by K.M. Hollar
Copyright notice: Sonic the Hedgehog copyright by Sega. Jazz copyrighted by Epic Megagames. Zephyer and other fancharacters copyrighted by K. M. Hollar.
______________________
You've got to remember
You're not alone in this world
Always remember
You're not alone in this world
-Amy Grant, You're Not Alone
__________
Do you believe in ghosts? I do. I met some once. They were powerful, invisible, and dangerous.
One of them was mine.
It all started with the kidnapping.
I was sitting in the sun on my doorstep, reading a book. The night before I had stayed up late helping Sally clear the yard beside her hut for an herb garden. We struck a boulder that we had to haul off before we could do anything with the ground. My fingers, feet and knees were stiff with mud, but I was so tired I went to bed without cleaning them. I was forced to oil myself first thing the nest morning. It's quite a job when your fingers are too stiff to work the oilcan.
Which brings me back to that bright September morning. I wanted to do nothing more than read all day, and watch Sally two doors down spading fertilizer into her garden.
My book was a good one--The Adventures of Lara Fox, book three--and I didn't hear Talon until his shadow fell over my pages. His black forelock had a rumpled look, and I knew that he had something to tell me. I laid my book down and smiled. "Hi Talon. What's the matter?"
"The Chaos Company just called," he said, knotting his fingers together. "Nine of their chao were stolen last night."
At first I thought he was joking. "Yeah, right."
He looked at me. "Chimera and Zinc were taken, along with all the hatchlings."
I had never known Talon to lie. "You're kidding, right?" I said, less certainly.
He looked at his hands again, which he was folding into complicated patterns.
I stood up--I'm taller than he is--and said, "You're kidding me, right?"
"I beat Knuckles here," he whispered. "He wanted to tell Sonic himself."
My heart began to pound. Zinc, my Zinc, had been stolen and was probably frightened and hurt ... what would a kidnapper do to a chao? Were they used in experiments? Were they vivisected? My imagination sprang from one horrible possibility to another, and with each passing second I became more panicked. "Talon, you're sure?" I said, my voice trembling.
He nodded.
I couldn't stand there any longer, with images of Zinc's frightened face dancing in my mind's eyes. I dashed off, looking for Knuckles. It had to be wrong. Chao weren't kidnapped from the heart of the human colonies...!
I rounded a corner and was knocked flat by Sonic, who was rounding the same corner at a run. It didn't hurt me--being robotized from the neck down has its advantages--but Sonic got up with a bloody nose.
"Sorry, Zephyer," he panted, helping me up and wiping his nose. "Gah, I can't believe I did that."
"Sonic, some chao were kidnapped." The words spilled out like so many marbles.
He looked at me. "Oh, you know. I was coming to tell you."
My fear was entering its second stage now; tears. "Sonic, if they've hurt Zinc--" I choked back a sob. Then I reached out and tilted his head back. "Lay down, it'll make the bleeding stop. If they've hurt Zinc--"
If I had not been so distraught, I would have found Sonic's nosebleed funny. He pinched his nose and flopped on a patch of grass. I stood there by him, struggling not to cry and trying not to laugh.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned. Knuckles was approaching, and he had a stunned look, as if someone had hit him in the head with a brick. Chimera was his chao and had regressed a few months earlier. Between us, Knuckles and I have more chao horror stories than the entire Chaos Company.
The sight of my feelings reflected on his face steadied me. "Knuckles, what happened?" My voice was calmer.
He looked at Sonic without seeing him. "I got the message ten minutes ago. Zinc and Chimera ... and seven other chao ... Chimera only hatched a week ago." His eyes focused and became angry. "I'm going to do something."
"Good," I said. "I'm coming with you."
"Me too," said Sonic.
Knuckles jumped. "Sonic! What happened to you?"
"Zephyer mugged me," said Sonic, sniffing. "You know how she tries to kill people when they're not looking. Anyway, I want to come."
"But your chao wasn't stolen," I said.
Sonic sat up and touched his nose. "No, but I can run faster than you guys. You never know when a supersonic hedgehog will come in handy."
Knuckles shook his head. "Neither of you are coming. Sonic, the reporters are still after your blood after the ARK incident, and Zephyer..." He trailed off and looked at me. "I don't want you along if something's happened to the chao."
"I left Zinc to die once," I said. "I'm not going to do it again."
He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it.
Sonic stood up and looked at us. "Why not take the island, Knux? It'd be like your own portable hotel."
"Three problems," said Knuckles. "One, altitude, two, windshear, and three, it would cause a panic every time it passed over a town." He glanced at me, and I wondered if he had tried it once. If you're alone for years on a floating island, you have time to try out stupid ideas.
"I guess I could teleport--Oh, darn," said Sonic. He moved his fingers in an odd way and I knew he was fondling his invisible emerald belt. "I forgot, the chaos emeralds are gone."
"And good riddance," I muttered. "We'll have to drive down there like usual." I turned and walked up the street toward my hut.
"Where are you going?" Knuckles called.
"To pack," I called back. Sonic and Knuckles could argue all they liked, but I couldn't stand around doing nothing while my Zinc might be suffering.
One nice thing about being robotized is that you don't have to wear clothes. I wear them in the winter, but the rest of the year its too much trouble trying to stuff my jagged, angular limbs into clothes. I don't have a single garment that isn't torn. The one thing I can wear is a cloak, and I have a collection of them. I only wear one when I want to cover up my robot parts, because it makes people nervous. Like being handicapped.
I picked up my knapsack and packed three cloaks and a raincoat--it was September, after all--and a few other things, like dreadlock clips and a hairbrush. I thought constantly about Zinc and Chimera. I hoped whoever had taken Zinc had had trouble with him, because I had trained him to fight when he was little. I smiled at the thought of him ripping holes in his captors. And Chimera ... if his personality hadn't been altered by his regression, he would have fought, too. Zinc and Chimera were the aggressive ones. It's only fitting that they belonged to echidnas.
But who would steal chao? It boggled my mind. Chao are sweet, defenseless creatures like babies. I know some people think of them as pets, but I can't imagine making a pet out of a creature who can think and talk. And to steal some?
I emerged from my hut with my knapsack, locked my door, and looked for Sonic and Knuckles. Neither was in sight, but Tails and Talon were standing in the shade, holding a hushed, serious conversation. I walked up, and they gave me a furtive glance before deciding I was okay. Younger boys are like that sometimes.
"Why would anyone want to kidnap chao?" Tails was saying. "And why didn't they take ours? I thought they were valuable."
Talon shook his head.
I said, "Maybe somebody wanted some to play with, so they hired a thief."
"Nine of them?" said Talon, looking at me. "Isn't one enough?"
I shrugged. "I didn't say it was the best reason." My own thoughts were running along the lines of illegal experimentation, but I didn't tell them that. We didn't need everyone in Knothole going on a chao hunt.
Tails looked at me and shook his head. "I'm sorry about Zinc, Zeff. I hope he's okay."
"Me too," I said, touched. Tails isn't the most sensitive kid in the world, although he's a sap compared to Sonic. I patted him on the shoulder. "By the time we're through, nobody will ever steal another chao."
Tails and Talon grinned. They knew that between Knux, Sonic and me, there was enough canned rage to dynamite Robotropolis.
I heard someone behind me and turned to see Sonic standing there with a fanny pack he took whenever he traveled somewhere. I had it on good authority that all he ever packed was an extra pair of gloves, two pairs of socks, a hundred Mobiads, and some hair gel. When you have fur, you don't need much else. I noticed he was glowing a little, which happened whenever he became excited. Two months ago Sonic was blasted with enough Chaos energy to fry a planet, and he says has a residual charge. It makes me nervous.
"Ready to go, Zeff?" he said, glancing at my knapsack. I nodded. "Good," he said, bouncing from foot to foot. "Knux decided to take the island south after all, he says its more convenient than driving. Hey Talon, you coming or staying?"
"Coming," said the anteater at once. "Bye, Tails."
"Oh yeah," said Sonic, pretending to notice Tails for the first time. "See you later, kiddo." He ruffled the fox's ears. "Think you'll have the Cyclone running by the time I get back?"
The Cyclone was Tails's plane-cum-walker, and it required the maintenance level of a sports car. Tails was always taking it apart and tinkering with it.
"Maybe," said Tails, looking glum. "You sure I can't come?"
Sonic paused, and his eyes took on a scheming glint. "Sure," he said. "Once you get the plane working, follow us down. The folks at the Chao Company can probably point you the way we've gone." He stepped aside with Tails and they whispered together. I saw Sonic palm something from Tails and put it in his pack. When they turned back to me, they looked as if they had cooked up a plot.
"Now you rogues are finished," I said, "do you think we can leave?"
"Sure," said Sonic. "To the teleporter!" He dashed off, and Talon and I followed him. Tails stood where he was, smiling to himself.
"What was that all about?" Talon asked me.
I shrugged. "Sonic and Tails aren't happy unless they're scheming something. Tails will probably come with us."
"Can I come?" he asked, shooting me a hopeful glance.
I forced my face into a stern look. "No." When he looked down, I added, "Take it up with Knuckles. He might let you go to the chao gardens."
Talon smiled. "That's all I wanted."
The teleporter was a flat blue disk planted on the ground, set for a particular receiving port on the Floating Island. It was easier than taking Tails's biplane any time one of us wanted to visit, but I couldn't help thinking about the last time I had used it. I watched Talon beam up ahead of me, and thought of locating the teleporter by touch in the darkness, as Knuckles the Insane hunted me through the trees...
I beamed down on the island and breathed the fragrance of something blooming in bright yellow clumps nearby. Talon walked away up the path, but Sonic was standing to one side, inhaling in deep breaths.
"What?" I asked.
Sonic smiled. "I can't get over the way this place smells."
I pointed at the clump of yellow flowers. "Those are Yellow Birdeater, and they're poisonous."
He recovered from his enjoyment of their scent at once and escorted me up the path. He was still glowing, I noticed.
"It's about time something exciting happened," he said. "Nothing's happened since July, and I mean nothing."
"Half the village has moved to the new buildings in Mobitropolis," I said. "That's not nothing."
"I mean to me."
"Oh, so unless your life is in danger, it's not exciting."
"Right." He grinned. "It's been almost six weeks now since the Flux."
I looked him up and down. "And you're still glowing."
"Hey, I can't help it if I have residual charge," he said.
I staggered and put my arms out. The Floating Island had just shifted, and I remembered I was walking on a hunk of rock suspended in the sky. Sonic steadied me. "What's wrong?"
"The island's moving," I said. "Ugh, it's moving fast."
Sonic looked quizzical. "How can you tell?"
"It's like being in a moving car," I said. "You can't feel it?"
"No."
A breeze rustled in the trees from the island's motion, and I forced myself to keep moving. I had never noticed the island moving before. Either Knuckles was flying it at extremely high speeds, or ... I remembered how the Master Emerald had responded to my command. No way.
"Talon's going to beat you to Chaotix Central, Sonic."
"No he's not!" Sonic vanished in a cloud of dust. I plodded on in his wake, trying to pretend I didn't know the island was moving. I peered up at the mountains in the center of the island, miles away. Knuckles was perched on top of the highest peak, and if I knew him, he had a ferocious glare on his face. He made it look like work, but he had told me the hardest part was keeping your concentration. I wouldn't want his job.
When I reached Chaotix Central, which was a small park where Knux and his five friends hung out, I found Talon had beat Sonic by an inch, and Sonic was demanding a rematch. Talon refused and went into Knuckles's house, leaving Sonic fuming. I laughed. Talon was no dummy--beating Sonic, even by accident, is something to crow about.
Sonic and I hung out in the little park until the Chaotix trickled in, mostly Espio, who challenged Sonic to an elaborate obstacle course, where he won over and over. Sonic quit when he realized he couldn't beat the chameleon, and he and I helped ourselves to Knuckles's pantry.
We passed a pleasant day that way, but without a single glimpse of the island's guardian. I found I missed him, and scolded myself to developing a crush. In echidna culture, Knuckles was the equivalent to king. If my people had been on Mobius where they belonged, every teenage girl would have a crush on him. For a moment I was glad for the accident that brought me to this world--then I was sorry. I would never see my family again. I couldn't be happy about that.
I slipped outside and walked down toward the edge of the island. I wanted to see how close we were to Sapphire City, and feeling the island's motion from indoors was making me carsick. It was a pleasant walk along a banana palm grove, and there were fall flowers blooming everywhere. I could only name a quarter of them, and wondered if I could find a tropical flower field guide while we were in town.
There was a stone wall on the edge of the island here, and I leaned on it and scanned the horizon. The mainland was in sight, but it was a smooth mass of green with no distinguishing features. I squinted up the coast. Surely we were close. We have been travelling all day, and I figured Knuckles was tired. I wondered what had made him decide to take the Floating Island after all.
I stood there a long time, feeling the air on my face and watching the mainland slip past. The sun was setting when I spotted a crescent-shaped island down on the ocean, and the coastline receded as if someone had scooped out a bowl. Sapphire Bay. We continued on until we were some distance south of it, and the coastline drew up into cliffs. I felt the island stop. It was a relief. I stood there with my elbows on the wall and looked down at the mainland with a sense of superiority. No wonder the echidna race was so haughty--if you spent your life looking down on the world, it would affect you that way.
Something made me look up, and I saw Knuckles gliding toward me noiselessly, his dreadlocks spread out like a hanglider. I had only seen him glide once before, and I watched him with interest. I had never known an echidna that could glide like that, and I think it has something to do with being born on Mobius.
Knuckles landed a little way off. I knew he had seen me, but he pretended I didn't exist, and held out both hands. In them was a miniature version of the Master Emerald, and at his command I felt the island begin to move again. We were sinking and drawing closer to the mainland. I watched as the cliffs drew closer. It was like a game of chicken, and I forced myself to keep watching, although I wanted to look away. I braced myself and watched until it seemed the island would collide with the cliffs, and exhaled in relief as we stopped.
Knuckles dropped his arms and looked at me. "Hi," he said. "Scare you?"
"No," I told him. "Chicken's my favorite game. How do we get ashore?"
"I'll put a bridge up," said Knuckles, flexing his arms. "I need to eat first." He walked up the path toward Chaotix Central, and I followed him.
"You mean you didn't even pack a lunch?"
He shrugged.
"You numbskull," I said.
He looked over his shoulder. "Do you want to fly the island next time?"
"Sure," I said. "And I'd take lunch, too."
He looked bemused and kept walking. He knew I was teasing.
I hurried to walk beside him. "Knux, can you tell when the island's moving?"
"Yeah," he said, flipping a dreadlock over his shoulder. "But I'm the guardian, and I can feel a lot of things in the Floating Island. Why do you ask?"
"You must have been flying awfully fast, then," I said.
"No, normal speed," he said, then caught himself and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
I shrugged. "I guess I get motion sickness too easy." I looked away, ashamed to admit it, but I had spooked him.
"Zephyer ... you can tell when the island's moving?"
I looked at him, then dropped my eyes to the crescent on his chest. "I could today."
Knuckles stared at me. "Zeff, only guardians are supposed to be able to do that."
"Maybe it had something to do with when I touched the Master Emerald," I said. For some reason I couldn't seem to look at him.
"Only guardians are supposed to be able to do that, too," he said.
The implications of this embarrassed me, but before either of us could say anything else, Sonic galloped out to us. "Hey Knux, you're back! Are we there? Can we see the chao before it gets dark?"
"I'm not going to see my chao," said Knuckles through his teeth, and Sonic sobered.
"Oh man, I am sorry, Knux. I'll let you play with Velocity if you want."
"I don't want Velocity," said Knuckles, and brushed past him to go to the house.
Sonic looked at me, ears flat. "I never say the right thing, Zeff."
"I have chronic foot-in-mouth, too," I told him. "Don't worry, he'll get over it."