Naruto yawned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. It's been a while since he's slept that good, but then again, it's been awhile since he slept on a normal bed. The one he slept on while staying with Smok felt like lying on a slightly malleable brick.

Naruto scratched his head as looked around the large room. It still fit the idea of what he imagined a high class inn room would look like. There was a fancy mirror, fancy drawers with shiny handles, an equally large bathroom a good view of the town from the window.

The child then looked to his left. On the other side of the room was another bed with Gohan sleeping on top.

A devious grin filled Naruto's face as he slowly stood up and walked to the edge of his mattress. He jumped across the room, shouting, "Hey, Gohan! Wake up!"

The collision of boy and fluffy mattress tossed the monkey-tailed child out of his bed and towards the ground.

"Ow!" Gohan gently rubbed his forehead as he looked up at Naruto.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Naruto chuckled.

He jumped down towards his downed companion and stood Gohan up.

They then grabbed their bags and proceeded to exit the inn. Rays from the sun beamed down on them as they walked to the town port.

There they spotted Chrome sitting on top of a barrel reading a book neatly tucked between her hands.

"Good morning, Chrome," Gohan said.

Chrome glanced up at the two with a dark, somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

"Those villagers from the village we passed by got really mad at me with the whole drop dead thing with my work."

"That was a pretty awkward way to go in a short undead life…" he replied.

"I know but…" her expression changed from annoyance to anger as she violently pulled her twin tails. "I offered to bring them back again and they got even more mad at me!"

"Nobody likes people they know coming back as zombies…"

"They can't have it both ways though!"

"They probably went easy on you since you're just a little girl."

"I'm actually over 100 years old…"

"WHAT?!"

Naruto could not believe what he just heard. The girl he's travelled for just a short time, the girl who only looks just a little older than him was over a hundred years old?

"You're actually an old lady?!"

"Well, that was not needed…" Chrome muttered under her breath.

An awkward atmosphere hung over the three until a bearded man approach them. He was one of the kidnap victims they had rescued who also happened to be captain of one of the town's ships.

"Ah, you three are here. We're ready to sail anytime you're ready," he said before boarding the ship he commands.

Naruto awkwardly scratched his right cheek. It was weird to be looked at with genuine respect and gratitude.

"You guys ready to go?"

For some strange reasons, the words "Yes" and "No" appeared in Gohan's head. He couldn't understand why he thought both when he had no reason to decline.

The three boarded the ship and waited for the other passengers. Once it was time, the ship took off for the next mass of land.

…

Naruto and Gohan continued to watch the passing waves over the side of the ship.

Bored out of his mind, Naruto turned to his travelling companion and asked, "Hey, Gohan, you ever wonder where Sonic ran off too?"

"You call?"

Giant exclamation points flashed over their heads as they followed that reply to its source. Right behind them, lounging on a chair, was the blue anthropomorphic hedgehog they briefly teamed up with the day before.

"Whoa, when did you get here?" Naruto questioned.

"I've been here," Sonic shrugged. "Kinda been meaning to ask you two something."

"Ask us what?" Gohan asked.

"What is this place?"

The two didn't know how to respond to such a question. It was too broad and vague

"One minute I'm dealing with Robotnik and suddenly I'm somewhere with a whole bunch of people that kinda look like him."

"Um…" Gohan anxiously scratched the back of his head. Those few sentences allowed him to form a theory, but it was a weird one. "This is kind of a long shot but is it possible that you're an alien?"

"Alien?" Naruto shot a confused look at Gohan.

"Depends. Ever heard of a place called Green Hill Zone?"

"No," Gohan answered.

"Emerald Hill?"

"No."

"Angel Island?"

"No."

"What's this planet called?"

"Earth."

"Okay, I'm an alien," Sonic nonchalantly reached for a can of soda he put to the side and took a sip.

"You're what?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Somehow I ended up on another planet," Sonic casually answered.

"Wait a minute," Naruto shook his head as he tried to process what he just heard. "There are people on planets other than ours?"

"Yeah. You didn't know that?"

"No!"

A sense of defeat filled Naruto as he slumped down. He always wondered what the world was like outside of his home village and its filled with dragons, zombies, scary women known as succubi, a succubus obsessed with zombies who also is way older than she looks, shadow creatures, dinosaurs, slime girls and aliens.

His journey just began and he's already encountered more than he could handle. What's more was deep down he felt surprised that he was shocked by all this considering he himself was far from being normal himself.

"So where are you guys headed too?" Sonic asked.

Gohan glanced at Naruto. He could tell that his companion wasn't in a state to answer.

"Well, we're headed to a place called the Forest of Spirits to find one of the Phantom Ruby shards we're after," Gohan answered.

"Phantom Ruby shards?" a quizzical expression formed on the blue hedgehog's face. Something about the name "Phantom Ruby" didn't sit right with him.

Gohan dug into his pocket and showed Sonic the shard Naruto has given him. "Someone told Naruto when you gather all seven; you can make any wish you want."

A sense of déjà vu attacked Sonic as he got up and approached the shard. "So that's a Phantom Ruby shard, huh? Kind of reminds me of the Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic reached out and touched the shard. Suddenly, he found himself staring down a masked foe he's never seen before.

"Time to tag out, Silver! I've got it from here!" he assured his fallen friend.

"Well, look who's back from the dead. The little blue savior."

On closer glance, he did recall seeing this person before. He previously lost to him before Eggman conquered most of the planet. Affixed on his chest was a gem that looked similar to the shard he just saw.

"But what's that I smell? You reek of fear. Glad to see I left an impression." The masked foe taunted.

Sonic playfully sniffed the underside of his right arm. "That's not fear. I ran all the way over here.

And you haven't left an impression. I don't know anything about you! Not even you're name."

"You may call me 'Infinite' in the brief moments that remain to you."

"Oh great! See, Infinite, now we're getting to know each other! So what's your favorite color? Do you like long, romantic walks on the beach? What's the source of your power? You can skip the first two questions if you like."

"The source of my power is none of your concern." Infinite calmly stated, ignoring Sonic's jokey remarks.

"Sorry, but you've just GOT to share the secret of your power with me." A confident, somewhat cocky grin stretched across the blue hedgehog's face as he charged at his opponent. "I insist!"

"Your insistence is futile!"

A demonic red aura surged through the immediate vicinity, stopping Sonic in his tracks. His confidence was soon replaced with bewilderment as he slowly rose from the ground.

"Sonic, you okay?" Silver asked.

Before he could reply, Infinite rammed into Sonic, sending him flying back to the ship.

"Whoa!" a sharp chill surged through the hedgehog's body as he quickly retracted his hand.

"What's wrong?" Gohan worriedly asked.

"I don't know. I just saw a taller version of me going at it with some guy trying way too hard to be edgy and menacing." Sonic covered his right eye and mimicked the villain's voice. "'You may call me Infinite in the brief moments that remain to you.'"

He chuckled. It really seemed like Infinite was trying his hardest to sound like the best villain in the world. "I don't even know if he's real or not and I still can't take him completely seriously."

Gohan glanced down at the shard in his hand and gently stiffed it back in his pocket.

"Whoo. Anyway, you two are going around collecting these things, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Alright, count me in!"

"Huh?" snapping back to reality, Naruto immediately jumped back on his feet and confronted Sonic. "You want to join us?"

"Sure, consider it thanks for saving me. Plus, I'll be able to see what kind of places this planet's got."

"You're really taking this stuck on another planet thing really well…" Naruto muttered.

"Hey, if you've got time for doubt and regret, then run." Sonic casually replied.

"What's that mean?"

"It means there's no point dwelling on the bad things. Besides, I'm always fine as long as I got a place to run."

"Well, in that case, welcome aboard."

Sonic nodded his head. "By the way, what do I call you guys?"

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'm Son Gohan."

"Naruto and Gohan." Sonic extended his right first towards them and grinned. "Got it?"

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Don't people on this planet know what a 'Fist Bump' is?"

Naruto awkwardly scratched his right cheek as Gohan shook his head.

"I don't know, at least," Gohan answered.

"It's pretty much in the name. Kinda like a high five but you bump fists. Come on, let's do it."

Naruto and Gohan raised their right fists and gently bumped it against Sonic's. Such a gesture felt like the christening of a new team to them.

"Well…" Sonic then jumped back in his chair and put on a pair of sunglasses. "How long is this boat ride anyway?"

"We won't arrive until next morning," Gohan answered.

"Guess the adventure continues tomorrow," Sonic shrugged then reached for his drink. "Can't wait, Partners."

Kinda hard to tell when you're lounging right there. Naruto chuckled at the contradictory words and actions of the alien blue hedgehog.