Sonic X: Clereen's Story

Chapter 5 - Over The Hills

After the initial shock of Clereen’s strange abilities, everyone was curious to ask her questions but Knuckles reminded them that they had much more pressing matters to worry about. After dinner, it was decided that they needed a plan of action. If the chaos emeralds where scattered around after the blast in this world then they needed to find them before Eggman does. However, there was no way of knowing where to start.

Since the news report earlier was useful, they decided that the best course of action for now was to keep checking the news for any more strange occurrences. Clereen volunteered to help watch the TV since she was used to spending lots of time just in front of a glowing box and she didn’t mind spending hours upon hours watching. Clereen took this opportunity to relax for the first time in a while. She snuck some food out of the fridge and snacked in front of the TV. After a while, Anna approached Clereen and tried to say hello but Clereen told her she was busy. Anna thought she was avoiding talking but she didn’t want to interrupt her important job.

Sonic, finding himself a little bored, decided to go on a run somewhere, despite Anna’s warnings to not be seen. Amy and Tails confirmed that there was nothing to worry about as he was so fast that it would be hard for anyone to see him. Anna wasn’t really comfortable with this answer but she trusted their judgement. Knuckles spent his time training his punches against a tree in the garden. He found it difficult to concentrate and ended up checking on Clereen quite often. Anna tried to talk to him about Clereen but he also avoided the conversation.

Just then, Clereen rushed outside. “HEY, EVERYONE!” She yelled out loud.

“Clereen, keep your voice down, please. You need to not be spotted remember?” Anna said in a nervous panic but also while trying to keep her voice quiet.

Clereen pulled her lips in and looked down with guilt before adding with a whisper. “On the news! I think they found a chaos emerald!”

Everyone turned around and came over to Clereen and Anna. “Where Clereen? Where did they find it?”

“errrrrrr” Clereen rolled her eyes up while thinking.

“I don’t remember” she said sadly

“What?! It was your responsibility to watch the TV and tell us about any chaos emeralds!” Amy scolded her.

“But I did!” Clereen yelled back in retaliation but it was clear she was also disappointed about it.

“Nevermind that! Is the news report still on?” Anna asked Clereen. Clereen nodded.

“I came as soon as I saw it” Clereen elaborated

“Then we can still find out!” Anna cried as she ran back into the sitting room with the TV.

Everyone rushed into the room along with her. It wasn’t long before they heard what they needed to hear “the strange electronic field has caused many electronic devices in the area to malfunction. Scientists suspect the origin of these disruptive electronic waves may be from the mountainous area known as Silver Valley”

“Oh I know that place!” Anna cried

“You do?” Tails said in anticipation

“My parents and I used to go there for picnics all the time” Anna started to feel a little down with the memory of those days long gone. Anna was about to open her mouth when Clereen, oblivious to her upset, interrupted her

“A picnic?!” Clereen cried with joyous surprise and a sparkle in her eyes

“I always wanted to go on a picnic!” Anna couldn’t help but smile when she saw how excited Clereen was.

“But you haven’t stopped eating since you got here. Haven’t you had enough?” Anna said chuckling a little

“Are you kidding?! I’ve only had 5 cakes, 3 packets of crisps, 10 chocolate and peanut butter sandwiches and 2 bottles of lemonade! I wouldn’t miss a picnic for the world!” Clereen tugged at Anna’s arm

“We gotta bring a picnic basket! It will be perfect! Just like the movies! Pleeeeeeeease!” Clereen begged desperately like a kid in a candy shop and tugged and tugged at Anna’s arm.

“OK OK, we can have a picnic while we are there. We might as well make a day out of it” Anna said, giving in to Clereen’s childish charm.

“yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!” Clereen cheered with glee as she jumped about the room, almost knocking a few ornaments over.

“Clereen be careful! You’re going to break something!” Knuckles yelled. Clereen stopped on the spot for a few seconds but she couldn’t contain her excitement and soon continued to bounce around.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Amy cried with frustration

“How are we supposed to even get there without being spotted? Did you think of that?!” Amy said, frustrated with the spontaneity of their decision. Clereen and Anna paused and thought.

“I know!” Clereen yelled after a couple of minutes of thinking.

“We can go on a train! I saw a train track on the TV! And-and we can pretend to be stuffed toys!” Clereen said, excited and proud that she came up with the idea

“That’s the most stupid idea I have ever-” Amy started to say but was cut off by Anna with a stern expression

“I think it is a great idea” Anna said with emphasis on the ‘I’ before turning to smile at Clereen as she bounced around the room once more.

“We are going on a picnic! We are going on a picnic!” Clereen sang with cheer. Anna couldn’t help but giggle under her breath as she watched her dance around like a cross between a hyperactive bunny and a headless chicken. Amy just crossed her arms in a strop. Cream was fast asleep having a nap so they decided to leave her behind. She had already had a tough day when she was captured and she was only young so she needed her rest.

Sonic decided to go running his way there as he did on his walk earlier. Knuckles followed suit as he claimed he was used to adventuring so it was easy for him to take a hidden route. Tails, Amy and Clereen posed as Anna’s toys on the train. It seemed like a good idea at first but when they got on the train everyone was staring.

One of the women on the train whispered “Isn’t she a little old for toys”.

Clereen took offense at this and immediately responded “no she isn’t!” Anna quickly covered her mouth and smiled nervously as the woman looked back at her. The woman looked at her with a displeased expression before turning away again. Clereen’s ears lowered and she whimpered a little under her breath.

“Sorry” she whispered to Anna.

“It’s OK” Anna whispered back. They lay there for a while until Clereen started to feel bored. She looked up at Anna, still trying not to move too much to ruin the illusion.

Then she whispered to Anna “Give me a cuddle” she said with a smile

“Clereen, you need to stay hidden” Anna said back in surprise

“If you cuddle me, I will be more like a toy” Clereen said while trying to look as serious as possible

Anna could see straight through her but she smiled and pulled her to her chest for a little hug. Clereen smiled and tried not to giggle too loud. Anna was pleasantly surprised with how soft and cuddly she was. Anna found herself genuinely enjoying herself and she proceeded to stroke her on her head. Clereen tried really hard not to giggle too loudly.

“Clereen, your leg” Anna said in earnest. Clereen looked down to realise her leg was kicking slightly.

“Sorry. I always do that when someone pets my head”

“I better stop then”

“But don’t push me away. I won’t move I promise” Clereen pleaded

“OK” Anna said gently as she pulled her a little closer to her chest.

“now shhh” Anna reminded her. Clereen quickly got back to business of keeping still but before long she nodded off to sleep in Anna’s arms. Luckily she didn’t snore so she just lay there quietly. Anna smiled at her peaceful sleep. Anna couldn’t help but find her adorable. Anna was curious about her stomach so she gently put her hand on her little plump belly as not to wake her. She felt her tummy gurgling contently inside. She was a little surprised with how easily she could feel her stomachs every movement, as if there was a creature inside of her tumbling around or like the inside of a washing machine swishing about its clothes to wash.

Anna looked over to Amy. Amy hadn’t budged an inch the whole time. It seemed she took this very seriously as she didn’t respond at all with Anna staring. Anna looked over to Tails. Tails had also been trying to stay as still as possible but she looked at Anna and then looked back when she looked at her. Then Tails eyes pointed to the window. Anna followed her eyes to see of the window nearby. She looked out to the grassy fields and hills and realised where they were. Anna shuffled Clereen gently in her arms to wake her up. Clereen opened her eyes slowly and looked up to Anna. Anna put her fingers to her lips to remind Clereen to be quiet. Clereen smiled.

Once they got there, Anna picked up Amy, Tails and Clereen and wandered out the train onto the train station. There wasn’t anyone else leaving at this stop and Anna couldn’t see anyone for miles. Once the train had got a fair distance away and Anna had walked a little into the wilderness, she spoke to them all.

“The coast is clear. You can stand now”

“Oh thank you!” Amy cried while immediately getting up and stretching her legs and arms.

“I think if I stayed like that a moment longer, I would have gone mad!” Amy said with great relief

Tails got up straight away without a word. Clereen was slower to get up and was still a little dopey.

“Clereen. Time to get up now” Anna said in a more playful and soft tone than she had expected. Clereen blinked several times and shook her head to try and wake herself up. Anna set her down on her own legs and she was a little wobbly at first before standing normally.

“Well that wasn’t as painful as I expected” Tails remarked.

“You have got to be joking. Clereen asked for a cuddle while on the train AND she fell asleep!” Amy complained.

Anna turned to Clereen “Are you going to be OK? Don’t fall asleep again”

Clereen just yawned “I’ll be OK in a few minutes” Clereen said tiredly.

Just then, Sonic and Knuckles arrived.

“Alright, time to find that emerald” Tails said.

“Sonic, Knuckles are you ready?” Tails asked while looking over to the pair.

“Ready when you are” Knuckles said with confidence

“Can’t we just sit down first?” Sonic begged

“No Sonic. Don’t be so lazy. It’s about time you got some exercise” Tails scolded

“You two are the best at exploring. You split up and try to find where the electric signals are coming from. I will use my device to try and locate the chaos emerald while you are gone. We can’t waste any time with Eggman around” Knuckles and Sonic agreed and rushed off in their own directions.

“How long is it going to take?” Anna asked Tails

“There isn’t a great signal with all these hills and dips in the landscape so it may take a while. I put a tracker on Knuckles and Sonic so when they go they can search for it. I didn’t tell them as Knuckles thinks his way is always best and both of them just don’t like the idea of devices being attached to them. I can track where they are with my monitor here” Tails explained. It was true, there was a green monitor and you could see red and blue dots moving around.

“Cool” Anna said, rather impressed. Clereen wasn’t bothered and was already deep into the picnic basket while no-one was looking.

“Clereen!” Amy scowled at Clereen. Clereen, with her mouth full of strawberry jam sandwiches and jam dripping down her chin, just turned and stared back gormlessly.

“Leave some for us, Clereen” Anna said while chuckling a little

“There is still plenty of stuff left. Look!” Clereen pulled out a ham sandwich and gave it to Anna.

“Thank you” Anna said. Clereen tried to hand Amy a sandwich but frowned when Amy snatched it out of her hand and glared back at her.

Everyone was too distracted by the picnic to notice Tails struggling with the device. Tails noticed something was wrong. “These signals seem to match the wavelength of the chaos emeralds but...the refracted waves should be much stronger than this” But before Tails could fully understand what this meant, a large figure appeared behind her. Suddenly, Clereen looked up and saw the big figure. Clereen tried to cry out to Tails but her mouth was full and she almost choked on peanut butter.

The figure soon scooped up the creatures and trapped them within the glass casing centre of its body. As everyone tried to get to grips with what was going on, a laugh could be heard from nearby.

“HOOO ho ho ho!” Tails recognised that voice straight away

“Eggman!” She cried angrily.

“Glad to see you have met my robot. The capture 6000!” Eggman announced proudly while appearing from behind, sat in his little flying machine.

“Wow, that’s creative” Clereen said sarcastically

“Shut up! Hey, I’ve never seen you before” Eggman paused for a while to examine Clereen as she nervously followed his every move.

“Hmm. No matter!”

“You can’t keep us here Eggman! I’ll get us out!” Amy got her hammer and tried to smash the glass but it wouldn’t budge.

“HAHA! It’s not going to break that easily! Besides, I need you to be my hostages for when I find Sonic”

“But how did you know where we were?” Tails said, frustrated and desperate for answers. Eggman laughed once more before continuing.

“You fools still haven’t realised yet? The chaos emerald isn’t here! I used my robots to create an electronic field similar to that of the chaos emeralds. It was the perfect trap! And now I will finally get my hands on Sonic!” Eggman bellowed in proud laughter once again.

“Of course! That’s why the chaos emeralds reflected waves were weaker. The fake energy field has the same wavelength but not the same strength over distance and through objects!” Tails explained as she realised her mistake.

“So much for your stupid devices” Amy said in irritation

“Hey! Leave him alone! It wasn’t his fault!” Clereen cried in his defence

“Oh. Like you did any better! You were looking straight at the robot and you didn’t do anything!” Amy scowled while aggressively poking at her with her finger. Clereen cowered before her anger but then yelled

“I tried to warn her!” Clereen shouted while trying not to look scared.

“And you couldn’t because your gob was stuffed with food!” Clereen stood with her head down in shame and her eyes started to water.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a fucking pig, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Amy yelled as Clereen stood trying to hold it in but Clereen’s tears started to pour down her face.

“Amy! Leave her alone!” Anna yelled in her defence while stepping forward and putting her hand on her shoulder from behind.

“We don’t have time for this! We need to get out before Sonic’s in trouble!” Tails yelled. Then Tails walked over to the machinery in the middle of the robot.

“I can disable the robot. Just give me some time” Tails said while unscrewing a metal plate to the inner wire work. Anna tried to hold Clereen close for a comforting hug but Anna was surprised when Clereen pushed her away. Clereen was still crying but she also looked frustrated. Anna understood and stepped back.

“I thought you just said we didn’t have time!” Amy argued with Tails. Just then Clereen pushed Amy and Tails out of the way.

“I know what to do” She said with a seriousness and determination that seemed out of character for her.

“What the hell are YOU going to do?” Amy yelled but Clereen ignored her.

“Clereen, what are doing?” Tails exclaimed

“Clereen, please let Tails disable the robot” Anna tried to reason with her, worried for her safety

Clereen stood with her legs splayed and with one hand holding the wrist of her other hand. “Stand back” she said

“What? Is your hand going to explode?” Amy mocked Clereen while chuckling at the prospect of such a stupid thing.

Then the palm of Clereen’s palm started to glow a bright yellow and little waves of energy blew their hair and ears as the light grew larger. Then her palm exploded in a wave of energy and a powerful beam of yellow burst through the centre of the robot. When the light faded, everyone looked to see a massive hole the size of a beach ball burnt straight through not only the robot but the grass and soil of the hill underneath as well. The hole went so far it was impossible to tell how far into the earth it went just by sight alone.

Clereen was pouring with sweat and breathing heavily as she stared at the destruction she caused. “Clereen, are you OK?” Anna asked with concern. Clereen turned and smiled before her eyes rolled up and she collapsed.

“Clereen?!” Anna cried in shock.

But before anyone could react, the robot started to tip over to one side and fall apart. Just then, sonic appeared just in time to catch them and get them to safety in a flash of blue.

“Is everyone OK?” Sonic asked as he put Tails down on the grass.

“Clereen?!” Knuckles noticed Clereen collapsed in Anna’s arms. Tails examined her

“It looks like she just fainted” Tails explained. Knuckles gave a sigh of relief before then turning towards Anna, Tails and Amy

“What the fuck did you guys do?!” Knuckles yelled in anger

“Don’t fucking shout at us!” Amy yelled in retaliation

“HOOO ho ho ho!” Eggman appeared in his spherical floating contraption.

“So there you are Sonic. As you can see I have...HUH?!” Eggman’s jaw dropped as he saw the destruction of his robot.

“Alright better go with plan C” Eggman said quickly in embarrassment.

“Don’t revel in victory just yet! You haven’t seen the last of me, Sonic! Mark my words!” Then Eggman quickly vanished much faster than you would expect such a little contraption to fly.

The gang didn’t want to waste any time in going back home. Anna was easily able to call upon a helicopter to take them home and offered to do so but Tails then suddenly noticed a beeping from one of her devices. Tails gasped in surprise.

“My Tornado!” Tails quickly flew away, speedily spinning her famous two tails.

“Tails, where are you going?” Anna enquired as the group chased her around the corner. But when they got round the corner of that hill, they lost sight of her

“We need to get home and take Clereen to bed!” Knuckles yelled. Then suddenly, they all stepped back as a wind blew them back a little. Out of the sky, dived a quaint blue and yellow plane. The plane did a somersault before then landing in front of them.

“It will be a lot faster with the Tornado” said Tails proudly.

“Come on. Everyone get in!” Tails said as he put his flying goggles back on. Everyone climbed into the plane. Anna kept hold of Clereen’s unconscious body and carefully put her in the back with her and Knuckles. It wasn’t long before they got back and were able to put Clereen to bed. What a long day it had been.