Air.

Finally free of the zombies holding him down Sonic let loose a right hook that connected with what felt like a nose. A very furry nose with a now pissed off fox attached to it.

"Ow!" Kiarra cried, holding her bloody nose. "What the hell was that for?!"

"But we were...how are we...?" Sonic stammered as he tried to sit up. His entire body ached but he still forced himself to stand, supporting himself on a chair. Wait, a chair? Last he checked there hadn't been chairs with them as they fought off the zombies. "What on Mobius is going on?" Sonic asked, squinting while his eyes readjusted to the light. "How did we survive? And where's my sword?"

"Relax already," Kiarra told him as she handed him Kaiyō Mujō. "I was worried you might still think you were fighting so I took your sword. I'm very glad I did now. Anyway, I got the door open just as you two got swarmed." She looked over at Mina who was still out. "It was only for a few seconds but I was worried once we got here."

"I'm just happy to not be zombie food," Sonic said as he sat in the chair. "So after you opened the door..."

"Once the lock was undone there was a flash of light and suddenly we were here," the fox explained simply. "Your regeneration kicked in right after that so we must be well out of the sourcestone's range. I did what I could until I was sure that the two of you would make it but you did earn a few new scars." She fidgeted with her nose painfully before glaring at Sonic again. "And if that punch of yours messed up my nose I'm going to take it out of your hide, hedgehog."

Sonic shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs. Things were starting to fall back into place but even still there was a persistent whispering in his head. He wasn't sure what it was or why he had it but somehow it still felt...right. After a couple years of being a Guardian he had gotten used to having voices in his head though he was certain that wasn't a good thing. Either that or he had a concussion and was hearing things. "Okay," he said as he stood, placing Kaiyō Mujō on his lower back. "Any idea of where we are?"

"On the planet? Not a clue," Kiarra replied, "but we're in some kind of library. No idea why but regardless. It's not big by any means but the shelves are full. There is one problem though." She pointed to the back of the room where there was an entire wall of scrolls. "If you ask me the best place to hide a scroll is in a pile of ones that look just like it."

"A needle in a stack of freaking needles," Sonic stated. A groan from the floor caught their attention and they turned to see Mina stirring. "Well we're all alive. That's the best news I've heard all day." He went to offer her his hand and she responded with a quick combo that Sonic, still groggy himself, took right on the chin.

"I love karma," Kiarra muttered with a smirk as the two Guardians argued. She quickly explained the situation to Mina after she was vertical. With that out of the way she turned to Sonic. "So has that magic instinct of yours given us any clue?"

"The Scrolls themselves aren't here but there's some kind of link here that will take us to them," he stated as both women stared at him angrily. "What? The only way to get them is through here. And no, I don't know how I know that. I just do."

"That explanation is starting to irritate me," Kiarra commented as they went back to the wall of scrolls.

"You and me both, sister."

They had only been reading the scrolls for an hour before Sonic had wandered off and pulled random books of the shelves. Kiarra didn't see much point in the books but Sonic had argued that the scroll could be in a hidden compartment in one of them and the fox left him alone. That left Mina and Kiarra to go through the scrolls by themselves. The Dragoon watched the young mongoose as she unrolled scroll after scroll only to toss them off to the rapidly growing pile. She'd seen and heard the two of them before they'd been overrun and Kiarra was curious to know more about the Flame Guardian. "If you don't mind my asking what is it that you see in Sonic?" she asked finally, discarding another scroll. "Between here and in Serenity I couldn't help but notice that you seem to care about him a great deal."

"We're not...we haven't actually talked about any of this, not in any length that is," Mina admitted. "But we've been through a lot together. And talking with Sally gives me the impression that they were a lot like this too. But seeing him transform at the Tournament to protect me makes things a bit difficult." Kiarra raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "You've been in the city how long and you still don't know about what happened? The news channels keep playing the story over and over while they pretend to look for answers."

"I gave up on the news when I realized a terrorist bombing has the same significance as celebrity dating trends," Kiarra explained. So Mina gave her the short version of what she and Sonic had been through together, emphasizing the Highwind and the Festival. "I think I'm starting to see it too," she said after a moment. "It's hard to find someone who is willing to risk life, limb, and sanity for you. So why haven't you talked to him about it?" Mina struggled to find the right words as Kiarra filled her arms with scrolls and pushed her towards Sonic. "There. Now you have plenty of time to talk things over with him while your life isn't being threatened. Enjoy."

Mina walked over to where Sonic was to see him face down in one of the many books he had open. His snoring was interrupted when she dropped the scrolls on the table and he immediately sat up. "Oh, Mina. It's just you." He rubbed his eyes and then looked at the pile in front of them. "I can't wait to go home and take a week-long bath."

"Not if I get there first," Mina challenged him and they both smiled. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that offer of mine."

"There's this really nice Italian place near the Market District," Sonic said as he flipped through one of the books. When Mina didn't respond he looked up at her. "I'm guessing that dinner is off the table, so to speak."

"It's not that," Mina said, shaking her head. "I...I care about you a lot, Sonic. I'd go so far as to say I..." She looked him in the eyes and felt the words catch in her throat. "But I don't want to rush into this and mess it up. I know things with you and Fiona are far from okay after your trip up north, considering that you transformed right in front of her. But from what she told me it was either that or die, right?"

"You make it sound so simple," Sonic answered with a sigh. "That's not to say you're wrong. I tapped into my hoshoku-sha powers without even thinking about it or about her being there. And you're right; it was transform or die." He looked her in the eyes. "I'm gonna guess that the zombies are what's bringing this up finally, especially since you've been putting it off since the Tournament?" Mina's jaw went slack as he said this. "I'm not blind, you know. And contrary to what people think I'm not a complete idiot."

"I beg to differ!" Kiarra yelled from the wall of scrolls. Sonic hucked one of Mina's scrolls back at her and a yelp confirmed that he'd hit.

"I was hoping that maybe you wanted to give 'us' a try." Mina's words caught him off-guard. "Before it was just an idle curiosity and something to drive my brother nuts but now..." She squeezed his hand tightly as she gazed into his black eyes. "And after fighting beside you, for you, and nearly dying next to you I just thought..."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for the dating scene again, especially with a celebrity," Sonic told her and tears began to well up in Mina's eyes. "But what if we just take it one day at a time?" She blinked at him in disbelief, a look soon replaced by joy, and nodded with a smile plastered on her face.

"So would you consider this a first date or do you want a mulligan?" she asked playfully as she opened up a scroll.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I can top an exotic location like this. An island-wide sauna, complete privacy, and the locals are incredibly friendly." He cocked an eyebrow at her with a sly smile. "Name one boyfriend who's taken you someplace like this."

"And then topping off the evening by spending countless hours sorting through..." Mina stopped to unroll a scroll from the pile Kiarra had given her. "Tax records from year 2237 of the Magan Dynasty." She tossed the scroll behind her with a sigh. "As far as first dates go I can honestly say I've had better. So what is it you're looking at?"

"Nothing I remotely understand," Sonic admitted. "I can tell you all about quantum physics, mechanics and computing; the theory of the Chaos Force and how it binds our world together; even string theory and the mechanics of theoretical time travel." Mina stared at him blankly. "I wouldn't understand a damn word of it but I can tell you about it."

"Mind if I see that?" Mina asked and Sonic handed her the book he'd been napping on. She turned several pages with a very confused expression. "Sonic, this is a cookbook on the varieties of chili dogs."

"What? No, it's about the Chaos Force," Sonic retorted taking the book back. After a few moments of reading he looked up at her. "Okay, so it's a cookbook about chili dogs. Still a good read." He quietly slipped the book into his pack prompting Mina to shake her head.

"You're seeing things again, aren't you?" He sighed giving her the answer. "Anything else you'd like to tell me about?"

"Just this constant whispering in my head," he added. "I think it's just a mild concussion but I could be going crazy. After the day we've been having both are just as likely."

"You've actually been acting weird ever since we figured out what the scrolls are for," Mina pointed out. "If it was the heat then we'd all be seeing and hearing things."

"Your point?"

"What if the whispering has something to do with the Scrolls?" Mina suggested and Sonic stared at her in disbelief. "What if your blood somehow connected you to them and the whispers act like a homing beacon?" Sonic's eyes widened as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Mina, you're a genius!" Sonic said and kissed her on the lips before leaping from the table.

Mina sat at the table blinking several times and pinching herself. "If that's one day at a time," she said quietly, "I think I might like where this is going." She snapped out of it when she heard Sonic yelling for her and Kiarra. As she wandered over Kiarra met up with her and asked what was going on only for Mina to shrug. When they finally found Sonic he had his eyes closed and was running his hand across the books.

"Please tell me you found the scroll and we can go home," Kiarra said catching Sonic's attention.

"No but I think Mina is on to something," he replied. "Ever since coming to this section the whispers in my head have gotten louder. I can't hear myself think but for once that's a good thing. We need to look for something here that doesn't belong."

"How can you know that?" Kiarra asked narrowing her eyes.

"Mostly because the whispers keep saying, 'Something new, something impossible'," Sonic answered, "and they're pretty damn insistent. So look for a book that's totally out of place." Kiarra grumbled but began looking with the two of them nonetheless.

Some time had passed before Mina let out an exasperated sigh. "How are we supposed to know what's new or not?" she asked as she tossed another book onto the floor. "All I see here are biographies and other really boring stuff, nothing that really stands out."

"That's the third time this hour you've pointed that out," Kiarra reminded her as her stomach growled loudly. "Ugh, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I'm getting ready to eat my shoes."

"Why oh why did we have to eat the last of those rations yesterday?" Mina asked looking towards the ceiling as her stomach growled alongside Kiarra's. "I wanted to lose fifteen pounds but not like this. I like food!"

"That just means you should work out more," the fox replied with a laugh. "Working out builds muscle which burns fat faster. Look at me. I kept this figure for three thousand years."

"You were a freaking kid!" Mina yelled throwing several books on the floor. "And don't lecture me about working out. I train with Sonic every day and let me tell you sister it's not easy keeping up with him. Right, Sonic?"

Sonic nervously kept looking through books as several beads of sweat ran down his face. Don't get involved. It won't end well, he said to himself repeatedly as he felt tapping on both of his shoulders.

"Oh, Sonic," Mina said with a seductive tone, "which one of us do you think is in better shape?"

Sonic turned hesitantly to see both of them posing and blood began to dribble out his nose. Don'tanswerdon'tanswerdon'tanswerdon'tanswerdon'tanswerdon't- Sonic's thoughts stopped when something else caught his attention. "What the hell?" he asked out loud.

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" both women yelled simultaneously.

"Not you two," he apologized as he walked past them and pulled a book off the shelf. "This. The cover looks brand new when everything else in here is...well, ancient."

Kiarra snatched the book out of his hands and looked it over. "You're right," she realized and turned the book over. "And that's not all. Check out the title."

"The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog," Mina read. "That's weird. I didn't know there were other Magans named Sonic. What are the chances?"

"Small world I guess," Sonic replied taking the book back and opening it. "Let's see. This guy fought against tyrants, sorcerers and mad scientists alongside his friends and family. He had incredible strength and was willing to lay down his life for his comrades."

"It sounds like we're getting the summary of your life," Kiarra pointed out. Sonic flipped past the table of contents to the first chapter and froze. It wasn't until he began trembling that Kiarra asked, "Something wrong?"

"Sonic Hedgehog was born on June 21, 3219 of the Mobian Age to Eric and Alura Hedgehog," he read aloud and the women's eyes snapped open. "What the hell is this?!" he shouted as he gripped the book tightly. "How is this even possible?"

"Something new, something impossible," Kiarra repeated his words from earlier. "If I had to pick something impossible that would be right on the money. The location for the scroll is somewhere in that book."

"It's not your life that this thing is talking about," he snapped at her. "What kind of sick joke is this? My life isn't some freaking story for people to read about!"

"Isn't that kinda the point of-" Kiarra started but Mina clamped her hand over the fox's mouth. When Mina finally removed her hand Kiarra glared at her and said, "Why don't we look around for any kind of related materials. Maybe there's a reference to the scroll in some of these other books." Sonic nodded and the two women picked up several books each and the three of them went back to the tables.

Sonic flipped through the book of his life trying to figure out more 'why' than 'how' this thing existed. Truth be told he was a little flattered but he knew most people didn't get biographies until they'd been dead for some time.

"Any luck?" Mina asked leaning next to him.

"So far nothing," he replied sighing. "I think right now I'm just too freaked out by this. I mean, everything is in here. Where I was born, where I grew up, how I first met Sally and the other Freedom Fighters, the coup." He massaged the bridge of his nose. "If I was near the end of my life I'd be flattered. But I'm nineteen for crying out loud!"

"You could always do what I do and read the last page first," Mina suggested and Sonic stared at her. "Sure it can ruin the book but at least you know that the hero wins and gets the girl." She gave him a peck on the cheek before heading back into the stacks for more books.

Sonic flipped back from page-to-page as he contemplated what Mina had said. He'd never been much of a reader and, much like Mina, had always skipped ahead to the end. He'd never been interested in the story itself just what happened to the heroes and villains. But something in him refused to turn past the page where he was at. He didn't want to know how this story ended, not yet anyway. He looked over at the two women who were both sound asleep and snoring loudly. He smiled as he saw Mina drooling into the binding of the book she had been reading. Considering what the last couple days had been like he couldn't blame them for passing out. He was more surprised that he was the only one awake. He looked back down to his biography to see words being scrawled on a blank page.

And you thought that things couldn't get any weirder. Isn't that right, Sonic Hedgehog?

Sonic pushed away from the table as quickly as he could. "Okay, I'm just dreaming," he told himself as he pinched his arm. "The book about my life did not just ask me a question. I'm either dreaming or hallucinating." His expression fell. "I can't believe I'd rather be hallucinating. That's gotta be a new low." He cautiously sat back down at the table and looked at the book. The words were still on the page causing him to pinch himself harder. "Crap. I'm not dreaming."

So are you going to listen to me or am I just talking to myself here?

"You wanna talk? Let's talk," Sonic said giving in and sitting back. "Actually now that I think about it I kinda look like an idiot talking to a book."

Did it ever occur to you that only crazy people talk to books? There is a much more effective method of communication for us.

"And now a freaking book is ragging on me," he muttered. "Let's see. Talking doesn't work so that leaves...!" When it hit him Sonic began tearing through his bag, hoping that one of the pens he had still worked. When he found one he began chewing on the cap as he debated what to write.

Testing. 1...2...Testing.

Are you some kind of idiot?

"Holy crap that worked," he said dumbfounded. "I take back everything I've ever said. This is, hands down, the weirdest freaking day of my life." Ignoring his instinct to get away before it was too late he continued to write.

Just checking to make sure that I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy, right? I mean, I'm writing in a book and the damn thing is replying. How often does that happen?

Just this once and no you're not crazy. I just wanted a chance to talk with you before you arrive.

Arrive where?

Heheheh, wouldn't you like to know.

"It chuckled. The book freaking chuckled," Sonic muttered as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "And here I thought I was all out of crazy." He looked back down to see more words being scrawled by an invisible hand.

Anyway, don't you want to know where the scroll is?

You mean to tell me you know where the Secret Scrolls are?

So that's what they're calling the keys these days. Not the greatest name but I don't have any room to complain. Look on the shelf right behind where you found this book and you'll see what you're looking for.

As Sonic's pen touched the paper to reply the words vanished leaving nothing but a book with a blank cover and empty pages. "They are so not going to believe me if I tell them the truth," Sonic realized as he stood. He pondered the conversation as he headed back to biography section. "Still, what was that thing? Some kind of spirit like Magus or just a really messed up dream? Either way it's not like there's going to be anything here. Which begs the question: Why the hell am I listening to what a talking book said?"

Despite this he found where he'd pulled the book of the shelf and quickly cleared the area. Just as the book had said there was an indented circle in the back of the shelf. Remembering how Kiarra had done it he placed his hand on the circle expecting his vision to be flooded with symbols again.

Instead he found himself in a completely different room. He was surrounded by high-tech panels and flashing screens. Information flew across all of them, some he caught and others he could barely understand. "Security Protocol Alpha-niner-Bravo engage," a female voice said from behind him. He spun around to see a human woman in an almost shimmering body suit. Her blonde hair was held up in two small buns on either side her head and a braided loop hung from each one. "Genetic material scanning..." she continued, looking towards a screen where a double helix appeared. "Genetic material matched to Tri-Magan known as Sonic Hedgehog." The screens dropped and darkness surrounded the two of them. "Welcome, Keeper. Sorry about the long wait."

"Who...what...?" Sonic stammered as he struggled to find even the thoughts to describe what he was seeing.

"I am an artificial construct left behind by my creators to maintain and archive the Index, what your people call the Somes Arcanum," she continued. "You may call me the Librarian."

"So right now we're in the Somes Arcanum?" Sonic asked and she nodded. "So why did we have to find the scrolls?"

"The previous Keeper, Arca Volsace, left a lock on the doors of the Index in order to prevent the servants of the one you call 'Xiaxos' from gaining access to the knowledge within my walls," she explained. "Even though I informed him of the futility of this defense he seemed insistent on its creation. As a direct result of this he designed the keys to directly link the future Keeper, in this case you, to the Index to speed the process up."

"Please slow down," Sonic asked as he massaged his temples. "My head hurts enough already from this crap." He took a moment to try and organize both his thoughts and everything she'd told him. "So what is the Somes Arcanum?"

"It is a record of all events on Planet Mobius from the day of creation to the current date," the Librarian replied quickly.

"So who created it?" The construct's smile faded.

"I'm sorry but you do not have the proper clearance to access information on my creators," she told him. "You have one question remaining under Security Protocol Alpha-niner-Bravo. After that I will give you the final key and terminate this connection."

"Since when did I only have...? You know what, scratch that question," Sonic said as he briefly reconsidered what to ask her. "What exactly are the Keeper's responsibilities?"

"The Keeper is the outlet of all relevant information stored within the Index," the Librarian answered. "Information is relayed directly to the Keeper via a mental link while in the Index but this can be disabled through the Settings Options once you arrive." She gave him a small smile. "That is your final question," she told him as Sonic prepared to ask a follow-up. "I will give you all the information you need when you arrive." She opened a drawer and handed him a pair of scrolls.

"Hiding the keys inside the thing you're locking up is cheating, Arca," Sonic muttered as he took the scrolls. "Thank-" The panels were gone and he was staring at the bookshelf once again. He looked down and scrolls were still in his hands. "Well at least there's that," he said, unrolling the scrolls to make sure they were what they needed. Satisfied he rolled them back up and made his way back the girls who were starting to wake up.

"What happened?" Kiarra asked groggily. "I don't remember falling asleep."

"Me neither," Mina added with a loud yawn. She looked down at the puddle of drool she left and her face turned bright red. "So how about you, Sonic?" she asked turning around in her seat. They both stared dumbfounded at the scrolls in his hands.

"You found them?" Kiarra asked as they both went over to him. "But how?"

"You, uh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Sonic answered and the two women looked at each other.

"It has been that kind of a day," Kiarra admitted. "And they're the real thing?" Sonic nodded and both Kiarra and Mina gave a satisfied sigh. "Then we can go home." Before either Mina or Sonic could say anything Kiarra disappeared in a burst of cold air, leaving the two of them behind.

"Did she just ditch us?" Mina asked in disbelief. "She did. She ditched us in the middle of nowhere!"

"It's not like we can't get home on our own from here," Sonic pointed out. Mina's ears twitched with acknowledgement a moment before she latched onto Sonic's torso. Sonic was about to protest but eventually let his arms wrap around her.

"I just want to go home and soak in a tub full of ice water," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. "By the way, dibs on the shower. And I'm not getting out for a while so find somewhere else to shower." She looked up with a smile as he stared down with a glare but eventually relented.

"Let's go home," he said as the wind picked up around them.