Chapter 3: Friends of Paris

"You guys are Terrible!" I shouted jokingly at Riku and Roxas as they laughed in their pilot seats. Metal, Ty and Sly were also laughing as the Gummi calmly sailed through the warp tunnel. Sure it looked different from the regular travel, but it was smooth and short.

"You should have seen you're face!" Roxas said. "You actually went pale!"

I know I went pale, space travel made me uneasy. But right now, I was almost as red as Knuckles. I can't believe those two got me like that! I playfully punched their shoulders for tricking me, but I was also laughing. I could be pretty gullible…

Sly chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder. "We do the same thing to each other in Paris. But it's usually Murray who gets it."

"That's usually me in my family." I said. "From my little brother. He and Metal are always planning pranks."

Metal smirked. "Only because you jump or shout every time."

I look at the android. "And you don't?"

"I always have my scanners on Em." He told me. "You can't surprise me."

I smiled. "Challenge accepted."

Metal smiled back.

"This always happen?" Sly asked, looking at Ty.

"Yep." Ty said. "You should hear them argue or debate. It's rather entertaining."

"Well play nice back there." Riku said. "We're making a landing."

We quieted down as Riku made a decent to a field. The grass was tall and there were a few trees where we landed so we'd be well hidden. And the City of Paris wasn't far off either. It was late at night, making the city glow like a beacon.

Sly stepped off the Gummi ship and took a deep breath before sighing. "Feels good to be home." He said. "Thanks for the ride guys."

"No problem Sly," Riku said. "It was fun having you around."

I almost agreed with him, but my back suddenly tightened. Trouble. I look around before looking back at the guys. Ty nodded. "Sly, best come back into the ship until morning."

Sly looked at us. "Why?" He asked.

There was a low hiss in the grasses, making us all jump. Riku and Roxas drew their blades while Solas hissed at them from my side and metal drew his pistol from my other side. I saw movement in the grass as a roach-like thing emerged

"Heartless!" I shouted, drawing my sword as the Heatless came forward.

Roxas drove them back before looking at us, and for a second I thought I saw a glint in his eye. "Everyone back in the Gummi!" He shouted.

We didn't argue and went back inside, Roxas following close behind and closing the door. He growled and made his keyblade vanish again with Ty and Riku. "We're gonna have to wait tip morning…"

"It'll be harder to keep you guys hidden then." Sly said. "Humans are fairy tales here remember?"

I leaned back against the ships walls, flecking my spine to let it pop and relax. But I could still sense them outside. We were hoping to meet Bentley, Murray and this Carmelita that Sly seems fond about. Like a come in, say hi, drop Sly off and head back to Disney. But with the Heartless here, we'll have to stay to see whats attracting them. But Sly was right, We'd have to stay out of sight.

Metal was looking at me intently, but I could tell he was deep in thought as well. "What about Echidnas?…"

Sly looked at him. "They're not common, but they're around. Why?"

Metal smiles. "I think Em can go with you."

I blinked. For a second I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then I remembered I had an echidna form. It hurt to get it, but someone had to go in and look around.

"What does he mean?" Roxas asked.

"Well…" I said. "Lets say sensing the Heartless isn't my only trick."

This time Ty smiled. "Your Echidna form! You might be able to fit right in." Slowly his smile faded. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." I said. "I just need to rest on the Energy flow once in a while."

Ty looked unsure. Ever since we first came to Disney Castle, he seemed… more protective. Like a tree was going to jump and grab me, (Then again just a few weeks ago we were riding dragons so anything is possible at this point) But he didn't need to be this protective. "Will you be alright?" I asked. "It might get a little dull with Roxas in charge."

"Hey!" I heard Roxas shout, making everyone chuckle a bit.

"I'll miss the arguments." Ty said. "Just promise you'll be careful?"

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked. "But I'll try."

Ty smiled and hugged me. I hug him back, he is my best friend, so seeing him being protective was kinda comforting.

"You'd best get changed then." Metal said. "It takes a bit out of you to change."

I nodded and step back from Ty. I wasn't sure how chaos energy affected other humans, but I knew Riku and Roxas were in for a surprise. I grip the Emerald Shard and take a breath as Chaos energy started to flood into my arm. "Chaos, Transform!" I said, wincing a bit as the energy went shooting though my skin and muscles. My back was tense and sore at first, but the feeling soon passed as my auburn hair turned into dreadlocks. Reddish-Auburn fur covered my arms and a peach muzzle formed.

Soon the transformation was over and I knelt as an Echidna. I trembled a little from the change, but I knew I'd feel better in a hour or so. Turning back into a human will be easier than turning into echidna, that was for sure.

"Emmy?" Solas asked, coming closer and sniffing at me.

I smile at him. "It's me bucko." I said, looking up at the boys.

Both Rikus' and Roxas' jaws had dropped. Sly looked surprised but not as shocked. My guess was he was used to seeing strange stuff.

"I thought you said you didn't like magic." Riku said, getting control of himself and coming over to look at my new form.

"I thought you said you didn't have powers." Sly said, raising an eyebrow.

"One;" I said. "This isn't magic. It's chaos energy. Being a Protector I can use it. And two; I'm careful about what I tell people. Most humans don't have abilities like this. And it comes from me not being fully human."

Metal soon came to my side and helped me stand. I was a little taller than him in my echidna form, but I now came to Sly's chest instead of his shoulders. But with this form I could control Chaos energy better. I had yet to figure out a chaos attack with it, but it was stronger than my human form.

"Well," Sly said. "It could work. I could say that I'm a friend of your family and I'm…. taking you out shopping?"

I blinked but nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"What did you mean earlier by 'Needing to rest on the energy flow'?" Roxas asked.

"Chaos Energy wears me out." I said, gaining my balance and now able to stand on my own. "I'm not sure how long I can go in this form before I start feeling the affects."

"What are the affects?" Sly asked.

I blush and look down. "I'm… not sure… The longest I've been in this form was only a few hours… maybe four of five hours tops."

Sly nodded. "Well, if you start to feel out of it, let me know and I'll find a place for you to change back and rest."

"Thanks Sly." I said.

"Welp." Riku said, looking at the door of the Gummi Ship. "Looks like we're not going anywhere until you two get us a way into the city. Since the Heartless are here we'll need to hang out until we find a way to get them out."

I smiled. "Sounds like fun to me!"

Sly laughed. "I like the way you think Em. We'll head out when the sun comes up."

I nodded and we soon went to bed. I liked sleeping in my echidna form, it was warmer than my human form anyway. It just worried me on having so much Chaos Energy inside me. Even now I could feel it tingling in my veins. For people who've never felt it before, it's a really bizarre feeling. But eventually I feel asleep, curled up in my blankets and hugging my pillow.

The next morning, Sly and I were up bright and early, packing for a day trip. Sly planned on getting me to their hideout so I could rest while he got his friends. He borrowed some clothes from Ty (Who was the closest to being his size) And we were off, But Metal had made sure I had my iPod on me so he could track me if there was trouble. Solas was mad that he couldn't come with me, but I couldn't risk him being seen by anyone.

The morning was cool and would have made me shiver if I was in my human form, but it was a comfortable temperature with my fur holding in the heat of the sun. As we walked, I kept a timer on how long I could stay in my Echidna form. I didn't want to be caught in the open too weak to fi-

"You said you're not fully human?" Sly suddenly asked, probably uncomfortable with the silence.

I nodded. "It's a long story."

Sly grinned. "It's a long walk."

I chuckled. "True. Lets see…. It started with a scientific project called Project Ada, a Prototype for another project called Project Shadow. Project Ada was a being with human and echidna DNA, and my great grandma. And Project Shadow turned out to be a good friend of mine, and my dad figure if my dad's not around."

Sly looked at me, quietly listening.

"She could use chaos energy as naturally as she could breathe. But as generations passed, that skill was kinda…. bred out of us. That's why it hurts me to use too much at once."

"Huh," Sly said. "It wasn't as long as I expected…"

I laughed. "That's without all my adventures and experiences."

Sly also laughed.

We chatted as we walked into the city of Paris. It was indeed a beautiful city! It almost made me wonder how the Paris looked back on my earth. The smells from the different shops were enchanting! Especially the bakery! Then again I didn't get a chance to eat back at the ship so I was hungry… and the smells weren't helpful. We were passing a bakery when my stomach finally demanded sustenance. Sly laughed, and I was thankful for my auburn fur covering my blushing cheeks. A few moments later, I was happily munching on one of three long john donuts.

We continued walking, and I couldn't believe how many different people were here; Leopards, wolves, dogs, cats, tigers, lions…. it was almost impossible to look at them all. The strangest thing was when I saw the wild animals. There were street dogs, that looked like my earth's domestic dogs. There were also rats and pigeons, cats… it was just like earth, only instead of humans, they were animal like humans.

Eventually, I started not to feel well. Like my energy was wearing out on me. I look at my watch, it was ten in the morning…. and I had changed around nine last night… That was maybe thirteen hours? Not too bad… But I needed to get out of the echidna form.

"Sly?" I asked. "How far off is the hide out?"

Sly looked at me, and apparently I wasn't looking to well, because he got a worried look on his face. "It's not too far. Thirty minutes maybe. Can you hold on until then?"

I nodded. Thirty minutes wasn't that bad. I could hang on until then. It was the longest thirty minutes I've ever seen. Sly said that we had taken a shortcut to shorten the time, but the minutes still felt like hours.

Eventually, Sly opened the door to an abandoned apartment that looked like it was fixed up. There were a few high-tech looking computers in a corner and the apartment had an upstairs where the stairs were a metal spiral.

I smiled at the place despite the affects of the chaos energy. "Not a bad place.." I said.

"Thanks." Sly said, still looking a little worried but not as bad. "You'd better change back into your human form before you fall over. You're starting to look pale."

I nodded and grasp my emerald shard again. "Chaos Transform!" I said, turning back into my human form. It felt weird having the energy leave my body like it was being sucked out by a vacuum, but I felt tons better after I was back in my human form. I stretch to get used to my longer limbs again, but my muscles felt weak like noodles.

"Need water or anything?" Sly asked, stepping into the kitchen. It was a good sized kitchen with a bar counter.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm still full from breakfast. I think I'll rest for a bit though."

Sly nodded. "The couch is just around the corner, but there's a spare bedroom upstairs."

"Thanks Sly." I said, deciding to go to the couch. I was only going to rest, so I'd be back up in an hour or two.

"No prob Em." Sly replied.

The couch was an old brown one, but it was rather comfortable when I sat down and took my shoes off. No sooner had I laid down, I was sound asleep.

When I woke up, the sun was setting. I scolded myself for sleeping in so late, but I stretch and sit up. I really did need that rest. I felt more alert and ready. It was then that I noticed a wonderful smell. I look in the kitchen and see Sly pulling food out of funny looking containers. The looked either chines or mongolian.

Sly looked up and smiled. "Hey, I was starting to wonder if you were okay. Hungry? It's Mongolian."

I smiled. "Yes please." I said and come out to the kitchen. "Sorry I slept so long."

"Ah don't worry about it." Sly replied, handing me a plate. "It was a long morning after all. And I already sent Murray and Bentley a message that I was back."

"How'd you do that?" I asked, noticing that there was extra canisters of Mongolian food.

Sly smiled and held up a call-card that looked like a raccoon face with a mask. I smiled back, even if he left me here while he told his friends, I was glad I was awake to meet them.

It was a second later when I heard someone testing the handle of the front door. I stiffen and get ready for a fight out of habit at the sound. The last time I heard that sound we were ambushed by a dozen or so Heatless… I still have to replace the door to my house… and apologize to Sonic for blaming him for it…

"Sly?" Came a rather nasally voice. "Are you in there?"

Sly smiled and went to the door. On opening it, I saw that the speaker was a turtle in a rather cool looking wheelchair. He had a safari hat on and large glasses that made it hard to see his eyes clearly, but he didn't set any alarms off, so I didn't move.

"Hey Bentley!" Sly said with a big smile.

Bentley seemed shocked for a moment, but smiled at him as Sly bent down and hugged him. "Sly! I knew you would come back!" Bentley then noticed me over Sly's shoulder and just stared. "Where were you…?"

I step back a bit, feeling uncomfortable with the stare. Sly let Bentley go and smiled at me. "Don't worry Em, he's a friend. Bentley, this is Emily Bridgestone. Em, this is Bentley, the brains of our operation. Bentley, I'll have to tell you how I met her when Murray gets here."

"But…" Bentley said as Sly chuckled and pushed his chair inside. "She's… human! Humans don't exist!"

This time I chuckled. It felt kinda cool to be a creature of fantasy, like elves or dwarves. I walk over to him. "You can pinch my arm if you need proof."

Bentley looked at me and nodded. "If that's not too much trouble."

I smiled and offered my arm. He thankfully didn't pinch me, he just gently felt my arm, hand and fingers. He pressed hard enough to feel the bones under the skin, as if he was counting them and the joints. "Incredible…"

"Just wait till you meet the rest of my friends." I said,making him look at me.

"There's more of you?" He asked.

Sly and I laughed. "Three boys," Sly replied. "And an android and dragon."

Bentley's jaw dropped, making me laugh again. Poor guy, I wondered if Sly told him that he was bringing a friend for dinner. Speaking of dinner… "We saved you some Mongolian." I offered. "Hungry?"
Bentley nodded. "I… I haven't eaten yet. I was too excited when I got Sly's message."

Sly laughed as he served Bentley a plate of the Mongolian. I sat down again, but a couple moments later the door just up and opened, revealing a very large, very pink hippo. He wore a wrestling mask with goggles and fingerless gloves. He also had a shirt, belt with a large buckle and white sneakers.

"SLY!" He shouted and come over, embracing Sly in a large bear hug.

"Hey Murray!" Sly said, sounding half choked. "I take it you missed me pal?"

"You bet we did!" Murray said. "We looked everywhere for ya after the blimp went down!"

"Murray," Bentley said, laughing a bit. "How about putting Sly down before you squish him?"

Murray laughed and set Sly down again. "Sorry little buddy. Hey Bentley, haven't seen ya in a while."

"It has been a while." Bentley said. "Glad to see ya again though."

Sly chuckled as he caught his breath. "Not a problem Murray." Sly replied.

Murray then saw me and we just looked at each other for a while. I soon smile and offered a small wave. Murray blinked and waved back. Sly laughed. "Murray, this is Emily. Em, this is Murray, the born of our operation."

I smiled and offered a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you Murray. Sly's told me a lot about you and Bentley here."

Murray smiled and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you too. Never thought I'd see a human though. I thought you guys were just fairy tales."

I grinned. "Well, in a way, you guys are fairy tales where I come from."

"Where is it that you come from Emily?" Bentley asked.

"Now that's a long story." I said. "But we did promise an explanation when Murray got here. So… Want some Mongolian Murray?"

"Yeah please!" Murray said.

I laughed and gave him a plate as I started explaining where I came from and how I met up with Sly. The guys listened quietly, but none of us noticed the large shadow perched outside. It was too far away for me to sense, so it just watched us for a while before opening a pair of wings and flew off again.