Sonic Boom My Story

Intro

The first thing you notice once you wake from a long night's sleep the day after summer break is a strange gem that looks like a sapphire.
The instant you touch it, images of no certain meaning to you flash. You can make out a silver sword, some of them are a purple, glowing meteor, the word EGGMAN, a boomerang, a hammer, and then a blue haze whizzes by so fast that you bolt upright on a tropical beach. Beside you is a tall coconut tree with some paper taped to it.
"Sidekick Tryouts. All qualified candidates welcome. Best candidate gets the job. Resume & references required," it reads.
Above those words is a picture of a tall blue hedgehog with a brown neck tie, white gloves, and red-and-white sneakers. He is putting an arm around a black figure with a white question mark ❔ on top. This only reminds you of the Student Government fliers from your school that only appear yearly.
Suddenly, you can hear clamoring. A line is forming outside a beach hut close to you. You just step to the back of the line. It doesn't take long before your turn arrives.
"I-I-I'm Catherine Dean, hoping to get the role of sidekick," you stammer.
The hedgehog from the flier, who says his name is Sonic, starts asking you questions that range from skills ("I'm good with healing.") to your greatest weakness ("I'm such a coward!") to what you'd do in a no-win situation ("I just want to help others out however I can!").
"Congratulations! You're the fourth candidate!" Sonic announces.
"Who else is there?" you ask. Sonic doesn't say anything, but once the competition comes, that answers your question. The other 3 are a short beaver, a yellow twin-tailed fox with goggles & a tool belt, and a man in a floating egg-shaped machine.
"Alright, being my sidekick is no easy task. This will test your strength, stamina, & endurance. The winner will be whoever makes it—" Sonic begins, but the beaver interrupts him.
"Actually, it's 'whomever,'" he corrects. You and Sonic both frown.
"The winner will be WHOMEVER makes it through all the unimaginable hardships & brings me the red flag I planted upon the incredibly dangerous, but inaccurately named, Mount Safety," Sonic finishes, pointing to a tall mountain up ahead with a red flag on top.
And they were off. Somehow, the sapphire gave you the ability to float in midair. You turn around & notice white wings on your back! You give them a flap and you're suddenly floating right behind the man in the egg-shaped device.
The race is fine after that, until you land beside a frozen lake in last place. The fox is trying to pull up Sonic from a crack in the water by the arm. You fly over and grab him by the back, trying to avoid any quills. You do know very well that porcupine and hedgehog quills are incredibly sharp.
Once the fox drops Sonic into a big purple bot, it sinks into the water, Sonic notices you.
"Catherine? How did you make it?" he gasps. You turn around to where he sees your new wings. He gasps and shakes your hand. "Thanks for the lift!"
"No problem. You OK?" You ask. They nod.
"Oh, Catherine, I haven't told you, but..." Sonic gestures to the fox.
"Call me Tails," he introduces with a wave.
"Catherine. Catherine Dean," you tell him with a curtsy. Tails laughs.
"So where are you from?" Tails asks.
"Colombia. South America. I was sent here by some sort of sapphire," you explain.
"The one on your neck? That's one of the Chaos Emeralds! I knew the blast scattered them all! Thank you for finding them!" Sonic praises. You look down on your neck and see the sapphire hung on a silver chain like a necklace.
"Ohhhh, I know all about the Chaos Emeralds! I've been researching them!" you add, shocked.