Chapter 2

Return to the Afterlife

RaGiff was bored stiff. After Leo's intense wedding where some band called Avenged Sevenfold had saved him from a lynch mob, he didn't have anything to do outside of fixing up the War Machine-and Leo had just come by the other day to pick it up. What was that boy doing?

He was shaking his head to the new Black Eyed Peas album in his lab. Heavy beats pulsed from a new sound system he had installed on his own. There were speakers in nearly every room of the lab, including his bedroom and his guest bedrooms. Of course, he hadn't had guests in a long, long time.

Anyway, let's not get carried away. Time to buzz Leo.

"Hello?" a woman's voice on the other end answered.

"Cassie, girl, it's me!" RaGiff replied happily.

"Oh…hi, RaGiff," she softly replied. RaGiff knew something was wrong, but it probably wasn't a good idea to press it if…

"What's wrong Cass?"

Damn his curiosity-and his big mouth.

"Oh…it's nothing…"

Now it was time to play consoler.

"C'mon, I can help you. What's up?"

"It's…Leo."

"Weird…I was just callin' for him-he in?"

"Well…no. He's…going back to earth."

RaGiff's mind was exploding with excitement and questions? Why? Is the War Machine running right? This is awesome! I gotta call him! Great!

"Oh, really?" he said in his most professional voice.

"Yes…he saw the news report…about the Affinity."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Killer."

"Well, he's going to see if he can help out."

"What, is he crazy? He didn't even stop here for an equipment upgrade or nothin'?"

Just a sigh on the other end. That didn't seem to help.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked politely.

A sniff on the other end, then she spoke.

"Could I…could I stay with you for a while?" she asked quietly.

What, was she crazy? Leo'd kill him!

"Uh…sure, why not?"

"Oh RaGiff…thank you so much. I'm just worried…a bit scared, too."

"Well, wouldn't it make more sense for me to ride o'er there?" RaGiff wriggled with joy at the thought of free access to Leo's pool.

"No…I'm scared to be here. It's a big place, and-"

"My place ain't much smaller."

"Yes, but you've got all those defenses, and the only thing I have is Leo…"

"Well, you got that right." RaGiff took pride in his technological advancements in home security. Nothing could get in.

"So, can I bring my stuff over?"

"Well, what about Leo? Ain't he gonna be a bit suspicious 'bout…"

Cassie nearly laughed.

"RaGiff, you're cool, but I'm not attracted to you. And I don't think I'll ever be…at least not that way."

"Wow, thanks, you know howta make a guy feel so special, y'know? Yeah, you can come this afternoon if you wanna. But just warnin' ya-I just set up speakers in all the rooms, so you might not get too much more sleep here than you will there. Plus, the guest bedroom ain't too big…"

"I'll be fine, RaGiff, don't worry. I'll see you later, okay? I'm going to pack up."

"Sure. Later."

RaGiff hung up the phone. He was a little concerned. Normally, when Leo left on a big mission like this, he'd give him a call. He'd better call the War Machine instead…

But as he picked up the phone, he thought. If Leo really wanted his help, or needed it, he'd probably ask for it. Okay, maybe not-Leo was too proud to ask for it-but still. This may be something he needed to do alone.

First, he turned off the security system for now. No need for one of those huge laser beams to blast her when she walked to the door. Then he turned up the volume on the music. May as well get it out before she came.

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"Never thought I'd be here again," Knuckles thought out loud. "And in all honesty, I really didn't want to."

"It's truly peaceful here now that you have defeated Crystal," Tikal insisted. "They all thank you."

"Well, that's good, at least." Then, he realized something. "Wait, who thanks me?" The last time Knuckles was here, the only things he had run into were Crystal, the Minatour, and their minions.

Tikal smiled. "You didn't think Crystal was the only one living here, did you?"

Knuckles chuckled nervously. "Of…of course not."

Then, he thought. What kind of people could live here?

Instantly, a town appeared in front of his face. That was right-you could get around this dimension just by thinking about the place you wanted to go to. And since Knuckles had thought of the people, he got the place they lived in.

The houses looked like tribal huts you saw in movies about primitive tribes. The spirits looked like silver, transparent floating people. One of them turned to look at Knuckles. At first, she looked confused, but after a few seconds, she recognized him and raced over to him.

"Hey, I know who you are!" she hissed. "I'll try to keep you low profile. I'm Lianne. Nice to meet you." The spirit put out her hand. Knuckles slowly placed his hand in hers, and the two shook. She was actually a solid being.

"Nice to meet you Lianne," Knuckles responded. "But…why do you want to keep me low profile?"

"Well, you're the biggest celebrity here since Crystal…and that was because she made herself a celebrity. If they see you, you won't be able to get to your meeting."

"Meeting?"

"Lianne is my partner on the D8 board of law," Tikal explained. "She and I are here to bring you to a meeting with the board."

Knuckles grinned at the thought of some huge reward. Perhaps eternal life? Eternal paradise? Or something better?

"We'd better get going. Think your way to the board place. We'll see you there," Lianne told him. She and Tikal vanished before his eyes. And just after that, the scene in front of him transformed into a very proper looking government hall with a fancy green carpet and various paintings. Tikal and Lianne stood looking at someone in front of them.

"Oh God," whispered the person. He cut between the two women, which seemed to peeve Lianne especially. The man was balding, but had a ring of white hair about him. Of course, it didn't matter if it was white because he was a silver being. "Knuckles the Echidna…one of our greatest heroes. I cannot believe I'm standing in front of you now." He bowed. "I am Harold Franklin. I am the president of Dimension 8."

"I thought it was-"

"More convenient to just say eight," he explained. "Please, follow me. We've been waiting for you."

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A loud ringing sound. The doorbell. RaGiff pressed a button on his control panel. He heard someone walk in.

"Welcome, lady O'Connell," he joked. "Your room is just down the hall to your right."

But there was no answer.

"Cassie girl?"

He heard footsteps. He whirled to check the doorway into his lab. There was no one there. "Cassie?" he called again, a little nervously.

A swooping noise. He turned again. Still, no one there. What was going on?

Flash. Nothing again.

"C-Cass?"

Instantly, he was pinned on the ground. Before he could make out who it was, he got punched three times. Then, he saw a black…hedgehog? It had a glowing red claw pulsing from its right arm. There were three long blades for claws. RaGiff was being held down by the left hand and the right one rose high above RaGiff's head.

"I…I know…who you are," gasped a stunned RaGiff.

"You shouldn't leave your front door open like that," growled the strange hedgehog. "Bad things could get in."

"You're…You're Shadow…the Hedgehog…" RaGiff felt like he was about to pass out.

The sleek black hedgehog grinned.

"In a way."

All RaGiff saw after that statement was red. And not all of it was the claws.