Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is © Sonic Team / Ashura the Hedgehog is © me

3: Rescue

Somehow, Ashura regained consciousness before he drowned, and immediately bolted to the surface of the ocean. After he had refilled his lungs with air, he turned back to where Emerald Isle was . . . or had been. Ashura had been correct in his assumption about the white light. Emerald Isle was destroyed. Totally. All that was left were a few large hunks of rock. A tidal wave should have pummeled Station Square as well, but somehow the waterspout had contained the blast, perhaps meaning that the city was to suffer a worse fate later on. At the time, Ashura couldn't imagine anything worse. He wouldn't have even been able to imagine this. It looked as if the green hills, tall palm trees and sparkling streams had never existed at all.

Ashura was filled with sorrow at the loss of his home until he thought his chest would burst. This was the second time! He had no place in the world now. Finally, a harsh scream of agony exploded from Ashura's mouth, lasting until his lungs were empty. But he didn't sob hopelessly as he had eleven years ago. No use crying over spilt milk, eh?

He decided he had to swim somewhere. Of course, hedgehogs are poor swimmers, but Ashura had become so upset and determined that it was like second nature to him. He dog-paddled to what he thought was a floating rock and clung to it, taking a breather. But it turned out to be a piece of packed dirt that fell apart as he put his weight on it. He sank under in the middle of a breath and came up coughing violently. He treaded water for a moment, trying to regain his strength, but the previous events and the coughing fit had exhausted him. He had thought he could swim to Station Square, but now he was just too tired.

Something was coming. Ashura looked dully over his shoulder. A large boat; a familiar-looking one, although Ashura couldn't place it at the moment. He had seen it before, though . . . Ah, yes. The coast guard. But they wouldn't possibly be able to spot one small hedgehog in the crazy waves.

They did. They headed right for him, and slowed the boat when they were next to him. People on board began talking loudly to one another, and then a rope ladder was tossed over the side. Ashura put one hand on it, and had to rest for a while just to grab it with his other hand. But then he couldn't climb up, so someone else had to climb down and drag him up. Ashura was thankful to be spared of the work, and passed out again before he was hardly on deck.


The search for Miles Prower was cut short due to the discovery of Ashura; the coast guard wanted to get him medical attention ASAP. The boat circled around the crash site of the Tornado II for only a few minutes, looking for clues as to what had happened, or where Tails was. Ashura roused during the search, and saw that he was lying on a rubber mat in a cabin. Someone had put bandages over his right eye, so now he saw half-white instead of half-red. His entire body ached, especially his head and lungs. Through his hazy left eye he saw people on the deck outside: humans, leaning over the gunwale and peering into the water. Some of them were calling out, but Ashura didn't quite catch what they were saying. Maybe they were looking for someone. The pilot of that plane. Ashura hoped that the pilot hadn't had to go through what he did.

Somebody walked into the cabin and stopped in front of him. He was too hurt and afraid to look up, so he stared at the person's shoes. They were red, with white straps. Nice, Ashura thought. He didn't even have any shoes.

"Hey, you," the wearer of the shoes said. "You were conked out for a while there. I was starting to get worried, and I don't worry often. You got beat up pretty bad. The cap'n says you were caught in that waterspout. Were ya?"

"Yes," Ashura croaked. He rarely ever talkedthere was no need toand his voice surprised him now. Others would have noticed that it was rather hushed and gentlealmost effeminatefor a grown male, but to him it sounded so deep and scratchy. Ugly voice.

"Then it's a miracle you're alive. That spout destroyed Emerald Isle, the whole thing!"

"I know." Ashura squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears from falling.

The person paused a moment. "You were on that island, weren't you?" he asked flatly. Ashura exhaled quietly and rolled over to face the wall. "Sorry, man," the person muttered. "Uh . . . I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Who're you?"

"A monster," Ashura whispered. Sonic didn't hear him. "Aw, c'mon. What's your name?"

Ashura didn't answer. He lay still enough to pretend he had fallen asleep again. Sonic sighed softly and left the cabin. Ashura remained still and silent, staring at the wall and listening to bits and pieces of the conversations outside.

After a few minutes, curiosity outweighed pain. This was the first time Ashura had been on a boat, around other people, in eleven years. He tried to stand, supporting himself heavily against the wall. He had just gotten up on his knees, his white sheet gathered around his shoulders, when Sonic happened to walk inand Ashura was surprised to find that he was a hedgehog also. His fur was sleek and blue, and his eyes were emerald green and sparkled with energy. There was a small, cocky curl to his mouth. He was very thin, but athletic, and had long legs. He looked like someone who could pull a prank and get away quick.

There was something familiar about that wily face . . . Somehow.

"Feelin' better?" Sonic asked. Ashura, still wary of this stranger, changed the subject. "What . . . are you . . . looking for?" he asked slowly. He noticed that he didn't stutter while he spoke. At least no one could make fun of him for that now. ". . . My friend," Sonic replied, after some hesitation. "His . . . plane came down here. That's why I came out with the coast guard to check on it."

"I saw it," Ashura said weakly. "Then, right where he"

A sudden buzzing roar overhead startled Ashura, and he immediately collapsed on the mat again, pulling the sheet up over his head. Sonic chuckled and jerked his thumb towards the sky. "News chopper. Tails an' I are pretty popular guys. Now, what were ya sayin'?"

"Uh . . . Oh," Ashura muttered nervously, his eyes flicking about to make sure the "news chopper", whatever it was, wasn't going to hurt him. "W-where he crashed, the . . . the storm came up."

"The waterspout?"

"Yes."

Sonic peered over the gunwale once more, then looked back at Ashura. "If ya don't mind, I'd like to ask ya a few things." Ashura's response was to retreat into a corner, keeping his eyes on the floor. He burrowed down into his sheet and trembled. "All righty then," Sonic sighed, cocking an eyebrow.


Back on land, the problems began. Ashura was at first astounded by the size of the city, then became fearful of all the people and sounds. "Crazy, isn't it?" Sonic said reassuringly. "That's the way cities are. It don't bother me too much, but I guess it'll take some time for you to get used to."

An ambulance came screaming towards the dock. The sound pounded on Ashura's brain, and he groaned slightly. "That's your ride," Sonic said. "They'll be taking you to the hospital"

"What's that?" Ashura asked. At the moment he couldn't remember what a hospital was. Sonic refrained from rolling his eyes. "It's a big building where sick and hurt people get better."

"Oh. Okay." That sounded promising to Ashura.

Two paramedics hopped out of the back of the ambulance, pushing a gurney with them. Ashura backed up into a corner, frightened of the humans running towards him, but as they got closer, the clean white sheets on the gurney looked inviting. He began to feel drowsy even before the paramedics helped him onto it. The world started to blur, and the noises of the city mixed together and eventually faded.

Sonic raised his eyebrows in surprise. He went out quick. Sonic felt sorry for the big guy. He hoped the best for him, but couldn't care about him much longer. His best friend was lost at sea. The other hedgehog was safe now.

As the paramedics wheeled the gurney towards the ambulance, Ashura was jostled back into awareness. He was annoyed; he wanted to sleep. Raising his head slightly, he saw that he was being pushed towards a very small, metal room in the back of the noisy, box-shaped vehicle. He hated small places. He tried to sit up and found that he was strapped to the gurney. Ashura also hated any kind of restraint. It made him feel like a prisoner, helpless. Fear began to rise underneath his stupor. He tried to pull his arms free, but they were held tightly against his sides.

Now Ashura was fully awake, and struggling to get out of the straps. The paramedics spoke quickly to him, trying to get him to calm down, but he ignored them. He was being restrained, and he didn't like it. He especially didn't like the fact that the humans had done it. He hardly knew them; he had only seen them a few times in his life, and he didn't understand that they were only trying to help. He thought that the tall, hairless animals wanted to hurt him.

Sonic stopped on his way back up the gangplank, Ashura's rising panic catching his attention. He strode back down onto the docks and leaned against a streetlamp. "That isn't going to help him," he muttered to himself. "All they have to do is shoot 'im up with a sedative, and he'll be back in La-La Land."

Ashura groaned through his teeth and tried to brace himself with his feet so that he could arch his body. He was almost in the back of the ambulance now. If he was going to get away, he had to do it right now.

One of the paramedics had gone ahead inside to get a sedative, as Sonic had predicted. Now that there was only one person to hold the gurney, Ashura began to rock it. Maybe if he tipped it over, the straps would break. The paramedic hollered at his colleague to hurry up. Sonic couldn't resist laughing out loud.

The other paramedic stumbled in his haste to get out of the ambulance and dropped his syringe. It flew from his hand and skidded across the pavement. Ashura relaxed for a moment, turning his head to see what it was that the human had dropped. The first thing he saw was the sharp, gleaming needle. His heart plunged to his stomach. It was all he could to do keep from screaming.

Grumbling sharply, the human retrieved the syringe and, since he had dropped it, went back inside for another one. Ashura was getting a lucky break, but it was a short one. He arched his back and pushed against the straps with all his might. Pain shot through his aching muscles, and he was forced to stop. But then he tried again. The paramedic poked his head inside the ambulance and snapped, "Hurry up with that syringe already!"

"I'm comin', I'm com"

With a muffled snap, the straps broke.

Sonic's eyebrows almost shot off his forehead. "Holy crap," he gasped.

Ashura sat up slowly, looking curiously at what he'd done. The paramedics stared dumbly at him too, even as he hopped off the gurney. Then they snapped out of it and rushed him. "Go away," said Ashura quietly as he grabbed the gurney with both hands, lifted it off the ground and swung it at the paramedics. It missed narrowly and crashed against the ambulance, breaking into several pieces. The driver jumped out of the ambulance, and the loudmouth paramedic hollered at him to call for police assistance. While he just stood there, dumbfounded, Ashura backed away nervously. He knew he was in trouble now.

Sonic snorted, knowing it was probably up to him to stop Ashura from getting away. Call in the furries when the humans make a blunder. He leapt from his spot next to the streetlamp and sprinted across the dock to the parking lot. Then he launched himself into the air ten feet behind Ashura and sailed over the ground, preparing to tackle him.

Ashura turned around at the last second and stepped to the right, leaving Sonic to slam face-first into the pavement. Sonic lay still for a moment, more embarrassed than hurt. I can't believe I missed!

Ashura had the metallic taste of fear in his mouth now. He was so scared that he was shaking. He had thought this was a nice hedgehog, and now he was trying to hurt him, too!

Despite his fear, Ashura didn't run. He couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to do. If he stayed here, then the three humans and Sonic would pounce on him and beat some sense into him. If he ran . . . If he ran, he'd only be delaying his imminent punishment. That always seemed to make it five times worse.

Sonic raised his upper body and stared at Ashura. The big hedgehog seemed to be waiting for Sonic to get up. Why isn't he high-tailing it outta here? Does he want to finish me off? Sonic thought. He cautiously rolled onto his back and sat up, leaning back on his hands. Ashura stared down directly into Sonic's eyes. Sonic stared back, and saw a mix of emotions in Ashura's eyes that he knew he would never be able to understand.

After a few seconds of silence, Ashura took off.