2 – A New Journey
Silence. Total silence. It was a bright, new, shiny day in Pisa, Italy.
The leaning tower leaned as always, (duh!) and people walked their way to both school and work. Then, all of a sudden, a big white light flashed on top of the cathedral next to the tower.
There appeared the World Traveler. Shadow the Hedgehog arrived to his destination, along with his companions.
"I think we came to a stop." said Tails. "Yeah, I think so too." Responded Shadow in a low and calm voice.
"Hey, why don't we open the door?" asked Sonic, with a very raspy voice. Tails warily opened the door and saw what was outside. "AACK!!! We landed on top of something! How are we gonna get down?" Tails was really frightened.
"Stop fooling around, Tails! You're just joking. Besides, I wanna bust this joint now!" said Sonic, urgently. He stood up and started to run towards the door. "No, Sonic, DON'T!" shouted everyone.
Obviously, the inpatient hedgehog fell, flailing both his arms and legs. Fortunately, Sonic spotted a boy with a backpack. He grabbed hold of the backpack as swiftly as he could. "Phew! That was close! At least I didn't get creamed!" The boy turned around and faced Sonic. "ARGH! Ma cos'é questo?! É un riccio parlante!" said the Italian boy. He threw his backpack violently on the floor along with Sonic and left running like a maniac.
"Wha…? What did I do? And what did he say?" Sonic asked himself, with the backpack in hand. Meanwhile, Tails and Rouge carried everybody to safe ground. Everybody hurried to meet up with Sonic. "Nice going hedgehog. You scared the crap outta that kid!" scoffed Shadow with a smirk; pointing at the boy that just left. "Well, sorrrrrryyyyy! He just freaked out a bit, that's all." said Sonic, defending himself. "Oh, Sonic, thank goodness you didn't get hurt!!" shouted Amy, hugging Sonic.
She shouted so loud that all of the Italians noticed them and went all freaky like, screaming like hell and running around like if there was a catastrophe.
"Amy, I'm suffocating…" said Sonic. "Ok! Why didn't you say you were?" "Great, NOW you did it, Amy!!" hollered Sonic, steamed off.
"Looks like we've gotta find a place to hide, and quick!" said Rouge, entering the cathedral, followed by the rest. Once inside, they were safe. It was enormous from the inside. Nobody could distinguish them there. "At least we're safe here. We've gotta find that Chaos Emerald!" exclaimed Knuckles. "NO." interrupted both Amy and Rouge.
"Why not?" asked all of the boys. "Because! We are in one of the most famous places of the world! We can't just leave this awesome place without buying anything!" said Amy. "Let's go, Amy. Leave them alone. Why don't we go for a map and find some shops?" said Rouge. "Ok!" The bat and the hedgehog grabbed each other's hand and went shopping.
"Girls. They'll NEVER change." said Sonic, exasperated. "Let's start to look for the emerald, now!" said Vector. "Let's go for a map, too." Said Knuckles. They got the map in a jiffy.
Once they had it, Shadow snatched the map from the person who had it, and started to examine it. "Ok. We've got the damn map. So –" "Ahem." Sonic cocked his head towards Tails. "Yeah, right. We've got the map. Here's what we're gonna do: since this city is SO little, we'll split up and search in different places; got it? I choose to go…" Shadow indicated his chosen place in the map with his index finger. "To this school!"
He sped off immediately. "I'll go to this place; it looks like an outside mall! Cool! Catch ya later!" Sonic took off at break-neck speed. "Heck with it. I'm going to this university. Bye!" Knuckles ran as fast as he could, jumped, and then glided. "I think I'll go for a stroll, I guess. I need a bit of time to think." Tails lifted himself into the air with his tails and flew away.
The only one left was Vector, with the map in hand. "Ok. Guess I'll go to this supermarket." The green croc started to make his way.
A black light, speeding on the streets of Pisa. The hedgehog stopped abruptly in a particular street. The school where he went to was called G. Mazzini. Hundreds of kids' bicycles and cars surrounded the building. Since there was a gate, Shadow jumped it with ease; then went up the four first stairs that led to the entrance.
Cautiously, Shadow entered the school. A woman saw the hedgehog; then blacked out instantly. "Well, good luck with THAT, I might say." said Shadow, sarcastically. He quickly picked up the woman and hid her in a nearby bathroom. "I've gotta make sure nobody else spots me. It's dangerous around here!" thought Shadow, grimacing.
He started to examine the building. First, he looked in the places without the presence of humans. Then… he just HAD to look in the classrooms. The hedgehog examined the classrooms of the lower level, first. Everything went smoothly, until… Some girl saw him, claimed that she knew him and blabbed it out to the whole school. Soon everybody started chasing him.
In no time, Shadow hurried up and looked in the middle level; then quickly to the last and third level. No chaos emerald found. Shadow swiftly rushed down the stairs, followed by a mob of girls, boys and teachers. Unfortunately, he tripped the last step and fell right side up. Suddenly, the Italian girl who caused it all pounced on Shadow. "What the…!?" She had given Shadow a 2 second kiss on his lips. His pupils widened to the size of a pea.
Shadow was in total shock; so much, that he violently pushed her and ran out the school screaming like a maniac. He returned to the tower and hid behind it. He let himself fall onto the grass and grabbed hold of it. "Whoa!! What's with that GIRL!? The human world is way too freaky for me!! The chaos emerald definitely was NOT there." Said Shadow, wiping the kiss from his lips. "Bleah! I'd better be more careful next time." Shaking his head, he looked at the blue clear sky; and after a while he slowly drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile, Knuckles was gliding around, until he finally found the university. "Whoo! Found it! Being a treasure hunter really has its advantages." Shouted Knuckles with enthusiasm. He gingerly landed on the ground and started his way to the building. "Wow! This place sure is convincing. Maybe I will find the chaos emerald! But… I can't feel the presence of it or anything…" thought the red echidna out loud. He got inside it and started looking. "No sign of it here." He looked everywhere. Even inside peoples' offices. He didn't care if they saw him.
"Damn it! I can't find 'em!" an exasperated Knuckles ran down some stairs, arriving to an obscure room; running into a candy, soda and food machine. "Heh. It's kinda funny to find something like this here. I'm thirsty! Wish I had some euros… Wait! I know!"
Knuckles kicked the machine with all his might; out came a coke, some chips and even some money came out. "Sweet! I've got money! Never underestimate power, as I always say." Knuckles opened up the bag of chips and ate some. He as well opened the coke can and drank it. He was so pleased with eating, that he totally forgot to look for the chaos emeralds and just exited the building.
Nobody was on the streets. The echidna decided it was best for him to explore the eensy weeny tiny city. He just walks and watches. Walk a bit more; find a restaurant, walk again; you get to a store; walk, walk. That was everything you could do in that miniscule city. Knuckles paused for a second; then sat down in front of a café. He suddenly fell asleep: he was really tired.
Somewhere near Carrefour, (a supermarket) ran Vector the crocodile across the street. He finally had arrived to Carrefour. It was a BIG store. So big, that he considered it as a mall. He took an awful lot of time just to walk from the parking lot to the entrance. Italians were all around it. People pushing shopping carts, eating, walking, paying and doing all kinds of stuff were near Vector. But again… he was spotted and soon everyone started screaming and calling for help. The only ones left were little kids. Some seemed to just stare at him. Others gaped; maybe they knew who he was.
"Why are you guys looking at me like that? It ain't polite to stare, you know?" said Vector, a bit insulted. "GET HIM!" yelled a boy who apparently knew English. Soon, Vector experienced almost the same thing as Shadow; he knew he had to run for his life, but he just couldn't leave the place without buying anything! He swiftly grabbed a cart and ran through the whole store. He grabbed everything he could find: toys, food, books, DVD's, clothes, iPods, Xbox 360s, PS3s, Wiis, etc.
As he was followed by an annoying group of kids, he bustled to the cash register and started grabbing plastic bags and at the same time, stuffing all his stuff into several bags. He made it just in time, but… Just as he exited Carrefour, a little kid grabbed his ankle and made him fall. He turned to the boy and as tenderly as he could, bit the kid's arm.
The good thing was that the kid let go, and Vector was free! The bad thing was that the kid started crying like if Vector had really bit him severely; which wasn't true. He didn't leave tooth marks on his arm. And one thing was for sure: Vector had everything he wanted, and he didn't pay anything.
Things were going quite well for Sonic. Darting down the streets, he had instantly got to Corso Italia; a kind of "out-door" mall. Stores and bars were all at the right and at the left. It was a narrow alley, filled with life and excitement. People were especially joined in that "mall". The strange thing was that people didn't quite notice Sonic. He was short, and that was good.
The blue hedgehog had stopped running and walked into different stores. The first store that caught his attention was United Colors of Benetton. Sonic wasn't really into clothes, but back at home, he didn't have them and this would be a chance to buy them and show them off. He entered casually and started to inspect clothes.
Something had caught his eye. They were some really sweet jeans. Sonic whistled as he grabbed it and started to feel it. The stitches, the quality, the color, the size, EVERYTHING was absolutely perfect. Those were the jeans for him.
He cautiously tipped-toed his way into the dressing room so he could put them on. Once inside, he tried them on. They looked a little baggy, but he liked them just like that. Just then, he heard some giggles behind the door. He could recognize those giggles EASILY. It was Rouge and Amy browsing for clothes.
"Look at this!! This is like, SOOO in style. Don't you think so, Rouge?" asked Amy. "Yeah. That t-shirt is cool. How much?" Amy checked the price tag. "Oh my god. This is extremely expensive!! I don't have THAT much money. But nothing can stop this girl from being in style!!" Amy shouted out loud, pointing her index finger up in the air. The shout made some ladies gape at them; another one fainted just after watching them.
"What? What did I say?" Amy was confused. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. "Hey," said Rouge, kneeling down to see that was under the dressing room. "I think I found someone!" She had seen Sonic's red and white shoes.
"Oh crap!! What the heck am I gonna do now? Better do something, quick! Oh man, oh man, oh man!!!!!!" thought Sonic, looking for an exit. "Got it! I can climb up and then land on the other side," Sonic vainly tried to shimmy up the wall, but he was able to grab onto the wall's left edge. He started to make hi way up when… "SONIKUUUU!!!!!" Amy glomped Sonic immediately and he landed with a thud to the floor. "ARGH!! Get OFF me, Amy!! Can't I have a little time to myself ONCE in my life??!!"
Sonic got pushed Amy as gently as he could and stood up, removing dust from the jeans with his hands. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but these jeans ARE brand new!!" Amy and Rouge stared at the jeans for a long time; then they examined Sonic from top to bottom, and vice versa. "Sonic… you look SOOO sexy in those jeans!!" exclaimed Amy, cupping her hands together lovingly. "Yeah, Sonic, you look good in those jeans. Whoever thought you would look good in clothes?" Sonic blushed a lot; he then violently shook his head and said, "What do you mean I look good? I look good WITH or WITHOUT clothes. I just wanted to take a look at these, that's all," said Sonic; his ego at the max.
He went to put back the jeans from where he took them. "No, please, don't!" said Amy, grabbing Sonic's wrist. "I like you with those. I really do," said Amy, kissing Sonic on the cheek. He froze still, thinking if he should take the jeans or not. He took a decision. He took them with him, (Amy also took her t-shirt) since everyone had fled from the store. What could happen? They're just a bunch of animals, right? They got out of the store.
As the hedgehogs (and bat) walked out, they bumped into Tails. "Whoa! Watch where you're going, Tails! Look what I got!" exclaimed Sonic, showing him his jeans. "Wow, they rock! But I got this!" Tails showed Sonic his "Italy" cap and… this was special. "Here, this'll go perfectly with your jeans," Tails handed Sonic a blue Fifa World Cup 2006 Italy t-shirt, with a "Sonic #9" on the back. "This… but… how…?" said Sonic, puzzled. "Oh, it was nothing. I bought it, and then made some sticker-clothes letters and put in the name "Sonic"."
Sonic let out a little tear. This made him realize that he had wonderful friends. He would appreciate them forever. "Come here, you!" He hugged Tails tightly. "Thanks. Wish I could get something for you, little buddy," said Sonic, letting go of Tails. "It's fine. I know that sooner or later I'll get something good from you. Never underestimate the world's fastest hedgehog, as I always say," said Tails, laughing along with his friends. "Hey, we've got to get back to the tower! Maybe Shadow has already finished looking for the chaos emeralds, and Vector as well," said Rouge, a bit worried.
When Sonic and his friends arrived to the tower, they found Shadow sitting serenely in the grass, behind the tower, singing some kind of song. Sonic started to walk towards Shadow. Tails grabbed Sonic's hand. "Shhh. Listen,"
(Simple Plan, Perfect World)
"I never could have seen this far
I never could have seen this coming
It seems like my world's falling apart
Yeah
Why is everything so hard
I don't think that I can deal with the things you said
They just won't go away
In a perfect world
This could never happen
In a perfect world
You'd still be here
And it makes no sense
I could just pick up the pieces But to you
this means nothing, Nothing at all
I used to think that I was strong
Until the day it all went wrong
I think I need a miracle to make it through
Yeah
I wish that I could bring you back
I wish that I could turn back time
Cuz I can't let go
I just can't find my way
Yeah
Without you I just can't find my way
In a perfect world
This could never happen
In a perfect world
You'd still be here
And it makes no sense
I could just pick up the pieces But to you
this means nothing, Nothing at all
I don't know what I should do now
I don't know where I should go
I'm still here waiting for you
I'm lost when your not around
I need to hold on to you
I just can't let you go
Yeah Yeah
In a perfect world
This could never happen
In a perfect world
You'd still be here
And it makes no sense
I could just pick up the pieces But to you
this means nothing, Nothing at all
You feel nothing
Nothing at all
Nothing at all"
Tears came streaming down Shadow's face. He buried his face in his lap to make sure nobody saw him crying in agony and depression. "Whoa… POOR Shadow. He must feel awful right about now," pointed out Tails. Sonic felt really bad for him.
He could've been mean to Sonic sometimes, but now he felt like if Maria's loss was HIS fault. Sonic walked towards Shadow, placed a hand on his right shoulder and said, "Sorry to interrupt your crying, but I feel really bad for you. I know perfectly how it's like to lose a best friend," said Sonic, talking peacefully at Shadow.
The black hedgehog lifted his face to see Sonic. "Get away from me, hedgehog. You don't know anything about a friend's death." "I'm serious. It may not have been a death, but something similar. Come on, get up. You have to face life whether you like it or not. Stop thinking about the bad things and start thinking about the good things. Look at all these excellent friends you have, and I'm not joking! I mean, who in the world would be there one for another when in need? You… YOU NEED TO LIVE YOUR LIFE, SHADOW!!!!!!!"
Sonic was absolutely serious about this. He even cried a bit. He could feel all of the pain Shadow suffered. "By looking at the bad stuff, you're hurting me and even your friends! So… wanna come with me in order to go on?" Sonic took out his hand and put it in front of Shadow's face. Shadow grabbed his hand. The blue hedgehog lifted Shadow up. "Thanks, faker." Shadow grinned, and at the same time hugged Sonic for a while. He then let go of Sonic; shook hands with him and hit Sonic's fist like a salutation.
What the hedgehogs didn't know was that there was someone watching them; waiting for the right time to strike. He was the one who had the chaos emeralds. It wasn't long before they realized that that someone was right on top of the leaning tower.