Meeting a celebrity had always been pretty high up on my bucket list, right up there with skydiving. Never did I think th at I would be able to check both off my list in one day (if you counted my fall as skydiving). He had only said one sentence and I could already tell he was just dripping with confidence. He stood at the door, hand planted on his hip, a soft smirk on his face… he looked just like how one would imagine Sonic.

So… please keep that in mind when I tell you that my first reaction was to stare at him. With my mouth hanging open. A slight squeak slipping out of my throat occasionally. My brain just sorta… shut down, like in the cartoons. Apparently it was pretty uncomfortable for a few seconds. Luckily, Sonic was pretty used to this reaction. He smiled a bit wider and crossed into the room.

"Never seen a talking hedgehog before?" He asked, grabbing a chair and pulling it close to the bed… very close. Close enough to even rest an arm on the side railing. I snapped back just a bit, noting that my personal space was being invaded. I stared back at Sonic as he looked me up and down. "Think you can tell us your name?"

Name? What's a name? Do I have a name? It took a second for my hat rack to kick back into gear. "M-My n-name's Josh." I said quietly. I was getting tongue tied, and that wasn't helping me function any better.

"Nice to meet you Josh." Sonic replied, smiling. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Y-Yeah, I know…" Oh my gosh did I say that out loud?

"And over there is Knuckles." Sonic pointed to the other side of the bed. I turned to see the red echidna, sitting on a chair close to the window, staring at me with some degree of, what I thought might be, curiosity. I was too fixated on Sonic I didn't even notice the him come in. His arms were crossed, and he had one leg crossed on top of his other.

"...the Emerald?" He asked me quietly. His voice was surprisingly soft, yet still held a certain intensity. I quickly picked it up off the nightstand and held it out to him. He grunted a bit and walked over to take it. "...we couldn't remove it from you while you were unconscious. Do you know why?" I shook my head. He nodded a bit and stared at the Emerald before walking out the door without another word. Sonic chuckled again, though there was just a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"He's… got a one track mind right now." He said, as if trying to apologize. "He's kinda the one responsible for guarding the Chaos Emeralds, especially this really big one called the Master Emerald." I had a fuzzy recollection of hearing that term before, though I couldn't tell you exactly where I heard it from. I nodded a bit, less because I understood, more because I couldn't quite find my voice again. Seeing him up close was… something else. Like the quills on the back of his head for example, I thought he just had like… five long and thick quills, because the games made them look like they were all just long, pointy masses… this close though, you could see each of the small, individual quills, purposely styled back to form those thicker points. The length of each quill was a bit surprising… if they were to hang down, they'd probably reach his lower back at least. He had fur too, all around his face, his arms, his torso, legs I assumed too. It was short, but… it looked surprisingly soft. His teeth showed through his easy smile… pure white… his canines looked dangerously sharp, though they were just hidden enough that you wouldn't really register them as threatening.

But, as cliche as it sounds, what really surprised me were his eyes. They were big, of course, but they somehow looked normal on him, not at all out of place. They were this amazing shade of green too, but again, anyone who had seen him in a video game would have known that. What surprised me were how… alive they looked. And I know it seems like that should have been obvious, I was looking at the guy in the flesh, but… I'd been used to seeing him rendered on a screen, printed on a page, seeing his eyes just… flat and lifeless. But here they were right in front of me… they shone in the pale light coming from the moon outside, they flicked this way and that, looking at various parts of my body and face, and they radiated with… something. I couldn't describe it, but… he looked at me like I wasn't some strange creature that had just fallen from the sky, he looked at me like I was a friend. Or something close.

"Hey, you there?" Sonic snapped his fingers in front of my face a bit, startling me slightly. I didn't realize I had been staring… I blushed a bit and looked down at his muzzle.

"Sorry…" I mumbled. "I'm just a bit… star struck I guess." I blushed harder. It was embarrassing to admit, but… again, he was used to it. I heard him chuckle softly.

"Take a deep breath dude." He said calmly. "I'm just a normal guy, like you." He stopped for a moment and looked me up and down. "...sort of. Gotta say, pretty surprising to see a human show up here on Mobius… don't get many of those." His smile dropped slowly as he looked me up and down again. "...you're a long ways from home, aint'cha..." My breath hitched as I nodded. "...Do you think you could tell me how you got here?"

I drew in a shaky breath and started from the beginning… Jacob finding the Emerald at a junk shop, the strange noises, the robots, the kidnapping… The entire time, Sonic listened attentively, nodding every now and then, asking a few questions for clarification… I saw his quills rise a bit as I talked about Eggman's involvement in my story. "...I need to get back to Jacob. He's all alone…" I took in another deep breath to keep the tears from falling.

"...do you guys have any other family he could go to?" Sonic asked. "Aunt, Uncle, anyone?" I shook my head.

"Mom and Dad were only kids, my dad's parents both passed away a while ago from lung cancer, and my mom cut off all ties with hers… I wouldn't know where to look for them." I curled up on the bed a bit, pulling my knees to my chest slowly. The move made me groan as my muscles ached in protest… nothing too painful, but enough to let me know I wouldn't be making any sudden movements for a little while now. I muttered a quiet apology for the noise, though I don't know if he heard me. He looked to be deep in thought, a soft frown on his face, his eyes gazing into the distance for a moment. He blinked a couple of times as he met my gaze again.

"We've got no time to lose then." I said, his smile returning. "I'll get you back home in no time flat." I smiled back, gratefully, giving him a small nod. He nodded back for a moment before reaching down and picking up a plastic grocery bag (another thing I didn't notice whilst gazing dreamily at Sonic) full of clothing. Sonic pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a matching grey sweater. I blushed as I remembered that I was essentially naked, with a thin hospital gown not doing much to hide my body. "Figured you'd like something to wear, since your clothes were kinda burnt up." He chuckled. "I'm just glad to find out it wasn't because Eggman caught you on fire or something."

"What happened after that though?" I asked, moving closer. "I blacked out, I don't know anything."

"Well, I was already on my way to Eggman's airship with a couple of friends when we saw it explode. We didn't even see you at first until one of my friends, Tails, pointed you out." Sonic sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I don't think I've run that fast in a long time."

"Sorry…" I said quietly. Sonic looked at me funny.

"...Sorry for what? Falling to your death?" He laughed a bit, though it didn't look like he meant to. He cleared his throat. "I don't really think you need to apologize for that dude. Besides, I wouldn't be called the Fastest Thing Alive if I didn't like running as fast as I did. Not that I needed to though." He looked far away again, just kind of… staring at me. Staring THROUGH me. I shifted a bit as he continued. "You were just… floating down. Slowly. The Emerald was glowing like crazy in your hand. I grabbed you and you were just weightless for a while…" His smile never left his face, but as he blinked again, coming back, I could tell… he was a bit troubled by the whole ordeal. "All your clothes were charred and smoking, but you didn't look burned at all… A swarm of robots started to come down, searching for you. We didn't know what else to do, so we just… brought you here." Sonic's smile turned apologetic. "Sorry about that by the way… I'm sure the last thing you wanted to see after all that was a hospital."

"N-No, don't be sorry!" I quickly butted in. "It's really ok!"

"Yeah, well, I can at least try to make up for that." Sonic leaned forward again, patting the clothes and setting them on the bed. "I'll get a nurse in here to take all those tubes off you, then you can change and we can get out of here."

"I-I'm free to go?" I asked, sitting up just a bit more. Sonic nodded, his smile growing a bit wider.

"Yup. Doc says that she can't find anything wrong with you, so you're good to go!" Sonic winked and stood up. "I'll wait for you down in the lobby." I nodded as I watched Sonic turn and leave. I remained still for a while as the nerves and adrenaline I felt slowly left, and I felt myself slowly sink back into my bed. That just happened… I just talked to Sonic the freaking Hedgehog, and he was talking back to me. And his hand almost touched my arm! I felt like a pre-teen at a Taylor Swift concert. I remained in this odd euphoric state as nurses came in, removed my IV's, and helped me stand and walk towards the bathroom, my new sweats in hand. As I started to change, and calm down a bit, I began to wonder… where exactly was Sonic going to take me…?

…

…

"You… actually own a house?" I asked, looking ahead of me. The hospital was nice enough to send me back with Sonic in a van (A flying van, by the way, no wheels), which provided a very smooth ride. Sonic looked over at me, seeming to find my question a bit funny.

"Where did you think I lived?" He asked between a couple of soft chuckles. "A cave or grass hut or something?"

"I… uh…" I shut my mouth… I guess I had never really thought about where Sonic lived. I guess I just thought he was always on some adventure somewhere, never stopping to rest. "Just… not in a house…" I looked down a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed. Sonic just laughed and gave my back some friendly thumps, which only made my cheeks heat up even more. He settled back into his seat, looking out the window. I stared at him for a while more before I looked out my own window. There wasn't much to see… it was all dark…

I shivered a bit as I quickly settled in my seat again, returning my eyes to the seat in front of me. I shifted a bit.

"So, how much further is this place…?"

"Not too much further." Sonic draped an arm over the back of the seats, his hand hanging close to my shoulder. I couldn't tell if he saw my reaction, or much at all about his face, other than the soft glow of his eyes. (I'm not kidding, there was a very soft glow to them… it was mesmerizing.) While his actions gave off a relaxed, almost non-caring look, he seemed to be constantly looking over me. I shifted a bit, glancing over at Sonic every now and then, trying to decipher what he was thinking. But all I saw were his eyes, and an odd emotion behind it. Yet just as soon as I saw it, it was gone, replaced with his almost trademark brand of confidence. "Why don't you go back to sleep for a bit. Doc said you'd need your rest."

I shook my head a bit too quickly. "I'm not all that tired." I lied. Of course I was tired, it was two in the morning, and I guess the hospital must have had me on some general pain meds too because I was starting to feel like I was run over by one of those mini motorized cars little kids could get in and drive. I wanted nothing more than to sleep. But I didn't want to. Not if it meant repeating the nightmare… or even worse, getting a part two.

"Well… like I said, we're almost there. We'll get a bedroom set up and get you settled in." Sonic leaned back into his seat just a bit more, closing his eyes. I looked forward out the front, watching a bunch of floating lights marking out a road rush past us. Reality still hadn't set in, as I sat there, just calmly accepting everything going on. Sonic the Hedgehog, just a celebrity. Floating Van, totally possible. I almost died, sure, why not? I wasn't freaking out about this… why wasn't I freaking out about it? Should I have been? I looked over to Sonic to ask…

Only to find him staring at me, that same look in his eyes from before. His eyes darted back to front again, as he blinked a couple of times before letting them close. I shifted in my seat a bit, more thoughts swirling around in my head. Was he staring at me on purpose? What was he thinking about if he was? Does he maybe not like humans because of Eggman? ...oh my gosh, what if he doesn't like me? What if he won't actually help me, he'll just drop me off some place?

My train of thought was derailed by a gentle tap on my shoulder. "We're here dude." The van slowed and gently lowered to the ground with a gentle bump. One of the doors slid open with a gentle whoosh, revealing an inviting, two story house, set against a sky full of stars. It was dark, but it looked like it was a white house, with a black roof. Not much as far as exterior decorating as far as I could tell. As Sonic helped me out of the van, I looked up to see a light on in one of the upper windows, and caught a glimpse of a figure quickly daring out of view. Sonic chuckled a bit. "Looks like Tails stayed up to see you."

I giggled a bit, a rush of excitement entering into me again. Tails was tied for my favorite character, right up there with Sonic. A genius inventor who also happened to be, like, 8. It made me want to be a scientist as I grew up, so I could make robots like Tails did. The door to the house opened up, and I nearly squealed as I saw the small, orange and white fox, his two namesakes swaying a bit as he ran out to join us. And with him came a barrage of questions.

"Are you ok?"

"What happened out there?"

"What did the doctors do to you?"

"Do you need anything?"

I didn't even have time to take a breath between each of his questions. Sonic laughed a bit, holding out a hand to his friend. "Tails, take it easy, he's probably overwhelmed as is."

"I-I'm fine, really." I replied quickly. I smiled and held out my hand. "I'm Josh. And yeah, I'm fine." Tails smiled back, his tails giving an adorable little wave as he took my hand, giving it a surprisingly firm shake.

"My name's Miles, but my friends call me Tails." He replied as he dropped his hand to the side.

"It's nice to meet you Miles." It was a bit odd, calling him by his actual name, knowing full well that his preferred name was Tails. I figured, it might be best to try to keep things professional until he got to know me better.

"No, I told you, friends call me Tails!" He gave me a Sonic-esque thumbs up. "We're friends now right?"

I smiled even wider, a warm feeling flooding my core. "T-That fast?" I asked, my voice squeaking a bit from trying to hold back a squeal.

"Well…" Tails chuckled a bit, looking at the ground a little and holding his arm, as if he were embarrassed by what he was about to say. "I figured, you know… since you just got here, you're probably a little shaken up… I thought you could use a friend."

EEEEEEEEEEE~!

I couldn't help the blush that came as my smile spread across my whole face, I swear. I just nodded like an idiot, forgetting how my voice worked for a moment, barely managing a little squeal of excitement (which sounded a bit like someone stepped on a mouse). I could feel Sonic shaking next to me, trying to hold in his laughter, presumably from my reaction. I cleared my throat. "I-I'd be honored Tails… t-thank you…!"

Tails chuckled again, looking up at me funnily. "I don't know about an honor…"

"It's… a long story." I trailed off a bit, wondering how the kitsune was going to react when he learned that I actually knew a lot more about him than he knew about me. Tails tilted his head a bit as he looked from me, to Sonic, to me again.

"Wait until we get inside." Sonic said softly. Tails nodded and waved us towards the house, already making his way in. Sonic chuckled again, shaking his head a bit.

"Looks like you're already making friends here!" Sonic grinned at me, giving me a gentle nudge.

"I thought I already made friends with you!" I replied, frowning a bit in a mock pout. I may have looked a bit too convincing though… Sonic started to stutter.

"I-I mean, y-yeah no right, of course we're friends!" He rubbed a hand through his quills. "I didn't mean we, weren't, I just meant that you're making more friends now and-"

"Hey, I was kidding…" I said quietly, gently placing a hand on his arm… his… surprisingly fluffy and soft arm. Sonic stopped and looked over at me, before finally sighing in relief and shaking his head.

"Sorry… guess we're all just pretty worried about making sure you feel welcome and comfortable." Sonic walked keeping a hand gently on my back, in case I started to stumble. I looked up at him (wow he's tall).

"Really?"

"Well, yeah…" He paused for a moment, a memory crossing his mind from the looks of it. "We know how it feels, being thrown onto an alien planet with no one you can really turn to." I think he might have felt me stiffen a bit, some reality setting in for me, because he quickly added, "Hey, you've got us now. Me and all my friends. We're gonna get you through this."

My thoughts had already started swimming with Jacob, starting to pull me down… so it was comforting to hear someone say that. I looked back up at Sonic again and nodded, whispering a slightly watery "thank you." Sonic gave my back a gentle pat, which caused a bit of pain to shoot through me. He winced a bit after seeing my face contort in pain.

"The doc gave me some pain killers for you. We'll get some food in you, then take your pill, then maybe get some rest." He said, almost to himself, as if going over a checklist. It took me back a bit, it was almost motherly… He nodded to himself as we crossed some steps and entered the house. Tails was already waiting at the door.

"Everyone's been really excited to meet you." Tails said happily, moving deeper into the house.

"Everyone?" I repeated, looking up at Sonic. He seemed equally confused, shrugging a bit, before guiding me through the house. The inside was as sparsely decorated as the outside… evidence that just guys lived in the house. We passed by a surprisingly clean kitchen and a small laundry room, before entering into the living room.

And if I wasn't starstruck before… you can bet I was now.