Chapter 1: First Thing First

It was supposed to be a short, quick stroll. Of course, that's what Sonic the Hedgehog always felt it was like. To other mobians, it was more like a giant trek. The spiky blue hedgehog wasn't called "the fastest thing alive" for nothing. His tremendous speed nearing that of sound, coupled with his apparently unlimited stamina and the heroic deeds for which he had used his powers in the past, had earned him much adoration, and therefore, attention, from most of the planet.

But however much Sonic liked, or at least didn't mind it, sometimes he still had to have some private time on his own, just for a while. The crowds got overwhelming sometimes. And this "stroll" through the forest was the perfect way to do it. It wasn't just the speed at which he normally went, but also the location. If his speed somehow wasn't enough to stop others, except maybe his friend Tails, from following him, the thickness of the woods would.

Not to mention, the distance, or lack of it, between the trees made Sonic feel it was also a nice way for him to hone his reflexes and agility. The hedgehog wasn't one to sit still, physically or mentally – he wanted to continue training himself. And nature had provided the perfect place for him.

Wow, I can't think of enough good things about this place!

Sonic the Hedgehog zipped between the trees and kicked up leaves and dust in his wake. He loved every second of it – he knew that his time spent here was generally too short to be measured in minutes. He wished it was. What he did not know was that for the first time, it would be – but not in the way he expected it.

Currently, Sonic's personal record for clearing this forest was about ninety seconds. Most mobians would probably take an hour to go through the exact same path. Sonic wanted to cut that down to at least eighty today.

And he would have, if it weren't for the sudden burst of light somewhere in front of him that was so bright he barely had enough time to stop himself from running straight into one of the thick trees as he was blinded by it.

The hedgehog came to a halt, but not so fast as to cause inertia to rattle him apart. He thanked his lucky stars that his self-training had been sufficient to prevent either of those disasters from happening to him. On the other hand, he also grumbled internally that he would not be setting his new record today. Now, he just wanted to find out what had so rudely interrupted his daily routine. He shook his head and scanned the area in front of him.

Sonic the Hedgehog didn't normally feel scared, but he came incredibly close as his green eyes locked onto a terrifyingly familiar silhouette about 60 feet ahead. The shape of a non-mobian being he and most mobians had come to associate only with Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the mad, overweight scientist with whom Sonic fought regularly. He had called himself…what was it…human?

And the shape of the being in front definitely looked human. It was much, much thinner than Robotnik, but was about the same in height, stance, and quite possibly, mindset as well.

The teenage hedgehog considered that last point. On one hand, he wanted to take maximum caution with all possible threats. On the other, he did not want to make any reckless decisions. He didn't know a thing about this human yet.

Let's just watch this guy a bit more, he finally decided. Yes, that's what probably Tails would do as well. He learned a lot from that kid.

It was getting dark, but Sonic was able to make out more details about this stranger, who thankfully had his back faced towards him. He (Not that Sonic knew what a female human looked like) was wearing a tan uniform and vest, probably armor, with the large letters "FBI" written on the back. There was a helmet of the same color on his head, making it difficult to see his face or hair. His outfit overall seemed very bulky and loaded with gear he did not recognize. He appeared to be holding something up in front of himself though.

Sonic shifted his position circling around a bit to the stranger's approximate 3 o'clock to see what it was. It happened to be a rifle. But he also appeared to be staring at something in front of him, on the ground. Sonic looked closer at it, and-

The hedgehog almost fell and made a lot of noise due to his startled reaction. No way. It was a Chaos Emerald. Not only that, it was a green one, meaning he had never seen it before. Heck, weren't emeralds supposed to be green by definition anyway?

Before Sonic could reevaluate his entire view of this guy, the stranger began to move. He took a few steps a back away from the emerald. Sonic did the same. His blue fur would certainly stand out among this green, so the only way to stay hidden was to not be in the human's line of sight at all.

What's he doing?

The man raised his rifle, tinkered with it a little, and for some strange reason, aimed at the Emerald, and fired off a shot.

As nothing happened, the human fired several more shots at the Emerald, each having no more effect than the first. Apparently concluding it was futile, Sonic watched as he frowned and slung his weapon on his back, before picking up the Emerald and stuffing it into a front pocket. He then began to walk towards the forest's nearest exit…but did this guy know where he was headed?

The strange act this human had just performed led Sonic to reconsider who he was and what he knew. While not an expert on the gemstones, Sonic knew that subjecting a Chaos Emerald to deliberate damage like this generally led to wild, unpredictable consequences, anywhere between getting blown up or teleported. If the man were allied with Robotnik, certainly he would have told him.

But what about that bright flash just now?

Realizing that simply wondering about this wouldn't get him anywhere, Sonic began to trail the human, ready to attack at full speed should he try anything.

Something was wrong. It had just been nighttime in Los Angeles, and the sun here was only beginning to set. FBI Special Agent Alan Doherty wondered what the chances of being teleported to an exact spot of land in the massive Pacific Ocean rather than just drowning were, compared to surviving teleportation, or even being teleported, in the first place. Was it absurd to think the former was less likely?

The forest ended as it led to a rocky path between a small ravine. Could this be a sign of civilization? Alan began to walk faster now, both apprehensive and excited at the same time.

His wishes were finally answered as he saw, in the distance, lights. They came from what seemed like small houses. A village. Alan progressed further as he contemplated the possibilities. The first one was that he could get some shelter here for the night, maybe some food, and later on they could take him to the nearest airport or embassy.

The second one was that the locals could be hostile to him for whatever reason, and he had to be ready to defend himself. He reached his hand behind to confirm he could easily pull his rifle out at the trigger should he have to.

The houses were already just 10 meters in front of him. He stopped moving.

"Excuse me?" Doherty called out, hoping it was the right balance between being loud and polite. "Is anyone there?"

After about 10 seconds, Alan saw some occupants emerge from the two nearest houses. They began walking towards him, and he towards them, but both stopped short as they realized something very wrong with one another.

I guess I'm not in the Pacific after all. Either that or they missed a spot.

Alan Doherty was aghast to see the people standing in front of him weren't human at all, even if they appeared to be from far away, since they wore clothes and lived in houses. The four standing before Doherty were what looked like two dogs and bears, all between 4 and 5 feet in height.

Even more worrisome than that, however, were the looks on their faces. They started out appearing shocked, and after they briefly turned to look at each other and then back at the human, they were now less than friendly. More like downright antagonistic.

Not good. The FBI agent instinctively stepped backward before the tense silence finally broke.

"Get him!" One of the dogs barked, half literally, in a gruff male voice and, most surprisingly, clear English. The accent even sounded American. The talking animals suddenly produced knives and sticks from their backs, and they began to charge towards the hated human.

Doherty already expected something like this to happen, albeit not with animals that could talk and hold weapons. He took less than a second to take his own weapon out from behind and have it aiming straight at the incoming threats. He did not want to shoot them for fear of all the possible negative consequences that could occur now, especially in an apparently anti-human place – planet? - but he would if it meant staying alive.

"Stop!" Doherty shouted, partly out of fear, partly out of authority, even if he had none here – it was merely a force of habit. Fortunately, the dogs, bears and the other animals that have come out from the rest of the village seemed to recognize the weapon, and they ceased their charging, but not their hateful glaring.

The situation was far from over. The villagers, now numbering in the dozens, could possibly surround Alan and most certainly hack or stab him to death before he could shoot them all. But no one was moving, not yet. Alan realized there was the chance to negotiate, having heard the dog and others shout in his own language. No time to be amazed at that now though. For the moment, Alan said the only thing that came to mind.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Hidden ten meters or so within some bushes, Sonic observed the unraveling crisis with concern. Even if this guy were really working for Robotnik, Sonic did not have the heart to just let him be slaughtered like this, by a group of villagers which have admittedly suffered quite a bit from their only encounter with a human last time.

Sonic suddenly realized that, from the perspective of the human, he must now think mobians were murderous freaks - much in the exact same way mobians thought humans were murderous freaks as well. But the human was clearly trying to be diplomatic, something Robotnik would never do.

I have to act now.

"You're with Robotnik, don't try to fool us!" The largest dog in the group shouted. His mouth seemed big enough to take all of Alan's face off in one bite.

"Who's Robotnik?" Alan asked earnestly, trying not to be rude. "I just came here, landed here, not ten minutes ago-"

"Wow, these humans really don't learn, huh? Move in, boys. You think we're scared of guns? You see how many of us there are? Maybe after this he'll finally get that he's a mechanical genius but a tactical moron."

"What? Goddammit-"

Alan was about to fire of a warning shot, perhaps more than one, to show that maybe they were morons, but this was when Sonic intervened. Having had just ten meters to cover meant he could not achieve full speed, but he still managed to reach a speed few, if any mobians can reach as he slipped straight between the human and the villagers, as the latter had been advancing ever so closer to their target. Everyone stopped moving at this sight, except Sonic, who looped around before sliding to a stop in front of the surprised villagers and the even more stunned Alan Doherty.

"Guys," the hedgehog began, putting on a confident, assuring grin for all to see. "I thought handling humans was my job."

"Sonic?" One of the villagers called out in surprise. "Look, we're all grateful for how you've helped us against Robotnik last time, but we better just take this lackey of his out! Better safe than sorry!"

"Like I said, I'll handle it. Don't worry. I mean, have I ever let you guys down when it came to dealing with Robotnik? Anytime? Anywhere? Let me have this guy, I promise you'll never have trouble with him again."

The villagers appeared to consider the offer for a while. "All right Sonic, you made your point. You can have him, and we never want to see him again. Humans are just bad news."

Meanwhile, Alan himself was wondering about the real bad news coming up for him, and hoped no one noticed him gulped. Whoever this Robotnik was must be rather powerful indeed to need someone that can move this fast to stop him, and he hoped to hell this Sonic would realize this would be quite a mismatch if he were to fight him. The hedgehog began to whisk him away, fortunately at a speed that won't break him apart.

"Got my word on that," Sonic promised the others, "Gotta juice for now though. Thanks!" And with that, Sonic held Alan's left hand firmly and dragged him out of the village. Doherty simply hoped other places and other people – especially this hedgehog – would be friendlier. But his use of the word 'handle' earlier still troubled him…

The two were in a remote location within some woods again some five minutes later, and Sonic finally stopped moving. Alan did the same. He knew it would be futile, to say the least, to try and outrun someone like this. Sonic looked around for a bit before turning his full attention onto Alan, and both man and hedgehog engaged in a staring contest of sorts.

Sonic wanted to get a good detailed look at the guy, but there was something that got in the way of that, and it wasn't the now absent sun. "Hey, uh, could you take off your helmet? Just for a while, please? Thanks," Sonic finally said, and in a surprisingly friendly way too. The hedgehog decided that acting aggressively like the villagers earlier would not get him far.

Alan complied almost immediately without a word, encouraged by the friendliness of the request but still wary of what could happen if he didn't do it. With his hands already free after slinging his weapon onto his back, he loosened the fasteners under his chin, pulled the headwear off and held it by the fasteners in his left hand. He wondered how long he had already been wearing it, or if it was even possible to calculate that, given the prior events.

Sonic finally got a proper look at the second ever human he'd seen. Alan Doherty had brown, short and tidy hair, a face of average height, flat jaw, and a pair of steel blue eyes. In short, he appeared totally different from the first ever human Sonic had met, just as expected.

Alan crossed his arms as he examined the mobian carefully himself. Sonic was unlike anyone or anything he'd ever seen. Some three feet tall, blue fur, tan chest and muzzle, large green eyes, proportions he could only describe as 'interesting' or 'unusual' which meant his hands, feet, eyes and head were actually quite big relative to his body. He didn't wear any clothes outside of white gloves and red shoes. Perhaps the fur was a good enough substitute?

And with that, the cross-staring was over, since neither person was a biologist in any way. It was time to talk. The hedgehog began first.

"So, where're you from?"

Alan hesitated at first. "Um…Earth. Unless we're still there, which I'm guessing we're not."

"Nope! Welcome to Mobius," Sonic stretched out his arms to his sides as an indication of a greeting. Alan found it remarkable that the body language here was completely understandable to him too.

"I take it this is the planet on which humans aren't welcome?" Alan dared to ask.

"Oh, uh, about that…bit of a long story."

"Who is this Robotnik guy anyway? He sounds like the reason everyone wanted to kill me."

"Doctor Ivo Robotnik. He's a mad scientist, a human also,. Really clever, really inventive, really fat…really crazy." Sonic answered, his voice becoming a bit more serious. "I've had to fight him quite a few times."

"What has he done?"

"Just to name a few, he forced whole communities into force labor to work for him at killerbot gunpoint, kidnapped my friends, threatened to destroy whole cities unless I gave up the Chaos Emeralds…speaking of which, aren't you supposed to have it?"

"Huh?" Alan looked confused. "What are you talking ab-" Then it dawned on him. Could it be? "Wait, wait. You mean this?" Alan opened up his pouch and took the emerald out. He immediately realized how that may have saved his life, given how the villagers would have added being a thief alongside his crime of being a human.

"Yeah!" Sonic said excitedly upon seeing the large gemstone. "Wow, so it is real…"

"Huh?"

"There're supposed to be seven of them, but I've only ever seen six," the hedgehog explained.

"You mean there's more than one of these things?" An incredulous Alan asked.

"Yeah. There're generally looked after by Knuckles – maybe you'll meet him later – but this seventh one had been lost for years."

"It had been on my planet for more than thirty years," Alan clarified.

Sonic was taken aback by the answer. "Wow, really? No wonder. So you know what happened to it there?"

"Not really, it spent most of its existence in a secret lab. Well, until one day when it wasn't so secret anymore, so some other, um, people tried to steal it. Forcefully. I was tasked with getting it back, and, uh, it didn't go so well, so now I'm here." Alan hoped Sonic was able to connect the dots himself.

"I see, yeah, I was about to ask you that, actually," Sonic replied, grinning again. It was apparent that Sonic had that question on his mind for a while now.

"Supposedly this emerald thing can be a new source of alternative energy or something, but all I've seen it do so far is cause explosions and teleporting people."

"Actually that's exactly why Robotnik wants them. He builds a lot of powerful weapons, and he needs the emeralds as an energy source. Or even as ammo sometimes, if I remember what Tails said right."

"Huh. Best if the ARA don't find out about that."

"Huh? Who?"

"Adabat Revolutionary Army. They're a group of guerillas that regularly attack their own government in their own country. So naturally they had to sneak into mine, ambushed the people that had the Emerald, and almost escaped with it by boat so that they can blow up their own people." He was still rather miffed over how border control and the intelligence agencies had somehow failed to detect it in the first place.

"Woah," Sonic said. "At least that's not gonna happen anymore, huh? Why were you shooting it just now?"

"I got into a close-quarters fight with one of them and he ended up shooting the thing. Caused it to go crazy or something, and it teleported me here. So I thought if I shot it again..." he trailed off with a shrug.

"No wonder. Guess it didn't work. Anyway, I guess you'll stay at Tails' place tonight. He's a genius, but don't worry, he's also my best pal. He could help you get back home."

Now that was something Doherty was hardly expecting, and he felt he should point it out. "You sound awfully trusting towards me given your experience with the only human you've ever encountered."

"Eh, actually…" Sonic thought he should finally reveal it to him. His grin disappeared again. "You know, I was actually watching you since you appeared in the forest, I happened to be there practicing my runs. You're not with Robotnik, I know that 'cause you had no idea what to do with the Emerald at all, I could tell. Then I saw you looking around like you had never been here. And I finally saw you trying to be nice with those villagers even as they wanted to take you in as their dinner." The look on Sonic's face was sincere, as far as Alan could tell. "That just kinda confirmed it, if it were Robotnik he'd just ask you to pilot a mech and threaten them with bombs over a loudspeaker or something. Subtlety ain't his thing, though to be fair, not really mine either. So, I did what I did," he finished, and his face brightened up again. "And besides, I believe in giving people a chance."

"Thank you for that," Alan said earnestly, deciding not to say how he disliked being spied on when it had helped him in this instant. "And thanks for the stay-over offer, too. Although, I don't really have a choice, huh."

"No problem," Sonic gave a thumbs up, and continued, "Well, only other place I can think of for you would be Knuckles, though he only barely trusts me and doesn't even really trust other mobians, much less Robotnik and humans, and he's generally known for being as strong as I am fast, so, yeah," Sonic said as he chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, really reassuring," Alan commented as he nodded sarcastically. "I've been up for quite a while. You think it's fine if we go there now?"

"Hey, didn't mean to rub in the 'no choice' feeling there, sorry. And yeah, we can go there now. I'm supposed to, actually, since I promised to help him out with something. I'm pretty sure he'll understand, though, considering all that's happened."

"Lead the way. Thanks again."

"Sure, come with me," Sonic gestured Alan to follow, and was glad he could do something other than stand still. He still had to control his pace, obviously, but it was better than nothing.

As they walked for a bit, Alan thought over the conversation they'd just had, and realized something. "Could I ask something?"

"I'm cool, what's on your mind?"

"How long have you known Robotnik? And fought him, and all that?"

"Oh, about ten years, give or take."

"Your years have 365 days? Each day 24 hours? Each hour 60 minutes, et cetera?"

"Yeah, that's exactly right. Wow, that's quite amazing, don't cha think?"

It was, but perhaps more amazing to Doherty was the fact that it seemed to fit something he had in mind. Although he had never heard of Robotnik, something told him he should have. This guy was apparently someone, a human, who understood the potential of the Chaos Emeralds. He remembered a rumor about how some thirty years ago, there was an accident at a lab where the emerald was supposedly being held, after one of many experiments conducted on it. Although it was never confirmed, it was said someone vanished after that. Assuming it did happen, this would mean time traveled slower on Mobius than on Earth, and Robotnik could very well be that person, still alive after all this time. If or when he got home, it was definitely something he had to check. Perhaps even before then. It was his job, after all.

"You know," Sonic spoke and paused the journey again, "all that talk, and I forgot to ask for your name. So what do I call ya?"

Alan had thought about that earlier. Should he give an alias just in case, or just admit his real name since no record of him should exist here at all? After considering how they've just talked, he made his decision.

"Special Agent Alan Doherty, FBI," he finally said. "But just Alan will do."

The two shook hands. "Sonic the Hedgehog. So let's get moving, huh? I hate standing around."