Chapter 1: The Mysterious Land

Jackson felt dizzy. His mind was moving at a slow pace, making it hard to recollect everything that happened. Then Jackson's mind was starting to fit in all the pieces of what just happened. The gem, the struggle, the strange cyclone, and then Cocoa disappearing.

He opened his eyes. The sunlight nearly blinded him. Jackson shielded his eyes, pausing for a second so his body could adjust, and then he sat up. He shook his head and looked around. He seemed to be in a clearing. Was he still in his training spot? His eyes adjusted to the sunlight and looked around a little better. He could easily notice that it wasn't the same one. The plant-life was all different, nothing he had ever seen on the island. Jackson felt dazed and confused. Wasn't he on the island? He felt something in his right hand. Looking down at it, he could see the strange little gem still clutched in his hand. He could also see his machete still attached to his belt buckle. Looks like everything he had was still with him, except…

He leapt to his feet and looked all around once again. There was no sign of Cocoa. He yelled out her name a few times, trying to get a response, but no luck. Jackson became worried about her, wondering what happened to her when she disappeared into that white light. Jackson thought it through, trying to think of what happened to her, each assumption being crazier than the next. Finally, he shook his head, trying to get all the horrible visions he had about her, and forced himself to think one thing; that maybe she landed somewhere not too far away, and that she couldn't respond because she was unconscious. Determined on this thought, he walked right into the jungle to look for her.

The jungle was dense, even more so than the island jungle. It was surrounded by plant-life that Jackson never saw, some even the book didn't even describe. Jackson was looking every which-way not only to find his sister, but also to examine anything and everything around him. Most of it did look familiar to him, but there were some plants that were very unusual. He saw one that had brown leaves and a light green tree trunk. He also saw one whose leaves looked like green puffy clouds. The more Jackson looked around, the more he realized how hungry he was. He wished he ate more at breakfast, and searched for anything edible.

He noticed an odd looking tree that looked sort of crooked to one side, and hanging from its branches were large pieces of fruit the size of basketballs. They had the shape of a pear. Even though the fruit looked delicious, Jackson was wary, considering the fact that he didn't know what kind of fruit it was, and whether it was poisonous or not. After a long contemplation with himself, his hunger overtook him, and he decided to eat one. He took one off of one of the branches. It had quite a weight to it for a fruit, and it explained why the tree was crooked. He hesitated at first, and then took a bite out of it. It didn't taste bad at all. In fact, it tasted really good. He sat down and ate it until he got to the core.

Feeling refreshed and full of energy, he continued on into the jungle, his mind still on Cocoa and that tasty fruit. On an on he went, looking every which way he could to find his sis. The jungle was getting denser and denser and he went on. He pulled out his machete, pocketed the gem, and started to hack through the branches and plants so he could make a path. He kept going and going, regardless of the cuts and dirt from the leaves. Finally, he swiped a few more times to cut through some thick plants and found himself gazing at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

He was standing upon a ridge that seemed to encircle into a crescent, surrounding a small jungle down below. Further to the right of Jackson, there was a large waterfall, which spilled its' essence into a pool down below. A swarm of funny looking birds were flying overhead, hanging out in groups of three. But beyond the entire jungle, there was a massive plain, patterned with different colors of green. But the most amazing thing of all was of what laid beyond it. It was a city. An actual filled with buildings, skyscrapers, and hopefully, people.

Jackson just stood there with his mouth gaping open. An expression of complete awe and happiness struck his face. He looked down at the pocket for which he stuffed the gem in. How far did this thing take him? It really confused him, but what excited him was that there were probably people, someone to get help from, and somewhere where he, and Cocoa if he found her, would be able to get real food and clothing. At this, Jackson thought that he started to sound like his sister when he thought about the clothing part. He had to hurry up and find his sister.

He stood up. He suddenly heard a rustling from behind him. Thinking his luck would favor him, and that would be Cocoa coming out, he turned. It brought Jackson's heart to a halt, for it was not Cocoa. A gigantic plant was behind him; its head was nothing more than a bulb with a mouth, a mouth with sharp, red teeth. Its' stem looked as long as an anaconda, and it moved like one too. That was the scariest part of all; it was moving. The stem seemed to maneuver itself around the trees. Its' jaws was opening and closing, saliva was dripping from its' mouth. Even though it did not have any eyes, it somehow sensed Jackson's presence, and was slowly bringing his head towards him.

Jackson was petrified to the core. He had never seen any sort of plant so big and alive. He did read about plants like the Venus Fly Trap, but by the looks of this plant, it ate more than just bugs. This also explained the reason why he didn't see any animals around. He wanted to get away, but he was trapped between it and the ridge. He had one second of seeing it raise its' head, its' jaws open wide, and then…it longed!

Jackson reacted the best way he could. He leapt to the left, watching as the snake-like plant hurled ever so closely to him, its' mouth chomped on thin air. Jackson instantly held the blade of his machete straight up, grasped the hilt with both hands, and brought it down onto the plant's stem, slicing his head off. The stem flailed around, green juice spilling out of it. Ew. Plant blood. The head fell on the ground with a great FUMP! The mouth lagged open, the saliva oozed out of it. Jackson didn't waist any time after seeing this. He took off, wondering if Cocoa met something like this too, and hopefully took care of it.

On an on he charged through the jungle, not even daring looking back. He was freaked out from what he saw, and he hoped with all of his might that he wouldn't see another one. He, of course, was wrong. For within a second of that thought he saw more entwined vines, and about a dozen or so more of those man-eating plants, staring at him. They didn't even waist a second upon his arrival, and started to lunge one after another.

Jackson, though frightened, was not willing to die like this. He darted past the fang-mouthed plants, avoiding their heads, leaping and ducking through their vine-like stems. He kept his sword handy, slicing through the stems that got in the way. One of the plants came out of nowhere, and charged directly at Jackson. He held out his blade in front of him, and with the force of his speed, he sliced the plant's head clean down the middle. A deluge of its' stem juice came dripping down from the remains of the plant. A bit of it drenched Jackson, which smelled like rotten fruit. Disgusting. He wrinkled up his nose and kept going. The remaining plants that could move chased after Jackson, wanting to chomp on him. Jackson kept running, not even noticing where he was going, only wanting to give a wide birth from those carnivorous plants.

He found himself darting towards the edge of the jungle. He came out of it at full pelt. He was nearly out of breath, and he felt a stitch in one of his lungs, but he kept running. He turned around to expect his pursuers to still follow him, but they stopped at the edge of the jungle. One tried to spring out, but it recoiled with a screech and darted back into the shadows. Jackson guessed that they didn't enjoy the sunlight, but he was grateful for that. He had hoped for his troubles to be over from then on, but yet again he was surely mistaken.

Jackson didn't notice where his feet were taking him, and he suddenly found himself running down a steep hill. He couldn't control himself, and his feet gave way. He started to tumble down the hill, flipping every which-way. One of his feet caught itself upon a rock. Jackson heard a SNAP and felt excruciating pain. His ankle broke. He was still tumbling, yelling in pain. He flipped off the hill and fell into a bunch of plants, which seemed to comfort his fall.

Jackson sat up right. He clutched his ankle and howled in pain. There were tears in his eyes, unable to bear the feeling in his ankle. He was unable to walk, and his pain made him unable to move either. He felt like he was in a hopeless case. He hollered with all his might for help, but it was no good. He couldn't do anything but cry. He wished he found Cocoa instead of hurting himself, he wished mom and dad were with him. He wished someone could help him at all.

For a while Jackson just curled up and cried, his ankle still nagging him. After a while, Jackson's ear perked up. He thought he heard something. He lifted his head, trying to get his ears focused on what the sound was. He heard it a little more clearly this time. It was the sound of something that he hadn't heard in a long time. Propellers. It was the sound of a plane. He looked up towards the sky and tried to find the source of that sound, but his eyes were tear-soaked. Rubbing his eyes so he could see more clearly, he looked up again. There, sure enough, was a small plane. It was flying low, so Jackson could see it better. It was a biplane, considering it had four wings. It had red painting on it, with a yellow stripe on each side.

Jackson was overjoyed to see someone who could help him, but he had no idea how to get the pilot's attention, especially since he was in the shadows of the plants. He suddenly had an idea. The gem. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He held it to the sky as far as he could reach, and started to wave it around, thinking that the sunlight will reflect it, and that the people in the plane would notice.

Up in the plane, and out of Jackson's hearing range, voices could be heard. "I think I'm getting a reading," said one voice. "You sure?" asked another voice. "We've already passed this place a little while ago!" "The readings are positive," the first voice replied. "It's definitely a Chaos Emerald." "Hey, I think I see something from down below!" said the second voice. "It looks like somebody is there, and he is waving something. You think it could be the Emerald?" "Most likely," said the first voice. "I'm gonna bring her down to the ground. Hang on."

From the ground, Jackson could see that the plane was slowly descending down. They noticed him, he was gonna be saved! Oh, how the tides do change for our little hero.

There came a rustling of trees the opposite side of him. Jackson turned at the sound of the noise. Could it be Cocoa at long last? An instant later, Jackson concluded that it couldn't be her, cause he also heard trees knocking over, and heavy footsteps as well. He figured it might be a large, and hopefully gentle, animal coming his way. Well, Jackson got the large part right.

The footsteps seem to come closer, the footprints heavy and hard. There were birds flying into the sky so they could get out of the way. A weird whistling sound could be heard from noises, too. All of a sudden, the trees parted way, revealing the last thing that Jackson would ever expect. Robots. Huge, metallic, and scary robots. There must have been about ten of them. They looked highly armored. They had arms, too, and hands almost five times the size of Jackson's arms. Their legs were well built, and looked as if they could crush a large boulder by stepping on it. The didn't have noses or mouths, but each of them did have one, laser red eye, making them look even more menacingly.

They were still making that metallic whistling and clicking noises, as if they were speaking in a language that Jackson could not understand. All eyes were staring at Jackson, particularly at his left hand where he held the gem. The closest robot to Jackson stomped towards him, until it was right on top of him. It looked down at him, its' gaze petrified Jackson once again to the core. Its' arm started to reach down towards him. It looked like it could break more than his leg. He closed his eyes, waiting for the moment to happen.

Something came rushing down from the plane. It curved around and hit the robot in the eye. It stumbled back and then toppled over. The other robots stared down at their comrade, then at what hit the robot. Jackson squinted so he could see what hit the robot. All he could see was that it had blue, spiky hair, and then it rushed towards the robot at an incredible speed.

Jackson opened his eyes more so he could see what was happening. The thing that saved him was moving so fast, it turned into a blue blur. It sped around the robots, knocking them into each other. The robots tried to catch it, but their arms didn't move fast enough to catch it. The plane came hurdling down at the robot, and started to shoot at the robots with a machine gun. The bullets hit the robots, but it seems to just bounce off them. Regardless of that, it distracted them, giving the blue blur a good time to knock them down.

Jackson was completely amazed by this site of heroism. He was so amazed however, that he didn't noticed the first robot stand up and confronted him again. It was meters away before Jackson heard him. He turned to see the robot stomping towards him once again. He tried to move, but his ankle wouldn't let him. He picked up his sword and threw it at the machine, but it merely bounce off him as well, only leaving a small scratch on its' armor. The robot was on top of him once again, and started to reach out at him. Jackson shielded his face with his arms, the gem still clutched in his hands. "Leave me alone!" cried Jackson.

It was almost like the gem was waiting to get a response from Jackson. It glowed brightly once again, along with its' high-pitched hum. It glowed a lot brighter, and then it just shot out a burst of light at the machine. It punctured a hole right through the robot, and kept going until the beam glimmered and disappeared. The gem reverted back to its' soft glowing form again. Jackson looked up to see what had happened. The burst of energy formed a hole through the robot, its' insides nothing but split wires and broken parts.

The minute Jackson saw this, the robot couldn't contain it anymore, and it exploded. The impact sent Jackson flying through the air, carrying the gem, his sword, and bits and pieces of the robot with him. He skidded across the ground until his head hit a large rock. The collision sent white lights into Jackson's eyes. He fell face first into the ground, just barely able to keep consciousness. The gem slipped out of his hand, his sword laid close to Jackson's fuzzy eyesight, only able to notice that the handle had broken off. Jackson was on the verge of going black again. The blue thing that attacked the other robots stopped in front of him. Jackson couldn't see his face. He wished he knew who, or what, he was. The last thing he could see was a white-gloved hand reach out to him, and then he was gone.

Chapter 2: Sonic and Tails

Jackson felt sore all over. His mind could only muster up one question: why do I always end up like this? This is the third time I remember being unconscious like this. He slightly shifted his body. He noticed that what he was lying on wasn't the hard ground, but something soft and comfy. He could also feel something like that supporting his head as well. He also felt something drenched over Jackson's body, and it felt so much like a blanket, made of a fuzzy material. Was he in a bed? A real one?

He opened his eyes. Everything seemed foggy at first, and the room spun with his dizziness. He pulled his arms out from under the warm blanket and rubbed his eyes. The first thing he noticed, looking to one side, was a small wooden nightstand. It had a lamp on top of it, along with a wet towel and a bowl of water. It took Jackson a little while to figure out what this meant. He turned onto his back and slowly sat up. The pain in his head was throbbing. Putting one of his hands to his head, he noticed that his forehead was wrapped with some sort of bandaging. How did that get there? He wondered. Looking around, he noticed that this wasn't the forest.

He was indeed lying on top of a bed, a blue-sheeted one. The floor was made up of wooden planks set up neatly and sturdy. Across from him, Jackson could see a wooden dresser, a table with jumbled up items lying across it. Across from that was something that made Jackson's eyes bulge. It was a computer, and it was so large and so hi-tech like, that Jackson almost believed it was alive like those robots he saw before. He tried to get out of bed. "Ouch!" cried Jackson. He had completely forgotten about his ankle injury. He lifted the sheets to reveal his bottom half. The place where he got hurt was all bandaged up and strapped with two large splints. Someone mended my leg. He wondered, Someone must've saved me from that place. Was it the blue-haired person?

There was a knocking sound from behind. Jackson turned to see a door right next to him on the opposite side of the nightstand. "Hello?" said a voice on the other side of the door. The voice was that of a sort of gruff-like kid's voice. An actual person! Jackson thought with amazement. Someone who actually speaks my language! "Hello?" said the voice again, "Are you awake in there?" Jackson didn't know what to say at first, not knowing who his company might be, but considering that they must be nice people for saving him, he replied "Sure am!" The door started to open as the voice said, "That's good to hear. You sure gave us a fright when we found you there." The person speaking stepped in, and Jackson went into shock.

The person wasn't anything that Jackson expected. It wasn't even human. It was an animal, with yellowish fur and a white belly. It was about as tall as Jackson. It wore shoes, which were red and white, and wore gloves on his hands, also white. Its' eyes were the color of the sky, and he had small whiskers and cat-like ears. The weirdest feature, however, was his tail, or rather tails. There were two of them, with white furry tips on the ends of them. If he had to guess, Jackson would say that it looked like a two-legged, talking fox.

Something in Jackson's face made the creature show an expression of concern. "Are you ok?" asked the creature. Jackson got a bigger jolt when it spoke up. He started to panic, scurrying away from the creature, yelped in pain, and toppled backwards onto the opposite side of the bed. He hit his head again, and stars were dancing all around Jackson's brain. The footsteps of the creature seem to rush over to Jackson's side. "Hey, take it easy!" said the creature as he reached down to lift Jackson up, "Your head and ankle injuries are still mending, and I don't want you to get injured again."

He got Jackson to sit on the edge of the bed, where he tried to focus once again. He cleared his mind, thinking what he saw was a dream, looked to see the creature supporting him, and recoiled in fright. This was no dream, and he wasn't delusional. "Wh-who are you?" was the first thing Jackson could stammer out. The creature backed off a couple steps so he could give Jackson some space. "I'm sorry, my name is Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails." At this, Jackson was even more scared than he was before. This thing has friends? He wondered.

The next thing that came to Jackson's mouth was, "Wha-what in the world are you?" The creature named Tails gave an expression of complete bemusement. "What do you mean by that?" said Tails. "Well," started Jackson, trying to be more polite than nervous, "Its just that I-I've never seen anything like you before, ever!" Tails looked even more confused than before as he replied, "Really? That's very peculiar." He thought for a second before asking, "Where do you come from?"

Jackson thought about what to say and how to say it. "Well, I was on an island," Jackson started, "Just my sister and me, but then I found this little gem which somehow…" Then Jackson just remembered something. He searched all around him. "Wait, where's my sword?" asked Jackson, whose voice showed even more panic than before, "Where's my gem?" Tails smirked at Jackson as he said, "Oh, don't worry about that, your sword is right over there." He pointed towards a table next to the computer where, sure enough, the sword lay, though Jackson noticed something looked different about it. "The hilt of your sword broke, but I made a new one for you," said Tails as he walked over to pick up the sword, "I even sharpened your blade for you, it looked pretty dull." He handed over the sword to Jackson. Jackson grabbed the hilt, which was made out of some sort of steel, but it felt better than his wooden one, he could even grip it better.

"And as for the Chaos Emerald," replied a voice that came from behind, "You don't need to worry about that, it's in a safe place." Jackson turned his head towards the door. Standing there was another creature. Jackson almost started to panic until he noticed it had blue, spiky hair. It was the thing that saved him from those robots. It had blue fur, except for his mouth, belly and arms, which were peach. He had slim legs with red shoes with white stripes. He also wore white gloves like Tails, but his ears were not as big as Tails. His tail was tiny, and he had green eyes. His hair, though spiky, had sort of a wind-swept look to it. When he spoke, it made Jackson think of him as a spirited young teen with a sense of adventure.

He walked around the bed towards Tails. "Well, I can see the kid is up an about." He said, staring at Tails then at Jackson, "I also heard that little tumble you took off the bed. You alright?" Jackson's first thought was not to reply, but seeing as this was the thing that saved him from the giant robots, he had to say something. "Uh, yeah, I think so," said Jackson, rubbing at the part of his head he fell on, thought for a second and then added "Thanks for helping me out there in the jungle." The creature scratched his nose and replied, "No problem. All in a days work."

"Those E-bots were after the Chaos Emerald you had," said Tails, stepping forward so Jackson could notice him, "If we hadn't detected the Emerald, you probably wouldn't be here." Jackson thought of those huge arms those robots had, gulped, and thought how glad he was being saved by something that wasn't gonna kill him…yet. He turned to the blue creature. "So who are you, anyway?" he asked. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself before." replied the creature. He raised his arm and brought it down into a thumbs-up as said, "My name is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

This got Jackson even more confused than before. "You're a hedgehog?" Jackson asked, giving off a glazed look at Sonic, "I've never seen a hedgehog like you before." Sonic's grin went into a perplexed look. "Really?" he asked, "I mean I know I'm a one of a kind sort of person, but I shouldn't be that unusual compared to other hedgehogs."

"Well, I've seen other hedgehogs before," said Jackson, trying his best not to make his voice sound rude, "but they are smaller, more brown, and they don't speak." At this, Sonic gave an expression of total bewilderment. "You sure you're ok, kid?" He asked, about to put his hand on Jackson's head, but Jackson shook it off. "Of course I am!" replied Jackson irritably, annoyed by Sonic's comment, and he added, "I'm just telling you what I know. I have no idea what you are, nor what Tails is either." He grasped his head, now getting a headache, "Ow…my head. It's so confusing."

During the conversation between Jackson and Sonic, Tails had his hand at his chin, obviously thinking about something. He finally spoke up. "Hey, Sonic?" he asked, "I'm listening to what he is saying, and based on what I heard, and on the data I got while scanning his body, I came to the conclusion that this kid is most likely not even part of this world!"

At this, Sonic jumped back in surprise, completely in shock. "What?!" he exclaimed, amazed by this suggestion. However, no one in the vicinity was more shocked than Jackson. A look of complete surprise filled his face. A different world? Really? How was that even possible? He could not figure it out. He never thought there was life beyond outer space.

"Tails, you've been reading too many science books!" continued Sonic, "You sure your not delusional?" "Positive," he replied, walking over to the huge computer. He turned it on and started to type rapidly on his keyboard. "When I scanned this kid before, I thought there was an malfunction in the system. However, I checked the equipment, and there was nothing wrong with it. I even scanned him again, and the readings were the same. There is no doubt that this kid went through some sort of time-space fluctuation."

Tails turned back to Jackson, who still had that expression of complete amazement. "May I ask how did you get the Emerald in the first place?" he asked. Jackson stared out of focus for a short while, but then he shook his head, understanding what he was just asked, and started to speak. He went on to tell about how he saw a bunch of shooting stars that night, how he saw the one that seemed so close above him, how he went to find it, and also of the struggle between he and his sister for the gem. Then he told about the gem lighting up, and about the rainbow-colored cyclone that he and his sister went through, but by the time he got to the point where he lost sight of Cocoa, he grew silent, wondering if his sister was ok.

Sonic was silent as well, his eyes were closed and his hand was rubbing his chin, as if he was pondering about something. Tails started to type away very quickly on his keyboard, obviously trying to figure something that Jackson said. He finally stopped typing, but was reading something on the screen of the computer. He turned to Sonic, who woke up from his moment of thought. "I believe that this kid had experienced a unusual phenomenon called a Chaos Portal." Both Jackson and Sonic looked confused. "A Chaos…Portal?" asked Sonic. "Yes," replied Tails, pulling up something out of his computer. Based on Jackson's point of view, he could see a picture of an odd looking funnel, with two wide ends and the middle being the thin area.

"You see, a Chaos Portal is a very rare phenomenon, and they are only found in certain areas. They are a type of rip through the time-space continuum, where it instantly transports you from a very long distance, most likely from planet to planet." Jackson was having a hard time understanding what in the world he was saying, but he only continued to listen. "However, there are certain things that you need in order to activate them. First of which, you need a source of Chaos energy, which is what the Emeralds are made up of. Secondly, you need someone who is able to use the energy as well, otherwise the energy wouldn't activate it."

Tails finally tore his eyes away from the screen at stared at Jackson once again. "Based on what I can comprehend, it must have been you or your sister that caused the Emerald to activate." At these words, Sonic spoke up. "It must be this kid," he said, walking over and placing his arm on his shoulder. "I noticed that the E-bot I hit first was right on top of him, but before I could react, the Emerald he was holding lit up and blasted a hole through the robot. It must be him, its gotta be."

Jackson felt so amazed at how Sonic seemed to praise him in such a way. He, himself, wouldn't think that he could be able to do such thing, but now looking back at those moments when the Emerald lit up, it made sense. When he told his sister to let go, the Emerald brought him here, but he lost his sister in the vortex. And when the robot tried to get him, didn't he yell at it to get away from him, and the Emerald did it for him? Jackson thought it was his dumb luck, but not anymore.

Tails spoke up again, and he lost his train of thought. "If that's true, then this kid is capable of controlling the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic turned and grinned at Jackson. "Sounds like you're a special case, kiddo." He said. Jackson was getting tired of being called 'kid' and spoke up. "Actually, my name is Jackson." He said. "Well, Jackson," said Sonic as he went to a pair of closed curtains that Jackson didn't notice until now, "Welcome to Mobius, our home land." He opened them up, the sunlight bursting through like the Emerald did before. Jackson shielded his eyes for a second and saw the trees of a jungle and the big, blue sky. Tails walked over to pat Jackson's back. Sonic turned to Jackson and grinned at him, and Jackson, who stopped fearing them at last, smiled back.

Chapter 3: Running & Recovering

Jackson thought that he would never get use to the fact that both Sonic and Tails were not human, but somehow he was able to. He even thought the opposite, about how similar they were with him in every way. Despite looks, they acted and felt the same way he did. In fact, they made Jackson feel like they were a family. Tails explained to Jackson that because of his injured state, he wouldn't be able to leave for a few weeks. Jackson didn't mind, but he wished he would be able to get up so he could start searching for his sister. He told this to Tails, who replied by saying that because Cocoa let go moments before arrival, it's more likely that she too landed somewhere on this world, but was somewhere far away. Sonic asked what his sister looked like, saying that he could go look for her in his place. Jackson gave a full detailed analysis on what she looked like, and Sonic took off.

Jackson spent most of those few weeks just lying on the bed with his leg supported by another pillow on the other end. He felt bored just lying on the bed like that, but Tails and occasionally Sonic kept them company. Tails would usually come up to check on him, getting him food when he needed it. Jackson was thankful that he finally got some real food. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, sodas, all that stuff. Sonic even got Jackson his favorite food, chili-dogs, which were so delicious. Some of the fruits or vegetables that Jackson got were strange, but he figured out which ones were the good ones. One of the fruits that he got turned out to be the same fruit as he tasted in the jungle. Tails said that it was called a pecklery, and it was suppose to be smaller than the one he tasted. He also explained that the man-eating plants that chased him were called tentaculas, and were very dangerous. Jackson found that part out the hard way.

Tails explained a lot about their world, from the locations of special landmarks, to the people that lived around there. Apparently, the people, or rather creatures, that lived around were called Mobians. He showed pictures on his computer to Jackson, showing all kinds of creatures. Jackson concluded that they were sort of humanized creatures. There were not only hedgehogs and foxes like Sonic and Tails, but there were other creatures like alligators, bats, raccoons, echidnas, cats, and all other forms of animals. There were even some humans among them. Jackson was grateful for this because he didn't want to be the only human around here.

Jackson did wonder why he was more known as Tails instead of Miles. "I mean," he murmured, swallowing the last of his lunch, "I can understand that you have two tails, but are they of any significance?" At this, Tails chuckled. "As a matter of fact…" he started, and all of a sudden he started to twirl his tails around, and he started to float into the air, like a helicopter. Jackson nearly fell out of bed again at this. "…I find their significance very useful!" ended Tails. He laughed at the sight of Jackson's shocked expression.

Sonic would occasionally come back to see Jackson and Tails, either to see how Jackson was doing, or to report that he was unable to find Cocoa. This made Jackson skeptical, and he kept asking how far did he search. Sonic would always reply that he went all over Mobius, like from the plains of the Green Hills, to the coastline of Emerald Beach, and even searching the streets of Metrotropolis, all in one day. This made Jackson even more confused, as he couldn't understand how he searches all around that quickly, but he never asked him. After three weeks since his arrival, Jackson finally asked Sonic how he is able to look at so many places in so little time. Sonic merely grinned and replied, "Let me show you."

Tails helped Jackson out of bed and brought him down the stairs. The downstairs was mainly a garage, complete with tool benches, a couple of tables, some chairs, and all other kind of things. The first thing Jackson noticed when they got downstairs was the plane that he saw from earlier. Tails told him about it before, saying that he called it the Tornado. The next thing that Jackson noticed was a large container, and in it stood his gem, or rather the Chaos Emerald. He did ask why it was known as an emerald; since it wasn't green as a real emerald was suppose to be. Tails replied that the Chaos Emeralds are different, and that there are seven of them, each of them a different color, but all of them have special powers. If all seven were together, a miracle would happen. Jackson wondered what kind of miracle would happen.

Tails had Jackson leaned over the table while he went to get something for Jackson. The pain in his ankle was still painful, but not as painful as it was the first time. Jackson waited for a minute until Tails came out with a wheelchair. Jackson was glad to get out of the bed and get out into the open. Before he was wheeled out, Tails gave Jackson a pair of goggles. "What do I need these for?" he asked. Tails merely chuckled and said, "You'll soon find out."

Sonic was waiting outside, his arms crossed and his foot tapping on the ground. "What took you so long?" he asked as Tails pushed Jackson outside, "I went and warmed up by going around the forest twice." Jackson found this unbelievable as they were gone for only a couple minutes. "You ready to go?" Sonic asked Jackson. He nodded, and he put on the goggles, regardless of his disbelief that he needed them. Tails pushed him into placed, and let Sonic take the handlebars of the wheelchair. He waited till he had a good grip, and then he took off.

At one second they were just standing still, the next second both he and Sonic were racing through a blur of colors. They were going so fast, that it made Jackson's eyes water even through the goggles. The speed was intense, and all that could be heard was the rush of the wind and the pattering of Sonic's feet as he rushed to who knows where. All Jackson could do was close his eyes and grasp the chair for dear life. Sonic must've noticed this because within twenty seconds since takeoff, he shouted, "Open your eyes, Jackson!" Jackson really didn't want to cause he didn't want to watch them crash into anything. "Don't worry, Jackson," cried out Sonic, as if he knew what Jackson was thinking, "It's pretty fun once you get use to it."

Jackson only thought for a second, and then he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that Jackson saw was the rushing colors all around him, which made him think of the time in the Chaos Portal. Then as he looked all around him, he suddenly realized something; all of his fears were gone. The wind swept all around him, the feel of every twist and turn as Sonic avoided obstacles, it was so enthralling. Somehow, this speed and thrill didn't seem to scare Jackson at all. On the contrary, it was incredible, amazing, and intensifying all at the same time. He loved it; he really, really loved this feeling. Once a scared face at the start, Jackson's expression was changed to enjoyment. He even let out a whoop of joy. He looked back to see Sonic with a grin on his face.

Jackson felt them go up something for a second, and then they skidded to a halt. Then Jackson let out an astonishing gasp. They were standing on top of a large mountain, gazing over the horizon. The plains, the ocean, everything seemed to be visible from where they were. The wind seemed to have grabbed the petals of a flower field from down below and carried them up to where they were. The sky was so blue and bright, and the clouds were so close, Jackson could touch them. He turned back to Sonic.

"This is so amazing," said Jackson. "Well, I hope you like it," said Sonic with a smile, "Cause you're probably gonna be here for a while." Jackson looked all around, thought of his home, the island he and Cocoa lived on, and compared it to where he was. "Well, it isn't like home." said Jackson bemusedly, "But I guess this place will do." He turned to Sonic again, smirked, and then both started to laugh out loud, which seemed to carry itself all around Mobius.

Chapter 7: Eggman Appears

It took a few weeks before Jackson was able to take off the bandages. It took another week to actually walk on his own two feet. When he was able to, He leapt for joy; he even did a full lap of the house, for which Sonic did it fifty times just to show off.

Tails took the liberty of getting Jackson some new clothes to replace his old raggedy ones. It contained a light blue shirt, a golden-yellow vest, a pair of jeans, some white socks, and a pair of white shoes with a yellow lightning bolt on each side. Jackson went into the bathroom to get changed, and came out in the full attire. "Now that looks really cool on you." Said Tails. "Thanks," replied Jackson, who made sure everything looked ok, then he added, "I really can't thank you guys enough for what you did for me." "Meh, no problem." said Sonic, who was leaning against the wall, "We're always glad to help out people in need, especially ones from different worlds."

Tails went over to his tool bench and grabbed something from it. "Here, I made this last night. I hope it fits you well." He was carrying a scabbard, with a leather shoulder strap that would wrap around him so he would his sword on his back. "Oh, wow!" gasped Jackson, "This is so cool! Thank you so much, Tails." He took it from his hands, went over to the closest mirror to him, and suited it onto him. He then placed his sword into it, which fitted perfectly.

"So now that your up and about," started Sonic, "what are you gonna do next?" Jackson just stood there looking at his reflection. He had been thinking about this question for a long time, but one answer always came up first. Finally, he answered, "I think I'll go look for my sister all on my own. I still don't know where she is, but I will go find her." Jackson could see from the reflection both Sonic and Tails look at each other with concerned looks.

"Jackson, I know you really want to see your sister again," said Tails with a hesitant voice, "but are you sure you want to do this all on your own?" "Yeah," added Sonic, standing up straight, "You just got better. You shouldn't be going on anything by yourself." Jackson turned to face them. "I know that." he said, feeling slightly hurt by their words, "But you guys already done so much to me, and I don't want to trouble you guys anymore about me." Both Sonic and Tails were giving worried looks as he went to get his bag of food that he packed the night before. He turned around, noticed the expressions on their faces, and sighed, "Look, I know I haven't really explored the outside world, but I have to find my sister, and who knows where she is."

"Of course someone does." interrupted Sonic, stepping forward so that he was between Jackson and the door, "Remember who has been searching for her while you were injured. She isn't around for miles." Jackson opened his mouth, but then he closed it. He did make a good point on that. "And besides," added Tails, getting up and next to Jackson, "It's like you said, this is an unexplored world for you. If you really want to do this by yourself, tell us how will you defend yourself from trouble when we aren't there? How will you fight the E-bots?" Jackson stood thinking at these words. He really didn't think of those robots, and Tails was right, he couldn't, "Your sword can only get you so far, Jackson," continued Tails, "This world is bigger than your little island. You shouldn't do things so recklessly."

Jackson fell back onto the seat. He forgot to put every bit and piece of detail together. He thought that, considering Cocoa was his sister, he would be able to take on this thing by himself. After hearing his two friends, he didn't know what to do. Tails walked over to Jackson and placed his arm on his shoulder. "Jackson, I know the truth hurts," he started, his voice full of sympathy for Jackson, "but you don't have to worry about us. We're always glad to help someone out." Sonic rushed to Jackson's other shoulder. "That's right," said Sonic, "Believe me when I say that if we work together, nothing can stop us."

Just then, a voice came out from outside. "Sonic!" called the voice, which was that of a female, "Are you here?" Sonic face went from grinning to terror faster than his speed. Based on his expression, Jackson guessed that there was something, or someone, that was able to stop him. "Oh, no." Moaned Sonic, stepping a few paces back to the back door. He turned to Jackson and Tails and asked, "Listen, if Amy asks where I'm at, tell her I went out a little while ago." And with that he dashed towards the back door, and disappeared without a trace. Jackson's face showed an expression of total bewilderment. "What was that all about?" he asked, turning to Tails. Tails sighed and replied, "You'll soon find out." Jackson turned to the garage door to see someone walking into view.

This person, or rather Mobian, was also a creature like the others. Due to Tails showing him all the different Mobians around, Jackson could tell that she was a female hedgehog. Her fur was pink, and she wore a red dress, with gold ring bracelets. Her shoes were red with a white stripe, sort of like Sonic's. Her hair was sort of like dreadlocks, and it had a hairband in it. When she turned to them, Jackson noticed her eyes were green.

"Hey, Amy." Said Tails, his nervous face trying to show a hint of pleasure at her arrival. "Hey there, Tails," replied the girl named Amy, "Have you seen Sonic?" "Sorry," replied Tails, trying not to look so nervous, "but he left a little while ago." Amy huffed; an expression of absolute disgruntlement crossed her. "Ohh, that Sonic," she barked, stamping her foot in anger, "He never around when I call out to him."

She turned from Tails to Jackson, and her expression changed. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't noticed your friend here." She walked up to Jackson, who's face was a little nervous, not from her looks, which didn't bother him after hanging around with Sonic and Tails a lot, but from her intro. Her face, however, softened as she looked at him. "So what might your name be?" she asked. Tails stepped in, as Jackson was completely without words, "This is our new friend Jackson. He was the kid from the different world that we told you about in the letter." "Oh, yeah." Amy commented, backing up and curtsying at him, "How do you do, Jackson. I am Amy Rose." "Nice to meet you," said Jackson, bowing slightly towards her.

Amy kept looking all over him. "You don't seem to be different from other human beings around here." remarked Amy, "In fact you're a lot like them." Jackson started to scratch the back of his head. "Should I take that as a compliment?" he asked Amy. Amy grinned and giggled at him. "That depends," she replied. Jackson didn't know what to think of her. She seemed to have a complex attitude. Jackson decided to ask the question that was confusing him. "So, why are you looking for Sonic?" he asked.

Amy gave Jackson a quizzical look. "What?" she said, "You mean Sonic hasn't told you about me?" Jackson shook his head. She sighed and shook her head as well. "Is he really that embarrassed to express his love to me around people?" moped Amy, turning around and walking a few paces towards the front door. Jackson heard, but didn't quite understand clearly what she was saying. "Huh?" was all that Jackson could say. Amy turned to him again with a big smile on her face. "Well it just so happens," she started, with an incredible amount of giddiness in her tone, "that Sonic is my boyfriend!"

Jackson's mouth dropped. He turned to Tails, hoping for some proof to this, but he only shook his head ever so slightly when Amy wasn't looking. "Uh," said Jackson stupidly, completely complexed at what to say next, "Well, that's, uh, cool." She turned back to Jackson and stated, "It's more than just cool, it's incredible!" She then sighed, "I remember the first time we met. Course it was a long time ago but seemed like love at first site when I met him. I know he must feel the same thing about me now." Jackson's cheeks went red. Sonic? He wondered. The romantic type? I don't know about that. He was just about to say something when Amy grabbed his arm. "I have an idea," she exclaimed, "lets find Sonic together. It'll be fun!" Jackson thought that this would be anything but fun as she dragged him outside, and he wondered if this day could get any weirder. It turns out it did.

They were barely ten yards away from the garage when suddenly something came flying out of the sky. It was a mechanical claw, and it grabbed itself around Amy. One shocked second, and then it retracted, reeling Amy, who was screaming, into the sky. Amy's hand released Jackson's, and Jackson only had time to say "What the…" before he looked up to see what got her. The claw came from what seemed to be a mechanical orb in the sky, and sitting in it was the first human Jackson seen in a long time. He was a stout man, and he wore a red coat with white stripes and yellow buttons. He also wore white glove, dark blue glasses, and a pair of goggles.

Tails came rushing out of the garage. "Hey, what happened?!" panicked Tails, but then he looked towards the place Jackson was staring at and growled, "Eggman!". The man whooped in laughter. "Well, look what I have here," he exclaimed sarcastically, staring down at Amy who was struggling in the mechanical claw, "The catch of the day!" Then he angled his head towards Tails and Jackson. "Hello, my foxy little friend." greeted the man sinisterly, "And hello to you too, child." Tails continued to growl at him, but Jackson was at a loss for words for a second, but he eventually said, "Wha…Who are you?" At this, the man looked shocked beyond belief. "WHAT?!" he shouted, completely surprised, "You mean you have no idea who I am?" Jackson shook his head. "Of course not, I'm not really from this wor-." At this, Tails instantly covered Jackson's mouth to silence him and whispered, "Don't tell him that!" But the man deduced the last word he was about to say.

"Really?" questioned the man, "You mean to tell me that you are a human from a different world?" Tails drooped his head, and Jackson realized he said too much. "Well, I guess that's the reason why you had a Chaos Emerald with you when my Eggbots found you in the woods." Said the man with a sinister grin. Jackson, flabbergasted by this info, removed Tails' hand from his mouth and exclaimed, "Those…those were your robot?" "Of course," said the man, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Doctor Eggman, evil genius extraordinaire."

Evil? Jackson's face went from shock to serious. He pulled out his sword and gripped it tightly, ready to go on the offense. Jackson's instincts always told him to suppress any evil, no matter how big or small. "Well if that's the case," growled Jackson, "Then why don't you just let go of Amy right now." Eggman whooped with laughter again, which made the aircraft hobble a little. "You got spunk kid, I'll give you that!" he complimented to Jackson, "But how are you gonna stop me? With that little toy sword?" "Hey!" barked Tails, "Don't make fun of Jackson like that!" "No one treats my friends like that!" agreed Amy, who was still struggling with no results, "So put me down now, or Sonic will come here and scramble you!" Eggman merely chuckled. "I'd like to see him try today," sneered Eggman, "I bet he won't even show up." "And just who isn't gonna show up?" came a voice.

Jackson looked up to see Sonic standing on top of the roof of the house. "Sonic!" chimed Jackson and Tails. "Oh, Sonic!" cried Amy, who had stopped struggling and stared at Sonic with a transfixed, loving expression. Sonic was smirking as he stared at Eggman, who did the exact same thing back. "Well if it isn't the spiny little hedgehog, here to save the day again." Said Eggman with that sinister smirk on his face. "Nice to see you, Eggman." Said Sonic, emphasizing his name with a sarcastic voice. "Hey," cried Amy, looking frustrated at the lack of being noticed, "Why don't you stop chatting up good times, and just come rescue me." "Don't worry, Amy." sighed Sonic, who began to scratch the inside of his ear, "This won't take long." He stopped scratching and looked up at Eggman again.

"Oh, but we have all the time in the world, buddy." Said Eggman, "Now hand over the Chaos Emerald you found!" "Not likely," declined Sonic, "Why don't you just drop Amy, and let us see where we go from there." "If you want her," sneered Eggman, hovering back over the treetops, "Come and get her!" Sonic chuckled. "I was hoping you'd say that," Said Sonic, positioning himself to jump. Jackson was wondering if he should help, but he didn't see how. All of a sudden, Sonic leapt into the air and suddenly turned into a spinning ball, then he rushed through the air like a shooting star towards Eggman.

Jackson turned to see Eggman's smile widen, then he pressed some sort of button. Within a moment, something came out of the canopy of the treetops. It was another machine, and it looked like a hovering claw. It moved into position, standing between Sonic and Eggman. Sonic charged towards it, believing it wouldn't stand a chance, and Jackson was thinking the same thing.

However, the machine started up, sparks were coming from its' claws, and all of sudden an energy beam came blasting from it. It looked like Sonic and the beam were on a collision course, but instead of blasting through, the beam stopped and created a type of energy orb around Sonic. Sonic was still spinning, but was stuck in midair. Tails and Jackson gasped. No matter how hard he pushed, Sonic was unable to move. Sonic stopped spinning, and was still hanging in the air, his face full of fear and confusion.

"Sonic!" cried Amy, but Eggman whooped in laughter again. "Well, how do like my little present?" asked Eggman. Jackson stepped forward. "What did you do to him?" he asked. "Nothing," replied Eggman, "unless you count surrounding him with my polarity beam as doing something." "A polarity what?!" questioned Jackson. "It's a gravitational field." murmured Tails, shocked at what happened, "It acts sort of like a force field. It focuses all gravity towards the center of an object, or in this case Sonic, therefore the object can't move anywhere." "Bravo, my little foxy friend!" complimented Eggman, giving Tails a round of applause, "It seems your IQ is still as well as ever, but it is nothing compared to my superior intellect."

Jackson was starting to get real annoyed by this man's attitude, and stepped towards him. "Let Sonic go right now, or you'll be sorry!" He bellowed at Eggman. Sonic turned towards Jackson, still floating in the air and said, "No Jackson! Don't do anything stupid!" Eggman chuckled once more. "He's right, for once." he said, grinning at Jackson's frustrated face, "What can you actually do, besides swing that toy blade around?" Jackson clenched his fist, angered even further by these words. "However," continued Eggman, "Since I'm a sympathetic fellow, I'm willing to release these two back to you…in exchange for the Chaos Emerald!" Jackson was shocked. This man was carrying hostages, and he was blackmailing Tails and him in exchange for their lives.

Tails stopped growling, but continued to look frustrated at the situation. Finally, he started to say, "All right, Eggman. Were willing to…" but Jackson cut him in mid-sentence. "No way, no how!" he shouted, "We won't accept to your demands!" Both Tails and Sonic looked shocked at the words coming from Jackson, completely in disbelief at Jackson's conviction. Even Eggman stopped chuckling and looked curiously at Jackson. "That's tough talk coming from a short stack like you." said Eggman, "But tell you what. I'm willing to give you two hours to accept my demands, or else…" "Or else what?" questioned Jackson. "Or else you'll never see these two alive again." threatened Eggman, and burst into laughter as he started to float away, carrying Amy and Sonic with him. "Tails, help us!" cried out Amy. "We're counting on you, Tails!" said Sonic. Tails looked up at them as they were carried away, and nodded. A moment later, they were gone.

Tails turned to Jackson. "Jackson, why would you go open your mouth like that?" he asked, "Eggman's not someone to take lightly." "Like I was gonna let things go his way!" retorted Jackson, "I'm sorry, but I just won't allow that." Tails and Jackson glared at each other for a little while, then Tails sighed, "Well the situation can't be undone. I better start up the Tornado." He rushed into the garage, and hopped into the cockpit. Jackson followed him.

"Let me come along as well," he asked. "No way," said Tails, trying to start up the airplane, "It is way too dangerous for you." "But Amy and Sonic are my friends, too!" begged Jackson, "I want to help." Tails turned to Jackson once more and replied, "You can help by getting the Chaos Emerald for me, and staying behind." Jackson was surprised by these words, and started to grit his teeth. Tails was actually gonna accept defeat, just give up like that? No way, thought Jackson, that is never gonna happen.

Jackson rushed over to where the Chaos Emerald laid, grabbed it, and rushed past the plane outside. Tails stood up in the cockpit and watched him. "Jackson!" shouted Tails over the sound of the starting propellers, "Where are you going?" Jackson merely glared back at Tails and replied, "I'm going to save my friends, the right way!" Jackson continued to run into the forest, towards the direction Eggman went. "Wait!" cried Tails, but too late. Jackson was already in the jungle, with his ambition set, and his sword ready for action. Jackson was saved by them before, so now it was time to return the favor.