Sonic: Earthbound

Chapter 26

When Alex initiated Chaos Control, she'd been thinking desperately of Sonic and, in particular, Patrick. It seemed logical that the best way to chaos control to where you wanted to go would be by way of focusing on that person or place. And yet, when next she opened her eyes, she was unfamiliar with her surroundings... what she could see of them, anyway. A dark forest, but not the grove of aspens in which she'd been running from Sage.

From what she could tell, this forest was bigger, thicker, full of much larger trees – pines, sycamores, and oaks. Alex had no idea where she was, but it certainly seemed as though she'd missed the mark. This wasn't Patrick's property. Had she even gotten close? She had no way of knowing.

She didn't think she had it in her to attempt Chaos Control again, and a part of her was too nervous to try. Who knew where she might end up next? She certainly didn't want to risk warping back to the beach at North Lake. But trying to find her way out of these woods on foot seemed impossible. It was just far too dark. And without a compass or her phone...

Her phone! She'd dropped it back at Patrick's guest house!

I really am lost, she thought dismally.

There was just no way out of these dark woods. Not unless someone managed to find her. And, unfortunately, that was the best Alex could hope for. With a hopeless wail, Alex crumpled to the ground. And it was there she lay, curled onto her side in the grass, sobbing as the lyrics of an old song, once sung by a man she so dearly loved, and now tainted by the lips of a machine who was no longer a man, played in her head.

***

Sonic had taken off from Patrick's pool house, and this time it wasn't just to zip around the property. No. This time, he had a mission. It was late. It was getting quite dark. Most the daylight had been burned a long time ago. And somewhere, Alex was out there all alone. She was probably scared. She might even be hurt. There was no telling what Sage had done to her.

Sonic kept Tails' Chaos Emerald tracker on hand, using it to locate the strongest trace of chaos energy in the vicinity. "Need... to go... faster!!"

He pushed himself even more, running fast enough to make the trees bend and the dirt and grass kick up into a cloud behind him. It took him a little long than he would have liked, but finally the signal led him to a dense bit of woods. Sonic, heedless of danger, zoomed into the forest. She was close. He knew it. Soon, he saw a faint glow. And in the midst of that glow was a frightened girl, tightly curled up on her side.

"Alex!!"

At the sound of her name, Alex sat up. "S-Sonic? Sonic! Is that you?"

She couldn't see very well in the dark, but she heard footsteps. Then, as he drew closer, she could see him. It was as though someone had shined a flashlight on him. Alex didn't know where the light source was coming from, but she didn't care. With a cry of relief, she threw her arms around him and sobbed.

"S-Sonic..." she hiccoughed, sounding so much like a little girl; perhaps the same little girl he'd once seen in a photo album, smiling over a Sonic The Hedgehog cake with her father's arm around her. "Sonic, you found me!"

Sonic wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back just as tightly. "Of course, I found you. Did you ever doubt me?"

He noticed Alex was glowing, but addressing it was the last thing on his mind. He was grateful for the glow, for it acted like something of a beacon, leading him right to her. With this, however, came the realization that a much more dangerous person could have found her as well, and more than ever Sonic was grateful for the gift of his speed.