Chapter one
The moon shone bright over the forest as three figures skulked through the trees. The largest figure led the way followed by the other two who floated a few feet above the ground. The large figure cackled excitedly as he went.
"Orbot you had better be getting this." Eggman snapped.
"Yes sir!" The robot assured him. "I record everything that I see and hear."
"Yes I know that." Eggman snapped. "But just you know… make it look good. I want to make those losers on Phantom finders message board weep with envy."
"Thats assuming we find anything." Orbot muttered. Unfortunately for him the doctor heard and rounded on the little red robot. Orbot clung onto Cubot as the doctor shook his fist angrily.
"We had better find something." Eggman growled. "You said the energy signals were coming from this area."
The robot gulped and nodded. "Up ahead." He confirmed. The Doctor seemed satisfied with this and led the way through the thicket. After walking a short distance Orbot noticed a fog rising from the ground and the air had turned chilly. The crunch of the leaves on the ground was replaced by the sound of gravel underfoot. Looking up the trio found themselves surrounded by twisted iron railings and and large flat gravestones. Orbot and Cubot held eac hother a little tighter as the doctor clapped his hands and danced on his tiptoes.
"OMG this is so spooky!" He squealed. "Make sure you get the gravestones."
Obediently Orbot moved closer to some of the stones for a close up. The lettering had worn away and the stone itself was crumbling. He didn't dare get too close in case it came down on top of him. As a robot Orbot didn't believe in ghosts. It's hard to believe in an afterlife when your own was created by a hook nosed bald lunatic with a hedgehog obsession. Even so Orbot couldn't deny the place was spooky.
The doctors sudden yell through the deathly silence of the graveyard made Orbot jump.
"Get over here!" Eggman barked. "This is IT!" The doctor had carried on his tour of the graveyard and come to a halt at a particularly ostentatious grave. It was so large Orbot was surprised he hadn't noticed when they had arrived. Fog swirled at the base of a tomb. Placed on top of it was a large stone vase with curled handles. Looking closely at the vase Orbot could see markings surrounding the vase. Gold leaf was pealing away from the etchings making it hard to read. Orbot circled the vase. He was so focused on it he didn't hear the doctors instructions.
"I said get over hear you useless lump of iron!" Eggman repeated.
Orbot moved to where the doctor had called him but kept his focus on the vase. He could feel something was off about it. He would need to do a full scan to be certain but he was willing to bet that it was the source of the energy he had detected back at the lair. Eggman did not seem to share the robots trepidation. As Orbot reached his mark the doctor smoothed his mustache and puffed his chest out impressively. After clearing his throat the doctor turned to Orbot and began to monologue.
"I, Dr Ivo Robotnik am here in the heart of the aptly named Mystic forest in search of paranormal entities. I have been guided here by forces that I, a man of science, can hardly explain. Over a number of days there have been energy surges in this area which I have followed and found this hidden graveyard. Long forgotten and ravaged by time the souls buried here have been abandoned. It is my belief that the spirits laid to rest here were forsaken by their supposed love ones. Now they can no longer rest easy and have fought their way through to the land of the living. Tortured by…."
An awful moaning sound filled the graveyard causing the doctor to stop in his tracks. Orbot froze to as the sound drew closer. It was coming from behind the doctor. Eggmans eyes widened in horror as he stepped away from the tomb. The large man tried to hide himself behind the small, spherical robot. As the doctor cowered a white figure rose up into the sky. It glided towards them still moaning dreadfully. As it passed over the top of the tomb it smashed into the vase.
"Oops!" The figure said in a very un-ghostly way. "I knew I should have cut eye holes into this!"
"Cubot?" The doctor growled angrily as he rose to his feet.
Cubot span at the sound of his masters voice and became tangled in the white sheet he had draped over his head. The robot stumbled into the stone vase. It wobbled for a moment before crashing to the ground where it smashed. A smoky trail of vapor rose from the spilled ashes. Dr Eggman was incandescent with rage and yanked the sheet from the yellow robot.
"What do you think you're doing?" The doctor spat. "If there were any ghosts here you'll have frightened them off or offended them you imbecile."
"Sorry." Cubot moaned in his nasal whine. "I thought it would help."
Orbot worried for a second that the doctor was going to dismantle cubot there and then but a sudden change passed over the doctors face. He stroked his mustache thoughtfully and turned to Orbot.
"Maybe this isn't a total loss." Eggman mused. "A little editing and maybe we can salvage this."
As uncomfortable as an evening of Dr Eggman poking around in his memory sounded to Orbot it struck him as the lesser of the two evils. The uneasy feeling he had felt from the moment he arrived in the graveyard had only gotten worse and he was keen to leave. As he followed Cubot and the doctor out into the forest the robot couldn't help but feel that he was being watched.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The following day not to far from the site of the Doctors nocturnal excursion Sonic the hedgehog was being reluctantly dragged through the forest by his friends. As a hero Sonic often felt a sense of pride in his work but there was just something about the Gogoba tribe that seemed to suck all of the fun out of saving the day. On this occasion the gullible rubes had been bullied into worshiping a new god.
This 'god' happened to be quite the demanding deity and insisted on generous donations from his worshipers. Having lost all of their food for the winter and what little money they had the Gogobas had sent a small group into hedgehog village to beg for scraps. They had successfully guilt tripped the villagers into handing over a substantial offering to help them survive the coming months. Unfortunately the villagers had underestimated how gullible the little grey tribe were and when the Gogobas returned for the third time, having given their previous bounty to their new god, that Sonic and his friends decided to intervene.
Sonic had left the others to speak with the Gogobas. He just wasn't in the mood for it. He had made big plans for today and had been bitterly disappointed to have those plans interrupted. It was his six month anniversary with Amy and he had hoped for a romantic picnic far away from prying eyes. Now he was trawling through a muddy forest and not even able to touch her without arousing suspicion from the others.
Almost immediately after getting together Sonic and Amy had discussed going public with their relationship. Sonic had been relieved to find that his new girlfriend was on the same page as him. Sonic had been worried that it would make Amy even more of a target for his enemies and Amy had been keen to maintain their privacy during the early days of their relationship. They both felt guilty hiding from their friends but both were worried that it would change the dynamic of the group. Sneaking around did have its benefits. Sonic felt it added a sense of danger and excitement to their relationship. The stolen kisses and longing looks were thrilling.
There had been a few close calls of course. A few weeks ago Sticks had paid Amy an unsolicited early morning call and Sonic had been forced to dash out of the back window so that the badger wouldn't realize that he had spent the night at Amys. Even Knuckles had commented on the fact that the two of them were fighting less and spending more time together. Sonic knew deep down that they would be thrilled for him and Amy but all the same he wanted to keep this private just a little longer.
The only person Sonic had felt tempted to tell over the last few months was Tails. Sonic hated deceiving his best bud and felt awful leaving the fox out. Tails was the smartest of them all and sometimes Sonic was certain that Tails had twigged that he and Amy were dating. Sonics little bro seemed genuinely hurt when Sonic was unable to hang out or paired up with Amy over him. But what was Sonic to do? He loved them both. There was no way to choose between them.
Sonic watched as his team walked away from the tribe. Amy looked frustrated. Sonic couldn't help but smile as she walked towards him. He loved the way her brow furrowed when she was annoyed. As long as it wasn't directed at him that was.
"The Gogobas said that their 'god' shows up at sunset each day to collect their offerings." Sticks explained. Sonic could tell by her tone that she had been emotionally exhausted by the annoying tribesmen.
He could also see why Amy was annoyed. There was no way he was spending what was left of their anniversary waiting for this chump to show up.
"What do we know about this fake god?" Sonic sighed.
"They say that they never get a good look at him. He usually covers his face." Tails answered. "From what they can say he's about Knuckles height, pointy ears. A bit theatrical."
"T.W Barker then?" Sonic suggested.
The others nodded. This had the sneaky, manipulative dogs stink all over it. Sonic brightened up a little. They already knew where Barkers lair was. All they had to do was get over there. Shake him down and return the goods to the villagers. Sonic was back on course for date night.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What a battle!" Tails thrilled enthusiastically as the group sauntered back into hedgehog village. "The way you turned the bears against eachoter and then on Barker was inspired."
"And that amazingly witty quip you made as you defeated him." Knuckles agreed. "I'd really feel like I'd missed out of I hadn't seen it."
Sticks nodded her agreement. "Or at least had it described to me in epic detail."
Sonic smiled and caught Amys eye. She had a playful smile on her face which said to Sonic that she was thinking what he was thinking. He gave an exaggerated yawn.
"We'll it was certainly a tiring battle." He lied. "I'd better get back to my shack and sleep."
Tails looked confused. "Its six thirty." He pointed out. "Don't you want to get dinner?"
"No I had a big lunch." Sonic explained. Tails looked disappointed. Sonic almost relented but it was a special occasion. He'd make it up to his buddy tomorrow.
"I am also tired." Amy said unconvincingly. Sonic had to stop himself from laughing. Amy was a terrible liar but fortunately the others didn't seem inclined to ask any more quetions. They waved Sonic and Amy goodbye and headed off to Meh burger. Sonic watch Tails give him a sad smile and a wave. He felt another pang of guilt.
Sonic wasn't the only one who noticed Tails disappointment. In the shadows something dark watched and waited. Biding its time..