Miles sat down upon the cold oak wood of one of the chairs around the kitchen table, his own piping hot mug of tea in hand…Beside him sat his father and the great hero of Mobius…Who were both sipping from their mugs eying the two visitors with curiosity and intrigue sparkling in their eyes.
"Well, now we have our drinks…I suppose it is time to get down to business…You see…A few hours ago…Astrologists in G.U.N sector two picked up a huge energy spike materialise within our solar system…Not too far away from the moon…And this is interesting because when we were able to get our telescopes to focus on the source of this strange anomaly…We found this."
Reddick's face darkened slightly as he spread a handful of photos upon the worn surface of the table…Each one was rather grainy in appearance however in the photos…Something was very unusual…Something that was…Both absolutely incredible…And absolutely horrifying…
In the photographs they could see the dim, inky void of space alongside the tiny bright stars that sparkled like polished rhinestones…But then there was…Something else…It was some kind of flower shaped object…Gold and white in colouration with intricate gold floral patterning…The material that the…thing was made of was unique, utterly alien and not present in any known list of materials…Resembling some kind of mix between steel and marble…And for the petal like panels that trailed along the back of the object creating it's flower like shape? They glowed a dull orange.
It could not possibly be any kind of asteroid in the slightest, the fact that it resembled and flower and showed brilliant artistic detail was proof enough to that statement and nor was it some bizarre kind of satellite for no satellite any government of Mobius had constructed even came close to resembling it…It could only be one thing…And that fact formed a knot in Sonic, the Doctor and Miles's stomachs…Making them feel a mix of utter horror and terror…Yet…Excitement at the same time.
"First contact with an extra-terrestrial civilisation…" Miles whispered, suddenly he didn't seem to notice his tea growing cold in his hands as he stared at the photographs.
"Oh boy…" Sonic whispered, his eyes hungrily taking in every single detail upon the alien vessel, taking a small sip of his tea while he fixated upon the images.
Knuckles didn't say anything, he merely stared at the images intensely, his emotions impossible to tell behind his eyes…Almost as if he didn't know what to feel or think at the moment, being drawn in by the wonder of the alien tech.
"Wow…How big is it?" Robotnik asked curiously, one hand scratching at his bald scalp.
"Well…From what our astrologists and mathematicians are saying…It's around four and a half metres wide and nine metres long…So not too large at all…However there is still a problem…"
Reddick stood up from the kitchen table, slowly moving over to one of the windows…The rest of the room followed him…Gathering around the G.U.N commander as he stared up at the early morning sky…His expression grim and cold as concrete.
"You see that star?" He asked, pointing one long, bony finger at one small bright dot in the blue sky…One that instead of glowing a glistening white burned a fiery orange…
All of them nodded, eagerly awaiting the next words of the Commander, but their faces fell once he spoke.
"That right there is that strange vessel…Heading straight at us…Now, it'll do little to no damage to Knothole or the surrounding area other than perhaps a small crater…But it's first proper contact with the extra terrestrials that concerns me…So I believe it to be imperative that the world's smartest fox, fastest hedgehog and strongest Echidna be the first on the case…you three have good hearts and are generally unintimidating…Aside from Knuckles at least. So hopefully the first introductions will go well…If we are able to establish a line of communication or are able to salvage any alien tech then bring it back to either me or the Doctor…Got it you three?...Boys? Are you li-"
"How long until the vessel impacts?" Miles asked, his eyes not shifting from the open window, his ears slightly flattening against his head and his tails slightly curling around his legs in a nervous manner.
"Well…By now…It's a T-minus of seventy eight minutes…So we should be good, why do you ask fuzzball?" Reddick responded, lightly scratching the sensitive spot behind the fox's ears to calm the visibly nervous fox down.
Knuckles however answered the question, crossing his arms and scoffing slightly, his amethyst eyes fixated on the vessel in the sky.
"Well, it appears that your mathematicians and scientists should retake their exams…BRACE FOR IMPACT NOW!"
Reddick looked up and out of the window…His heart momentarily stopped beating in his chest as he saw the glowing dot in the sky grow larger…larger…and larger…When he had first looked out of the window to point at it, it was merely the size of a pinhead, maybe even smaller…But now…It was around the size of a walnut…And visibly growing before his very eyes…
It had grown to the size of a football by the time it had begun to pass overhead the village of Knothole…Leaving a streak of oily black smoke trailing behind it before it disappeared behind the large hill just North of Knothole…
The crash that followed mere seconds after it disappeared was thunderously loud, like a glorious cannonade being unleashed on a quiet summer's day…Birds flew out from their perches on the trees and power lines, squawking in terror at the loud noise…
Reddick turned to face Miles, Knuckles, Sonic and Robotnik who had dived for cover under the kitchen table, Miles's tails wrapping around himself as if they were going to protect him from a space ship travelling his way faster than the speed of sound.
Reddick pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he sighed towards them,
"Get out from under there you lot, we're not in any danger…Besides, you fuzzy little buggers have some introductions to make…So go on out there and say hello…Me and the Doctor will stay here and wait for you to bring back any alien tech or maybe even the extra-terrestrials themselves if they…can be reasoned with…Oh and be quick…The weather forecast predicts there's going to be heavy rain later…And plenty of thunderstorms."
Immediately the Mobians began to scramble out from under the table, slightly stumbling as they got to their feet…Sonic was the first one able to get up, then Knuckles and lastly Miles…
"Come on guys, last one there has to say hello first!" the hedgehog exclaimed, racing outside leaving a crackling blue trail.
"Enough with the games hedgehog! You're not investigating the vessel without someone to hold your hand!" Knuckles responded, charging out of the door…Leaving Miles to be the final one to depart, reorganising his bandoleer and making sure everything was in place as he stumbled out of the door, calling out to his father one last time before departing to visit their extra-terrestrial guests,
"Bye Dad! Bye Mr Reddick!"
…
The trio raced through the beautiful countryside of Knothole once more…Glowing streaks of red, yellow and blue shooting through the treelines of the deciduous woodlands, over crystal white streams that wound down through the hills and of course across the jagged rock formations upon the hillsides…The wind billowed in their fur, and the morning sun beat down on their backs as they sprinted over to the wreckage…Despite the dark storm clouds that were gathering in the east…They still had plenty of time to get in, grab the tech and or aliens and then head back…
"Sonic! I can see a smoke plume!" Miles yelled, leaping over one large boulder…And indeed he had…
A small wisp of oily black smoke was rising into the now ocean blue sky of the early morn, creating an ugly smear in an otherwise picturesque view above…The plume of smoke only grew larger and larger as the trio grew closer and closer…The terrain flattening out before them too…
While there was pretty much nothing in Knothole that could rival the beauty of it's rolling hills and winding streams…The lush green fields of the countryside were very beautiful as well…The morning sun reflecting off of the dew that had gathered on the plant life caused the field to twinkle. (Known as Montfort Meadow, named after one Antoine De Montfort, a baron from the medieval era of Mobius who had rebelled against king Corswain of Acorn, a Kingdom that had previously ruled over the lands of Whitemarsh and Greywood to the North as well as the area that would become Knothole county in the present day of Mobius.)
However, what the trio were not anticipating, was how badly the torrential rain that the past few days had provided had affected the soil…Sonic was the first to be affected by the minor issue…
"GUYS! I THINK YOU'LL NEED TO SLOW DOWN, IT'S A BIT SLIPPERYYYYYY!" The hero cried out, panic setting in his voice as he began to wildly skid on the ground that was covered in a wet and slippery layer of yellowish mud…His arms flailing around as he tried his best to slow down…His once sparkly red and white shoes becoming borderline ruined as layer upon layer of filth was caked on…
However Sonic was fortunate enough to be able to slow down just enough to come to a stop without falling down…He took in a deep breath and sighed with relief…
Knuckles had a smoother stop, slowing down enough as he made his way into the meadow so that he was able to smoothly skid along the mud, coming to a stable stop without having to worry about falling over…
However Miles was the least fortunate, having been the last of them to take off from the Doctor's home he had been behind them, not by a significant margin, but definitely far enough to the point where his friend's warning wouldn't be received…
The fox screamed as he felt himself lose balance, the twelve year old fox tumbling to the ground and practically headfirst into the mess below their feet, temporarily dazed by the sudden stop…However once his brain had registered what had happened and he had been able to slowly climb to his feet and take a look at himself…He wasn't happy…Not in the slightest.
"Awwwww for Chaos sake!" he yelled angrily, looking down at his mud caked clothing, the right side of his face practically coated in horrible yellowish mud too making him seem as if he had bathed in the horrible gunk, his tails faring not much better…
Sonic and Knuckles however didn't share the same sentiment…As when Miles turned to face his two friends, he saw them staring at him, hands clasped over their mouths…Trying desperately not to laugh.
His ears flattened against his head as he growled at them irritably, walking past them…The hedgehog and echidna not hiding their amusement at the fox's misfortune and temper…But their chortles quickly ceased when they saw the wreckage…
The remnants of the vessel were twisted in a smoking ruin, half submerged in the churned up earth that filled the crater, it's formerly beautiful, marble/glass like hull now marred with scorch-marks and mud, sparks of electricity fell from numerous holes and exposed wires in the vessel, fizzling out on the wet ground...The smell of smoke filled the mobian's nostrils as they drew closer and closer…
Miles felt a wave of sadness hit him, gazing upon the ruined craft…The photos of the thing looked utterly beautiful…Majestic and artistic…Like it was some master-crafted vessel…A beacon of alien civilisation, he looked down at one ruined piece the hull the size of a dinner plate…
Even a piece of the ship such as this was ornate and beautiful in it's own way, for it was wrapped in alien glyphs, the head of a rose displayed in gold…Seeing something of such beauty be ruined was such a saddening thing for the young fox…
However, right next to the little piece of debris…He saw something sticking out from the ground…It was a small device, no larger than a golf ball in size, it's colour a marble white and inlaid with small rhinestones, rubies and emeralds…He picked it up from the mud, brushing some of the earth off of it with one hand…It was a curious little thing…He fiddled with it, wishing to find out if it had a function or not…He would get his answer when he flicked a small switch on the bottom of the device…
The small thing opened up, like a flower blooming in spring…And then, a small beam of light shot up out of it…Creating a hologram of…The galaxy?
Miles analysed the holographic display, it was indeed…Their galaxy, the Milky Way as the people of Mobius called it…And on the display, Miles saw a tiny flickering red dot to the far west of the galaxy…Miles didn't know much when it came to alien technology, but from what he could guess…It was meant to be some kind of interstellar GPS…The flickering red dot showing whereabouts in the galaxy he was…His pondering however was interrupted once more when he looked up and noticed something…Partially buried under a large piece of debris…It was a pale, five fingered hand…
He raced over, shifting the large pieces of debris out of place, wishing to know who this mysterious hand belonged too…As more and more of the debris was removed, the young fox began to take notice of who it belonged too…
It was…An alien, laying on it's side, looking remarkably uninjured other than a few bruises…And from the way their chest was slowly rising and falling…Miles could tell that they were alive…Merely unconscious.
The extra terrestrial was donned in a dress like garb, featuring a grass green top, gold cuffed sleeves of the same colour and a white skirt that looked like it had been constructed from…Flower petals? At least, that was what Miles thought they were, he couldn't really tell given that they were caked in mud and now slightly singed…And also curiously emblazoned on the alien's chest there was a small, red jewel…Not to dissimilar in colour to a ruby…But Miles could tell there was something…off about the small gem…It was like it was twinkling with some strange…Unnatural light…Curious, most curious indeed. From the garb and figure Miles assumed it was a female specimen of whatever species it was.
His eyes then shifted up to the alien's head, Miles took note of the emerald green, leaf-like hair that had been matted with grime and dirt, two closed red buds laying on the side of the alien's head…Miles reached down gently and touched them, trailing his fingers down them to see if they were some kind of fashion accessory…But lo and behold…They weren't, the were connected to the alien's head…That was…Certainly not what he had been expecting…
Miles noticed a small cut, resting on the hand of the alien…Upon closer inspection of the small injury the fox noticed that there wasn't any red blood or ichor oozing out…Rather a milky whitish-green liquid instead…Like plant sap…
The gears began turning in Miles's brain…Perhaps these were some kind of unique plant based organisms, or perhaps animals really in tuned with nature…At present his mind was focussing on the former, however he wouldn't have been surprised with the latter…Miles turned his head to call for Knuckles to help carry the alien back to Knothole so they could ask the interstellar visitor some questions…However he was cut off before he could speak by Sonic calling,
"Guys! I found an alien!"
Immediately upon hearing the words, Miles propped the unconscious alien up so that they were sitting upright against the wreckage before rushing over to Sonic to see whomever it was that his best friend had discovered…Miles rushed over Sonic and Knuckles who were standing around the alien…It was not a very pleasant sight…
This alien looked older, donned in a blue dress with matching leaf like hair and an orange gem emblazoned on her chest, however unlike the younger specimen, she was nowhere near as fortunate when it came to the injuries that she had sustained.
Whoever they were they were covered in large gashes that oozed the sap like liquid, with bad third degree burns that looked as though they had been caused by some freak electrical accident…Unlike the former alien, Miles nor his companions could pick up any sign of life…No breathing, her amethyst eyes open and glassy, staring up at the sky, no life twinkling behind them…
The fox gave a solemn sigh, closing the alien's eyes…The fox may not have been a medicinal expert like that of Ms Vanilla back in Knothole but still he knew when somebody was dead, alien, Mobian or human alike…
"You alright bud?" Sonic asked, placing a hand on the fox's shoulder, Miles meekly gave a small smile in response,
"Yeah…it is sad though that we never got to be able to meet them properly…But, I do know someone we can!"
Miles then disappeared behind the wreckage once more, wishing to lead the hedgehog and echidna to his discovery…When the two saw the living, breathing and unconscious alien propped up against the wreck before them…They looked absolutely amazed…Stunned…Shocked…Bamboozled…How in the name of Chaos had this alien survived when their companion hadn't? Clearly Lady Luck had been on the side of the alien upon arrival…
"I found this one alive, thankfully…Although they'll still have some bruises, cuts and bumps from the landing…And I have an idea on who can help them…Because they helped me…Knuckles, you and I will take the alien back to Vanilla's house, Sonic, try your best to bring anything you find back to Reddick and my father." Miles said, his eyes not shifting from the alien, his quote giving Sonic pause,
"Hey foxboy, I thought you were the tech wiz here not me! Why do I have to haul the shiny stuff?"
"Because I want somebody…Responsible to be there for first introductions…Now, go on, grab anything shiny you can without electrocuting yourself…Plus…I need a bath… c'mon Knuckles."
…
Vanilla the Rabbit frowned as she looked up towards the rolling storm clouds in the distance…the great towering grey cumulonimbus clouds breaking up the once pleasant blue skies…They had gotten enough bloody rain in the past week already…Now the weather was going to start throwing thunder and lighting at them?
The rabbit pinched the bridge of her nose slightly, knowing that the entire village would likely be getting woken up in the middle of the night by Miles crying or screaming in terror, the fox was absolutely horrified at the thought of thunderstorms…She didn't know why but every time the rumble of thunder rolled in, the fox would grow…Stiff and start shivering with fear, hyperventilating as he did so…Meaning that either she, Cream, Sonic or the Doctor would have to snap him out of that panic…
Now in her thirties, the rabbit had known Miles for well over nine years and had grown accustomed to the fox's astraphobia and was well aware of how to snap the fox out of it, but even then it wasn't something she enjoyed doing…It made her heart break seeing such a normally calm, collected and mature young fox cry with fear…And considering the meteorite that had landed this morning…well It was safe to say that she and Cream would need to keep their eyes on Miles until the storm went away…
She pursed her lips as she sipped her tea, turning to her daughter who was busy tending to the roses on their front lawn,
"Cream, make sure that you don't damage the roses, especially the white ones…I want to make sure they look nice!" she called.
"Yes Mum…" The twelve year old rabbit groaned in frustration, already on her knees in the mud trying to make sure the lawn looked perfect while her mother drank tea and watched…She had been asking her mother to take up something to earn pocket money for herself, she thought she would be doing something like running errands or helping in the local café…Not slaving away in a pair of old green dungarees, gloves and wellington boots from when her mother had been her age…
Vanilla chuckled to herself, noticing her daughter's angry murmurs under her breath…However what happened next caused the small smile on her face to evaporate…A red and yellow streak broke over the hills, signalling the presence of Miles and Knuckles…
Vanilla stood up from the chair she had been sitting down upon and waved over to them and greet them…
Knuckles, not being one to care for fine art or lawns for that matter burst onto the lawn through one of the small hedges, puncturing a hole clean through, sending leaves and small branches flying, scattering them across the clean, neatly cut grass, in his arms he held an unconscious…Thing? Vanilla had absolutely no idea what they were, but they didn't look like humans and they sure as chaos weren't Mobian…
Then came Miles who, being the one with more sense came in through the small wooden gate, caked in mud, looking particularly unhappy at the situation of his clothes and fur…
"Miles?! What the hell?!" the Rabbit exclaimed, neither angry or happy to see the fox, just utterly bewildered at what she was seeing at the moment,
"Ms Vanilla…I'm so sorry about the hedge, but…we need your help…Please?" the fox asked, clasping his hands together in a bid to look more sincere and honest.
Vanilla's eyes turned to the…being in Knuckle's arms, a frown spread across her face, just what had these boys been up too this morning?"
"Does it by any stretch of the imagination have to do with…Whoever that is?" Cream asked, getting to her feet and looking at the figure in Knuckle's arms with suspicion and silent judgement in her eyes.
The fox meekly nodded, his ears flattening against his head with slight shame and embarrassment as he explained,
"Well…Yeah, that meteorite that struck a while ago…Well it turned out to be an alien spaceship that had crashed into Mobius…So me, Knuckles and Sonic were told by Reddick to go and investigate and see if we could find any survivors or technology yada, yada, yada…Well the person Knuckles is carrying…They're the sole survivor of the crash, and I want to make sure they're in a safe and welcoming environment when they wake up…And who would be better to do that than the woman who took me under her wing when I was first brought here?"
Vanilla blushed, that was remarkably sweet of him…Even if he did look like he had just come back from the First Great Mobian War…She was aware that Miles was just trying to appeal to her kind-hearted nature too, but…To have been the one who welcomed the fox to Knothole and now seeing said fox do the same for someone else was extremely heart-warming…Besides, she was still a nurse…It was her job to make sure people were alright.
"Oh alright then…Bring them inside Mr Knuckles and set them down on the sofa, I'll have a look at them in a minute, just make sure to wipe your feet before coming inside alright?" She said to the Echidna, who nodded as he made his way over to the front door.
Miles beamed at her before going off to follow his friend inside, however was stopped in his tracks when the older rabbit caught onto the collar of his jacket,
"Nuh uh uh Foxboy! You're not coming into this house In that state…I don't even want you within a metre of the front door until you go and take a shower and get some new clothes on! Go on, shoo!"
…
Miles grumbled as he walked over to Cream and Vanilla's place once again, his fur now clean and his clothes fresh, being donned in a white t-shirt, black trousers, a new set of boots and with all of his bandoleers, satchels and gadgets in hand once more, his goggles still resting on his head, now thoroughly cleaned of the horrible grime that had coated his previous clothes.
He walked through the gate, his face brightening up when he saw Cream still at work in the garden, now tending to the rather large hole that Knuckles had left in the hedge.
"Hey Cream."
"Oh, hi Miles. You alright?"
"Yeah…Sorry about the hedge…I wasn't expecting Knuckles to just burst through it like that…" he stated, a pang of guilt shooting through his body at the thought of the mess that Cream would have to clean up.
Cream's warm smile evaporated at the mention of it, an irritated frown spreading across her face like a disease in stagnant water,
"Yeah…Neither was I, you're not at fault don't worry but…Don't feel too sorry for him if Knuckles mysteriously starts feeling sick after accepting a cup of tea from me."
"Yeesh…Alright…Well either way, is our extra-terrestrial guest okay?"
"Yeah, Mum's been checking up on them in the living room…She said it's a miracle that she wasn't hurt by the crash, considering what happened to the other alien."
"Ah, so the alien's a girl then? That'd explain the flowers and the dress I suppose."
"Yeah, also it turns out that whoever she is, she's…Well…She's not an animal really…She's…somewhere in between an animal and a plant. I mean from what Mum's seen, she has organs and a nervous system and bones like an animal, but she shares characteristics with plants too, there's chlorophyll in her skin, there's flowers literally attached to her body and she bleeds a sap like liquid."
"Oh, well that'd explain a lot, thank you Cream, I'm going to go inside and make a cup of tea, want one?"
"No, I'll be fine thank you…I've already had one a few minutes ago, now go on in, I'm sure mum will let you in now that you don't look like a mud monster."
Miles's ears flattened against his head again in shame, giving an embarrassed laugh as he turned to the house to make his way inside and find Vanilla.
…
Vanilla dabbed carefully at the cut on the alien girl's hand with a sterile wipe, wiping away the sap like fluid carefully and ensuring that no bacteria would be able to get into the wound…Despite being a plant based life-form, Vanilla still wanted to be absolutely certain that no pathogens could enter her body, be it a disease affecting plants, or animals.
When she had concluded with disinfecting the small wound, she gently wrapped the alien's hand in bandages. Sealing the wound and ensuring that nothing would be able to infect it, all the while the alien girl lay back on the sofa out like a light, her soft breathing filling the nigh silent room…
That was until Miles and Knuckles walked in at least, both of them with hot mugs of tea In hand, looking curiously at the alien as she rested.
"How is she Miss Vanilla?" Knuckles asked, taking a large swig from the mug and practically slamming it down on the table, like a drunkard with his ale…Miles rolling his eyes at his friend's…Rather undesirable manners when it came to the treatment of other people's property.
"Vanilla winced at the loud bang that followed Knuckle's act, but she answered as kindly as she could,
"She'll be alright, she's a right plucky devil being able to survive something like she did…All without any severe physical injuries, honestly it's like divine intervention or absurd luck allowed her to scrape by."
"Well that's good at least, when will she be up?" Miles asked curiously, sipping his tea in a more sophisticated manner than his echidna friend.
"We don't know yet, however It should be within the next few hours at the very latest, so we'll be able to introduce ourselves within the day. Don't worry."
Miles smiled hopefully at the response, he was rather excited to be able to be the first person on Mobius to properly communicate with an extra-terrestrial species, he was hungry for knowledge and he wanted to learn as much as he could about who the girl was and what her people and planet were like, how their technology worked…Everything.
One thing was certain to Miles as he looked down at the sleeping alien, he would be the first person to make contact with the alien…He would be the one who'd introduce her to Mobius, he…would be her friend.