The Chameleon Chronicles

Chapter 1 - Party Crashing Karma

Krona was a chameleon. A red one at that. Being anthropomorphic, he stood on only two legs. He wore only dark blue gloves and pale blue sport shoes. His long tail curled up behind him and his horn more orange than pasty grey.
A discerning feature that made him, and indeed all his family, stand out, was the darker coloured shape on the top of head. Shaped like a curved triangle, it opened out more nearer the top.
The place where Krona's family lived was a small forest. The community was free and fun loving, and a local school was also located in the forest. In the distance, a city could be seen.
Krona looked out at this city, wondering what amusements there would be in a place like that. He had never been, had seen no reason to leave this place, fearing he might get lost. He wouldn't have minded getting lost, but his parents said there was no chance he'd be going to the city. Not if he didn't behave.
See, Krona had an adventurous streak about him. He wanted to go on adventures. Explore more than just this small forest. To see the world. That wasn't likely to happen though. The furthest he had got to exploring was the Chao Garden at the furthest edge of the forest, and that was only on the occasional holiday. To combat the lack of adventures he could have, Krona set about making trouble for fun. So far he had trashed a market just to see how quick he could set it all back up, though it had only been a small community market of three stalls. Also, he had moved a lot of wood from a community collection, where the wood would be sent to a recycling centre for money, to his own home's backyard. His own parents had given him a going over for that one, but not as much as the community mayor had.
Not that he would ever get himself into so much trouble to be expelled from the community. He had his brother to thank for that.
As Krona sat on a log, overlooking the distant city, planning his latest scheme of fun, a shout emerged from the trees.
"Krona! Come on! Lunch time!"

"Come on, Krona! Where are you?"
Zoin had been hunting for his brother for a while now, and it was only in this forest that Krona was allowed to go. The community of the forest was starting to turn its back on Krona for all of the mischief he made. Zoin was in the community's good book though, as he often stopped Krona before things got out of hand.
Zoin, like Krona, was a chameleon, but had light blue skin instead of red. He was also the one who looked out most for the family, especially his sister. While Krona was off causing trouble, Zoin was making sure the family had enough supplies to live on. His mum worked within in the community, and his dad worked in a far off city, and only came back on weekends. It just so happened that it was the beginning of the weekend, and so his dad was back. But Krona was still missing for lunch, and so he had set out to find him.
"Krona! Come on, dad's back."
Walking betwen two trees brought him out at an outcropping overlooking the city in which his dad worked. Looking to the left, he saw Krona sat on a log looking out at the city. Zoin knew he wanted to visit that city, but neither of them had been allowed so much as a visit there.
Zoin knew his parents were waiting for Krona to stop causing trouble before either of them were allowed a visit. The way Krona was going though, that might be never.
Zoin walked up behind his brother, looking out at the city as well. He then asked "What are you doing out here? Not thinking of more trouble-making schemes, are you?"
"No," Krona immediately replied, though his tone didn't sit right with Zoin at all.
"Well are you going to be staring at the city all day, or are you going to return home. Lunch is ready."
"Alright! Alright! I'm coming."
Krona stood up and turned into the forest. He took one look at the city again before walking into the trees. Zoin followed him.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother, it was that he was unpredictable until he had a plan for mischief. Then you could see what he was planning easily in the way he acted. Zoin could guess on what Krona's intentions were, but until tonight, there would be no way of knowing.

The trees gave way to numerous huts. These weren't small octagonal ones though. They were various shapes, made of wood, and had numerous rooms to them. The huts, though more like houses, were dotted around the clearing. Bushes were also dotted around here and there, and over the other side of the clearing was a large amount of bushes surrounding what was the meeting area. This was held for parties and other such occasions, and gaps in the bushes allowed entrance into it.
The clearing was actually the village square, and the town hall was located within the number of houses around. These houses were for those who worked within the administration of the town, and further houses were located within the trees around the square.
Krona followed Zoin, who was keeping a very tight eye on him, through the square and out into the numerous other houses around. The houses here were built around the trees of the forest, though still made of wood.
The two entered one particular house, and were greeted by three other chameleons. The solid black chameleon was their dad. The snow white chameleon was their mom. And the yellow chameleon was their younger sister, Oreah. All three were sat at a table. And on the table were trays with various food on them. The town grew its own food, and so everyone was able to get basic food packs for free. Anything more complex or rare had to be paid for.
Krona and Zoin sat down at the table, and the family started eating.
"So, how's your work been dad?" Zoin asked.
"Oh, it's been much the same as usual," his dad replied. "The city works in a chaos of lights, all electricals and other things. I'm getting used to all the computers, though I can't see why they'd want a chameleon working with them."
"It's getting us enough money though," their mom replied.
"And how's community work, dear?"
"Oh, much more fun now we've got some event to be organising," their mom told him. "Though of course, I wasn't in charge of the party tonight, so I won't be overseeing it." She turned to Oreah. "You're ready to be going though, aren't you?"
"Yes, mom," Oreah replied in a pilote tone.
Zoin had looked to Krona at the mention of the party, and though he was trying to hide it by concentrating on his meal, Zoin knew exactly what Krona was now planning for tonight.
And he would stop him from causing trouble. Again.

Krona sat in his room, watching the light slowly fade.
He was waiting for the right moment to leave. The time when the party would be at full swing. He didn't want to cause trouble at it, just arrive as a star guest. He knew the reason he wasn't invited, but that didn't mean he was just going to pretend no party was going on.
The orange tinge had now disappeared behind the trees, and Krona stood up and walked to his room's exit. Looking both ways before departing, he wound his way through the kitchen and to the front door without anyone spotting him.
Outside, he quickly and quietly moved from house to tree to tree to avoid detection by anyone. As he reached the square, he heard music from the party. He stood and listened to it for a while, before taking a few steps forward.
Something collided with him and he fell to the floor. Throwing the weight off him, he looked to the side to see his brother, panting, looking at him with the well-knowing face Krona had seen many times before when he had been out to cause trouble but caught.
"And where are you going?" Zoin asked him.
"Crash the party," Krona mumbled.
"Well maybe if you didn't crash so many parties, you might actually be invited to one of them these days."
"Oh, come on. Where's the fun in that?"
"One of these days you will be voted out of the community, and don't expect me to back you up."
Krona noted that Zoin was stood between him and the entrance to the party. But then again, there was more than one entry point, and Krona knew he could reach another one easily.
"Okay. Okay," he placated, holding his hands up. "You win. Can I go?"
"Home," Zoin commanded. "Now."
Krona took one step forward. With his right foot now in front, he had the ability to lunge directly left and behind one of the houses.
So he did.
He heard Zoin shout, but he didn't care. He ran, and ran out from behind the house, straight to the next and out from behind that one too. The second entrance was in sight, and Zoin was nowhere to be seen.
Krona took a running leap at the entrance, and hurtled into something. A blue form resolved itself and tried to get out from under Krona's attack.
Oh, Krona thought. Invisible.
The two of them landed on the floor as petrified screams rent the air.

Krona isn't aware of any of the other voices at first. He has eyes locked on Zoin. And only cares what Zoin was doing.
"Why did you stop me?" Krona asked.
"This is the last straw!" Zoin hissed. "And you know it. When are you going to stop causing trouble?"
"When I can finally get out and see the world," Krona replied.
The mayor was walking toward the two of them. As well as someone else. Both didn't look happy. Their faces were full of disdain.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" the mayor asked. His voice was rough, and expressed no warm feelings.
"Well we just-" Krona began, but Zoin cut across him.
"My brother here, was going to gatecrash the party-"
"And so you thought you'd join him," the mayor declared.
"No!" Zoin exclaimed, shocked. "I was trying to stop him."
"Well, as much as I'm sure you tried to stop your brother, I just wish you'd have stopped him before he got to the border."
"I tried," Zoin said, while Krona looked sulky. "But my brother is as slippy as ever."
Krona fumed at these words, but didn't say anything. The fact of the matter was, if he let Zoin do all the talking, there might be a chance he'd still be allowed into the party.
He looked over the partygoers, and saw his sister. Her embarrassed face embarrassed him. If his plan had gone off without Zoin's interruption, than neither of them would have to be embarrassed. He knew she was embarrassed at the fact her two brothers had caused a scene in front of friends, as he knew he would, and he was embarrassed because of that.
"Well, I just hope your brother is sorry about the scene he's caused," the mayor said.
"I am," Krona replied, with enough sincerity to make it sound real.
"Well... I suppose it couldn't hurt..."
Krona held his breath. He couldn't allow his excitement to show too soon, otherwise the mayor could change his mind. It was no trouble at all to keep his face blank.
"You two could stay... now that you're here," the mayor finished.
"I'm not sure that would be wise," Zoin said. "My brother could do with being away from the place he was trying to infiltrate, otherwise he might get the feeling he's won."
Those words stung Krona hard. Zoin was nothing if to the point, and Krona knew those words were aimed at both him and the mayor.
"I'm sure you could keep a better eye on your brother here than elsewhere," the mayor said. "And it stops him from trying to slip past you again when taking him home."
Krona had to admit, that had been his plan if they weren't allowed in. The mayor was sharp, and knew his plans better than even his own brother.
"I suppose..." Zoin slowly stated. "I will keep my brother out of trouble while we are here. Thank you for letting us stay."
Both of them got up from the ground, and Krona ran straight for the food. Looking back, he saw Zoin was now sat down on a chair, staring straight at him.