The Elsie Chronicles (Chapter 1: A New Beginning)

Act 10: Two Girls and A Robot

[This particular Act was originally deleted but is now reworked.]

[✧] As the morning sun bathed the room in golden light, Elsie awoke to the distant sound of the local church's morning mass. She prepared for the day, but her routine was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. To her surprise, she found 2 mysterious scrolls that promised to unlock the secrets of harnessing the powerful Chaos Emeralds. Intrigued, she set them aside for later and continued her morning rituals. However, her solitude was soon interrupted by another unexpected knock. This time, an unexpected visitor - a sweet nun- met her.

[✧] It was a surprising and intriguing start to her day. "Hello there, young lady," greeted the nun with a warm smile. "Have a moment to chat about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?" Elsie paused for a moment, then politely declined. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I'll have to pass for now." "No worries at all! I hope I'm not intruding on anything," The nun responded before Elsie reassured her. "Not at all! You're not a bother in the least." After a pleasant conversation, it was time for the nun to take her leave.

[✧] She said goodbye to Elsie before continuing her tasks. After a while, she picked up the scroll and carefully examined its contents. To her surprise, the scroll was from a magical sorcerer and it detailed how she had been chosen as his potential student, with Knuckles as a backup teacher. The only issue was that she had a developmental disability and couldn't engage in physical activities. After some thought, she boldly decided to participate in the sorcerer's lessons.

[✧] Elsie hastily gathered her gear - extra clothes, water, food, and more - and readied herself to embark on her journey to meet this sorcerer. Meanwhile, Celeste decided to visit her and catch up. "Hey, Liz, how's everything going?" She inquired. "You won't believe the wild ride I've been on," Elsie exclaimed, launching into the tale of her adventures since their last conversation. "Oh my goodness!" Celeste exclaimed, "That must be an incredible story." Elsie didn't even dare to bargain since it was true.

[✧] "Absolutely. And on top of all that, I received a scroll that revealed my acceptance into a new training program," Elsie revealed. The girls continued chatting along their way into the Master Emerald Shrine. Once inside, the new pendant transformed her into a Mobian once again, this time morphing into a stylish brooch. As she looked in the hand mirror, she was amazed to see herself with snowy white fur and wearing a chic ensemble - a light blue long-sleeved sweater over a sleek black undershirt, paired with blue pants and vibrant red sneakers. 

[✧] It was a startling transformation, but she knew she had to adapt to this new world. Feeling the emptiness around her, she moved to sit beside the Master Emerald, letting its energies intertwine with her own. Suddenly, she started to hear whispers, not Celeste's, but someone or something else. Was it a presence? And then, she saw it - it was none other than Blitz's love interest. Reacting on instinct, Elsie reached for her safety weapon and demanded, "Reveal yourself! Step into the light!"

[✧] The figure cautiously revealed herself to be "Eliza" as she stepped into the light, hesitantly saying, "I-I don't want to choose conflict... Em... You must be Blitz's friend, 'Elsie,' right?" "I guess so, yeah; I take it that he's told you about me?" inquired Elsie, lowering her weapon. Eliza nodded, "Mhm! I'm 'Eliza,' by the way. I hope I'm not too much of a burden to you." Elsie shook her head, chuckling a bit as she said, "Well, Eliza, it's nice to meet you; sorry for the threat, though, I get defensive at times. You may never know when a robot's going to abduct you."

[✧] And so, Eliza and Elsie became quick to bond, sharing basic information about themselves. Eliza was fascinated to learn that Elsie has Autism Spectrum Disorder, which she described as "a superpower with its own set of challenges." Meanwhile, Elsie was intrigued to discover that Eliza and Blitz had a romantic history with each other. Despite this, she envisioned a romantic connection between them and saw the upcoming masquerade party as the perfect opportunity to play matchmaker; however, she kept that thought to herself, not wanting to spoil the fun.

[✧] The girls were buzzing with excitement as they chatted about the upcoming masquerade party. Elsie knew that if she was going to attend a Mobian-only masquerade, she needed a new nickname. That's when Eliza came up with the perfect alias - "Seraphina." The name had a cosmic flair that suited Elsie perfectly. As she tried it out, she couldn't help but exclaim, "I like it a lot!" She decided to pair it with the first name "Ebony" and the last name "Bridges," creating the full name "Ebony Seraphina Bridges." 

[✧] Eliza gave her enthusiastic approval, and the girls knew they had found the perfect alias for the party. Elsie eagerly awaited the sorcerer's arrival, knowing that her training was about to begin. "Hmm... Where is my trainer, anyway? They said they'd be--" She wondered aloud, feeling a sense of unease, but was cut off by the sound of loud, metallic, clanking footsteps approaching. Instinctively, she held Eliza close and conjured a protective forcefield around them, fully aware that Eggman was relentless in his pursuit to uncover her secrets.

[✧] "Who goes there, creeping and crackling in the shadows? Show yourself!" Elsie's voice echoed through the still tension, but there was no response. A sense of unease crept over her as the mysterious sounds drew nearer. Instinct told her to flee, but it was too late – the robot had locked onto her, its mechanical gaze fixated on her with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. Little did she know, the robot's interest in her was not mere chance. Unbeknownst to the robot, a secret lay within Elsie's very being – a gemstone pulsating with energies akin to the legendary Chaos Emeralds. Could this revelation spell danger for her newfound friend, Eliza, and herself? From what Eliza knew about her, that was more than likely the case.

[To be continued...]