CHAPTER 3

The Stalkers.

Espio sat on a fallen tree a few moments trying to figure things out. A strange song from his past floated through his memory. He couldn't remember who had sung it though. He could only remember the words.

Though we are apart,

I remember you,

I cannot forget,

That I knew.

We were friends,

I won't forget,

The first day,

That we met.

He sat there a moment trying to figure out what this song could mean, but he couldn't. He could not, for the life of him, remember the 'friend' nor could he remember what this 'friend' 'knew'.

Maybe I'd better head back now, Espio thought, before Vector gets worried or something.

He got to his feet and headed back to the Chaotix Office Building.

As he walked he began to get the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He glanced over his shoulder, but saw no one. Thinking he was just imagining things he kept on walking, but couldn't shake the feeling.

Espio's sharp hearing picked up the sound of footfalls and he stopped. The footsteps stopped as well. Am I just hearing my own footsteps? he thought.

He started walking again. The sound was closer. Who could it be? he thought, and why are they following me?

A twig snapped.

Espio turned around and shouted. "I know you're there! Whoever you are show yourself!"

The forest was strangely silent.

Espio's heard began to beat faster. It pounded so loud he could almost hear it. All his senses were on alert. His training had made him that way and he didn't just hear but felt someone or something getting closer. He wanted to run but his feet couldn't move. His yellow eyes started playing tricks on him. He began to see strange creatures in the trees and brush around him.

Foolish chameleon, just turn and start walking already!

I can't move!

Take some deep breaths and calm down.

He did so.

Now turn around and walk away.

Why?

Do you want them to know that you're scared?

No.

Then turn around.

Espio was startled by this brief conversation in his head. He had a feeling that the other voice that had been arguing with him wasn't his own but whoever it was seemed to know what they were doing. He turned and resumed walking down the path hoping who ever it was following didn't sense he was afraid.

The ninja jumped at the sound of rustling in the trees and snapped his body around again. He saw a flash of red, black, and dark blue vanish behind a tree. Then nothing more.

Someone or something's out there, he thought, and they're following me! But why? Do I know them? Do they know me? Where did they come from?

Suddenly something stuck him from behind. He staggered forward holding his head trying to keep his balance. The ground seemed to collapse under him and he fell forward.

Espio put out his hand to break his fall and it caught someone's arm. Whoever it was kicked him in the stomach and he fell backwards gasping for air.

The chameleon's back rested against a tree. Someone grabbed his arms and roughly jerked them behind it. He gasped in pain and kicked the air. Something he couldn't see flew backwards and stumbled against a bush, crushing it.

Invisable. Silent. Able to sneak up on their enemy's without being seen.

Espio's breath caught in his throat. These things, whoever they were, were ninjas!

Something hit him in the side of the head and he blinked back yellow stars as he fought to stay concious. There was no way he was going to give them the satisfaction of knocking him out. He forced himself to face whoever it was, though all he saw was forest.

Just as he sensed he was about to be struck again something slammed into the person holding him to the tree.

Espio staggered forward out of balance, and vaguely saw a purple and green figure rush past him and strike at his attackers.

A voice behind him said. "Don't get in our way, Rioko, this doesn't concern you. We aren't after anything that you would think is important. We are just settling some business."

"What business?' he heard another voice ask. "he's not your business."

Someone tried to trip him but the purple thing shouted. "Look out!"

Espio turned his head just in time to see the purple thing tackle him. The two tumbled into a ravine and landed hard on a rickety bridge.

The male chameleon saw everything in a blur as the bridge cracked under their weight, then broke sending them plummeting into a stream far below.

Espio felt a sharp stone dig into his spine and he cried out. By the time they came to the bottom and landed in the stream with a huge splash his whole body hurt from hitting many rocks as they fell and he was bleeding from somewhere he couldn't see.

Espio tried to sit up but his body wouldn't let him. In fact he couldn't even move. What did I do? he thought, What happened?

Suddenly, through the mist that was starting to cloud his vision, he saw the person who had helped him. His eyesight was so blurred he could barely make out who it was.

His rescuer was a chameleon. A female chameleon. Her skin was light purple and she had dark purple eyes. She wore a shirt and a pair of shorts with one leg shorter then the other. It was all a camo green.

She also wore the same kind of gloves and shoes as him but she also had things wrapped around her legs with Japanese symbols embroyded on them. On her arms were sleaves the same shade of green as the shirt and shorts, but they didn't even connect to her shirt. One sleave was shorter then the other just like the shorts.

In addition to this she had a sword case strapped to her body and a silver chain, like a belt, around her waist.

She seemed vaguely familiar.

The female chameleon reached behind him and touched his spine. He let out a pained yelp and tried to back away from her. She held him still.

"Sorry," she said in a soft voice as she removed her hand.

"Who...Are...You...?" he asked weakly.

She put her hand over his mouth. "Don't talk," she instucted pressing something over his mouth, "just breath this in. It will make pain go away."

Unconciously he did what he was told. He smelled something sweet. Within seconds he started feeling sleepy. He tried to put up his hand to remove the cloth but his arm wouldn't move. It felt heavy. Like it weighed more then he did.

Espio tried to fight against the blackness threatening to envelope his mind, but was unable to. Finally his head sank down into the cool water and he slipped into unconsiousness...


Life is like the morning,

It rises with the sun,

And sets like the evening,

Ending life of one.

The sound of singing roused him a long time later.

For I know,

I cannot stand,

Living in,

This lonely land.

It was so close he was sure it was right next to him.

Though we are apart,

I remember you,

I cannot forget,

That I knew.

We were friends,

I won't forget,

The first day,

That we met.

It was that song! But who was singing it?

I have to find out.

Espio moaned as he felt a painfull throbbing in his spine. Feeling was returning.

The singing stopped.

He heard footsteps head toward him.

He sensed them stop in front of him. He didn't know what to do. This person, whoever it was, might be an enemy.

The chameleon sensed someone kneeling over him. His hand shot up and grabbed a wrist in an iron grip.

He gave the wrist a jerk. Nothing happened. Shoot!

"Hey, let me go," a female voice demanded.

What?

Espio opened his eyes. He saw the female chameleon who had saved him earlier looking down at him with annoyed purple eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said letting her go.

"You should be," she said rubbing her arm, "is that anyway to treat someone who had just saved your life?"

"Look, I didn't know it was you," he protested, feeling offended, as he forced himsef to sit up, "my eyes were closed. For all I knew you could have been one of those weirdos who went after me earlier."

The chameleon lady looked away, seething. "Those damn rotten Dark Ninjas!" she growled.

"Uh?" he said.

"The Dark Ninjas are a group of ninjas that go around stealing, bullying, even murdering innocent people and other ninjas. They give the word ninja a bad name," she explained, "the bastards go against everything a ninja should be."

"How do you know so much about them?"

She stared at him. "They were taught their skill by my master," she explained, "but, after they left the school, they began to use their skill for evil instead of good."

"Why did they go after me?"

"They think you know where something valuable was hidden."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Oh."

The female chameleon sighed and changed the subject. "Enough about that for now. Why don't we introduce ourselves."

"Okay."

"So, what's your name?"

"Espio."

"I'm Ayame Rioko."

For some reason that name seemed familiar too.

Author's note: Sorry. I'm not very good at poetry. I hope they're okay. The rhyms I mean. I don't have anything else to say, except I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Well that's it.