Chapter 8: Secrets
It had been months since Sonny's alter-ego Sonic defeated Dr. Robotnik and freed the hostages, who were mostly children and used to power the robots Dr. Robotnik attacked South Island with. The G. U. N. forces then took Dr. Robotnik into their custody and transported him to an island prison that was several thousand miles away before leaving South Island themselves. In the time since then, Sonny, Miles, and Amelia were busy trying to understand their newfound powers and the spirits that occupied their bodies. Now, it was the beginning of a new semester with Sonny and Amelia entering eighth grade while Miles was going into seventh grade.
On the first day, the three were greeted by Zak, Zaz, and Zom who prevented them from entering the school building. At first, they tried to walk around them, but the three bullies followed them. Then Sonny walked up to Zak and said, "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing much," Zak responded nonchalantly.
Zaz then cracked his knuckles. "We just want payback for all the times you interrupted our fun."
"Fun? You mean all those times you picked on me?" Miles said abruptly.
In response, Zaz chuckled. "My, my, you're feistier than I remembered, Miles."
"What are you doing hanging around with these losers, anyway?" Zom said with his massive arms folded. "I thought we were your friends."
"You guys are not my friends," Miles responded. "All you did was bully me and make me do your homework."
Zak gritted his teeth and said, "You're going to regret what you said, Miles."
After that, Zak, Zaz, and Zom walked away while the rest of the students filtered into the school building.
###
"Do you think Dr. Robotnik will show up again?" Miles said out loud during lunch with Sonny and Amelia.
Sonny was so surprised that he nearly chocked on his leftover chili-dog. "What brought that up?"
Miles shrugged. "Well, if he's possessed by some kind of spirit that comes from the same world as Sonic and his friends, then maybe he has powers as well that could allow him to escape the G. U. N. prison."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Amelia said picking a finger sandwich up with a plastic fork. "Besides, we know where the Chaos Emeralds are and Dr. Robotnik doesn't."
Despite Amelia's words, Miles didn't relax. "True, but Dr. Robotnik, or Eggman, doesn't seem like the type of guy to give up easily."
"So on a different subject, I'm now in the same class as Chuck," Sonny said abruptly.
"Oh, which class is that?" Amelia asked with intrigue.
"Room 1994," Sonny replied.
"I'm in that class too. Just our luck, I guess," Miles responded.
Amelia giggled. Then she asked, "Does he still have the Red Emerald?"
"Yeah," Sonny replied.
"Do you think that was a good idea?"
"I think I trust him enough. Besides, Sonic has a hunch that he might be possessed by one of his friends."
"But how can we know that? You haven't talked to him since we defeated Dr. Robotnik and we have no idea what kind of a spirit we might be dealing with."
"Then maybe I will talk to him, now that we're in the same class."
###
Inside the school's fitness room, Chuck was busy practicing for his next boxing match. The South Island School Boxing Challenge was coming up, and he needed to be in top shape. He was suddenly interrupted by footsteps, and looked over towards the door. To his surprise, no one was there, then he looked past the punching-bag he stood in front of. In the shadows stood the outline of a round figure whose face was barely visible.
"How did you get in here and who are you?" Chuck asked cautiously.
"I got in through the door," the figure replied in a male voice. "And who I am is not your concern. It's your friends you should be more worried about."
"Friends? I don't have any."
"I was referring to Sonny Hedge. He's not trustworthy."
"What do you mean?"
"He lied to you about why he needed that red gemstone you possess. You see, it is no ordinary gemstone with unusual properties and powerful energy stored within it. Sonny borrowed the gemstone not for a science project but to give it to Dr. Robotnik so he could use it to conquer South Island."
"But why did he return the gemstone to me after Dr. Robotnik was arrested by G. U. N.?"
"To insure your trust, of course. You would've automatically suspected something if he didn't give the gemstone back like he promised."
Chuck paused and then he asked, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Ask Sonny yourself, Knuckles. If he lies to you, come talk to me."
Then the figure pushed something, followed by a flash of light, and he was gone before Chuck could question him further. He walked over to where the figure stood and found a piece of paper that had an address written on it. Chuck put the paper in the pocket of his boxing trousers and continued practicing his punches.
Why did he call me Knuckles? Chuck wondered. That's my nick-name. How would he—
"Hey, Chuck!"
Chuck turned towards the door and saw Sonny standing in the doorway.
"Oh, hi, Sonny," Chuck responded.
"You don't sound too happy to see me," Sonny said as he walked in. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing. But, I would like to know…what you needed my good-luck charm for?"
Sonny hesitated. "I already told you. It was for a science project on minerals."
"Not for anything else? Like aiding Dr. Robotnik?"
"No! I would never do something like that," Sonny responded. "What gave you that idea?"
"Just answer the question."
"Okay, I didn't need the gemstone for a science project but I didn't give it to Dr. Robotnik."
"Then what did you need it for?"
"It's kind of hard to explain, but—
The bell rang to signal the next period, forcing Sonny to leave. Chuck growled in irritation, then he left too. He went to the boys' locker-room and changed out of his boxing clothes into a red sleeveless shirt, gray jeans that were ripped on the knees, and sneakers that were red, green, and yellow. Afterwards, he went to his next class but his mind was occupied by the mysterious stranger's words and what Sonny said in response to his questions.
###
"Chaotix Detective Agency," Chuck said, reading the address on the piece of paper out loud.
He was standing before a small two-story house with a crooked roof and mismatched windows on the top floor. On either side of it stood rows of shops and warehouses that were facing a wharf on the other side of the street that ran along the west coast of South Island. The sun had set over the horizon, causing the sea to shine brightly despite the fading light. From a dark alleyway next to the house came a faint whisper, causing Chuck to walk over to it. There, he saw the same figure from the fitness room, who still clung to the shadows like before.
"So I take it Sonny lied to you," the figure said confidently.
Chuck shook his head. "Not exactly. He was about to explain why he needed my gemstone, but the bell rang before he answered."
"Then why did you still come to see me?"
"Because…I think you know more about what's going on than I do."
The figure chuckled. "Precisely. However, I will need you to do a small favor for me in exchange for my information."
"Such as what?"
"That gemstone you have is not the only one of its kind. There are six others in different colors that are hidden in various places throughout the island. I want you to find them all and bring them to me."
"What do you need the gemstones for?"
"Like I said before, they contain a great deal of energy inside them. If those gems were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous."
"Is that why Dr. Robotnik needed them?"
"Yes, and I want to prevent that mad man from obtaining them again if he ever breaks out of that G. U. N. prison."
"You sound certain that he will."
"If he's as smart as he is ruthless, then there's no doubt he'll find a way. Now knowing that you have school and your boxing club, I understand that you don't have a lot of time on your hands. So I brought you here to get acquainted with the people at this agency whom I've hired to help you search for the gems."
"Wow, really?" Chuck was speechless. Then he said slowly, "Um, that's very generous of you, even though I don't know your name."
"You may call me…" the figure paused, and then he snapped his finger. "…Nik. Now I have matters to attend to, so I'll need you to meet with the Chaotix Detectives in my place. If you mention my name to them, they'll know what to do."
Then just like in the fitness room, the figure vanished in a flash of light.
For a few minutes, Chuck stood before the house considering his options. Meanwhile, the sun sank lower and the shops were closing up. Then from out of the house emerged a small boy wearing an orange vest over a blank-and-yellow stripped T-shirt with matching black shorts and orange sneakers. He had honey-colored eyes and tuffs of blond hair emerging from a black and pink aviator hat.
The boy smiled when he spotted Chuck. He sprinted over to him and said, "Hey, mister, are looking for the Chaotix Detectives?"
"Um, sort of," Chuck replied.
"Hurray!" The boy cried. "Our first customer!"
Then before Chuck had anything to say, the boy took hold of Chuck's arm and dragged him up the steps into the house.
To be continued…