Sonic and the Power of the Chaos Emeralds

Triple Trouble

A heavy crash on the ground nearby forced Emily to open her eyes. She didn’t really want to, but it is always hard to deny the impulse of a reflex.She was certain to find doom staring her in the eyes. Instead, she saw the shattered visor of a broken swat-bot flattened on the floor. She looked around still using her arms to guard her head. Her heart kept missing beats in anticipation of stopping forever, but it would seem that the grim reaper did not come to visit. Not yet.

Now there was a hand covered by a glove reaching down. It took hold of Emily’s small, fragile hand and gently pulled her up. Who else could this be other than Sonic the Hedgehog, appearing in just the nick of time? He zoomed in without a moment the spare. The noise Emily heard was actually five simultaneous sounds as the swat-bots fell apart and the caterkiller broke into pieces.

“Are you alright?” Sonic stood shorter than Emily expected. This small animal fights with those giant robots? The caterkiller wasn’t particularly big, but the swat-bots looked like machines on steroids with their thick armor. Emily was embarrassed by the thought because she always believed herself too small to do anything. She was always noticeably frailer than other kids her age. Although her black hair was cut really short, the way you might expect from a tomboy, she wasn’t like that at all. But it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be. People always said she was like the leaf of a tree. And leaves crumble easily and blow away in the wind. Boy would it help to be super-fast.

Emily stammered, “Thanks, I thought I was a goner.” She didn’t feel her thanks meant much though. Sonic had probably been thanked thousands of times. It simply wouldn’t mean anything to have one more child squabbling to kiss his feet.

Sonic folded his arms like someone about to say “I told you so,” even though he hadn’t warned her. “Yeah. I guess you found out egghead’s bots are no joke.” What a plum attitude for talking to a girl who almost died. If Sonic got there a little bit later, it would have been over. She imagined her dead body sprawled out in the corner of the floor and it irritated Emily. Especially since Sonic could easily see that she was still shaking from her encounter with the badniks. No, this wasn’t fear anymore. It was excitement. When did that change? In a mere second, her mood changed from utter despair to elation. It felt like she was in the sky chasing clouds. And when Sonic looked like he was about speed off, Emily stopped him.

“Sonic, what are you doing at the hospital?”

Turning around, Sonic seemed perplexed. His face didn’t have the appearance of sadness, but definitely more like someone delivering bad news. His mouth twisted around almost into the shape of a pretzel and his eyes drooped. This is the kind of face Emily saw often at the hospital, unlike the fearless smile that just disappeared.

“I’m visiting a friend.”

Emily’s stomach fell from the sky back to Earth. “ooh, I hope Tails isn’t hurt.” Now Emily felt empty. She titled her head toward the ground, waiting for a response.

“No, it’s not that.”

Silence hung in the air, a precious silence that felt heavy like the weight of a Chaos Emerald. Then Sonic was gone, leaving nothing but a trace of wind blowing Emily back from where she stood. On top of Eggman’s tin cans, she smiled as her foot crushed the last bit of the swat-bot’s visor.

Emily wanted to stay there longer, but she figured more badniks might be on their way. She kicked away the trash at her feet and started to walk to the door. Before she even put down her foot, she was brushed back by something she couldn’t see. She twisted around awkwardly to find Sonic behind her, rubbing his chin.

“Why don’t you come with me?”

Sonic obviously didn’t do much thinking. The way he rushed off and came back immediately suggests the idea popped into his head like breaking a box of rings open. While Emily pondered over the invitation, Sonic tapped his foot on the ground. At first his toes slowly went up and down, then faster and faster until smoke started to rise up to the ceiling. The question for Emily wasn’t whether she wanted to go with Sonic. She didn’t want to get in his way or bother his friends. Some of his friends have a reputation for being rather obnoxious.

Before Sonic realized it, the area was almost covered in gray and the smoke alarm blared into their ears. Sonic did a double-take and quickly ducked like he was under attack. He looked both ways, then blew air in his mouth and puffed out his cheeks when he noticed it was his fault. Emily just stood there, jaw-locked. She didn’t know if she should say something or what.

“Oops. We need to go. If someone sees us up here we’re in big trouble.”

Sonic blasted away even faster than before. A black streak extended across the marble floor. It started off moving to the door, but then it changed direction and went around the corner. Emily knew the hallway went in a circle around the floor so she looked behind her. Or she tried to look behind her, but she felt her feet lifted off the ground. She was being carried through the air. It felt like she was flying for all of the 2 or 3 seconds before she found herself standing in front of a door somewhere else. This is what it was like to move at sonic speed. It sent chills down her spine. Goosebumps covered her arm. Her mouth hung open. Even counting her run-in with the badniks, she never had a more frightening experience. But at the same time, she never had a better one either.

Emily had to take a second to catch her breath. Then she noticed where they were standing. This wasn’t the same staircase she used to go up to the 12th floor. In the span of a couple of seconds, they went down the stairs, to the back of the hospital, and almost all the way back up a different set of stairs. Now, they were outside the back entrance to floor 11, the Death Egg Zone. Also known as the Intensive Care Unit.