Chapter 3 – The First Meeting
(New York City, Planet Earth 5:55pm)
"Ashley? Wake up, sweetie."
Ashley stirs up from sleeping on a beanbag with a book covering her face. She removes her favourite book, Maximum Ride from her face to see the librarian of New York Public Library. She was in her late-fifties with her light red hair in a bun while wearing glasses, a dark lavender cotton sweater with a long black dress underneath with grey stocking and black laces-up boots.
"Oh, hey Ms. Coltland. What's up?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Sorry to wake you up but I want to remind you that the library will be closing in about five minutes, sweetie." said the librarian.
"Oh, thanks. Sorry, I must've dose off or something" Ashley said as she sits up and puts her book in her backpack.
"No need to apologise, dear. You're always welcome here." She replies as they walked towards to the entrance of the New York Public Library. Even though she lives with her big brother and never knew her parents, to Ashley, Ms. Coltland was like a mother to her and has always respected her and enjoy her company. They both had an interest in books.
As they approach the entrance, Ashley turned to Ms. Coltland, "Well, same thing next week?"
Ms. Coltland smiles at the young teenage. "Of course. You have a nice night, ok?" she said as she walks away.
"Sure thing!" Ashley replied as she heads for the doors of the library.
As Ashley opens the doors, her phone was vibrating. It was a text message.
"Hey Ash! Free 2nite? Sleepover and Chinese at your place? Jess"
Jessica Burner was her best friend ever since elementary because they gotten into trouble together. They also acted like they're sisters since they pretty much do anything together. Ashley texted back.
"Yeah, I'm free and sure. I let Chris know. Ash"
A few seconds passed and Ashley has already got a reply. Man! That girl can reply back quick!
"KK. Dan coming 2. Be there in hour with the food. Later"
Daniel Holt who was another friend of Ashley who she and Jess met up years later who turns out to be a great musician with his guitar. Even though her brother was busy at the time, Ashley was never alone when she can just hang out with her friends.
As the library closes up for the night, Ashley reaches inside her shirt and brings out her necklace. She then holds it up for a second. For the rest of the day, she was thinking about the vision she had early about transporting Washington Square Park, the glowing object in the fountain and her necklace acting up. Was it a sign? The answers to the nightmares that she has been having all her life? Or a trap? Well, if it was a sign, she knows she is not going to be standing around to find out.
Ashley looked at her watch. The time says 6:02pm and she was going to meet up with Jess and Dan in an hour, so she decided to go to Washington Square Park to find her answers. After all, she was the curious type.
10 minutes later or less, she finally arrived at the corner of Washington Square N & Washington Square W. She decided to go through the Washington Square Arch to get to the fountain quicker. She was near the main entrance when all of the sudden, her necklace started to glow again but this time, instead of getting a vision like she had before, she can sense it. It was coming from the same place that she found the glowing object: The Fountain.
As she approaches the fountain, she could only just see something. It was the same glowing object that she saw in her vision. She went down the stairs to get a better look. When she got there, she knelled down, trying not to be too reckless and reach for the object with her right hand. The object was glowing so bright it almost blinded her and so did her necklace but she grabbed it anyway. Instead of sending her away, the glow died down but still remains glowing. Now, Ashley has a clear view of the object.
The object it's self turns out to be a big green gem. Ashley could not believe her eyes. She never had seen a gem like this or glows in her entire life before but on the other hand, in one of her previous nightmares, she did gems like this but there were in different colours and there were only seven. As soon she picks it up, her necklace stops glowing. She looked at her necklace again. It happened before. She was wondering if the necklace has some kind of connection to this gem.
"UNIDENTIFIED SUBJECT IN SIGHT WITH IDENTIFIED ITEM"
She didn't have time to react to the gem and her necklace when she spurned around saw two huge robots just like two metres away from the girl. As the robots fired at the girl, she quickly stands up and dodges the bullets with sheer luck. She tries to run away from them but another robot landed in front of her, blocking her path. As she runs, she quickly looks behind her to see the other two robots advancing so she runs past the robot in front her as it starts to shoot her down.
Ashley's mind was racing faster then her heart. "Oh, man! What am I going to do?"
Thanks to the sound of the guns, it woke up a certain hedgehog from his rest who was not far from here. He stands up from his sitting position and walks to the edge of the building, trying to find the source of the noise. He then notices a group of familiar robots that were in a park, chasing a person; not far from here. He knew there was trouble as he puts on his serious face on, ready for action.
Back at the park, Ashley continued to run away from the three deadly robots that are chasing her. She was right. She knew something terrible was going to happen but not only that, it was happening for real. She continued to run through the trees while holding on to the gem as the robots keep on shooting robots, she didn't know what to do.
She didn't see where she was going as she trips over from a tree branch which caused her to land on the ground with a big thud. She looked behind to see the robots have already caught up to her. One of the robots has identified the gem in one of her hands. "ITEM IDENTIFIED: CHAOS EMERALD. PREPARED TO DESTROY UNIDENTIFIED SUBJECT" The robots raised theirs guns and aimed at Ashley as she continued to stare at it, not moving a muscle. She never knew she was going to die like this but even though she was now scared and helpless, she still keep a straight face and doesn't take her eyes off the robots, especially with the guns in her face.
"READY"
"AIM"
"FIRE"
The robots fired at her but missed when a blue blur came from behind them and grabbed Ashley in a bridal style. He continued to run, holding her and race through the tree as the robots continued to shoot them down. The blue hedgehog stops running, puts Ashley down; still holding on to the gem and turned back to face the robots.
Ashley couldn't believe what just happen. Not only she was alive but a blue, tall animal standing in front of her; facing the robots as he cracks his knuckles. Ashley thought that animal must have saved her life. "Hey pal! If you're looking for trouble, you could find it here, you old-paid tin can!" the blue hedgehog yelled at the robots as runs to his left. Ashley then watch amazed at the animal's speed. She never had seen anyone who can move that fast in her life.
The hedgehog ran behind to get his attention. "IDENTIFIED SUBJECT: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. LOCK AND DESTORY!" One of the robots fired his gun at him but Sonic manage to dodge the bullets thanks to his to his quick reflexes. "C'mon! Is THAT the best you can do?" He teased at the robot who firing at him. Sonic then jumped in the air and did a spin dash towards the robot and smashed right through it, destroying it. Ashley couldn't believe her eyes. A blue hedgehog that came out of nowhere, just destroy the robot without any trouble. After he destroyed the robot, Sonic ran off in another direction away from the other two not-destroyed robots. "IDENTIFIED SUBJECT NOT FOUND" said one of the robots. The other robot turned its attention to Ashley who has put the gem inside one of her jersey's pocket and looked back at the robot. "UNIDENTIFIED SUBJECT STILL IN SIGHT. LOCK AND DESTORY!" it said as it aimed its gun at Angel again.
"Hey, over here!"
The robots and Ashley then turned to Sonic, who was standing on top of the arch. He spins around with his back towards the robots and slaps his butt at them. "Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah! Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!" he said as continued to taunt the robots. Ashley giggles at the hedgehog. Not only was he tough but also cheeky as well. "IDENTIFIED SUBJECT FOUND. LOCK AND DESTORY!" said both of the robots as they fired at him again. Sonic then jumps in air, dodges the bullets coming towards him and spin dash the second robot, destroying him.
Sonic then races back to Ashley and then skids to a halt, in front of her. "Are you ok, kid?" he asked the girl. Ashley didn't say a word because she was absolutely stunned at the hedgehog performance and just realized he can talk too. Sonic then turned to see the third and final robot ready to aim and fired at them. As Sonic was ready to fight the last one, Ashley heard something in the air, behind them. "Hey, what's that?" she said as she looked up. Sonic looked up as well, to find out a familiar sound. "It sounds like a plane" Ashley said when something fly above them and straight towards the robot. It was a blue bi-plane. Sonic looked closely at the plane details and knew straight away what plane was it.
"The Tornado!" he shouted. "The what?" Ashley asked. They watch the plane fires bullets at the robot that caught its attention. The Tornado flies past it and makes a U-turn and flies back to the robot. The driver of the plane a small fox who focusing on the robot when the cream rabbit holding a blue Chao saw something else or perhaps, someone else. "Tails! Tails! Look over there!" she said as she pointed to the certain hedgehog that was waving to get their attention. Tails looked beyond the robot and saw the same thing. "It's Sonic!" he shouted.
Sonic then gave Tails the thumbs-up, signalling him. "Time for the big finale" he said as he push a button that launches another bright ring towards Sonic. Sonic see this and jumps into the air and catches it. He then performs another spin dash towards the robot and finally smashed right through it. After that, Sonic races back to Ashley who begins to stand up, trying so hard not to blink. She looked at the three robots that are now destroyed and burst into flames. "Well, that was some show, am I right?" he said to Angel as he dusted off. Ashley smiled at the hedgehog. She knew that he wouldn't hurt her after he saved her from the robots.
The Tornado landed near Sonic and Ashley. Tails, Cream and Cheese jumped out of the plane and ran towards Sonic and Ashley. "Hey Sonic!" Tails shouted to his best friends. "Hey Tails, glad to see you guys ok" he said while giving them the thumbs-up to his two friends.
"We are so glad you're ok, Mister Sonic" Cream relieved to find her ok.
"Chow Chow Chow Chow!" Cheese cheered as he gives Sonic a hug as he hugged back. Sonic was glad to see both of his friends. But then he looked behind them. He noticed two more of his friends were missing.
"Hey. Where's Knuckles and Amy? I thought they're with you guys" he said, starting to get a bit worried.
"They were with us until that big light swallowed us up and next thing we know, we got separated from them and ended up here" Cream explained to Sonic as Cheese flies out of Sonic's hold and over to Cream's side.
"I see" Sonic said as he rubs his chin, hoping they might be around here.
"So, where are we, Sonic?" Tails asked Sonic, hoping for an answer.
Ashley stepped forward and explained to them. "You're in New York City"
The animals turned to see a girl near them. "And I want to thank you for saving my life back there. I mean, dude! That was INCREDIBLE! I didn't know you can do that and I have never seen a hedgehog that can run really fast beside a Cheetah which are pretty fast but not fast enough. But THOSE robots? You just destroy them like it was nothing. I mean, most people use a bomb or missiles to take down a group of robots or even an army of them but that was -" she stopped to find the three animals staring at her, confused. Ashley then looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry. Sometimes when I'm surprised, I say stuff without stopping" she said as looked back at the animals.
"No worries. You're welcome anyway. So, who are you?" he asked her. "Hey, I'm the one who should be asking the questions around here, mister" she barked. Sonic backs off for a second, allowing her to talk. "My first question is: Who are you guys anyway?"
"Well, I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog" he answer. Then he points to Tails. "This here is my best buddy, Tails" he said as Tails waves to Ashley who waves back and then he points to Cream. "And this here is Cream and her Chao friend, Cheese." Cream and Cheese both did a little curtsy to Ashley, who just smiles at them. "Ok, since we answer your question, you'll answer to ours" he said.
"I'm Ashley. Ashley Faith but you guys can call me "Ash"" she answered.
Sonic has reunited with a few of his friends but two of them are no-where to be seen. Will Sonic find them and what has happen to Dr. Eggman? Find out next time
Author's Notes: Well, there you have it. My OC finally meets up with the hero and his friends. With Chapter 3 done and dusted, we still have a long way to go before the final so hang on to your seat people. So, before I start on the next chapter, I have a few things to say.
First off, Washington Square Park with the fountain and arch makes its appearance, again and the library is the New York Public Library made its first appearance and I don't think will see it ever again in the story or any other stories. The library is located near the same street where Ashley lives if anyone is wondering about that.
Next, we also get a little background of Ashley. She starts off living with her big brother, rather than her mum and dad but they will be mention and seen later in my future stories.
You know, come to think it, ever since I started writing stories, I haven't got a single review yet (excerpts from Kung Fu Hedgehog which I am very proud. *sniff* Thank you for your worthy review, even if there are some negative one. If you are one of them, you guys have a lack of imagination).
Oh! If you guys are also wondering about the title of this chapter, "The First Meeting": Not really the best title for this chapter, right? But on the other hand, it is where Sonic and his friends meet Ashley for the first time.
Anyway, I'll get started on the next chapter for this story where we get to see if Sonic and the others find their other friends, meet Ashley's friends, find out what happens to Eggman and his robots and the bad guy I promise you guys because you sometimes think that Eggman can't always be the main villain, right? But I will get started next week or next year, whenever I get this done, ok? Well, anyway, don't forget to review or leave a PM!
Until we meet again,
TheDragonLord2912
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic and the crew but I do own the characters that do appear in this fanfic. This is not an official Sonic story. (But I wish)