Chapter 1: Stuck

A flickering fluorescent light buzzes above Sonic's head. He tries to ignore the flies flitting gaily about while he stares at his jetlagged face in the motel bathroom, his eyes puffy and red and cracked with crust. The lady at the airport desk didn't even have an estimate for when flights might start going out again when she, with the kindest, most understanding expression, refused him a refund. A delay for who-knows-how-long and not even a refund. Sonic had never missed his Tornado as much as he does now.

He drags his gloved hand across his face, and then smooths his spines back into place. They're getting long, he hadn't had a trim in a while. He stopped trimming his spines himself a long time ago when he cut them too short before the whole Lost Hex thing, and apparently nobody likes it when he has short spines. He gives himself finger guns and a grin in the smudged, dusty mirror, because he knows he looks good no matter the length of his spines, when he catches a line of gray. He wipes the mirror with his thumb, it must be just a gross little hair from whichever poor soul had to stay in this dump last. It didn't come off, maybe it was a scratch. It was neither. Sonic digs out a graying spine from off his head, and wincing, he yanks it out. He stares at it for a long moment, rotating it in his hand, before dropping it in the trash.

Sonic flicks the bathroom lights off as he exits, the absence of noise from the particularly loud vent fan makes his ears ring. His phone is plugged into the wall as it sits on the bedside table, he clicks the screen on and it flashes a battery symbol at him. Sonic collapses backwards onto the bed, groaning. There's a landline at his bedside, he stares at it, something growing heavy in his stomach. He picks up the phone, the robot voice tells him calls will be charged as extra on his account, and he struggles to remember a number. Holding his breath, he punches it in on the squeaky number pad. The dialing sound rings inside his brain.

"Hello?"

"Hey, buddy."

"Sonic? I almost didn't pick up, I didn't recognize the number."

"Yeah, I'm in this crappy motel and my phone is dead. My flight got delayed. They were kind of cagey about the reasons why, too."

"That sucks. When should I expect you?"

"I don't know."

"Geez. I'd send you a drone to pick you up, but I don't really want to get in trouble with the government again. I could take the Tornado III and fly over myself?"

"No, I'm in the Republic Archipelago. You'd miss the holidays with the round trip."

"I mean, it's okay. I want to see you. Holidays are just numbers on a calendar."

"I'll be fine, partner. I'll figure it out."

There's an awkward pause. Sonic isn't sure how to end the conversation.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"It's just… this is the first time in a while we've talked."

"We talked when you invited me."

"That was like a month ago, dude."

"Yeah. Um, sorry."

"It's okay."

There's another pause.

"I'm gonna hang up now, Tails. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Sonic places the phone back on its base and stares at the ceiling fan. It creaks rhythmically as the blades limp around in a vague circle. Tails always sounds different in Sonic's head. To him, they're still just a kid, his little sibling, squeaky and small and bushy-tailed. They're an adult now, and Sonic is proud of them, but at the same time…

Sitting up straight, he shakes his head. Sonic needs to go for a run, to clear his head. It's a bit cold out, so he pulls out his red-and-white bomber jacket with the wing emblem on the back and the patches on the elbows and he slips it on. He fiddles with the keys in the rusted lock until he figures that it's locked enough, and he jogs off.

The wind nips at his heels as the palms pass him under a gray sky. The air smells like cigarettes, but it's still better than the dirty sock smell of his motel room. The open air does him good, confined spaces don't let him think straight. Sonic tries his best to admire his surroundings.

The southmost isle of the Republic Archipelago has the second of its two international airports, and upon its construction the once nice town had transformed almost overnight into an economy based around the scraps of a tourism industry. Sketchy restaurants and cheap motels and kitschy souvenir shops lined the streets. Foreign companies outbidded local shops, so mixed in with all that was a slew of the same boring chains of convenience stores and familiar fast food places that Sonic could find anywhere. The southmost isle lacked the sort of local flavor and charm that was fun to see when traveling. Sonic likes to see new sights and smells and sounds, but these days everything is becoming increasingly homogenized.

He finds a little stand hidden away off the street and buys whatever they were selling, a fried ball of something and a cup of soup to dip it in. He munches while he runs. Sonic speeds to the edge of a cliff and sits, letting his feet dangle. Underneath is a road that runs parallel to a rocky shore, he can smell wisps of salty water as gentle waves ripple against the rocks and leave trails of sea foam. He watches the ocean for a while, trying not to let his mind wander too much. Thinking too much had never gotten Sonic anywhere desirable. The occasional car whooshes past, only a fraction of Sonic's top speed. An odd bit of motion from the shoreline draws Sonic's eye.

A girl appears from behind a big rock on the shore, taking furtive glances before carefully stepping out and briskly running alongside the road. She's a hedgehog, pale in color, maybe a bit shorter than Sonic, it's hard to see much detail from his vantage. Sonic watches her with passive interest. She gets a good distance away before a black car screeches next to her, and a pair of burly arms reach out and haul her kicking and screaming inside. The door slams shut and the car speeds off. Sonic stands up and stretches. At least he has something to do now.

Sonic takes a running stance and launches off, kicking up dirt and grass in his wake. He jumps and curls in the air, rolling against the side of the cliff gaining speed. He unfurls and dashes on the road, quickly closing in on the unmarked car. The wind beats against his ears and ruffles the fabric in his jacket, his heart thumps, his eyes water. Speeding up, he comes to the backside window, roughly in the car's blind spot. It's a little hard to see through the heavy tint, but the girl is there, there's a man in the backseat with her and two more men in the front, all wearing black suits. Sonic doubts they're going to a wedding. He moves closer to the back window and waves at the girl. She looks confused.

"Do you need help?" Sonic mouths, slowly.

Her brow furled, the girl nods. Not needing any further convincing, Sonic mimes pressing a button and moves towards the car. She gets his message and unlocks the door for him, Sonic rips it open, it slams against its hinges, pushed back by the rush of air, the men inside shouting in confusion. The car wobbles as the driver regains his grip on the wheel. Sonic grabs the girl and she grips him tightly with her arms around his neck.

"It's going to be okay," he says.

"Go! Go! Get me the hell out of here!" she screeches.

Sonic speeds ahead, the black car giving chase. They're going around a bend now. He slows down a bit, letting them gain on him, letting himself get just out of reach before taking a sharp turn to the right. He gives a cocky little wave to the driver and takes off back up the cliff. The car smashes into the side rails of the road, screeching and skidding to a stop, twinkling with shattered glass. Dazed men stumble, cut and bruised, out of the vehicle, but Sonic is already gone.

Landing back atop the cliff, Sonic lets the girl down. She collapses, breathing heavily. Sitting down next to her, Sonic gives her a moment to catch her breath, and takes a moment to let his heart slow back down to resting speed. It takes a little longer these days.

"Oh god, what the hell are you?" the girl asks, breathless.

"Just a guy who loves adventure," Sonic rubs his nose, "and the guy who just saved you from a kidnapping."

"I'm… I'm gonna be sick."

She dry heaves at the ground. Sonic scratches his head.

"Sorry about the motion sickness. I guess my speed can take some getting used to."

Slowly, on wobbling legs, the girl stands up. She's young, no more than seventeen, she wears a black hoodie and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Her pale spines stick out at odd angles, and her hazel eyes glance back and forth suspiciously. There's something strikingly familiar about her, but Sonic couldn't quite put his finger on it. She looks uncomfortable, Sonic catches himself staring.

"Um, thanks for the save," she says. "I gotta go."

She backs away slowly. Sonic reaches out towards her.

"Hold on."

"Look, man, I don't have anything to repay you with, and I'm really in a hurry."

Sonic pulls his arm back, holding his hands up with his palms facing out.

"You seemed like you needed help," he says.

"I did, and you helped me. Thank you, but I don't have time to chat."

She walks away, Sonic takes steps towards her. He can't just let her go. There's something bothering him, a strange feeling in his gut, the same feeling he gets whenever Eggman or whoever else is about to do something evil, or when he feels like the ground is about to give out and he needs to jump. Whatever it is, it isn't good.

"Have… Have we met before?" Sonic asks.

The girl looks at him oddly, then turns around and runs.

"Wait!"

Sonic dashes after her, easily running along at her side. Her eyes widen as she glances at him and she pushes herself to run faster.

"Just hold on a minute, I just want to talk!"

"Go away! You're creeping me out!"

"C-creeping?"

She starts to slow down as she runs out of breath.

"Yeah," she gasps between heavy breaths. "You're some random old dude. I'm a fifteen year old girl. I have a knife."

"Old!?"

Sonic stops running. He watches the girl go a short distance before tripping and tumbling onto the grass. Keeping his distance, he approaches slowly and tries not to think about the gray spine he found.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says as gently and patiently as he can muster.

The girl pulls out her knife. The blade isn't flipped out.

"Stay right there! Don't come any closer."

"Okay, okay."

She fiddles with the knife, she isn't able to get the blade out. She shouts and chucks the knife at him. It bounces off his shoulder.

"Ow. Rude."

He stops and kneels down, again holding his hands out in a display of nonaggression. The girl stands up, taking a clearly amateurish fighting stance. Sonic cocks his brow.

"I'm Sonic, Sonic The Hedgehog."

"Who?"

"I've saved the world a few times. My picture was on the President's desk."

"Smith?"

"No, the guy before the last guy."

"The war criminal?"

"I mean, um, It was before that whole… Listen, I just want to help."

Sonic slowly lowers down, light glints off of the folded pocket knife. He kicks it back over to her. Her eyes trained on him, she squats down and picks it up, clutching it against her chest.

"Don't come near me," she says.

"Okay, I won't."

"Or I'll stab you."

"You've made that clear."

She stares him down, an anxious intensity in her gaze. She's like a frightened creature, ready to zip away at the slightest movement.

"Can I ask your name?" Sonic says.

She sighs, mulling over whether or not to answer.

"It's Ivory."

"Okay, thanks for telling me, Ivory. I don't want anything from you, but if you need help, helping people is something I tend to do."

Ivory looks away, letting her knife hand drop at her side. She clutches her arm, wrinkling the fabric between her fingers. Sonic stays as still as he can.

"If you let me know what's going on, I might be able to do something."

Ivory takes a deep breath, still staring Sonic down.

"I need to get out of this damn country."

Sonic rubs his forehead, exhaling deeply through his nose.

"You and me both, kiddo."