CHAPTER 3

AN UNSEEN DANGER

Kenna awoke the next morning and walked downstairs to the kitchen. As she passed the living room, she saw Aleena playing with Chase and smiled. The young prince looked up and squealed with delight, holding his hands up. His grandmother turned around and smiled at her daughter-in-law. "Good morning my dear." She said, smiling and Kenna smiled back.

"Good morning Aleena." She replied, walking up to them and bending down in front of her son. "Good morning Chase. Are you having fun with Grandma?" she asked and Chase grinned, holding his arms up. The queen smiled and sat down, hugging her son and saw Aleena pull a piece of paper out of her pocket. "What is that?" she asked.

"It is a note from Sonia and Manic." Aleena replied, unfolding it. "They want to meet us outside the forest so they can meet their new nephew." She explained and Kenna smiled.

"I will go wake Sonic and the others." She said as she picked up Chase and carried him upstairs. Aleena smiled and looked at the letter in her hands.

I hope no one else finds out about Chase and Serenity….she thought to herself.


Kenna, Sonic, Chase, Serenity, and Aleena had been waiting in the glade for at least forty minutes, Nero was lying in the grass nearby. Kenna was starting to get impatient and looked at Sonic asking, "Where are they?" Sonic sighed and Aleena told her to relax and that they would be here soon.

Not long after, a small pink tornado appeared. It shortly disappeared, revealing a pink hedgehog. She wore a red shirt, gold belt and a dark purple skirt. On her arms, she wore gloves that were the same color as the skirt. Her stockings and shoes were dark purple and red.

The hedgehog smiled at Sonic and said "Hey Sonic." Sonic smiled and walked up to his sister.

"Hey Sonia. Where's Manic?" Before Sonia could respond, they saw a lime green light appear and it faded, revealing a green hedgehog. He had two gold hoop rings on his ear and wore a red vest and red and white running shoes and had spiked wrist bands.

"Waz up bro?" the hedgehog said to Sonic who smiled.

"Not much Manic." He looked at Kenna and motioned for her to come over with Chase. "There are two hedgehogs we want you to meet." Sonic explained as Kenna stood next to him. Sonia and Manic looked down at their nephew and niece. Chase smiled really big and held his arms out, giggling, Serenity wagged her tail.

"They're so adorable!" Sonia exclaimed, bending down in front of him.

"Their names are Chase and Serenity." Kenna told her.

Sonia smiled at him. "Hello Chase, hello Serenity. I'm your aunt Sonia, and this…" she pointed to her brother. "is your uncle Manic."

Manic bent down beside his sister and smiled at the little baby and said "Hey little ones." Chase grinned at him and cried out, "Gah!" as he grabbed Manic's hair. The green hedgehog winces a little bit as he pulls his hair free from the baby's grip and looks up at his brother. "He sure is a strong one bro."

Chase wiggled in Sonia's arms and begins to fret. Kenna holds her arms out and Sonia handed him to her. Chase looked up at his mother and held his tiny arms out. "Do you want to try to walk now?" Kenna asked. The baby nodded his head and his mother knelt down on the ground. She motioned for the others to get down as well.

Sonic sat down in the grass on Kenna's left, Sonia and Manic on her right and Aleena was across from her. She helped Chase stand up and get his balance. Once he was steady, he held on to both of her index fingers and slowly lifted his left leg first, then his right. Kenna guided him across to his grandmother and slowly released her hands. Aleena held her arms out and Chase wobbled over to her. He tripped over a rock and fell, but his grandmother caught him before he hit the ground. Chase looked up at Aleena, eyes filled with tears. He started to cry and Aleena held him close.

"Don't cry little one. You were doing so good." She said, trying to encourage him. "Do you want to try again?" Chase looked at her and nodded. The purple hedgehog smiled and sat him down and helped him stand up. Holding on to her index fingers, she slowly guided him over to Sonia.

Sonia held her arms out, ready to catch her nephew in case he fell again. This time, Chase didn't trip, but lost his balance and fell backward. Manic reached his arm out and caught the little boy. He helped Chase stand up again and he toddled over to Sonia, falling again, but this time, into her arms. He walked over to his father, then uncle, then back to his mother. Giggling, he looked up at Kenna and said "Mama." Serenity began to growl, climbing out of her mother's lap.

Kenna chuckled. "Alright Serenity. It's your turn now." She stood her up just like Chase and held onto her as she walked towards her father. Kenna let go of Serenity's hands and just as she got to Sonic, he changed into Nico. The werehog caught his daughter as she stumbled over a root. He helped her stand back up and stabilized her as she toddled over to Sonia, then Manic, then Aleena, then back to her mother.

Kenna, eyes shining with pride, picked up the twins and hugged them. "My babies are learning to walk…" she cried happily.

Aleena laughed and said "before long, they'll be running just like Sonic." Kenna laughed back and looked at her little ones. They looked at her and the three of them stared into each other's eyes for awhile. Little did they know that someone was watching them inside the trees.

A tall dark figure peered out from behind the tree, watching the family of hedgehogs. The black hooded cloak she wore kept her hidden in the shadows. She grinned as she watched the tiny babies laughed and played with their family.

She moved closer and stepped on a fallen branch. It snapped and Nero's ears perked up. Growling low in his throat, he slowly walked toward the trees. Kenna and the other hedgehogs stopped playing with Chase and Serenity and the queen held her children close as they watched the wolf.

The female stepped back as the animal got closer. She turned around and flew off, deep into the forest.

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CHAPTERS 4-6 WILL BE UPLOADED NOVEMBER 30