While Claudio tried desperately to get me to wear something that was much more form fitting than I would have liked ("It shows off your curves!"), Claudio and I finally reached a consensus… form-fitting, but nothing too form fitting.
"I don't get it though, why don't men's clothes fit me?" I asked, turning to look at my butt in a pair of skinny jeans that Claudio insisted I at least try on… and I wasn't saying no to yet.
"Here, take a look." Claudio walked over to the monitor and flicked away a few things before pulling up a picture of a male and female Mobian. "Males here tend to be rather boxy," he said, drawing a rectangle around the male's body. "Straight lines, not a lot of variety. Females, on the other hand, have curves, specifically in the chest area and the hips," He traced the figure of the girl with a finger. "While you don't really conform to either or," He walked back over to me and motioned to my body. "Your body is definitely closer to that of a female. Wearing anything male would just look too baggy on you, it would drown you out."
"And that's… bad?" I asked, watching the raccoon adjust my outfit a bit.
"You're a bit more on the petite side hon, any baggier and you'll just look like a walking laundry pile," He stood back, tapping his cheek with a finger. "...as much as I hate to say it, T-Shirt and jeans look good on you… as long as they're fitted to your body." I looked back in the mirror at my entire outfit. A dark blue pair of the aforementioned skinny jeans, and a white T-shirt with a gold-ish, graffitied on Fleur de Lis. The shirt was decidedly a woman's fit, hugging to my sides and arms, though definitely not as much as a woman's fit on Earth might have… or I don't know, maybe it did, I've never worn women's clothes before. All in all, though, it more or less clung to my body.
"Um… I-I don't Claudio… it's… a little… snug," I said, turning slowly in the mirror, trying to examine all of my angles.
"And that's bad?" The raccoon smiled, staring me up and down. "You should show off that little body of yours."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about…" I frowned, looking back at Claudio. "...I don't know, I'm just not super comfortable showing so much off I guess." Claudio nodded in understanding, turning back to his screen. He paused for a moment, looking me up and down.
"...well… I might have a remedy for that." He quietly mused, swiping through a few items of clothing before selecting something. "A thin button-up you can wear over the shirt, opened of course. It'll still cut a flattering figure for you, but it won't look quite so form fitting," He shook his head a bit, sighing. "Which is a shame. You have such a nice body." He crossed the room to an entryway, where an employee was already standing, a carefully folded shirt in her arms. He quietly thanked her, taking the shirt and unfurling it. The button-up was checkered white and pastel blue, the sleeves rolled up and secured in place by a small strap of the same material. Claudio moved to me and helped me put it on, fluffing it out a bit and helping it to settle how he liked on my body. He smiled, standing next to Amy and tilting his head. "...What do you think?"
"I think we found it," Amy replied, smiling brightly at me. I looked in the mirror and couldn't help but grin a bit. The shirt gave me a flattering shape, while still giving my body room to breathe. I liked it. "We'll need a couple more like these. Maybe some heavier choices if it gets cold," Amy continued, standing next to me. "But I think we'll buy this one now." She linked her arm with mine, giving me a small shake. "Now you don't look like you just got out of the hospital!"
I stared at my reflection for a while more before turning to look at Amy. "You don't have to do this," I said quietly. "I mean… I'm just passing through here, right? Once we get the Emeralds, I go home." Amy waved a hand dismissively.
"You need something comfortable to wear while you're here! Then you can take them home as a souvenir," She smiled brightly. "Something to remember us by, and you can brag to all your friends about visiting an alien planet!"
My friends… Amy must have seen my face darken or something, hers growing to look more concerned. She moved in front of me, taking one of my hands. "...you have friends, right?" She asked worriedly. I shrugged a bit.
"I do… or, did? I don't know, I haven't talked to them in a while…" It wasn't a lie this time, I really hadn't talked to any of my old friends. And they don't really talk to me. I don't know... I figured they just don't know what to say. I mean, if I were in their shoes… "We all just got busy doing our own thing."
Amy frowned before linking arms with me again, walking me out of the dressing room. "Well, now you've got some new friends." She said quietly. I felt myself smile just a little wider. I was friends with Amy Rose. How cool is that?
I tried to talk Amy out of buying me the clothes one last time before we made it to the register, but she insisted. When I insisted I would pay her back, she just laughed, saying that I "wasn't going to be here for long" anyway, throwing my words back in my face. I rolled my eyes but relented. I had to admit, I was getting a bit attached to these clothes, and how comfy they were.
Claudio was already at the front desk, rapidly instructing a poor sales clerk about the purchases he was ringing up for me, the discounts that were to be applied, as well as a few other things that were too quick to catch. As soon as he noticed us, he quickly walked up to me.
"Inspiration strikes, how would you like an ear piercing?" He asked excitedly. I quickly, almost instinctively, covered my ear lobes.
"I don't do anything with needles," I said quickly. Needles were, and still are, one of my top phobias, right up there with the dark, and as of yesterday, heights.
"So that rules out the tattoo then as well…" Claudio clicked his tongue a bit before excitedly ripping me from Amy's grasp, dragging me to the counter, where a small wooden box lay. He opened the box, revealing a set of silver charms laid in black felt. "It's a simple accessory, but you pick one of these, and we tie a cord to it, making a stylish but sort of grungy looking necklace that should help inflate your sense of masculinity," I gave the raccoon a funny look. "I know you weren't super into the idea of wearing women's clothes, this should give you a bit more of a… surfer dude look," he explained, motioning to my rather blonde hair and lanky body.
"...these are beautiful…" I said quietly as I looked over each charm one by one. They were all about the size of a quarter, each one a different shape, ranging from a skull and crossbones to a daisy, all of them gleaming brilliantly under the warm lighting in the store. "But I can't, I'm not buying, Amy is, and I don't want to-"
"The first one's free Josh," Claudio cut me off, beaming as if he had just announced I won the lottery, "In celebration for being the first human in my store!" I shifted a bit uncomfortably, recognizing the small guilt welling up in me.
"I don't want to cost the store so much money though…" I replied weakly.
"Oh go on, I make up the profit for one of these puppies in a second, just pick one!" He pushed me to the box, a bit too eagerly, and stood back watching me make my choice. I scanned over the various charms before pointing to a small musical note. Claudio nodded, quickly picking it out before instructing me to turn around. A few moments later, I felt him drape the necklace around my neck and tie it in the back. "There we go… perfect, let's have a look." I moved forward and turned to him, doing a small spin, holding my arms out. He clapped. "Now the finishing touch..." He looked at his hand before pulling off a simple, silver ring, quickly grabbing my own hand and placing it on my middle finger. "And you're fabulous!"
"...wait… you're just… giving me your ring?" I asked quietly.
"And we don't do returns either before you ask." Claudio quickly turned to the register, punching things in. "This is a gift, for being my first ever human…" He paused, looking up at me. "...and, if all goes well for you… my last," He smiled warmly before continuing to ring things up. "And when you get back to where you're from, you can tell all your friends about who gave you that ring, because I assume you're going to wear it always!"
"O-Of course!" What else could I say after something like that? I focused my attention back on the register as he ran the total. "[O] 1,586? What's the '[O]' mean?"
"Rings," Amy explained, handing over a card. "It's our currency here."
"Wait, you guys actually use rings here?" I asked, walking over to the register, trying to see how they would pay. Amy raised an eyebrow at me as she pulled a small card out of… somewhere… her pocket I assume.
"Er… yeah…?" She slowly handed the card over to Claudio, who ran it over a small metal plate on the other side of the register screen. The ring sound from the games chimed as the screen showed the payment went through.
"I just… um…" Oh… I hadn't explained that they were video game characters in my world. This could be awkward… how to play this… "So like… this one on my hand is like… one ring?" I asked. Smooth. Amy relaxed a bit.
"Oh no, not like that…!" She laughed, holding up the card. "All those rings you saw as we walked over here! We use those." I blinked a couple of times.
"...I… uh…" Did we pass by rings? Was I just… not paying attention… totally blind? "I haven't seen them." Claudio stared at me.
"You don't have the contact lenses?" He asked, resting his chin on his hand.
"Oh, maybe the hospital staff didn't put them in because they didn't know if you'd have an allergic reaction or something…" Amy looked at Claudio expectantly, who nodded, walking into the back. "Have you ever worn contact lenses before?" I shook my head no.
"I'm afraid of poking my eye out…"
"Don't worry, it'll be easy, I'll help you out."
(What felt like) 42 and a half minutes later
"You sure you're ok…?" Tails asked, leaning over the table a bit, staring into my eyes. "They look pretty… red."
"He's just not used to contacts," Amy replied, picking at a salad. "And if he would've stopped blinking so much, I wouldn't have poked his eye so hard,"
"Sorry…" I replied meekly. Amy just laughed a bit.
"So, how do you like them?" Tails asked, leaning forward on the table a bit.
"I mean, they're ok…" I rubbed my still slightly irritated eyes and looked around. There wasn't a whole ton of change, aside from now being able to see a bunch of holographic rings littered about on the sidewalks. As people walked through them, the rings would disappear in a sparkle of golden light. "Though, I'm having some serious questions about how your economy works."
Tails picked up his sandwich, raising it to his mouth. "You and me both," he muttered before taking a bite. Amy rolled her eyes slightly, putting her fork on her plate and throwing the two in a nearby trash can. "So, where are you dragging him off to now Amy?"
"Dragging?!" Amy seemed almost indignant. "I think he enjoyed it!"
"He's in skinny jeans and something from this month's Maylena Magazine, and I don't think that was by choice," Tails replied.
"Maylena?" I asked.
"It's a fashion magazine," Amy replied.
"You read fashion magazines…?" I asked Tails, a bit surprised. He shook his head.
"I just kinda… remember things," He turned and looked at Amy. "She was trying to show Sonic something, I just happened to be in the room."
"You remembered that just from hearing about it?" I looked back at Tails, who was nodding rather casually.
"White women's tee, gold fleur de lis, 'it'll hug my hips so well Sonic-'"
"TAILS!" Amy squealed, glaring at the kitsune, who just smiled innocently.
"Sorry, was that a private conversation?" He chuckled. Amy glared at Tails, who simply settled back in his seat, running a hand over his "bangs..." those three little hair pieces that just kinda stick out from his head. "Really, what else are you guys going to do?"
Amy sighed, shaking her head. "We've done all we've come for really. We could go window shopping!"
"Or," Tails quickly cut in before Amy could get too excited. "Why don't we go sightseeing? Josh hasn't seen anything except for the city," Tails held up a small pane of glass, a few white chat bubbles showing up on it. "And Knuckles asked how Josh was doing a little while ago. I think he'll be happy to see that you're walking around."
"He's been asking about me?" I asked, leaning forward and staring at the messages. "He seemed pretty dismissive of me when I saw him,"
"Oh, that's just how he acts," Amy waved her hand. "He's a big softie."
"Uh-huh..." I'd believe it when I saw it. But, I quickly realized, Knuckles might be the guy to talk to if I want to ask some Chaos Emerald related questions, like how we'd find them, how I can use them to get home... I mean, might as well, right? I might not get another chance to. I was about to say more, when-
"You are quite far from home, aren't you young one?" We all turned to face a purple... some kind of animal. Her face was shrouded in a black veil, and she wore a sleeveless black dress that covered most of her features. If I had to guess, she was a leopard or panther due to the spots on her arm.
"Er... yeah... that's kinda obvious..." Tails muttered, seeming to hold back a groan.
"And I see that you have recently changed your wardrobe," The woman continued, staring at me.
"How did you know that?" Amy asked, awestruck.
"Pandora sees all," The woman replied, motioning to herself. "And you left the tags on." There was a swift tug on the back of my shirt before she handed a tag to me. This drew a small chuckle from Tails.
"What else can you tell us Pandora?" Amy asked, leaning forward, her eyes glued to the mysterious woman. Tails scoffed, sinking into his chair and folding his arms.
"May I sit?" Pandora motioned to an empty chair. Amy nodded eagerly, Tails less so. Pandora pulled over the chair and sat down in one fluid motion... everything she did seemed so graceful and with purpose... and her voice was low, a slight purr in it... and she was totally captivating. She had an accent, but I couldn't quite place it. After taking a moment to smooth out her dress, she lifted her veil, revealing her feline face, and a pair of golden eyes. "...you're looking for someone. A brother."
Everyone sat up a bit more. I looked at Tails, who looked surprised, and Amy, who looked absolutely thrilled. "Y-Yeah… h-how'd you know?"
"I see all," She shrugged, reaching into her pocket for something.
"Do you know where Jacob is?" I leaned forward, practically begging for answers. Pandora looked at me with an odd expression... surprised... or maybe amused?
"Jacob? Hm..." She smiled thoughtfully before removing her hand from her pocket, holding something out in a closed fist. "I don't know where, but Jacob is safe... but he is not home. He has been found by those who wish to help him."
Even though I was pretty sure this lady was a fake, hearing her say that made me feel at least a little relieved. Before I could even open my mouth to say something, she took my hand and placed whatever she was holding into it. She wrapped both her hands around mine and looked me dead in the eyes. "...keep this in your pocket," Maybe it was the intense eye contact, but the panther's voice started to sound different. More... intense... almost echoey. "Do not take it out, do not show it to anyone,"
"I-I don't have mone-"
"This is my gift to you. As is this," Pandora reached up and placed two fingers on my forehead. Her voice grew more intense, and my vision started to get a bit... fuzzy... "Upon the day the gem resides on your neck, the brother you seek will be in arms reach," She slowly removed her hands, standing and stepping back a few feet. Tails, Amy, and I all looked down at my hand. She had given me a large ring, about the size of a half dollar, made of about a half inch of some kind of blue gemstone. I looked back up to try to ask what it was... but the feline was gone. Disappeared without a trace.
"...She must have seen into the future!" Amy practically leaped out of her seat to grab the gem from me, holding it up to the light and admiring it. "This must be some kind of magical talisman or something!"
"Oh c' mon, you don't really believe any of that mystic mumbo jumbo do you?" Tails grabbed the gem, examining it closely.
"How else would she have known about Josh's brother?" Amy asked, gesturing to me.
"She probably overheard us talking about him." Tails replied, though he sounded, to me, just a little bit unsure of himself... I don't think we once mentioned my brother since we had got together. Tails was quiet for a while more before handing the ring back to me. "In any case, looks like this is actually pure Sapphire... you could sell this and get a good chunk of change if you wanted to." I held the ring, feeling the weight of it in my hands... it was actually pretty hefty. After a few moments, I slipped the ring into my pocket. "Don't tell me you believe her too...!" Tails sighed.
"Well," I smiled a bit sheepishly, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Whether she's real or not... I figure... any help I can get right?" I chuckled a bit. "Even if it's from the supernatural. Besides... back where I'm from, aliens from another planet are real as mystics and psychics. But here you guys so... who knows!"
Tails smiled a bit, shrugging. "I guess so." After a moment, Amy stood, stretching out a bit.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go. To Angel Island?" She asked, looking down at me and Tails. The kitsune quickly hopped up, guiding us back to the Tornado, while I followed behind.
"Knuckles lives in a place called Angel Island?" I asked, amused by the image of the echidna grumpily living on a tropical island.
"Mhmmm," Tails turned, looking back at me. "It's this big island that can hover!"
"Wait... it floats? Like... actually hovers out of the water?"
"It's not really that kind of island," Tails smiled. "You'll see when we get there."
When Tails said Angel Island hovered, I imagined that the land, somehow, floated a few feet out of whatever ocean it was part of. But Angel Island was actually miles up in the air, floating above the land below like a large airship. The Island itself looked like someone dug a huge portion of the forest out from the ground, and I half expected to look around and see a giant, Island-sized crater somewhere nearby. As the Tornado drew closer, I could make out something else poking above the trees, a large, stone temple that looked like something the Aztecs might have built. From a distance, the temple looked like it was made of white stone, with just a touch of green in it…
We touched down, and Amy immediately disembarked, pulling out a glass panel from... somewhere behind her back... and typing on it. I carefully climbed out of my seat while Tails gracefully touched down in front of me with the help of his tails. I opened and closed my jaw, trying to pop my ears due to the altitude while taking in the scenery. It was funny... when you were actually on the Island, you couldn't really tell you were miles in the air. You were just in a forest. A beautiful forest at that. The trees, the plants, even the little birds flitting around all seemed to be just a bit more vivid, more vibrant and brightly colored than they would be on Earth.
...wait, little birds?
"There's birds here." I pointed to a nearby nest.
"...yeah." Amy nodded, looking up from her glass for a moment, smiling at the nest.
"...there were birds in the city."
"Yes."
"People birds."
"Mhmmm."
"My doctor was a bird."
"Yup."
"...okay."
Tails motioned for me to follow him. "Just try not to think about it too hard." He said quietly as I drew close. "It's kinda a controversial topic." Judging from Tails' tone, it was something I didn't want to get into. I just nodded. Don't think about the birds.
With that, the three of us started down a small, slightly overgrown trail into the denser parts of the forest. The trees blocked out more and more light as we walked down the path, the air growing cooler around us.
"So... how exactly are we... floating...?" I asked, looking around in awe. The trees were getting taller and taller, dizzyingly so…
"As far as we know, it's because of something called the Master Emerald," Tails explained. "It's basically like a giant, really powerful Chaos Emerald."
"Yeah, Knuckles mentioned it a couple of times..." I said. "Sonic said he's in charge of guarding it? And all the Emeralds too?"
"Yup. He comes from a long line of echidnas that have done the same thing," Tails continued. "He actually kinda thinks of the Master Emerald as some kind of deity, and the Chaos Emeralds are like its disciples or something."
"It's why he was more focused on getting the Chaos Emerald back at the hospital," Amy said. "He's honestly an ok guy, he's just got a one-track mind."
"Sonic said that too..." I chuckled quietly. Hearing that made me feel a little better about going to meet Knuckles. I guess if I had a sacred duty that was passed to me from generations of family, I'd be pretty focused too.
"Hey, I think that's him up ahead...!" Tails said, squinting before waving an arm. I looked down the path to see someone red wave back before jogging towards us. I think Amy picked up on the growing nerves I felt as he got closer, and she gently grabbed my arm.
"Don't worry... he's nice. Promise." She smiled reassuringly, gently squeezing my arm. "Just relax." I nodded, trying to take her advice as Knuckles approached us. He certainly seemed a lot less tense... He crossed his arms, looking me up and down.
"Amy took you to Claudio I take it?" He asked, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. I nodded. "Looks good."
Thanks, I said in my head, too nervous to actually form the words. Amy cleared her throat a bit.
"Knuckles, do you have something to say to our new friend?" Amy asked, giving Knuckles a pointed look. Knuckles suddenly looked a bit... sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah..." He sighed a bit, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I was so... what's the word..."
"Rude?" Amy suggested, which earned her a dirty glare.
"Focused," I said quietly, moving forward to stand in front of Knuckles. "A-and... it's ok, I understand..." I smiled a bit up at the echidna, which earned me a small smile back. He looked away from me for a moment.
"Still shouldn't act like that..." He replied. "Especially not to someone in your situation. The Chaos Emeralds are just... really important to me. So... that day, I was pretty worried about what was happening to them, what you told me Eggman did to them..." He sighed and shook his head before looking back down at me, extending his hand out. "Forgive me?"
"Of course!" I quickly took his hand (his hand was huge... was everyone's hand this big?), shaking it. "I'm just glad it wasn't something I did." Knuckles laughed a bit.
"The couple times I've seen you, you were either passed out or trying not to cry," He said, giving me a good-natured pat on the back. "You're fine."
He was strong. His pat was more of a smack, which made me stumble forward a couple of steps. It stung, and it reminded me that I needed to maybe take some more pain meds... but at the same time, it felt really, really nice to know that Knuckles actually seemed to like me. Even if the apology was probably at Amy's insistence, he didn't show any signs that he didn't really want to apologize to me. Maybe he even thought of me as a friend!
I had friends again!
"W-Woah, did I hit you too hard?"
"No, sorry!" I giggled a bit, wiping my eyes. "Just got something in my eye I think..."
Knuckles gave me a gentler pat on the back as if doing a do-over. "Think we can keep talking back at the temple? I don't want to leave the Master Emerald alone for too long."
"Would you quit worrying?" Amy asked, planting her hands on her hips. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Eggman." He said, looking over at her. "Call it a hunch, but I don't think we've seen the last of him."
"Y-You don't?" I felt my arms get goosebumps, memories of the doctor's glare, and my little trip still fresh in my mind. Knuckles grimaced.
"Not that you have anything to worry about," He said quickly, smiling again. "We won't let him get near you again." I stared up at him, seeing the confidence in his eyes…
"...thanks Knuckles," I said, giving him a little smile. He nodded at me before starting down the path.
"C'mon, we're not too far off. I'll show you where I live."
Up close, the stone pyramid was incredible. Almost every inch of the stone was covered in intricate line work, depicting different scenes of echidnas fighting, talking, and worshipping a large gem that looked a lot like one of the Chaos Emeralds but... bigger. Any space that wasn't taken up by a drawing was filled by some kind of language made up of different pictures and symbols, almost like hieroglyphics but with some letters thrown in for fun. As we approached the white stone, I ran a careful hand over the lines…
"...it's beautiful..." I said, looking up in awe at the rest of the pyramid. "Do you... just live here?"
"Yup!" Knuckles looked pretty pleased that I liked the place so much. "Surrounded by the history of my people... it's pretty amazing if I do say so myself."
"What language is this?" I asked, looking back over at the Echidna.
"It doesn't really have a name, as far as I know," He said, moving next to me and placing a hand on the stone as well. "I can read some of it, but... the translations to a lot these characters have been lost..." He gazed sadly along a line of text. "...One day... one day I'll find a way to translate all of it..." He was silent for a moment before looking back at me, back to normal again. "Follow me. I wanna show you somethin'." Knuckles made his way to a set of stone steps, motioning me to follow him. I looked over to Amy and Tails, who motioned me to go with him, before I ran over to the steps, walking up alongside the echidna. I looked back to see Amy and Tails weren't following.
"I don't really like it when too many people are up here." Knuckles explained, anticipating my question. "It's... a really special place for me."
"Then why are you taking me up here?" I asked. "What makes me so special?"
"You're my friend, and I want you to see this!" He smiled down at me. "And... well... I wanted to try something..."
I didn't ask any more question as we continued the long climb. The stairs were pretty steep... and my calves were on fire by the time we were halfway up. But Knuckles was nice enough to slow down so I didn't feel like I had to keep up any sort of pace. I decided to take a quick breather and sat on the steps, looking around. We were high enough now that I could see over the tops of the trees.
"...must be nice... living out here..." I said, taking in the scenery. Knuckles sat down next to me, resting his arms on one of his knees.
"Yeah... I'm pretty lucky." He agreed, looking out with me.
"...kinda reminds me of the view from this one mountain my parents used to take us hiking up on the first day of summer." I smiled, the memory of our annual hike playing in my head. "We'd leave super early in the morning and go hiking in the dark. We'd make it to the top and sit down on this one rock and we'd watch the sunrise." Knuckled looked over at me before placing his hand on my shoulder.
"We'll get you back there... don't worry. You'll be hiking with your folks again before you know it," He said, giving me a confident smile.
No, I won't.
I turned away a bit, pretending to cough in order to hide my quivering lip.
"Alright, I think I'm good… shall we?" I quickly stood up, hurrying up the steps, putting some distance between me and Knuckles until I was able to calm myself down. I looked back at him, smiling and slowing down. "Sorry… used to being tugged around by Amy."
Knuckles caught up, laughing a bit. "I don't envy you." He took the lead again, as we slowly made our way up the steps towards the top.
It took a few more minutes, but we finally made it. We were under what was essentially a large stone pagoda. And by we, I mean me, Knuckles…
And a giant freakin' Emerald.