Previously on Planet Earth: An odd two-tailed fox cub appeared in Station Square's Preservation Area-the employees are both stunned and happy to have such a cute bundle in the group, but they also believe that this cub could have a great future ahead of himself.

Planet Earth

Chapter Two: Tests and Comfort

A blue hedgehog sniffed around curiously, trying to find whatever scent he was looking for—he was now 6 years of age and has proven many amazing results to the scientists of GUN. They were amazed of the human characteristics this creature was taking—instead of normal paws and stubby arms that of a normal hedgehog would have, he has hands, arms and even legs.

"Ever since we've presented this unique blue specimen into our research facility, we've been curious to know what sort of secrets and abilities he holds. He was only 2 years of age when we first found the creature, way too small for any tests, physical experiments or studies, but now that he's 6 years of age, he has shown us things that we've never expected," Professor Clarke spoke into his recorder, "His body didn't take the shape of normal hedgehogs here on Earth, he has more of a humanistic quality—hands and feet for paws, arms and legs which can possibly allow him to stand or walk, but we haven't seen any progression of that yet; he still seems to walk on his fours, despite the average intelligence he has."

The blue hedgehog continued to sniff around the maze, locating the scent that continuously wafted into his nostrils—at times, he would end up in dead ends and would even fall into traps that he believed were the easy way out, but his persistence and stubbornness made him determined to find his true goal.

"At times, I see him walk or even crawl faster than most human or animal speeds would allow and I believe his speed is accelerating as we speak; at what point will that speed max out is something I'm not even aware of yet," Professor Clarke said, before looking at the blue blur, "I've also learned that the hedgehog has taken a liking to human foods—there has been no affect to the creature, and his favorite seems to be a hotdog covered in chili. We did try cat food, hedgehog pellets and even insects, but he took an immediate rejection to it."

The blue hedgehog was now getting frustrated with this maze—he was sick and tired of running into dead ends, traps, walls and other obstacles; he was so upset that he curled into a ball and stayed that way. Professor Clarke sighed, thinking this was another mark of failure to complete maze, but then something remarkable happened. The blue blur went from being motionless into spinning in place at a certain speed—the creature continued to spin, making himself go faster and faster as sparks popped from beside him. Clarke leaned forward and his eyes widened with amazement as he watched the hedgehog quickly advance forward, drilling through every wall until he finally reached the exit and his prize: a plate full of chilidogs—the blue blur brushed the debris of small pebbles and dust from his fur and immediately began to eat his food in happiness.

"Just a few moments ago, the young hedgehog drilled through 10 concrete walls by simply staying curled up in a ball plus spinning from what seemed to be about around 300 mph or so," Professor Clarke spoke into his recorder, "The strength of his quills and the remarkable speed might be the cause of it, but more research needs to be done on how long this creature can perform this action—I believe that this ability shall be named the 'Spin-Dash'."

"Professor, since this is the first time the hedgehog has succeeded this test, shall we give him a harder challenge?" one of his employees asked.

"Not at this moment, for now, take him outside for some fresh air and possibly more food in case he still has an appetite," Clarke Xavier replied, "I must inform the commander about this discovery—he'll surely be glad to know how much process this hedgehog is doing so far."

While the employee went to fulfill Xavier's request, many miles away from the research facility, in a peaceful jungle a little red echidna was digging a large hole near some trees—he seemed to be burrowing a home for himself to rest in for the night. Red fur covered his entire body, quills or what seemed to look like dreadlocks hung down from the sides of his head, the front of his chest had a strange smiling crescent shape, and his hands or paws were covered with thick white gloves with two spikes—also, by the looks of him, he seemed to be at least 4 years of age.

This strong-willed echidna dug from what seemed like hours until it built a deep enough hole and cavern for it to store himself and some food in—he sat down after his long hard word and began to nibble on some grapes when he heard some chatter and footsteps heading for his direction. The echidna quickly grabbed his food and went underground, listening to the footsteps stop around his hole—he quickly peeked and noticed that these strange people were dressed in some sort of uniform and were holding weird devices that seemed both interesting and worrying to the little red echidna.

"We've been looking for hours and haven't found a single trace of whatever this creature is supposed to be," one of the soldiers said, "We might as well call that explorer guy crazy and head back to base."

"Maybe you're right," the other soldier replied, "We'll tell our team to abort the mission—what a waste of daylight this was."

The footsteps went from loud rumbling into a quiet chatter before it wasn't heard anymore—the little echidna carefully poked his head out and wagged his arched tail in relief to know the threat was gone. He slowly began to climb out when a loud yelp escaped from his lips; he felt cold hands grab his sides and lift him into the air. He whined and squirmed, knowing that he was vulnerable in this position—he was even attempting to bite whoever got a hold of him. However, when he turned to see his intruder, he blinked and saw that it was a female holding him so gently—her face didn't read as dangerous to him, more like calming and welcoming.

"It's okay little one, I got you," the female said, "I'm not going to hurt you—I want to take you away from any other humans from harming you."

"Bridget," a male called out as he walked towards them, "Why the heck do you think those soldiers wanted with this animal here?"

"I don't know, but from the looks of it, they didn't seem like they wanted a friendly chat with this lil' guy," Bridget said, gently placing the echidna in her arms, "Come on, let's take him to my house Michael. We'll raise him here for a while and out of sight from those soldiers."

"Okay, but we better hurry," Michael spoke, "I think they're coming back for one more checkup."

The little echidna looked at his burrow before nuzzling close to Bridget's chest—for the first time, he didn't feel so frightened, he actually felt safe and he knew that as long as he stayed with these guys, he would probably grow up to live a happier life, but one thing boggled his mind…why were those soldiers eager to find him and what did they want from him?

Phew...at least Knuckles is safe...(Well, this is my first time using fanfiction. So, what do you guys think of this story so far? Please Review ^^)

Disclaimer: Sonic characters all belong to Sega, and other chracter I've made up is mine (mainly the human names I've made up).