Author’s Note: This story does not follow several of the standard rules for Sonic stories, meaning it will go weird places sometimes. Consider it an Alternate Reality crossover, brought upon by the crossover itself.
Personal thanks go to users Diatron6 and dreamcastzx for several things, including inspiration and suggestions. Diatron6 is one of the biggest influences for the ‘realistic’ style of the setting, while dreamcastzx’s artwork sort of influenced what’ll happen to one of the characters. In the future.
I’ll also thank mesia because I want to. One of the reasons I’m even here, after all.
This story style is inspired by FanFiction.net user Captain Combat Beard and his Sonic stories. Especially ‘The Fall’.
That said… I’ll admit one thing right now. At this point, I’m not exactly writing anything that’s too outside the box, but this story is being posted on InkBunny for a reason. I definitely have the mindset that some of the more fucked up InkBunny members have. I can’t excuse that either. So while I’ll try to write ‘nice’ and ‘clean’… the potential for some extremely horrible fetishistic shit is still there.
Enjoy.
I love you.
Please save me.
I’m trapped in Heaven.
The alarm clock rang at max volume. The noise was enough to draw the attention of a blue hedgehog, who pawed at it in irritation before managing to turn off the thing.
“Ungh, stupid thing…” he grumbled, very grouchy, while trying to shove his pillow over his face. Not even a minute passed before the bedroom door opened, as a smaller rabbit walked inside.
“Good morning, Sonic!” she said, carrying the hedgehog’s breakfast on a tray. “Hope you had a good sleep, because today looks like it’ll be a great day!”
The smile on her face faded once she pulled the pillow away, however. The slight red on the hedgehog’s eyes and the wet fabric were all she needed to know.
“Did you have another of those dreams?” she asked, taking a seat near the bed. Sonic forced himself into a seating position, not smiling either.
“…yeah. Couldn’t help it.” Sonic glanced at the bunny girl, noticing she looked pretty concerned for once. “Can you please not tell ‘mom’ about it, Cream?”
She pouted pretty clearly. “Not tell her? But you’re always crying and weird after you have those dreams! Mom told me to tell her every time!”
“Yeah, and after that last doctor I’m not gonna bother,” he replied, before eating his breakfast, still speaking with food in his mouth. “It’s not like you to bring breakfast to bed. What gives?”
“Ehehe… you see, I was hoping you would come with me to school today, big brother!” Sonic forced his meal down with the glass of milk, before shaking his finger.
“Nope, no school for me. You know the deal, Cream.” Cream pouted at those words.
“But I wanted to go with my big brother for once! You’re always too busy being anywhere else to stay with us!”
“Hey, I have been busy saving the world, remember? Who else’s gonna keep Eggman from stealing babies, making them into batteries, and using them to do evil things?” he asked, just as the bed sheets shifted. Cream’s eyes went at his crotch then, and Sonic nearly facepalmed. “…do you mind not looking, Cream?”
“Nope!” the little girl said, all smiles. The hedgehog just groaned, as he realized he was having a case of morning wood. It was typical; that always happened when he had those dreams, for some reason. As far as he could remember, even.
“Seriously, you’re kind of too young for this”
“I’m old enough to help you fight badguys, I’m not too young for this!” she snapped back, moving her hands to his crotch.
A whoosh of wind was enough to get her away, while Sonic dashed out of the house at subsonic speeds, grabbing his gloves and shoes in the process; it was only from knowing the exact layout and the schedule of everyone else that he managed to get out of the house without hitting anything or anyone, heading to the countryside.
Cream pouted again and stomped her feet on the floor twice. “Awww! Not again! I hate it when he does that!” she ranted, before getting out of the room. “MOM! SONIC RAN AWAY AGAIN!”
Sonic didn’t have much to run before he was gone for good; his home in this island was big, size and land-wise, but it was still outside of the big city and in the nature as he preferred. Coming to a halt there to dress up was good enough, since nobody would get to see him in that state, and he’d be able to dress in peace.
A quick ‘toilet’ break later, and he headed to the nearest hill at full speed, getting there in a few seconds. From there, he could see a good deal of Coconut Island, his home for the last ten years in more ways than one.
“Sorry, Cream…” he muttered, finding a place to sit and watch the horizon for a while, as he decided which of those areas he should visit first. “School, a ‘normal’ life… I’m not interested in that stuff. I just wanna be free, and live however I want.”
Of course, that begged the question of why he allowed himself to be adopted if he wasn’t gonna live like they wanted. And the answer was a simple one: his experiences in the orphanage and his adventures had made him sure that he didn’t want to be alone, not in the same sense he had experienced before.
Nothing about his life was ‘normal’, and he made no secret of that. But he also wanted an actual connection to ‘normalcy’ that he didn’t have normally, and Cream and her mother provided that to him.
His stray thoughts shifted as he noticed something weird over the ocean, far beyond the big mountains. The sky seemed to be missing something over there, for a split second, but then that feeling stopped once he blinked.
“That’s weird… I don’t remember feeling like that before,” he muttered, taking a look around the island again. Nothing out of the unusual. “I should go talk to Tails. He’s gotta know something.” With a quick burst of speed, Sonic left towards the east, heading towards the only city in sight.
…%D
Inside a warehouse in another island, a young fox wiped his brow. “How about that?” he asked himself, with a smile. “I finally finished the new model of the Miles Electric! All it took me was spending the entire night hard at work!”
The device was one of several similar electronic tablets that were stored in a nearby box, this one having a couple of extra buttons and a trace pen directly connected to it to make it different. He placed it on the desk, reclining against his chair shortly after.
“Ahh, now all I need is some sleep and” he began, only to be interrupted by a sudden ringing; the shock was enough for him to back further and he crashed onto the ground, a little pained. “Ow! What gives?”
Rubbing his back a little, he took one of the other tablets, which was ringing like a phone. “Is this a payphone? What number is this?” he wondered once he noticed the unknown caller, before accepting the call. Only an audio file started playing, meaning that the caller was not using a video system.
“Yo Tails! What’s up?” Sonic said, pretty happy on his side. A strong electronic sound came out of the receiver, however.
“I’m doing fine, Sonic. You don’t need to be too loud, okay?” Tails answered, even as he adjusted the volume, his vulpine ears still twitching from the noise.
“Right, right. Look, something’s weird in the sky, can you hop over here and check it out?”
That surprised Tails. “What, you mean, right now?”
“Well, as soon as you could, you know? I know it’s a long flight over here, but still!”
The electronic noise didn’t stop after Sonic stopped speaking, sounding kind of like a beat at this point, and Tails felt the start of a headache. “I was using the Tornado to collect some important parts this week, I’ll have to refuel and everything first… is it really that important?”
There was a moment of silence, where the noise continued. “Yeah, sure, it’s not that important that you can’t get ready. Just try and get here today, okay?” Sonic asked, and Tails nodded in response.
“Sure thing, Sonic. Just… where is ‘here’?”
“Oh, you know, Coconut Island, somewhere near Night Carnival…”
“Is THAT where you are?” Tails groaned. “I can hear the music behind you, you know!”
“Yeah, they sure know how to party, alright. I’ll see when I can get a communicator, alright? See you, Tails!”
And with that he turned off the phone. Tails stared at the tablet for a few moments, before sighing.
“I don’t see why he can’t come live with me,” he muttered, a little jealous, just before hearing a spark. “Huh?” One look back at the new Miles Electric gave him the answer. “What’s wrong with this thing? I thought it was proofed against interferences!”
When Tails touched it to try and adjust its settings, though, he felt a sharp electrical current run through his body, enough to give him a real shock, before his grip loosened and he dropped the device on the ground. The tablet’s screen went black and a bit of smoke came out.
“Uuuuuugh… I’m gonna need to spend so much money to fix it this time…” Tails groaned, as he felt his fur shoot up. And now he was going to need to take a long bath to make sure it wouldn’t stay puffy like that…
Back on Coconut Island, Sonic sighed as he walked out of the cabin. If Tails thought the noise was bad, it was nothing compared to what it was like right there.
He adjusted the coat he had on, chafing a little as it brushed against his fur, and wished – not for the last time – he could just be rid of it. But unfortunately, there were some laws requiring inhabitants and visitors alike to wear clothes, and as much as it interfered with his speed and running, Sonic couldn’t just streak into town unless he wanted to add that meaning to the little nickname he had.
At least nobody was paying that much attention to him. The coat, pants and hat Sonic had decided on let him seem sufficiently ‘normal’ for anyone to notice, and at least he didn’t have that much of a reputation in Coconut Island to worry about.
But now he had to wait until Tails arrived, and that was going to be a bother. He hated to wait, unless it was for something really important. And right now, the important thing was finding out what had happened in the sky.
“I guess I’ll… go to the observatory, or something…” he decided, walking in a sulk towards the nearest bus station. Sonic hated this stupid law. So what if he had been partially responsible for a power outage that had shut down half the city? It was really that stupid egghead’s fault for attacking the place! He had to stop him!
Not to mention buses couldn’t even go at 100mph! There was no ‘oomph’ to them!
Absorbed as he was by these thoughts, Sonic barely noticed the other Sapient in the station until he had crossed him. “Whoa, what are you doing here, Espio?!”
“…Sonic,” said the purple chameleon, who had seemingly decided on the same outfit style as Sonic to hide his identity. The only difference was his tail, which was wrapped around his waist like a belt. “Didn’t think you were the bus type.”
“Same goes to you, horny!” the hedgehog said, taking a seat. “I thought you were off somewhere in Northamer?”
Espio didn’t seem very amused by the joke. “We had to leave. Business stuff. Took all our economies.” He had his arms crossed. “Unfortunately, Vector and Charmy happened to have a setback, meaning I arrived here at the wrong time.”
“And let me guess. You left your wallets with them, right?” Sonic added, with a smirk. Espio’s frown deepened. “Well, that’s what you get for a friend with alligator skin!”
“…at any rate, the last report I had of them, they were in Christmas Island, so at least they’re safe. As for myself…” The chameleon’s gaze darted towards another side of the full station, wishing for a monorail. “I’ve been making do for the last week.”
“Hah! You’re alright, horny, that’s for sure.” The sudden slap to his back nearly threw off Espio’s hat, and he had to pull it quickly. “Anyway, I got places to go. Need a ride?”
“You can afford the fare, I’m guessing.”
“Heh! Got my allowance and everything!” Sonic said, showing off a small pouch, a second before realizing what he had said.
“Right. Your ‘mom’ pays for your living.” Smirking, Espio took the wallet in a swift movement, counting the rings. “You know, Vector’s been doing pretty well lately. Maybe you should introduce him to your mommy?”
“Oh, shove it, hornhead!” Sonic snapped, as he tried to get the wallet back. “I had a pretty bad day already, and it hasn’t been two hours since it started for me!”
“That early?” Espio didn’t seem too impressed. “There was no warning of a sudden Eggman attack or anything, so I don’t think it’s that serious. What happened, you had a bad dream or something?”
Much to his surprise, Sonic didn’t answer with a comeback. In fact, he even looked away for a moment.
“…you had a bad dream.”
“W-what?!” Sonic tried to cover up, but his bad reaction time and hesitation were enough.
“Ninja training. Psychological warfare is normally used for combat, but can be used for good as well.” He threw the wallet back at Sonic. “You can keep that if you want. But I wouldn’t advise you to keep it hidden forever. You’re not the kind to even have these dreams to begin with.”
“…thanks,” was all Sonic said, before nodding towards the boarding zone. “Well, about that… do you mind coming with me to the observatory?”
“It…” Espio hesitated a moment. “…wouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps we will have mutual business there.”
“Alright. Save me a good seat, will you, horny?”
…%D
Life in Coconut Island was… peaceful.
That was generally considered true in most of the world, but Coconut Island was special. It was isolated from most of the other nations and placed in such a non-crucial location that there was no advantage to be gained by any invading parties, and the lack of rare and magical artifacts that could spell certain doom in the wrong hands was another positive. All in all, it was one of the better places to live in this planet.
It didn’t stop it from getting boring sometimes.
That was the thought of one Cream the Rabbit, as she tapped on the notebook with her pencil. She wasn’t used to public education, having been taught for several years at home, but it had been decided by her mother that spending time with people her age, as well as interacting with Humans in a more controlled environment, would be better for her development. And to her credit, she was actually doing pretty well in school. having even skipped one of two grades due to her good memorization skills and quick thinking.
But she wasn’t satisfied by that. Having gone on an adventure or two with Sonic and his friends had left the seed of an adventurer in her, and she absolutely wanted to hang out with her adopted brother more often, what with his constant flights and escapes. But two things got in the way of that, unfortunately.
The first one was that Vanilla was insistent on having her children had a proper education. She didn’t really understand how or why Sonic managed to escape it so much, but Cream hadn’t been able to do the same. And of course, she was at least glad that her studies were really helpful, between improving her athletic skills and helping her solve some of the tougher puzzles she had seen, except for the parts where she was unable to go on adventures with the others.
The other one was the pink hedgehog known as Amy Rose. Vanilla had been pretty concerned about her after a certain fiasco, and unfortunately not even Cream had been able to defend her friend enough. It wouldn’t bother Cream so much if it wasn’t for the fact that Amy was the only person crazy enough to let her tag along and not ask questions, while everyone else she had met was the type to either stop her or keep asking questions she didn’t want to answer.
So now she was stuck at school, studying math while Sonic was off doing who knew what, and surrounded by a bunch of kids who looked down on her just because she was two years younger than everyone else. To anyone else, this would’ve been bad enough, but she had an extra issue to deal with.
Simply put, Cream was in the middle of puberty already. Possibly due to being a bunny, it happened sooner than anyone would have expected, but she was already starting to grow a build similar to her mother’s, with her legs thickening and her panties starting to tighten. And it wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t happened to see Sonic once, when he was feeling actual arousal.
She never forgot that. And she didn’t want to, either: muscular pecs and arms that rippled with masculine power and large, strong hands holding a big phallus that was resting over a very large sac, almost too big for them, and with a foreskin that was always peeled back? She wanted that for herself. And truth be told, she saw no problem with that either. After all, it wasn’t like they were related, right? Even she was perfectly aware of that.
As she brushed her thighs together to try and appease her personal urges, one of her hands nearly slipped down her skirt before she stopped herself. Frustration made Cream take a look at the sky outside. It was a completely boring day like usual, the bright lights and loud music reaching even this school. If it wasn’t for the airship flying in the distance, it would be a completely normal day as well.
She blinked once. Then twice. That was clearly an airship, now that she focused her eyes on it, and it was actually coming close to the island.
Cream barely registered the sound that was supposed to draw her attention. Her mind was racing with the possibilities, only a part of it actually concerned. She thought about running off to try and find Sonic, tell him what she had seen.
She had just turned her head away to do so when she realized that the teacher – and indeed the rest of the class – was staring at her. And one look at the teacher meant looking at the blackboard.
“The answers, Cream?” he asked, serious. Cream’s fingers trembled as she looked at the board.
She really wanted to run away with Sonic now.
…%D
The ‘observatory’ Sonic had referred to was a rather distinctive building, even for a place like Night Carnival. It was located on the highest part of the city, separate from most of it via a bridge leading to its hill, and was best known for the large telescopes used to watch the stars and qualify the constellations. Its primary duty was also to observe the weather conditions and report any particular unusual traits.
“OH THANK GOD IT’S OVER!”
It was there that Sonic and Espio arrived at, after the longest bus trip either of them had ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Sonic was the first one out of the bus, Espio right behind him, and the two stared at the double doors as they headed inside.
“Well, we’re here. What are you even interested in?” the chameleon asked, once they crossed the door.
“Gotta learn if something weird happened to the sky lately,” was Sonic’s answer. “I saw something weird today and I am pretty sure it’s a big deal.”
“Yet the newspapers make no comment of such things.”
“Yeah, because they’re paid off. Come on!” The hedgehog headed to the nearest counter. “Excuse me!”
The man on the other side was a human in a clerk uniform. “Yes, boy?”
“Is there any place where we can see the weather for today?”
The man frowned. “Well, you’ve noticed the screens around us, right? They state the local weather and”
“That’s not what I mean! I mean the notes the weathermen have to read before they go on air and stuff!”
Sonic’s irritated response caught him off-guard. “You mean, the news? Well, it’s true that we’re involved with the data they receive, but there’s nothing important to show to kids like you, so…”
“Then what about the weird stuff that happened today? The sky was all strange earlier!” Sonic insisted, but the man shook his head.
“I’m sorry, boy, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s been nothing wrong with the sky today, and if something was wrong, we’d be the first to know.”
Espio grabbed Sonic by the wrist before he could say anything else. “I see. Thank you, sir,” he said, before dragging his companion away.
“What was that for?” Sonic asked, in a huff. Espio rolled his eyes in response.
“You’re probably going to get their security guards involved, and that’s not good.” He glanced around, noticing their presence. “I’ve got a better idea. I’ll just sneak around and find the room with the information you want.”
“Oh, you can’t be serious!”
“Absolutely. I’ll be able to explore without being seen or noticed at all.”
“But then what do I do?”
The purple chameleon took a moment to think. “You’re fast. You can run through the halls as you want.”
“I can’t just run through this place!” Sonic’s outburst actually caught Espio’s attention.
“…are you unwell, perhaps?”
“No. It’s… it’s complicated. You can call it ‘domestication’, I guess.” Espio blinked for a second, before frowning. “I can’t even wear my running shoes here. And I’m like, really far from where I usually store them for safekeeping. I’d have to walk some twenty miles to get there at this point.”
“Twenty miles would take too long at this point. And you’ll probably be exhausted at walking that long.” Espio took one look at his shoes. They certainly weren’t his usual style of footwear, being green and with odd spots. “Okay, I have an idea, but we’ll have to go outside first.”
Once they were out of the building, the two went towards the back side of the building. “So, what’s your idea, horny?” Sonic asked, just as they passed by a dumpster. Espio took one look around, before nodding.
“Nobody can see us from this angle.” With one kick, he opened the dumpster. “Put your clothes in here. I’ll get invisible and open the doors for you.”
“…are you serious?!” Sonic asked, surprised. “Then what am I supposed to do?”
“You’ll run in, then stay moving while I track down whatever it is. You can run fast enough to stay hidden without injuring yourself, right?” Espio took off his own clothes, dumping them in the dumpster as well. Sonic’s eyes widened at the chameleon’s lack of shame.
“Did you have to do that now, Espio?” he asked, looking away, while Espio just turned to face him. “I’d rather you not keep looking at me, either.”
“I’m making sure you’re ready.” Stoic the chameleon might’ve been, but Sonic guessed he wasn’t exactly enjoying the idea either. “I’ll do something about the cameras, too.”
“That’s not exactly legal. What are you planning, Espio?” the hedgehog asked, even as he got rid of the hat. “You had better not be planning anything bad, you hear me?”
“I’m more of a pragmatic type than the other Chaotix, Sonic. If this advances my objectives, then I’ll help.”
“Objectives you don’t want to tell me.”
Espio shrugged. “It’s none of your business. But your ‘weird sky’ issue might relate to my mission. And besides, there’s something I’ve been wondering, too.”
Sonic ditched his shoes at last, stretching out a bit. “Well, I’m not sure I can bring out the Super Sonic Dazzle, but…” he said, and Espio nodded.
“If anything happens, I’ll bail you out. It’s the least I can do.” The chameleon then changed his skin tone, becoming a very strong mirror of his surroundings. “I’ll hold the doors open. Run in the second you hear me, got it?”
“…whatever you say, horny.” Sonic wasn’t too thrilled, but he waited like he was told, feeling his length flop against his knees. This wasn’t going to be fun.
His eyes wandered for a moment, when he realized there was a shadow in the rooftop. Before he could question who or what that was, he heard the doors opening nearby.
Without any evidence of where Espio was or how long he could keep things that way, Sonic had to rely on his instincts. With a very quick burst of speed, he ran into the building, passing by the counters just before anyone could see him. A gust of wind came along, scattering several objects on the counter and some of the empty paper cups by the water cooler, leaving the people in the entry room very surprised.
The clerk that had greeted them was about to say something, but a swiftly thrown inkpot at his forehead knocked him out, courtesy of Espio. The invisible chameleon took this chance to proceed undetected, looking for the security room.
Getting inside was easy enough, as was knocking out the guards. Espio took this chance to look at the cameras, finding the room with the highest amount of scientists at work. “I bet that’s where the information will be… I should thank Sonic later for the hint. Whatever’s going on in this island has to be a big deal if even he has noticed.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” A mechanical voice spoke in his ear immediately after, and Espio nearly changed his colors out of shock. “I should assume you have a lead in your quest, then?”
“…NICOLE.” Once he was sure the door was locked properly, Espio took out a device, which revealed a holographic shape. The shape’s head was not properly exposed, meaning he’d only get to see a portion of it, but it was more than a disembodied voice. “You’ve finally become active, then.”
“This unit was out of power for too long. It only started recharging properly very recently,” said NICOLE, in a rather amused tone. “You took your sweet time doing so, didn’t you, Espio dear?”
He didn’t need to ask her why the tone of voice. She was looking at him, admiring his well-built body, his toned arms and legs with muscles just right for his age, the curves that made him attractive in spite of those same muscles, and especially the phallus hanging between his legs over a fat sac of flesh. Ever since the first time she had seen him, her tone had never truly changed.
“I couldn’t find a place to recharge you for free.” The chameleon seemed truthful enough when he said that, not letting a single heartbeat or glance out of place. “And my Ring stock was too low, thanks to pure coincidences.”
“Of course. Because you would never have turned me off on purpose.” NICOLE was bemused by his response. “It is not as if you have any reason to not want me around, right, Espio dear?”
Espio said nothing. He hated how vivacious the AI program was, being so close to actually being a real person. That was because whoever had programmed her had had a very specific personality type in mind, one he could hardly stand as it was.
“I think I did not hear an answer. Is there something you want to tell me, Espio dear? Or should I keep on asking while you are busy playing hide and seek?”
The ‘bossy bitch’ type, to be exact.
“I am looking for a computer with sufficient power as well as a direct connection to the weather station’s database, NICOLE. That way you’ll be able to connect to it and…” Espio trailed off, at that point.
“What is it, Espio dear?” she asked him. “I enjoyed your plan up to this point, but if that is all you have to say, then”
“What is Sonic doing?!” he wondered, much to the AI’s surprise. “Why is he heading to the top floor of the building?!”
“Sonic?” NICOLE repeated, before turning to face the screen. Indeed, Sonic was currently on the outside of the building, climbing up the service ladders. “The Princess will be quite interested in learning of that.”
The chameleon froze for a moment. “…I only met him today.”
“And yet you decided that hanging out with him would be more productive than focusing on your actual mission?” the AI asked him, enjoying the way he squirmed. “Is there something you want to tell me, Espio dear?”
“Thanks to him, I actually found a hint. We’re looking for unusual things happening all over the world, right? And if he’s right, then there’s something going on here.”
NICOLE said nothing in response, at first, and for a second Espio couldn’t help but feel like he fell right into a trap.
“…damn it.” Espio pressed some buttons, deleting the current recordings and turning off all the cameras. “I’ll just hurry and find the computer so I can finish my part soon and get to the part where I yell at him.”
“I’ll let you be for now, then, Espio dear. Just remember to plug me into the right port, alright?” NICOLE teased, before disappearing. Espio let out a disappointed sigh, before heading out the room.
A couple of seconds later, Sonic came to a halt, having arrived at the top floor of the building with ease. The oversized telescope used to watch the sky and its dome took up most of it, but the hedgehog had climbed up an area with a flat rooftop instead.
He wasn’t the only one there. The shape he had seen before had turned out to be a person, who was busy with a bunch of fabric and metal tubes. This person had their back turned to him, so all Sonic could take note of was that they were wearing a male school uniform. That, and the short-cut white hair they had, which didn’t help the impression of it being a guy.
A few seconds passed. The person didn’t seem to notice Sonic, who was stepping ever so closer to see what was going on. Nothing changed until Sonic was halfway across the rooftop.
“Do you have any business here?” the person asked, in a clear masculine voice. Sonic snuck behind a big exhaust, staying out of sight, his heart pounding rather quickly. “I heard you coming. You don’t have to hide.”
Sonic took a look past his barrier. The person – the man – was not looking at him, busy as he was. Despite the offer, though, he refused to show himself just yet.
“I could ask you the same thing, y’know,” Sonic said. “Why did you bring all this stuff with you?”
“It’s the end of my break. I wanted to celebrate it by seeing if I would manage it this time.” Those words caught Sonic’s attention again.
“‘This time’ you say?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s possibly the best chance we’ll ever get for a long time, if the numbers are correct. The wind is good and I should have enough altitude from here to get a good updraft.” The man connected some of the tubes together, trapping the fabric with them.
“…what are you talking about?”
“The New World, of course. Didn’t you look at the sky today?” Sonic’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t have come here otherwise.”
“Uh, y-yeah, I did. I came here to find out more about it, actually,” the hedgehog said, and the man nodded to himself. “But I couldn’t learn anything about it.”
“It’s not a surprise. I’ve been looking into it for over a decade, myself, and still I know too little. But what I know is enough to make me sure that it’s happening near this island, and that’s why I must do this before the end of the day.” After adjusting the tubes some more, he took another break to look at the sky once more.
“So what is going on with the sky?” Sonic asked, deciding to press on that subject now that he had someone willing to speak to him about it.
“Every so often, there are noticeable holes in the atmosphere, according to the research places like this one have made. These holes usually exist in highly polluted areas and cause an increase in the ‘greenhouse effect’ that affects the global temperature. Of course, most of these areas happen to be under the control of one Dr. Robotnik, meaning that they only last as long as he has taken over a given territory. Every time he has been repelled or stopped, these holes have disappeared shortly after.”
Sonic’s eyes were completely wide as he heard the man casually talk about Eggman like that. That wasn’t just it, though.
“However, there have been reports of a specific hole whose size defies all logic. Not only that, but the reports have been going on for several years at this point, enough time for Dr. Robotnik’s presence to be considered irrelevant regarding its existence. It is also a hole that has no specific location recorded, never having been in the same place for long enough.” The man frowned. “Until now.”
“So you’re saying it’s here?” Sonic asked, and the man nodded.
“It has to be. Today, in particular, I saw the sign when the hole moved nearer to this island. It may have hidden itself, but I will be able to see it when I get closer.” He finished adjusting the object, now taking some ropes and belts out. “People may have guessed what this hole was, coming up with all forms of answers, but the truth can only be found outside the realm of common sense. And a hole that has no explanation in the common sense must only mean one thing – a New World!”
Now Sonic could see what the object truly was: a hang glider.
“Once the wind has picked up speed, I will take flight and head to the New World,” the man said, taking a look back. Sonic could see that he was surprisingly young, despite his deep voice and the mature-looking glasses he had. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this hang glider is built for one. Had I known about you, I would’ve taken a passenger into account.”
“Um…” the hedgehog let out, simply curving around the exhaust vent so he couldn’t be seen. The breeze they could feel was picking up speed quicker now, much to his surprise.
“It is time.” After strapping himself to the hang glider, the man took a few steps forward, heading towards the other side of the rooftop. “Once I am back from the New World, I swear I will come and take you with me.”
“W-wait!” Sonic could only say that, as the man leapt in the air with his hang glider, letting the wind carry him forward just as it picked up strength. His eyes widened as he realized how high he was going with that one impulse, a single leap that seemed able to, indeed, reach the heavens themselves.
And then he realized that this impulse was not enough, and that the man was going down fast.
“…I knew that would happen…” Sonic grumbled, watching the form disappear into the coastline. “I think he’s gonna land in the ocean. If he’s close enough, he can probably make it…”
It wasn’t like he didn’t want to rescue him. However, something in the way the man spoke, in his words, made him sure that the man was used to do this kind of thing. And that he was not afraid of risking his life for such things.
As he prepared to run off again, however, yet another sight caught his eye – this time, a familiar one. It was a small blue blob that was flying at full speed towards him, kind of like a bullet really.
“Cheese?” Sonic let out, just as the blob stopped near him. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at home?”
Cheese simply showed him a note it was carrying, which looked thankfully clean and not that hard to read. Sonic took it from him and scanned it quickly.
“‘Big Brother. An airship’s landing all the way over on the north. Is that normal? I’m gonna tell on you to mom if you don’t come tell me before you run off over there, as usual. Please hurry and tell me. Signed, Cream.’ Now what’s that about an airship?”
Cheese started pointing towards the direction indicated, and Sonic had to squint his eyes very hard to look properly. Still, he did notice the oversized machine eventually.
“Jeez, Cream gets all the luck. Her stupid school is way closer to Altitude Limit than this place.”
Altitude Limit was the local name to one of the highest points in Coconut Island. More specifically, it was a massive fortress complex set high in the sky, barely connected to the surface due to a piping system that led to the northern mountains. In theory, it was property of the Guardian Units of Nations – G.U.N. as it was usually referred to – but their presence there had been minimal for decades, being solely an outpost at this point compared to their naval presence in the waters nearby.
Naturally, Sonic had climbed it himself, once. That was back when Eggman had attempted to mess with the fabric of time and space by getting a second set of Emeralds of power to play with, and brought along an even more insane and evil counterpart. Whatever alterations they had done to Altitude Limit– as well as one certain fiery kitty’s prior invasion – had turned it into a deathtrap the likes of which he didn’t want to remember.
So anything going there was worth an investigation, definitely.
Downstairs, Espio was inside the same room he had found earlier, standing near the door. “Where is he…?” he muttered, taking a look at one of the notes he had found.
“I do not see why you are so worried, Espio dear,” NICOLE’s voice came from behind him, the hologram standing near one of the computers. “None of the alarms have been raised and you’ve kept them from tracking us down. And this room was extremely easy to disable.”
“This place has too many laws for us, including dress-up. I had to put on some junk I found to avoid getting arrested.” Espio replied, reclining back against the door. “Have you found the records yet, or you need to steal more energy still?”
“Oh, that? I did it a minute after we arrived.” As usual, he was not amused. “So are there any more details I should be aware of?”
“So far it’s been a clear day. So anything as obvious as rain or hail shouldn’t qualify.”
“Well, according to this data, there hasn’t been anything particularly unusual today. I would hope that you weren’t just shirking your duties after all,” NICOLE went on, before pausing for a moment. “Strange. I just detected an anomaly.”
“What kind?”
“A strange pattern earlier this morning. Lasted for approximately twenty-five seconds somewhere in the eastern coast, before it…” Her silence bothered him.
“Before it did what?”
“Moved away.” That caught his attention. “The pattern formed a large, circular hole within that period, before proceeding to move elsewhere. The signal was lost thirty seconds after initial movement.”
“…double-check that data. Maybe there’s a cross-reference you can make, or something.” NICOLE let out a strange sound.
“You don’t even know what that word means, Espio dear.” Parting shot aside, she still took a few seconds to perform a similar search, and a shocked look replaced her expression. “Impossible.”
“What is?”
“There were points in this analysis that I considered to be simply part of the margin of error, acceptable mistakes that would not endanger the actual weather report in any fashion,” NICOLE explained. “But I was wrong. By using the odd data regarding this hole, I can confirm that the hole not only was present long before its reveal, but its movement is not, in fact, an error of the system.”
Espio nodded, but he noticed the AI was speaking oddly. “You mean that you don’t believe it to be correct, but you cannot explain it otherwise?”
“…you know me too well, Espio dear.” NICOLE was clearly unhappy now, by the tone of her voice. “None of the registered weather reports in my portable database match these values, nor do my research files. Were it not for the actual visual records stored here, I would have thought this to be completely unreasonable.”
“So Sonic was right. There’s something weird about the sky, and it seems like we missed it.” Espio looked at the nearest computer screen, which stated just that. “Can you track it down?”
“Not from here. It would take too long to even reproduce a similar confirmed pattern, and you already made it clear that is not what we have. Also, it would probably exhaust my batteries back to slumber as well,” the AI answered, unhappy. “I will require another base before we do so. Perhaps Sonic would know of one?”
“I’m sure he would.” The chameleon’s words drew her attention, but before she could say anything else, a different signal showed on the screen. “What was that?”
“Sonic is inside the building. He should be approaching us at any moment now.” NICOLE had a clear smile as she said so, a fact that bothered Espio to no end. “Open the door for him, would you, Espio dear?”
“…as you wish,” he muttered, doing so just in time for a blue blur to move into the room, nearly throwing him against the wall. The second Sonic passed, he closed the door. “About time you joined us. What exactly were you doing?”
“Long story. I talked to some guy and” Sonic was interrupted by a quiet cough, just loud enough to draw his attention. “oh. You.”
“Yes. Me.”
Thanks to the extra charge, NICOLE’s body had formed completely, giving Sonic and Espio something more than a head to look at: a lynx with her hair tied up in a bun with a pair of sticks, wearing a casual dress with no shoulders or sleeves that ended on a short skirt that did not hide her apparent leggings, and matching boots as well, did little to hide her curvaceous and feminine body, with breasts that nearly spilled out of her visible cleavage and hips that belonged to an adult body. The actual colors were hard to tell, given she was completely blue in color as a hologram, but her fur was definitely different from her clothes.
“I see you’ve stayed healthy, Sonic,” she said, admiring his body, and Sonic just rolled his eyes in response. “But I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“Yeah, me neither, but life loves to throw curveballs at me. I was in the neighborhood when I noticed the weird stuff going on with the sky, and I figured ‘hey, this is really weird! I should tell someone!’, you know?” Sonic explained, not bothering to cover himself. It wouldn’t help at all anymore. “Why are you here though?”
“My dear Espio here received a copy of my primary program due to the new obligations my dear Princess has tasked him and his peers with. As it turns out, he was the correct choice for my handler, seeing how incompetent his companions have proven themselves to be.”
“You flatter me,” Espio retorted, clearly uninterested in her compliments. “So you have a long story to tell us. Care to make it shorter?”
“Let’s see. The sky’s acting all weird, there’s some ‘New World’ that defies all logic, and an airship just arrived in Altitude Limit for some reason.” Sonic smirked. “You guys want to come along and learn more?”",
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