Forgotten Memories…

Chapter One

By: Soniclover28

"…And this is the market. So, yeah; that's about all of it," Sonic finished, clasping his hands together and turning to his friends.

They nodded in acknowledgment, gazing around at the seemingly old-fashioned town. Dozens of stands selling goods were lined on the side of the dirt road—or path. The area was somewhat busy with mobians rushing towards the stands before they closed. Not many people owned a watch, so most of the stands closed after the sun disappeared over the horizon.

"Cool, so where's the warehouse we're staying in?" Knuckles asked, eyeing a stand that sold watermelons for only thirty cents per melon.

"Oh, it's about a mile's walk from here. We can get some supplies here, first, and then we can head over there," Sonic replied, walking deeper into the marketplace. "I can just buy a few blankets, and-" He stopped short when he realized something.

Sonic moved his hands away from the stand that sold quilts, and turned back to the others, looking sheepish.

"Right… We can't buy anything because we can't interact with people…"

"What do you mean? Can't you just leave some rings on the counter and take what you need?" Tails asked, his namesakes swishing in curiosity.

"I don't…really…have any money…" Sonic answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"You don't have any rings? Sonic, even I have a few," Knuckles said, crossing his arms.

Sonic shook his head. "They don't use rings here in Knothole, Knux; they use coins and dollars. We picked it up from the humans a long time ago, seeing as how the rings weren't exactly worth anything at the time, and trading wasn't working too well."

"Oh," Knuckles blinked, immediately feeling dumb. "Then I guess we'll just borrow what we need, and-"

"We're not stealing, Knuckles," Sonic interrupted, stepping out of the way as someone almost passed through him.

"It's not stealing if we give it back," He argued childishly.

Sonic gave him a deadpan, "Knuckles, the people that live here work hard for what they have. Taking it could seriously hurt them."

"Guys?" Tails suddenly chimed in after glancing around.

"Not if we just take a little bit of something."

"Quit being selfish; you seriously want to steal from innocent people? I thought you were the good guy."

"Guys…" Tails tried again when his first call went unnoticed.

"I'm not being selfish, Sonic! But I at least need some fresh food every once in a while!" Knuckles took a step forward.

"There are berries and herbs out in the woods; you're good at scavenging, why don't you go do that?" Sonic stepped towards the echidna, as well.

"Guys," Tails raised his voice a bit in urgency.

"You said it yourself; it's a mile away! I'm not one to beg, but I need food; I haven't eaten in days!"

"Knuckles, you probably ate right before you got caught."

"I was hunting for the emeralds when Eggman found me! I was in the plains, and hardly any food grows there; you know that!"

"Guys, Amy's missing."

This caught they're attention.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"What do you mean, 'missing'? We can't touch other people, so she couldn't have been kidnapped," Knuckles said, glancing to Sonic for a reply.

However, the hedgehog was staring in horror as the pink hedgehog that was 'missing' was currently at a stand that sold cheap, but beautiful, jewelry. Amy was slipping on necklace after necklace; bracelet after bracelet.

She was completely oblivious to the woman in the stand staring at her with giant eyes.

"Amy, what are you doing?!" Sonic exclaimed, making the pink hedgehog jump and drop the jade pendant she was holding.

"Sonic, all of this is so beautiful! And it's so cheap!" Amy explained, picking up the pendant she had dropped.

This made the owner of the stand gasp in horror, and she backed away.

"Ghost…" The elder badger exclaimed, "Ghost!"

The entire market burst into chaos at that.

"It's floating!"

"Black magic!"

"Mama, I'm scared!"

"Amy, put the stuff back!" Sonic yelled over the overlapping voices, losing his friend from sight. He couldn't help but feel dizzy as more people came into the area.

The pink hedgehog hastily took all of the jewelry off, and quickly ran through—yes, through—the crowd of people around the stand.

"I'm sorry! I thought that once I touched it, it became invisible, too," Amy panted as she met up with her friends.

"Amy, that was a stupid thing to do! What if that seriously affects something in the future?!" Tails scolded.

Sonic's head was starting to throb slightly.

"It's just one stand, what could it possibly do?" Amy defended herself.

All four of their heads swung around when someone shouted, "These items are cursed with dark magic! We must get rid of them all!"

A fire was suddenly lit and all of the beautiful jewelry was thrown into the flames. The badger that had crafted the objects herself was burying her face in her hands.

Sonic winced when a headache hit him hard.

Amy placed her hands over mouth in shock, unable to take her eyes off of the now burning jewelry stand.

Knuckles was glaring at Amy.

Tails had glanced at Sonic, who was now holding his head.

"Sonic? Are you okay?" Tails asked, seeing as his brother was starting to sway.

"Yeah… Y-yeah, I'm fine…" Sonic hissed his words out in pain as something in his temples were starting feel as if someone were hammering them.

Tails, knowing better than to trust those weak words, placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder just in time for him to stumble backwards.

"Hey, let me help you," Tails said in genuine worry. Knuckles had looked away from Amy at this point, and helped Tails steady the swaying hedgehog.

"What's wrong?" The echidna asked, creasing his eyebrows.

"N-nothing, it's… It's just my head…" Sonic replied without parting his teeth. He lost his footing and fell back into Knuckles and Tails' arms, still holding his head in pain.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, just barely supporting him as he fell. The echidna and fox gently lowered him all the way to the ground so that he was in a sitting position. The blue hedgehog suddenly gasped sat stiff straight, no longer needing the support of his friends.

"They're changing…" He breathed.

"What?"

"Th-the memories… they're changing…!" Sonic exclaimed in bewilderment. He lowered his hands from his head, staring blankly at the burning jewelry stand.

"I don't remember it anymore…" Sonic whispered, slowly standing up.

"What do you mean? Sonic, if you said 'it', you know what you're talking about," Tails said, not smartly, but quizzically.

Sonic shook his head.

"I saw it a few times before it burned… I-I think a few years from now I got my mother something from that stand… I think…" Sonic replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really? What'd you get her?" Amy asked curiously.

"What'd I get who?" Sonic blinked at her.

"Your mom. What did you get her from that stand?" Amy restated, starting to grow concerned at the blue hedgehog's behavior.

"You mean that one?" Sonic pointed to the jewelry stand in flames. "I never got a chance to get her anything. It got set on fire because some people claimed that it was haunted. I never really understood what they were thinking," Sonic chuckled.

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were staring in bewilderment at the blue hedgehog, now.

"You mean… You don't remember what just happened…?" Tails asked, dumbfounded.

Now Sonic was the one confused.

"Did I miss something…?"

"But Amy, she just-! Yes, you missed something!" Knuckles burst.

Sonic blinked again, his emerald gaze shifting from Knuckles, Amy, to Tails.

"I think I know what happened," Tails announced, crossing his arms. "Sonic said that a few years from now he got his mom something from that stand. Amy just erased it. Sonic never got the gift. And now, Sonic can't remember it because it technically never happened."

"So you're saying that I just changed Sonic's memory…?" Amy asked, not liking the answer she was going to get.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't it affect any of us? Why didn't some weird 'time paradox' happen?" Knuckles questioned.

Tails shrugged, "I guess we just got lucky."

"So, Eggman was wrong…" Sonic finally spoke, earning his friends' attention, "We can change the past…"

"Oh, boy," Knuckles face-palmed, "I wonder if anything changed in the future…"

Tails shrugged, "The best we can do now is try not to cause any more scenes. Amy, no more touching anything unless Sonic says it's okay. Same to you, Knuckles."

"Right," they both nodded.

"Let's get going. There are berries in the woods near the warehouse; we can find something there," Sonic suggested, already turning around and walking down the dirt road.

"My plan is coming together perfectly! Ahhahahaha! This is splendid!" Dr. Eggman laughed, standing from his hover chair. He stared at the giant monitor before him, and watched as Sonic lead his other three friends into a warehouse. "At this rate, nothing can stand in my way!"

Me: Sorry, I know its short, but school has started, and I hardly have any time on the computer. Sorry for slow updates ^^;