Please title this page. (Page 10)
Chapter 10: Shalita
Day 3
Mystic Ruins
5:39 P.M.
Sonic moaned, waking up to seeing 3 facing looking at him. He sat up,
seeing Tails, Bunnie and Antoine.
"Oh, my head," he groaned, rubbing his head. "What happened?"
"We were hopin you'd tell us, sugar, but it seems that you may be
the Chosen One!" Bunnie said.
Sonic sat up. "The Chosen One? You mean that guy that'll stop the
God of Destruction thing?"
"Oui, zat eez you, Sonique Hedgehog!" Antoine assured.
"Are you royalty or somethin? I heard that only royalty wears
medallions made from chao emeralds!" Bunnie said.
"Yeah, I'm royalty, a fact I rarely admit," Sonic said. "What time
is it?"
"5:43, sugar. Why?" Bunnie asked.
Sonic sighed as he got up. "I need to get back to Station Square. My
chao got left at the daycare and I need to go pick 'im up."
"Good idea," Tails said. "We can get some chao there while we're
at it."
As they walked out of the room, Sonic happened to notice himself in
a mirror, passing by it. "What happened to my eyes?!"
Station Square
5:55 P.M.
Knuckles sat with the Station Square Freedom Fighters; Jett, Jo,
Lauren and Bryce; eating dinner. He fed some fruit to his chao. Mainly
coconuts, since that's all he could find that the chao liked.
"I gotta find those emerald shards," he sighed.
"Love to help, dude, but me an Bryce are goin to a concert tonight,"
Lauren said.
"Concert?!" Knuckles asked. "Where?!"
"Casinopolis, behind the Station Square Hotel," Bryce explained.
"Ya know..." Knuckles said thoughtfully. "I might take my search
there after all...."
For a moment, his eye caught a patch of pink quills. For moment, his
hopes sky-rocketed. Could it be...HER?
Jett saw Knuckles staring after the girl and smirked.
"Ah, the fair Amy Rose. Her cousin's playing at the concert
tonight." Jett said.
For a moment, he frowned, but gave a thought that maybe this girl was
related to the one he was looking for.
He could only hope.
Station Square
6:29 P.M.
It wasn't until after Sonic and the gang arrived in Station Square,
that Tails suddenly yelped.
"Oh my gosh! I forgot there was a concert tonight!" he gasped.
"Concert? Who's playing?" Sonic asked.
Tails whispered in his ear.
"Oh WOW! Are you SERIOUS?" Sonic asked. "She's my fav!" Sonic turned
to Bunnie and Antoine. "You guys wanna go to a concert?"
Bunnie became starry eyed. "A concert?! A REAL concert?! I never
been to one!!!"
Antoine nodded. "Oui! I am loving ze sound of musique!"
"Okay! Okay! I'll get you guys the tickets! Go get your chao an I'll
be right back!" Tails said, dashing off.
Sonic smiled as he wandered into the Station Square Hotel. His favorite
rock star was in town! While in the north, where the Sonic Underground
ruled the music world, this babe was the Belle of the South, the best of
the best.
The hotel manager flagged Sonic down.
"Your Highness, I recieved a package for you!"
Sonic dashed to the front desk as the manager handed him his package.
"I didn't know you had green eyes," the manager noted.
"Err, yeah, well..." Sonic said, opening the package. Inside were a
new pair of shoes and a crystal bracelet. Puzzeled, he looked up to the
manager. "Excuse me, who were these from?"
"Oh, some female with a cloak. Didn't get a good look at her," the
manager explained.
Sonic thought about it, and took a look at the tag. There wasn't
anything on it, except the letters "Q.A."
His eyes widen, and he immeditely kicked off his shoes and put on
the new ones. He put on the crystal bracelet and handed his old shoes to
Bunnie.
"Can you please do me a favor and take these to my room while I go
get my chao? It's room 357."
"Sure thang, sugar-hog," Bunnie nodded, and took off with Antoine.
As Sonic approached the elevator to the chao room, Sonic sighed.
"Thanks Mom."
The chao cried as Sonic and the gang entered Casinopolis. Tails
managed, in some mysterious way, managed to get front row seats for all
of them. Sonic called dibs on front-center. They thought about entering
the main theatre, but it was too loud for the chao to stand, and they
agreed unamiously to get snacks before they tried to go in. As they walked
away, they failed to notice Knuckles and HIS posse show at the entrance,
holding snacks themselves. Knuckles' chao was a lot tougher than Sonic's
chao, and was holding up pretty well against the noise.
"Wow, it's awful loud in there!" Knuckles called.
"That's how concerts ALWAYS are, buddy!" Jett said.
"Come on! Let's go inside! Too bad we couldn't get front row seats!"
Lauren called.
Casinopolis Main Hallway
7:45 P.M.
Sonic took his chao, looking around. All around him were slot
machines, poker tables, and all sorts of stuff. This was the main part of
Casinopolis. The part where the concert was held was the main theatre near
the back.
Sonic saw many grownups around, but no one his age. He looked
around, noticing he was seperated from his friends. He was about to look
for them, when Antoine ran to him.
"Sonique, Bunnie and Tails were not allowd in here. Zey are too
young. Zey were only allowed into the concert area."
"If they are too young, then why was I allowed in here?" Sonic
asked.
"You are royalty, sir." Antoine said simply.
"Oh."
It dawned on Antoine that part of his duty was to become a royal
guardian if he ever left the Windy Valley. He knelt before Sonic.
"Sir, it is my solem duty to become your Royal Bodyguard, if you
allow me to forfill it," Antoine said.
"Bodyguard? I really don't need one....but....if it's your duty......"
Sonic sighed, uncomfortable to being assigned a guard.
"Oui. Thank you, Sonique!" Antoine bowed.
"It's...not a prob, Ant. Just keep in mind that I can take care
of myself."
"Oui."
"Ant, I got a strange feeling here. I wanna come back through here
after the concert, okay?"
"Yes sir!" Antoine saluted.
Casinopolis Concert Hall
8:00 P.M.
The concert roared to life as it began. Sonic and Antoine ran in
just in time to see a girl walk on stage, singing her heart out.
This was Shalita Ranay, the famous Rock Star Babe. She was a white
hedgehog wearing a lavender tubetop and tight black pants. Her hair was A
golden orange that faded into yellow and then magenta. A small patch around
her right eye was a star-shape, earning her the nickname Star Rider. She
seemed....familar, to Sonic, in a different way. She came out singing one
of her older songs, "Do Ya Really Wanna Play?"
Just look into my eyes, tell me
You've got all that it takes
And much more, all ya gotta say
Stop telling me lies, show me
With every move that you make
You can score
Tell me that you wanna play
You can feel it, but can't steal it
'Cause boy, I got the magic touch
The way Shalita bent downtowards Sonic, saying that last line, it
was almost like she was issuing him a challenge, a competition between the
best bands.
Can you be the best
With the power you posess
Will you step up to the fight
Can you past the test
Are you frightened to confess
That you just can't get it right
You can win or lose
But you gotta pay your dues
Step up or step away
DO YOU REALLY WANNA PLAY?
Shalita smirked as she backed away. Sonic felt like she really WAS
implying the song to him. He grinned.
The challenge is yours, take it
You've backed down before
Now prove to me
You control your destiny
Keep it steady, get ready
Show me that you got the stuff
Shalita approached Sonic again, winking.
"I got what it takes,"Sonic shouted.
Can you be the best
With the power you posess
Will you step up to the fight
Can you past the test
Are you frightened to confess
That you just can't get it right
You can win or lose
But you gotta pay your dues
Step up or step away
DO YOU REALLY WANNA PLAY?
Shalita reached out towards Sonic, and hetook her hand. She pulled
him onstage.
Let yourself go
This is my show
Watch me when I play
Change your mindset
And you'll get
Better everyday
Sonic joined in on the last chorus.
Can you be the best
With the power you posess
Will you step up to the fight
Can you past the test
Are you frightened to confess
That you just can't get it right
You can win or lose
But you gotta pay your dues
Step up or step away
DO YOU REALLY WANNA PLAY?
When the concert was over, Shalita walked offstage, with Sonic. She
approached Sonic's pals and called out to them.
"Miles! Meet us behind the chasino main hall! I gotta take Sonic
down below!"
Sonic gasped and stared at Shalita. There was only one girl that
called Tails "Miles".
"Nellie?!" he gasped.
"Not now, Sonic!" Shalita called. "Let's run before this crowd
mobs us!"
Once out in the casino, they were safe from the teen mob.
"Nellie, what's going on?" Sonic asked.
"Number 1, Nellie Stargazer is my daytime job. My real name is
Shalita Ranay." she explained.
"Unbelievible..." Sonic gazed. "What else?"
"I found a Chaos Emerald," she said.
"Where?" Sonic asked.
Shalita led Sonic to a nearby chute. "Down there."
"The garbage chute," Sonic groaned. "I won't ask. Let's get it."
"Right," Shalita said, then looked into his eyes. "What happened
to you?!"
"You don't ask, I don't ask," Sonic said.
Casinopolis Main Hallway
9:35 P.M.
Knuckles skipped out on the concert when Shalita first walked
onstage. It wasn't who he thought it was. Plus he had the feeling that there
were more shards nearby. He found one and put it into his backpack. Jett
came out to find Knuckles, and saw Knuckles sneaking around the main
hallway. Knux was DEFINTELY still too young to gamble....Jo joined Jett,
holfing Knux's chao.
Casinopolis Back Alley
9:40 P.M.
Sonic and Shalita sneaked out, with Sonic's boyguard trailing them
holding Sonic's chao, meeting Tails and Bunnie outside.
Casinopolis Main Hallway
9:45 P.M.
Lauren and Bryce, with more snacks, joined Jett and Jo and saw
Knuckles pick up another shard. They all had one thought on their mind:
they were gonna get thrown out, no thanks to Knuckles, if this keeps up.
Station Square
9:50 P.M.
Sonic, Shalita, Tails, Bunnie, and Antoine were heading back to
Station Square Hotel when a familar engine roar apprached them. Sonic,
Tails and Antoine got on their guard as Robotnik showed up. Sonci was
suprised, that he accidently dropped the emerld.
"The emerald!" Sonic cried, running for it.
"Oh no you don't!" Robotnik growled, pressing a button. A purple
gas spewed from thents on the side of his craft. Sonic and the gang felt
weird.
Sonic saw Robotnik take the chaos emerald before he dropped.
"Eggman..." he moaned as the group fell asleep, leaving Robotnik with
no trouble at all.