Everything bubbled over on the desk. Other than what appeared to be a neglected science project, all things appeared to be in order. Books were arranged alphabetically on each shelf. Only one book remained opened as it sat next to a lit oil lamp. The flame illuminated its text in what appeared to have been handwritten long ago. The pages were crinkled from use and browned from age. It was impossible to determine its long history, but it must be noted its words were nothing ordinary.
No known language spoke them, except for an ancient people.
A loud crash echoed the otherwise empty room. What followed was a bright light.
"Again," a man's deep voice commanded.
A young girl Hedgehog held out her hands as her knees barely steadied her. They wobbled, and one knee sunk to the stone floor. One eye tried to stay open as she tried to keep her balance. For a eight-year-old child, she was resilient.
She said, "Please, Master, I wanna go home."
"You just started, Amy"
"Yeah, but...I'm hungry."
"Practice, and we will talk about dinner."
"But..."
The tall Fox looked at the girl who sighed and groaned. "Okay." Her green eyes were glazed as she opened her hands. A light shot from her hands and made another explosion like earlier. It sparkled like fireworks.
The Fox crouched in front of her and said, "You need to relax. Focus on your target."
"But I'm hungry."
The tiny girl's green eyes gazed into his red ones pleadingly. It made him chuckle. "Oh very well, I suppose I'll see what I can get you." With a smile, he ruffled her pink hair.
Her emerald eyes lit up and she asked, "Can I have an apple? Or some cake?"
"Anything your little heart desires, small one. Now to grab your sister."
They went outside to a little girl who appeared identical to the one on the Fox's shoulder. She smiled as soon as they stepped outside the building. The tiny mage's sister's dress appeared torn while her cheeks were covered in bruises. Her appearance caught their interest, and the mage hoped off her teacher's shoulder and rush to her sister.
She asked, "What happened? Why are you so hurt? Did someone do this to you? Wait til' I find them."
Her sister replied, "Wait, it's perfectly fine, Amy! I'm not hurt. See?" Once again, the girl smiled.
Amy appeared unconvinced as she looked at her younger sister and frowned. She took a deep breath and yelled, "Hey! Whoever hurt Sandy, you had better come out, or I will find you!"
With no hesitation, she held out her hand where a hammer materialized, and she dove for the bushes. She swung it around, but without any luck. The Fox pulled out the eight-year-old and said, "There are better ways to handle these things."
He held out a hand, and three girls fell to the ground. His magic teleported them.
Looking at them, he said, "So you three were picking on Sandy? Can you not find something more productive to do with your time?"
The three looked around, disoriented. One said, "What happened? Where's the tree we were standing behind?"
Her face paled when she noticed the glaring Fox who crossed his arms as he said, "Barely older than the girl you had beaten, and you decided to take it upon yourselves to give her a hard time? Explain yourselves. You have five minutes." His red eyes turned yellow as a wind flowed around him. He pointed his rod towards the three he teleported. Once again, he spoke, "Speak."
One of them said, "Okay, we did it. But we were only minding our own business when she decided to insult us."
Sandy interjected, "That didn't happen! I didn't even speak to you."
"That's how you insulted us! You're supposed to acknowledge your superiors. Wait until my daddy hears about this!"
"Why?" Amy asked.
The mean girl smirked and replied, "Your teacher works for him."
Her comment made the Fox's eyes widen, and he released them.
"No..." he said.
Confused, Amy looked at him and at the three girls. She looked at her teacher and asked, "What is it, Master?"
Her teacher wouldn't speak. The three girls smirked, and their leader said, "He's just realizing what waits for all of you."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't!" Amy's teacher said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her. "You don't know who you are dealing with, Amy." He looked at the girls and said, "I'm very sorry. This won't happen again."
She clenched her teeth and fists as she clutched onto her hammer.
The girls' leader said, "Ha! See that you don't. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to, vermin."
With that, the three laughed and disappeared in a black smoke. As soon as they were gone, the Master released Amy and sank into the ground. He said, "Thank goodness, that could have ended far worse."
Amy turned and asked, "Why'd you stop me? They were being horrible."
"There're some things no one can stop without dire consequences. You must not hold anything against them, do you understand me?"
He grabbed the pink Hedgehog's shoulders and looked into her emerald eyes. She wanted to speak but couldn't. The man loosened his hold and he wiped his forehead, saying, "Those girls' father is the head wizard. No one angers him or his daughters. He possesses great power that his daughters will one day inherit. Their family has generations of power, and as time goes on it builds and gets stronger. No one can stand up to them and live to tell about it."
"But they were being mean."
"And their father could do something far worse than being mean to you or your sister. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to either of you two. You having powers of your own is one thing, but you are only learning. And your little twin sister has none. Neither of you will survive." The eight-year-old remained silent, and the wizard sighed. He said, "Promise me. You will not use your powers in anger again."
The little mage opened her mouth to object as her fur stood up, and her eyes watered. As she gazed into her Master's red eyes, she said, "I will."
He pulled her into a hug, and said, "That's my girl. Now let's do a bit more practice before heading home."
She followed him as her sister followed them into the building.
From afar, the three girls smiled in the dark shadows. A wicked light shone in their eyes as they giggled. Their leader said, "No one, and I mean, no one, ignores and humiliates us and gets away with it. Father will be furious."
In the late afternoon, Amy, her sister, and her teacher walked home. She sat on his shoulder, going on about the ice cream that he promised them. Sandy walked beside him, holding his hand. The little girl looked behind them and moved closer to the Fox. He peeked over his shoulder and scanned the village.
He crouched in front of the worried girl and said, "We should hurry inside. Things will be better in the morning."
Amy, who was still on his shoulder, said, "Yeah, you'll see. You will just have to stay close to me. I promise nothing will ever happen to you like that again."
The Fox looked at her wearily, but said nothing. He watched as Amy took Sandy's hand and led her sister inside. The teacher paused at the entrance and checked over his shoulder again. His red eyes narrowed before he closed the door and locked its chains.
Amy's hands glowed after the sisters took their seats. A bunch of flowers grew around them which made Sandy smile. The Fox took delight in their interactions. He watched as they ate their dessert that he made for them with his magic.
Amy announced, "Someday, I'm going to make lots of magical ice cream! It'll be the yummiest you'll ever taste."
"Oh wow!" Sandy reacted in amazement. "You're so lucky."
Something creaked outside and there was a knock on the door. The teacher frowned, and he opened it. A fist punched him in the stomach and sent him flying into the wall. The girls turned in shock, and Amy made her mallet appear. Her teacher shook his head at her, and she made it disappear.
A tall Wolf like the three girls from earlier stepped inside and yelled, "So, you were the one who dared to touch my little girls! I should have known better than to trust you."
The Fox groaned as he tried to stand and answered, "Please, sir, if I may, it was a misunderstanding. No one has ever seen your daughters, and they were not treating my charge rightly--"
"Silence!" The head wizard punched his head to knock him back down into the floorboards. "You dare speak back to me? Insolent fool."
The Fox turned to the twins as he was being pounded and said, while coughing blood, "Run...hop into another world. You must protect each..."
He was struck harder which had cut him off. The head wizard kicked him and knocked over a bookcase. The girls stood in horror. Amy seized Sandy's hand and pulled her outside. As they headed outside, Sandy had a hard time keeping her footing as they raced through the woods to avoid being seen. Tears rolled down Amy's cheeks. Her arm rubbed them away, but they wouldn't stop coming.
They climbed up a tree. Amy choked down her tears as Sandy watched her place her hand over the tree trunk's hole.
She said, "What are you doing?"
A light shone from the tree's hallowed inside, and Amy said, "I have to do what the Master told me. He wanted us to go to another world."
"But we can't just leave him. What if we never find him?"
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing. We should hurry."
"No, I'm staying. I won't go until he comes here."
"But there's no time."
She tried to pull, but Amy couldn't get her sister to budge. As they pulled each other, the light in the tree flickered and changed colour. They fell backwards into the portal she made. As they fell, Amy felt her sister's hand slip. She tried to reach, but missed.
As the purple mist swirled around them, she called, "Sandy!"
It pulled her further away as she realized that the portal wasn't behaving properly. Something wasn't right.
I have to find Sandy. I must have done the spell wrong!
As she floated through the mist, her head struck against a rock and she became unconscious. Moments passed as she drifted through the portal. Before she knew it, she heard mumbling. Her eyelids fluttered open to someone talking.
"You okay?" a blue Hedgehog asked.
She was in a forest filled with tall grass. Tiny cute animals leapt around them and a Flicky bird rested on her, looking at her.
She looked at the Hedgehog who said, "Well, at least you're alive. I was worried when my buddy Tails had found you unconscious. What's your name?"
"Amy? I think...?" Why don't I remember anything else? Where am I? Who am I?
"Hey don't sweat it. The name's Sonic."
"Sonic huh? Well, thanks for saving me."
"Don't mention it."
Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something really important.
A small book slipped out of her pocket, and she grabbed it. Inside were words she couldn't read. But something about it felt familiar. The eight-year-old tilted her head and tucked it back into her dress's pocket.
Sonic began to run, and she followed, saying, "Hey wait! Can I come with you?"
"Say what?"
"Please?"
"Okay, Ames, I'll take you to Knothole. Hang tight."
The teenage Hedgehog pulled her along into the woods where she had to spend the night.
I don't know why I only know my name or why I don't know what I was doing before Sonic had found me. Strange. I hope something will start to make sense.