What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (fanfiction)

'''So... I just decided to post this fanfiction here. I wanted people to be able to comment on it, but since I've only posted this on FanFiction.net people who don't have accounts there can't comment. So I'm not trying to make this an uber serious story, just a comedy with some mystery and a few dark moments every now and then. By the way, I apologize in advance if I make your favorite character seem OOC, but this is because I'm not used to putting canons into my stories. (Also, I would like a cover for this story, but I'm too lazy to draw one right now.)'''

Chapter 1: Opportunity
I walked down the sidewalk around the City Hall area of Station Square. I'm pretty sure this part of the city has an actual name, but I've never found any official signs, so everyone around here just calls it the City Hall area. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do here, so might as well introduce myself.

My name is River, kind of an uncommon name, but at least it isn't super long, obscure, and just plain ridiculous like "Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way". If I had that name, I would change it as soon as I could. Anyways, off the subject of names, I should tell you what I look like. I am 14 years old, stand at 3 feet and 6 inches tall, and I weigh 70 pounds. Why am I extremely short? For starters I'm not a human. I'm a Mobian, an animal with a human-ish figure. I've never liked the word "Mobian", the sound of it has always bothered me, and so I prefer to say "Anthro", short for Anthropomorphic.

Alright, before I get on with this, I really have no idea what subspecies I am. I mean, I'm definitely not a crocodile or any large animal because if I was, I would be at least over 4 feet tall. From what I can tell, I am some species that uses spikes for defense. I'm not a Hedgehog because my quills are too long and thin for the species requirements, I don't have little ears on the top of my head, and I don't even have a tail. I'm not a Porcupine either, since they are very similar to Hedgehogs. But since I've never known what I really am, I've always just said that I'm a Hedgehog hybrid.

Anyways, I have seven long quills, the ones in the front being the longest and the ones in the back being the shortest. My fur is Cyan, which can be annoyingly bright depending on how strong the lighting is. My eyes are round-shaped and the irises are a reddish brown. My shirt… err- dress… I'm not really sure what it is, it must be a hybrid of a shirt and dress, so I'll just call it a "Shress". As I was saying, my shress is white, sleeveless, and has a dark red hood. On it is a red cross design, which isn't really meant to be for the actual Red Cross. I just chose it because it looked cool, but now that I look at it, the design reminds me a bit of the Templar symbol. Now my pants are a very dark gray, almost black, and hang a bit over my shoes. The main color of my shoes is a dark gray, with the secondary color being light gray. Finally, I wear plain white gloves. I'm not sure why, it's not a crime to not wear gloves, but I feel like I always have to wear it.

I can't believe I just made 2 huge paragraphs explaining only my appearance. I really hope that whole explanation didn't ruin the story for you. But now that I've introduced myself, now what do I do?

I continued walking down the street, awkwardly averting my gaze from other pedestrians. Hopefully something interesting would happen to me, or I could find it myself while making my way down here. Just as I was about to turn a corner, I felt someone grab me from behind. Immediately, I freaked out and tripped on my own feet, causing whoever grabbed me to fall over as well.

"Oh, sorry Sonic, I didn't mean to scare you like that!" said the voice behind me. It was a girl's voice, and I could tell that she was definitely younger than me, but only by two years or so. She quickly let go of me and stood up, lending out her hand to pull me back up. As I turned around and she saw my face, hers went red in complete embarrassment. She was an Anthro as well, a Hedgehog with baker-miller pink fur, and a red and white outfit that somewhat reminded me of 60's style clothes. As soon as I got back to my feet, she apologized,

"I-I'm really sorry, I mistook you for my boyfriend. You wouldn't have happened to see a blue hedgehog run by, did you?" I shook my head,

"No, not at all…" I saw her mutter to herself, but I could still hear what she was saying,

"I can't believe I mistook a third person for him… Shadow, Silver, and now a girl… maybe I should see an Optometrist…" Then she spoke to me once more, "Again, sorry about that. I'll be off finding him now,"

She began to walk the other way, and I just stared for a moment. I had a feeling that I should help her, but I wasn't sure if I should actually do it. That was when I realized my opportunity was starting to leave. I wanted something to happen and something did, and now I have the option to interact with it. I got what I asked for, and I wasn't going to turn this away…

"Hey, wait!" I shouted to her, since she was now a distance away. I ran back over to her, "Maybe I can help you find him, I don't have anything better to do."

"Oh? You really don't have to, I mean-"

"I just want to help you; four eyes can see more than two."

She smiled and nodded,

"Alright, I'll let you help out. Just remember, he's blue, has green eyes, and red shoes with white straps on them. Other than that, my name's Amy, Amy Rose."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Part of me wondered if that last part was just a nickname or her actual surname. Either way, it sounded ridiculously cute,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Cool, my name's River," I said. And that is how I started the most fun, strangest, yet pretty frustrating journey of my life. All I had to do was offer some assistance.

Chapter 2: Here We Go Again
<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"So where did you last see him?" I asked Amy

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"I saw him over at the Train Station, but then he ran off before I could speak to him." She answered, "He might be back over there, but I haven't checked yet. Luckily it's not very far from here."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">We began to walk out of the City Hall area, and towards the Train Station. We exchanged short conversations as we went along, which made me feel a little less shy about being around her. Maybe we might see each other again after this, but I'm not going to count on it. If I meet a stranger, then I normally never see them again; that might be the same case with this girl.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">It was a little past noon, and the sunlight was glistening on the ocean. I always thought it was a good idea to put the Train Station here, since the first thing newcomers see when they walk out is the shore. It gives the city a good first impression on the tourists. The two of us opened the doors to the station, hoping to find Sonic, but he wasn't found among the small crowds of people. Amy turned back towards the door, and I followed her,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Do you think that he might have just taken the train somewhere else?" I asked.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"If you're right, then he should be in the Green Hill zone or the Mystic Ruins. But we still haven't checked every part of this city,"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Right…" I looked to my left, slightly nervous. She did know how big this place is, right? I've lived here for 9 years, and even I still get lost from time to time. If we check every crack and corner, then that would take up the rest of the entire day! Maybe offering my help wasn't that good of an idea…

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Amy led me in the direction of the hotel, mentioning something about Emerald Coast. While she talked, I was a bit distracted by the water in front of the station. I wasn't sure if it was just high tide or not, but the water level seemed a lot higher than it did before. It was covering all of the sand, and I could literally jump in it right here from the sidewalk if I wanted to. So it just looked like a bunch of water being held back by a concrete walkway.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Just as we were about to enter the building, someone who was just running out crashed into us, causing all three of us to fall over. This is the second time I've been knocked over today, and not even a full hour has passed since the first one. We all stood up, and were about to take a brief moment to apologize to each other, until something with Amy's expression gave me the idea that she knew the guy who ran into us.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">He was only about an inch taller than me, but I could definitely tell that he was a bit older. He was an Anthro with poppy red fur, and like me, he had seven long quills. I wasn't sure what his subspecies was, but it definitely wasn't a Hedgehog. He had purple eyes, a crescent mark on his chest, and some strange spiked gloves that resembled boxing gloves.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Knuckles!? What are you doing here?" The younger Hedgehog asked. So that was his name, or probably a nickname. Pretty fitting for his weird spike-mittens, but I thought the name still sounded a bit ridiculous.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Yeah, about that…" he averted his gaze, "the Master Emerald kind of… broke… again…"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Again!?" Amy exclaimed

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Hey, hey, I'm not the one who broke it this time! Some freaky monster came out of nowhere and shattered it. That guy has some nerve to just-" he interrupted himself. He noticed me, and we just stared at each other for a few seconds,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Uh, who're you?" he asked

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"My name's River, I'm just helping this girl out with finding some guy named Sonic." I answered

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Alright, I saw him running around in Green Hill zone recently. I'll be going now," He ran past the two of us, and shouted back as he ran, "If you find any small green gems, come to me!"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">We both went back inside of the Train Station after that, waiting for the train that would take us over to Green Hill. While waiting, we spoke to each other some more,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"So what's a Master Emerald?" I asked

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Oh, the Emerald is this thing that Knuckles protects. It's really, REALLY powerful, and it's what keeps Angel Island floating,"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"If it's so powerful, then why does it keep breaking?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"You know, I've asked that question to myself a lot. Never got an answer, but it breaks or gets stolen pretty often. Luckily it's always put back together in the end."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Huh…" I said in response, "I'm starting to wonder about that 'monster' he was talking about. Do you think it'll just destroy it again when it's rebuilt?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Before we could continue our questions and answers any longer, a female announcer's voice sounded over the intercom,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"The train headed to Green Hill zone is arriving now." We saw our mode of transportation roll in, slowing down to a halt as it reached the drop off. As the metal doors slid open, several people walked inside and filled up the train. We soon departed the station.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">I rarely ever get to go to Green Hill; I don't remember much of my last visit there. I'm almost always stuck inside the city. I don't mind being in Station Square, but I would like it if I was allowed to go to other places more often. I've never been to Mystic Ruins or Blue Ridge zone, and since they're pretty nearby I want to visit them. After a while, we finally heard the announcer once more,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"We are now arriving in Green Hill zone."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">The doors slid open again and we made it outside. There were huge green fields of grass, with the wind gently blowing them, creating a wave-like effect. The sky was bright blue and nearly cloudless, and there were rock formations that were shaped like the loops on a roller coaster. To say the least, it was more beautiful than I anticipated, but it still wasn't the best thing I have seen in my life. Amy ran ahead of me,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Come on! I think I know where he is!" I followed after her. I assumed that she's been here a lot more often than I have, so she knows where to go. We were still running when we had made it a good distance away, but I suddenly halted when I heard a voice. The pink Hedgehog kept running without me. I turned around, and saw the same red Anthro from earlier today. He quickly caught up to me, and he stared with a mix of confusion and concern,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"You…"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Me…?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Yes, you… River,"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"What's wrong this time?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"I-I didn't notice it until now, your colors were throwing me off,"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Well what is it?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"You're… You're an Echidna!" he said. I gave him a confused look,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Excuse me? Did you just call me an Enchilada?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Not an Enchilada! An Echidna! Our subspecies!"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Uh… Knuckles, I'm a Hedgehog hybrid…"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Are you actually sure about that?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Well, not exactly, but I needed to have some sort of subspecies,"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"You ARE an Echidna, I know one when I see one."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Okay, okay Spike-Mittens, calm down. I'll just stick with whatever you're saying. Now why are you making such a big deal about my race?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"I thought I was the only surviving member... that is, until you came out of nowhere…"

Chapter 3: Running Joke
<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Wait; let me get this straight, we're the only two members of a race on the brink of extinction? And they're called Enchiladas?" I looked at him confused. The fact that it sounded ridiculous and he acted so serious about it made me want to laugh a bit.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Echidnas," he corrected me, "I would have recognized it earlier in front of the hotel, but your weird colors were throwing me off." I crossed my arms,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"What's so weird about my colors?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"You're blue-"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Cyan," I corrected

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Doesn't matter! It's just that there's never been a blue Echidna; I thought they were all orange and red. But you… somehow… I don't know…" I took a small step back. This guy was a little… weird. He just shows up, starts spouting this subspecies stuff, and expects me to believe it. It took me a moment to think about it, until I realized what should have been obvious. It's just a joke, it has to be.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Well, uh, nice talking to you I guess…" I turned around and began to walk in the direction Amy was running in moments ago. Then Knuckles ran past me and stopped me in my path,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Hey, I'm being serious here! Don't just walk off after I told you all of that!"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Sorry dude, but I barely know you. I won't trust half the things you say. For all I know you're just trying to joke around. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go back to helping that girl find her boyfriend." Then I began to walk off again.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Ten seconds. I didn't even take three steps forward in that time. Only in ten seconds, I found myself being smacked in the face by a blue spike-ball going at the speed of a bullet. Okay, maybe not a bullet, since that would kill me, but it was still fast enough to knock me down. I didn't get up, but I just lifted my head in a daze, trying to find the thing that hit me. All I could see was Knuckles shouting at someone a short distance away,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Sonic! You can't just Spindash into people who aren't robots!"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Wait, "Sonic"? Wasn't that the name of Amy's boyfriend?

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that. I was just rolling around and I think I might have gone a little too fast." He laughed slightly, and then shouted over to me, "Hey, you're alive, right?" I nodded,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Just fine…" I sighed, and once my headache stopped, I saw him holding out his hand to pull me back up. Well at least he has manners. But he perfectly matched the description that Amy gave me when we were searching for him back in the city. Blue, Hedgehog, and red shoes with white straps, "Thanks," I said as I got back to my feet.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"No problem," He smiled, "I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. How about your name?"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"It's River, the- um…" I looked over at Knuckles a few feet away and laughed a little bit, "River the Enchilada." I saw him smack his forehead with his palm,

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"For the last time, it's Echidna! Get it right!" Seeing his frustration was actually kind of amusing in some way. It wasn't the extremely hilarious 'I'm dying of laughter' kind of funny, but it was a more subtle and a little cute amusement.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Is there an inside joke I'm not getting?" the blue Hedgehog asked

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Sort of," I said, "Sharkface over here-"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Sharkface!?" Knuckles interrupted

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"What? Your muzzle vaguely reminds me of a shark," I returned to the conversation, "As I was saying, he keeps calling me an Echidna for some reason."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Finally, you said it right!" the red Anthro interrupted once more

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"If you interrupt me one more time…" I glared at Knuckles, "Anyways, your girlfriend is looking for you." Sonic seemed to look a little worried, and took a brief look behind him, "But she ran off…" at those last words he seemed somewhat relieved.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Amy isn't my girlfriend, by the way. She just proclaimed herself to be."

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">Well, nice to know that this whole trip was pretty pointless. At least I got out of the city today, but that's about the most productivity I've done. The whole rest of the day has just been meeting a few weird people and being knocked over by all three of them. I would say 'it couldn't get any worse than this,' but I know from books and TV that whenever someone says it, the situation immediately becomes worse. So I'm not going to say it, not at all.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"Okay then, I guess I should be going home before my parents get back from work." I turned and started walking back in the direction of the train station, until Knuckles interrupted me AGAIN.

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">"There are more Echidnas!?" he exclaimed. Before I could say anything else, he grabbed my hand and started running to the station, "I knew I couldn't be the only one!"

<p style="max-height:999999px;font-family:OpenSans,Verdana,LucidaGrande,LucidaSansUnicode,Arial,sans-serif;">I'm really starting to regret helping that girl…

Chapter 4: Fermata
Before I knew it, we were back in Station Square. It felt like barely any time had passed, but I really needed to clear something up with Octopus head over here. Yes, I just called him an Octopus head, mostly because his quills remind me of Octopus tentacles. Trust me, there's going to be a lot of nicknames for this guy. But anyways, the both of us walked out of the Station, and I tried to talk to him, but he kept interrupting me…

"This has never happened before! How many are there?"

"Uh… Spike mittens…"

"-I don't know how we haven't met until now! I seriously thought I was the only one!"

"Knux…"

"-But why are you blue? Eh, doesn't matter-"

"KNUCKLES!"

He finally stopped, and I looked around to find us in the Casino area of the city. Like the City Hall area, this place doesn't have an official name, or an official name that we know of. So we just call it by its most defining feature and add the word "area" at the end. So as you can tell by the name, this place has a Casino, which looks a lot prettier at night. Wait, what was I going to say? Oh yeah…

"Knuckles, there's something that I need to clear up with you, I should say it before you get disappointed,"

"What is it?"

"My only family members aren't Echidnas, they're all humans."

He just stared at me with wide eyes and silence. I was afraid I shocked him a bit too much; hopefully I didn't crush his soul. I decided to further explain,

"I don't know my biological family; I've been in a human foster home since I was little…"

He turned his gaze towards the ground. Yeah… I think I just crushed his hopes.

"Oh…" that was the only thing he said. I screwed it up, but it was best that he was told sooner than later. That's something I didn't mention before, my back story. I don't want to go into a lengthy explanation of it; it's not that much to remember anyway. Other than being a foster kid, my life was pretty average. There's not much to say there.

"Hey… uh, sorry… I wanted to tell you earlier, but-"

"-It's fine…" he said. I sighed,

"I was actually going to say that you kept interrupting me, like you did just now." I thought for a moment, "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know, maybe-" he paused, and began to closely observe the area. Something had caught his attention, but I didn't know what it was, "Wait a second, something feels off."

A sudden high-pitched and screeching noise sounded. It wasn't the kind of screech that made your ears bleed; it had a strange echo-like effect to it, making the sound somewhat quieter than it would have been. Whatever made the sound must have been quite a distance away, but it caused everyone walking by to stop in their tracks.

"I know that sound," Knuckles said to himself, "Stay here, I'll be back in a bit!" and he started to run off in the direction of the train station. Before he could even get 10 feet away, the thing that made the shrieking sound crashed down right in front of him. He almost tripped, but the red Echidna was able to balance himself. I jumped back as instinct, and gazed at the thing.

It was a humanoid figure, but the proportions of its head and other body parts matched the Anthro anatomy. It seemed to resemble a male, but I wasn't completely sure. He was shorter than an average human, but definitely taller than both me and Knuckles. He was a strange color, like a dark red mixed with purple. His eyes were large and Emerald green. He had a crooked and warped tail, and he appeared to have short and thin quills that drooped down like hair. Finally, on his forehead, was a white mark shaped like a Fermata.

"What is that thing!?" I shouted in panic. Everyone else in the area was freaking out as much as I was, some already bolted to somewhere else. The monster, as I assumed it to be, made eye contact with me,

My name… he said, is Chaos Negative…

Chaos Negative turned his gaze back to Knuckles, who had his fists up and legs in a stance showing he was completely prepared for a brawl,

"It's the freak that destroyed the Master Emerald! River, run!" he shouted back to me. I did what I was told and began to sprint in the opposite direction and tried to find a close but safe hiding place.

Give me the shards! The monster shouted at Knuckles. The red Echidna said nothing in response, and threw a first strong punch at him. He just barely dodged it, and smacked the other on the back of the head. Knuckles was temporarily dazed, and tried to regain his senses as fast as he could. He began to throw multiple rapid punches as Chaos Negative, most of them hit. In retaliation, the monster backhanded the teenager, causing him to be knocked down to the ground.

I looked back and saw this, and I was paralyzed in my steps. I didn't know what to do. The monster slowly approached Knuckles, and my heart began to beat faster. What urged me to do it, I don't know. Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was fear, or maybe it could have been something else. I shouted to the monster at the top of my lungs,

"STOP HURTING HIM!" I sprinted back to the two of them. I felt something happen; I've never felt it before. It wasn't an emotion, it was a physical feeling. It was impossible to describe.

I swiped my arm at Chaos Negative, originally meant to be a gesture meaning "back off", but that isn't what happened. It was like a blade, blue like the ocean, had slashed at him. The monster jumped back in surprise, and the "blade" fell and splashed on the ground as if it was made of water.

You… he growled …I won't hurt you… and in a flash, he jumped over the buildings and disappeared from sight. Knuckles saw the whole thing. He was still rubbing his head and got back up on his own.

"I didn't need your help; I would have been fine on my own." He crossed his arms, "But… what in the world was that!?" I shrugged in response,

"I don't know," I looked down at the ground where the "blade" was dropped. It was soaked, "Was it… water?" He looked at it too.

"And did you hear what Chaos Negative said?"

"Who?" he asked

"The guy I just scared off! He said that he wouldn't hurt me for some reason."

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles asked, "He only growled and screeched, I doubt he even knows how to speak."