. The weird thing was, not a single person doubted this legend. They kept talking about tomorrow, calling it the "day without sun". Sarah half expected to see the townsfolk worshiping a flashlight that got stuck on a roof.

Sarah glanced at the miniature clock seated alongside her seven-inch portable radio. 11:38. Lovely. Sarah let out a yawn, deciding to get some rest. She had just finish constructing a makeshift pillow out of the dozens of crumpled up SODUKU puzzles in the recycle bin when the door was slammed open. She jumped about seven feet. A new record. Giving an irritated glance at the paper now sprawled across the floor, Sarah looked up to glare at the cause of her problems. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Leaning against the metallic doorframe was an exhausted young woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties. The powerful wind from the open glass door had disheveled her loose brown quills, giving her a weathered appearance. She could tell instantly that the woman was heavy with child, and yet her deep blue eyes, though glazed with pain, were calm and determined. The moment their eyes met, Sarah immediately knew what the young hedgehog needed and pressed the little red button thingy on her desk that called the nurse. Satisfied that help was on it's way, she hurried over to assist the hedgehog, who leaned gratefully on her shoulder as Sarah wrapped the woman's arm securely around her neck. Looking up at her, the woman addressed Sarah for the first time with a sense of…was it urgency? No, she was just stating facts, miraculously retaining a calm demeanor though Sarah knew that she was in tremendous pain. Strong woman.

"The baby-"

"I know," Sarah interrupted. "The nurse is on her way." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "You should sit down." She was just leading the grateful hedgehog to one of the numerous waiting-room chairs when two people thundered down the main hall directly opposite of the door. Sarah recognized them instantly. One was the nurse, a pure white wolf with sharp, observant hazel eyes who went by the name of Crissey Sanders. The other was a good friend of Sarah's, a light-blue lamb called Julia or 'Julie'. The moment Crissey spotted Sarah, she scowled in agitation.

"You again? Don't tell me you've accidentally hit the call button. You know we have better things to do than refill your coffee mug." Sarah narrowed her eyes. That wasn't my fault and she knows it. Sarah was just about to tell her this for the millionth time, when the hedgehog beside her tensed from a sudden contraction, giving a small whimper of pain. Crissey noticed this immediately. "That woman's in labor," she stated. No kidding, Sherlock. Crissey turned to Julie who had her worried brown eyes worriedly on my passenger. "Julia, you help Sarah take the patient to the delivery room, Level 3, Door 4E. I'll get Dr. Grayson."

Having said her piece, she turned and hurried down the hallway, every so often giving an order to a passing nurse or motioning for someone to join her. Sarah sighed. She had to admit, though she could be a pain-in-the-neck sometimes, she was fantastic in a crisis. After all, she was the doctor's assistant.

Julie quickly rushed over to where Sarah was slowly sinking under the weight of a full grown hedgehog and her unborn baby. The woman's weight was instantly decreased as Julie took her other arm and they both half lead, half dragged the weary hedgehog to the nearest elevator.

"So, what's her name?" Julie inquired, eyes on their patient.

"She's not unconscious, Jules," Sarah huffed. "Ask her." The woman turned her head to face her.

"They call me Emily, Emily Hunter." Then, something passed by her eyes and her lips quirked upward ever-so-slightly. "Nova calls me his guardian angel…" Her smile was quickly stolen by a fresh wave of pain. Pressing the button for the elevator, Julie asked, "Is Nova your husband?" Emily nodded distantly. Julie pondered this for a half second before speaking again. "Shouldn't he be here? I mean, if he's your husband, than shouldn't he be, like, treading a hole through the floor and driving the unfortunate nurses up the wall like most of the father-to-bes?" Emily's smile was bitter-sweet as she replied.

"I'm afraid he can't make it. Right now he is fighting for the lives of the innocent over four thousand light-years away." Julies eyes widened at this and she regarded the hedgehog with a sort of awed wonder.

"You mean," she breathed, "You're an alien?"

"Julie!" Sarah scolded as we stepped inside the elevator. "Don't be ridiculous!" She can be so naive sometimes. "It's just a figure of speech." She turned to give Emily an apologetic shrug, but stopped short at her peculiar expression.

"Actually, I'm afraid your friend is right," Emily stated, a flicker of amusement present in her deep blue eyes. "I am, as you would say, not of this world." She smiled mysteriously at their baffled expressions before returning her gaze to the dials above. The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful, room 4E being literally ten feet from the elevator doors. As Sarah headed back to her desk, she couldn't help but ponder over the words of the peculiar woman. An outworlder? How did she get here? I mean, a nine-month-pregnant woman wasn't exactly travel-worthy. How long had she been here? I've never seen her in town before, or anywhere for that matter. And her husband's at war in another galaxy? For the next fifteen minutes, the young fox remained at her desk, her mind buzzing with questions.

BONG!

Sarah jumped as the town clock chimed the first of the twelve notes required to mark the correct passage of time. Yes! Her shift was finally over! Sarah shot out of her desk and eagerly made her way toward the double-doors, the only thing standing between her and her temporary freedom. She froze. What the…?

Sarah watched in awed wonder as a eerie blue light began to flood the tiles in front of her, pouring through the glass and lapping at her feet. She quickly backed away, pressing herself against the desk as her eyes sought the source of the strange blue glow. She gasped. It was coming from the sky! A strange hazy mist had entered the courtyard outside reflecting the peculiar light. It was…haunting. Unreal. But…it was only light, right? It must be someone's weird idea of a joke.

With this reassuring thought in her mind, Sarah hesitantly reached a trembling hand in to the thick blue haze in front of her. It burned like cold fire. Sarah yelped as she automatically jerked back the affected area, staring at it in bewilderment. The burning sensation disappeared the moment the light left her hand, and was now replaced by an aggravating tingling sensation, like it had fallen asleep.

This was no flashlight.

Sarah dashed toward the elevator, intent on demanding Julie for an explanation. She pressed the call button, tapping her foot in impatience. For about five minutes. Sarah sighed. This was taking too long. She had just turned in exasperation toward the metallic staircase not seven feet away, when the elevator doors opened with an innocent little 'ding!'. Sarah turned to glare at it. The elevator didn't seem to mind, waiting patiently for its passenger. The young fox sighed in agitation as she made her way toward it. Stepping inside it, she pressed the button marked three. Nothing happed. Now looking annoyed, she pressed it again. And again. And ag-

SHOOM!

The fox screamed as the elevator shot downward so fast, she was almost certain it would collide with the floor. She shut her eyes and braced herself for impact. Suddenly, the elevator reversed it's direction, now heading upwards at a speed that pinned her to the carpeted floor. Then, it stopped. Terrified, Sarah dragged her self of said floor, using the metal railing for support. The elevator moved. Sarah screamed. It stopped. Silence.

Another move.

Another scream.

Silence.

By now, Sarah had a white-knuckled grip on the railing that was sure to leave dents. Slowly, the elevator inched it's way back down to level one, where it stopped. More silence. Sarah stared at the room she had just come from with something akin to disbelief. Then, she dashed out of the elevator and peered at it from the protective cover of her desk. The elevator didn't move. Was it staring at her? Sarah mentally slapped herself. Of course not! She'd been spending waaaaay to much time around Julie. Sarah narrowed her eyes with renewed determination.

Something weird was going on. Sarah wanted answers, and she wanted them now. She dashed upstairs.

Me: Soooooo…like I said before, this is my version of Sonic's back-story. Guess who 'Emily' is? And what's with that weird light. Here's a hint: In the first chappy, Sonic says that in order to time travel, he needs to use his 'energy'. And then, he was surrounded by blue fire. R&R! ^_^