Mobius Destiny (A Sonic Boom Fanfic)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Instantly Kay knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

She leapt out of the other side of the portal, expecting to land in the streets of Station Square as she'd envisioned. That was how she'd thought the portal worked. But rather than the busy streets of the home of G.U.N. Headquarters on Mobius Prime, the road beneath her was made of cobblestones and almost certainly local to the city of Soleanna.

What? Why am I here? Kay thought in a rush, eyes darting around to see if she'd been observed. To her astonishment, absolutely no one was around. Not a single soul. She felt a chill sweep over her. Am I in the wrong dimension? But I was so certain...

At that moment, the white light behind her vanished, signaling that the portal had been closed off in the other dimension. Kay wondered if Espio or perhaps Sonic had managed to snag the Chaos Emerald before Aurora so she couldn't follow her.

It didn't matter. She knew how she was getting back.

She hoped.

I don't even know where to begin now, Kay thought frantically as she automatically began jogging forward, looking for someone – anyone – who might be able to help her. Without the Master Emerald's guidance her memory of the planet's geography was sketchy; she couldn't recall how far it was from here to Station Square, and she had no time to lose. Since she was on another version of Mobius the time difference shouldn't be nearly as bad as it was between here and Earth, but she still had countless lives depending on her, even if they didn't know it. She had to move, fast.

Thinking quickly, she lifted her eyes upward and sought out some sort of defining feature in the city – a spire or steeple, indicating a place of importance that people may be gathered if they weren't roaming the streets. It is oddly quiet here. Kay frowned. Too quiet. Something is...off. But what? It didn't take long for her to find something to aim for, and she took off toward it with renewed determination.

A few minutes later she burst into an open square, where the tower she'd located led down to a building that looked kind of like a city hall or something similar. But the closer she got, the more she slowed. There were still no people. Not a single person. Sure, it was dusk, so the town wouldn't be bustling or anything, but this was ridiculous.

What in the world is going on? Kay thought, spinning in a slow circle, searching. There's got to be some reason no one wants to be outside. Unless...unless there's no one here to find. She swallowed, another chill sweeping over her. They can't all be...?

At that moment something in the street ahead of her caught Kay's eye. For a split second she felt hope swell inside her. There was someone here! But just as quickly, she realized it wasn't a person, but a robot suddenly speeding toward her. She didn't have to see the emblem on its shoulder to know who it belonged to.

She froze in place, suddenly panicked, unsure what to do. She'd never been worried about Eggman's minions before, but she was never in such a rush as she was now any time she'd had to face them in the past. Automatically she reached for her bo, but then thought better of it. She wouldn't be able to fight very well with an injured arm, and besides, a stick wouldn't do much good against steel anyway. But she couldn't just surrender, either. Who knew what the robot had orders to do upon seeing someone out and about. Kay didn't have time to get captured.

The only thing she could think to do in the moment was take a step back, though it made no difference whatsoever with the speed at which Eggman's robot was coming at her.

Then, suddenly, it stopped in its tracks completely about twenty feet from where she stood. A teal hue appeared to glisten across its frame as though it were some kind of armor. Just as Kay's mind was registering what her eyes were seeing, the robot flew backwards and away from her, crashing into the fountain at the center of the square. It staggered for a moment, then fell into the water and short-circuited, ending its brief reign of terror over her.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice called from somewhere above seconds before a gray hedgehog landed in front of her, hands raised in an I'm-not-here-to-hurt-you gesture. "I can't believe there's anyone still here. I thought they all bailed weeks ago."

Everything inside of Kay was screaming for her to tackle Silver in a giant hug, but somehow she managed to resist the urge. Instead she opened her mouth with the intent to acknowledge that she knew him, only for her to come out with a simple "thank you" instead. Every time before that she'd had to reintroduce herself to people who had once known who she was, it was too complicated and took too long. As much as she longed to catch up with Silver, she knew she didn't have the time. She could only spare one explanation today, and that was reserved for someone else.

But then – to her surprise – she saw something flicker in his golden eyes as he looked at her more carefully. Hope fluttered in her chest in the few moments before he tilted his head at her. "Kay?"

"Silver," she breathed in both relief and joy. This time she did hurry toward him. "You remember me?"

"I mean...yeah," Silver replied, reaching to take her hands in his as he really observed every inch of her. "Although I'm pretty sure the last time I saw you, you were human."

Kay laughed, squeezing his hands. "I was."

"But...how is this possible? We all thought you were dead."

"I thought so, too. And I suppose, in a way, I did die. My human body died, anyway. Using that much Chaos power killed it, I know that for sure. But somehow my spirit was revived in this body. This is actually how I looked the first time you and I ever met, Silver. Though I know you don't remember that."

Silver finally smiled, and Kay realized for the first time how worn out and anxious he'd looked before that smile. "Well, whatever happened, you're looking great. And it's really good to see you again."

"You, too." This time Kay couldn't resist the urge to hug him, so she did. After a couple of seconds she pulled back again and looked into his eyes, turning serious. "I need your help. I can't really explain everything – it'll take too long – but I need to find someone. It's important."

Silver faltered. "I...hope it's not Sonic?"

Something about the way he said it made warning bells go off in Kay's mind big time. She frowned. "No, it's not Sonic. But what do you mean by that?"

"You've missed a lot since Dark Gaia tore the planet apart," Silver told her solemnly, lowering his gaze. "There have been...changes."

"I did find it odd that no people were here." Kay looked around the abandoned square. "This is Soleanna, isn't it?"

"What's left of it."

She turned to him again. Something's really, really wrong. I knew it the moment I got here. "Silver, what's happened? Where's Sonic?"

Silver shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. He swallowed. It took several long, tense moments for him to be able to meet her eyes again. "Sonic is dead."