Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog or the Legend of Zelda series; the rights of all things related to the two aforementioned series are copyrighted by Sega and Nintendo, respectively.
The Blue Blur of Termina
A Sonic the Hedgehog/Legend of Zelda Crossover Adaptation, by Komodin
Two months has passed since the Dark Gaia incident has transpired. After their latest victory against the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, things have been unusually quiet for Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends. With no word on the whereabouts of the infamous doctor after his last sightings deep within the Earth's crust, they've went their separate ways, if only for a little while. Child prodigy Miles Prower focused on his studies and tended to his machines in this peacetime. Other than one date with Sonic in early August, Amy Rose kept to herself, focusing on her boxercising regiment.
Sonic, on the other hand, opted for something more… adventurous. In the spirit of the situation, he decided to take an exploration tour through every continent in the world. He occasionally stopped by his old haunts, South and Christmas Islands, for a few days, to get together with his old chums. For the most part, however, he kept to himself, limiting his contact with his friends to a minimum.
One late autumnal afternoon, he journeyed deep within the jungles of Adabat, in search for something -- anything -- to do. His six large quills swept lightly against each other as he jogged, making quiet hollow sounds that gave a little echo in the silent forest. The ground felt hard and solid under his red sneakers, leaving a few specks of dirt on the gold buckle and white socks. A thick, humid fog lingered all around the dark and barren walkway as he ran, obscuring what little light that could beam down from the dense jungle canopy above. Faint calls and whistles rang out all around him; some were barely audible. Small puddles of mud and groundwater dotted the pathway, giving it a squishy feel to it.
As he trekked about, he spotted a group of large stone totem poles erected near the dirt path, each part bearing different faces carved into its stony surfaces. Similar stone arrow-shaped structures were nearby, lining the path in a way. Each structure stood in a circle of burnt ground, spewing small jets of fire around in a circular fashion. He could hear the faint sounds of a roaring waterfall off in the distance. In the near-silence of his surroundings, the waterfall sounded even louder than it normally would. A minute later, he finally arrived at a small clearing at the end of the path; Sonic came to a halt to survey the scenery.
The air in the clearing felt vaguely moist. Only a few bushes and rocks dotted the ground, surrounded by the jungle. The sky overhead was dark and cloudy, with blue flashes of lightning cutting through. Large flocks of birds, each as vibrant as the sky itself, flew overhead while making loud calls in the vacant air. As he gazed upon the overcast sky, a sickening feeling welled up in him. Not since the whole issue with Metal Sonic has the sky appeared so… ominous.
Oh my goodness… Is it actually him…?
A fairy child laid in wait from behind a bush on the wet grassy ground of the jungle, on her knees with her arms holding her up. She pushed some of the leaves back, careful not to make her presence known. The leaves from the bush brushed against her clothed chest, tickling her ever so slightly. Her four huge, translucent wings swayed freely along the strong stormy breeze. One thought raced through the young fairy girl's mind: Was it the blue hedgehog from before?
Sticking her head in through the gap, she gave a little gasp: she saw a blue-furred hedgehog, clad in nothing but gloves and red shoes, standing in the empty clearing facing away from her. Though the stormy clouds were as dark as they, a ray of sunshine seemed to rain down upon the figure nonetheless, giving him an almost divine presence in the glade. As she looked him up and down, she noticed a muted red bag hanging loosely from his back. She squinted her eyes a bit, spotting a whole cavalcade of materials barely sticking out from within. Rings, medals, keys and many others he could barely make out. From just a cursory look, he could see that the blue figure sure liked to collect stuff.
The young girl watched as the blue hedgehog looked up towards the sky, his spines, too, swaying in the blustery breeze. Looking at the hedgehog’s gloved hand, she spotted a silver bracelet wrapped around the cuff, with a green jewel embedded on it. The gemstone shimmered in what little light that could pass through the heavily overcast sky.
Poking her head back in, the rested her hand on her cheek and sighed. "I wonder if he still remembers me..." She hummed lightly to herself, playing with her blonde braid while staring up at the sky. The hedgehog’s words still echoed through her mind:
"Do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?"
She could still remember everything about that day: the sunset sky just about existing the sky; the quietness of the village; the laughs from the hedgehog and his companion; even the unconscious squeal she sounded as she saw their high-five. Her heart raced as every word reverberated around her. Uttered by anyone else, it wouldn’t have done a thing to her. The way he said it, though, it felt more… special.
"Uh, Tatl?" Suddenly, a purple hand, wrapped in a reddish glow, waved in front of her face. "Are you okay?"
Abruptly snapped back to attention, the girl, Tatl, looked around in confusion. "Huh? What happened?" With the hand moving away from her face, she saw her younger brother, Tael, crouching down in front of her. His eyes, a beady black with a tinge of purple, looked confusedly at her.
"You were zoning out again, Sis," Tael said, scratching the back of his head. "Are you all right?"
Umm… She frowned as she tried to think up something to say. She couldn’t just say that she was out of it because of… him… but she knew that her brother would start to worry if she didn’t say anything. Just as she began to open her mouth, the bright red bag suddenly flashed before her eyes. Then, the cogs in her mind started to turn once more...
"Oh, I'm more than all right, Bro..." She smirked. "I've just thought up an excellent plan to get that hedgehog's stuff!"
"Um, are you sure we should do this?” Tael asked. “I mean, he's busy minding his own business."
"Well, why not?" Tatl replied, folding her arms. " I mean, he doesn't look too strong with those noodle limbs of his.” Noting her brother’s blank stare, she added, “Okay, sure, he trashed those weird smoky monsters and that giant metal skulltula a couple months ago, but I'm certain that we could both take him if he tries to fight back. Besides, he should've known better than to wander around in a dark jungle alone, anyway."
Tael sighed. "Well, I guess you're right about that, Sis."
"Exactly, little bro. Here's the plan." Tatl reached into her pouch flanking her left hip and pulled out a dagger. Held by its bronze hilt and clothed handled, its small blade managed to gleam from within her whitish glow. "You'll stay here and play that whole "fake injury" routine, like last time. I'll go further up the path and hide in the treetops. When the hedgehog's guard is down, I'll sneak up and take him out with this. Once he's knocked out, we'll swoop in, take the bag, and get out of there before he wakes up! Got it?"
"Uh, you're sure this will work?" Tael said, shuddering. "I mean, he looks pretty dangerous and stuff. He trashed that metal skulltula like it was nothing! Besides, what if he doesn't fall for that trick? What if he just ignores me and move on? What if he tries to rob and take advantage of me? What if--?"
She sighed. I knew this was gonna happen… "Oh, relax." Putting away her dagger, she rested her hand on his shoulder and flashed a smile. "You worry way too much, little bro. You seriously need to relax, okay? Besides, it worked before, remember?"
Tael nodded. "Okay, I guess…"
She stood up and adjusted her stockings. "Now, then, do you remember the plan?"
"Yeah, Sis."
"All right." Leaping as high as she could, she started to hover in place with her wings. "Stay here, do what I told you and please don't screw this up." With a light flap, she took off into the treetops.
"All right, hedgehog…" Tatl muttered, grinning. "Let’s see what you got after all this time…"
Before he could think further on the sign it was apparently presenting, a loud rumble suddenly rang out around him. Sonic snapped back into attention and looked around.
Whoa, what the heck was that? Droplets began to rain down upon the clearing. At first, he thought the rumble was just a thunderclap, but then he heard the sound again, this time coming from his stomach.
"Oh." Putting his hands to his stomach, he sighed and gave a little chuckle. He hadn't eaten a nibble all day; he was much too focused on his travels to grab a bite to eat.
Alrighty, then, he thought, shaking his quills, time to head back to the village for the night. Maybe that Don Fachio guy is still there…
Just as Sonic turned around to head out of the clearing, he suddenly heard a sharp, cracking sound off in the distance behind him. He snapped into attention and looked around, spotting a faint reddish-purple light emanate from the bushes at the other side of the clearing. The light hovered slightly off the ground, flickering on and off like a firefly. Slowly, he crept towards the oddly lit plant, careful not to make too much noise. His ears twitched forward, eyes locked ahead. As he went closer and closer, he could hear faint whimpers sound out from within its leafy foliage. He brushed some of the leaves aside, just enough for him to poke his face through.
A little boy sat on the forest floor just a couple feet away, his knees obscuring his face from his view. The boy, clad in a purple shirt and auburn shorts, was covered head to toe in splotches of dirt and foliage. Unlike any child he saw, however, the boy had reddish-purple hair and, to Sonic’s surprise, two pairs of huge, insectile wings sticking out his back, swaying lightly in the breeze. Despite his disheveled appearance, a reddish light still managed to emanate from the kid's dark purple skin.
"Hey, kid!" Sonic shouted, poking his head in through the hole. "Are you all right?"
"Huh?" The child wiped his face and looked up at Sonic. His black eyes had tinges of purple, like a dark jewel. His head was flanked by a pair long, pointed ears not unlike that of Shahra and Merlina. "W-who are you, m-mister?"
With one quick spin attack, Sonic sliced his way through the hole, splitting the bush in half. "What the heck are you doing here all alone, kid?" he asked, tossing the bush pieces aside. "Don't you know how dangerous this jungle is? How did you wind up here in the first place?"
The child looked around, a weary look on his face, before shrugging his shoulders weakly. "I-I don't know, mister. One minute, I was playing in the beach, next minute... I'm here in this jungle, all alone..."
Sonic narrowed his eyes. There was just something about this kid's story that just didn't seem right at all. "Hold up," he said, folding his arms. "Don't you have any parents, kid? I don't see why they wouldn't be looking for you."
The child looked down to the ground and shook his head. "I only have an older sister, sir. Both of my parents died when I was only a baby."
Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Okay, how old is your sister, then?"
"She's fifteen--I'm only eleven..."
Sonic freed his arms and furrowed his brow. "Okay, where have you last seen her? The beach?"
The child raised his hand and pointed at Sonic. "I think it was in the clearing, sir, further up the path."
"Alright, then, kid, I'll help you find your sister." Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "The name's Sonic: Sonic the Hedgehog! What's yours?"
"M-my name is Tail," the boy murmured as he rose up from the ground.
“‘Tail,’ huh...” Hand to his chin, Sonic chuckled to himself.
The little boy blinked. “Hm?”
“Ah, it’s nothing,” Sonic said, shaking his head. “Your name just sounds a little familiar to me, is all. How do you spell that?”
“It's T-a-e-l, miste--”
"Whoa, wait a minute." Sonic held up his hands. "Enough with that fancy talk already, Tael. Just call me Sonic, all right?"
"Sorry, mist--" Tael paused, and then corrected, "I mean, Sonic, just Sonic. Got it." His frown curled into a little smile.
"No problem, Tael," Sonic cheered, flashing a toothy smile. The heaviness in his heart eased away as he saw Tael's smile. "Now then, let's go find your sister! We’re gonna back to the village to see if anyone there knows you, alright?"
"Yeah," Tael said, nodding, "right, Sonic."
Just then, a loud, tinny voice rang out from behind them:
"Two targets sighted: one of unknown origin."
"What the?"
Sonic looked back and saw a large, metallic figure in the clearing. It had the general shape of a blue metallic man, as big as the boulder he sat on. Its torso resembled a steel-blue spinning top with huge silver buttons dotting its body. Its legs were small and stubby compared to the rest of its body; its arms, on the other hand, had large forearms. On top of its spinning top-like body was a structure that barely counted as a head: its only feature were a pair of red "eyes" that emanated a soft pink light.
Sonic gritted his teeth. "Aw, great. Another one of these Egg Fighter 'bots? Can’t believe he still has those clunkers around here!" He felt a slight tug on his quill. Looking back, he saw Tael, frowning once more.
"What's the matter, Sonic?" he said. "What's that weird metal man?"
Looking back at the Egg Fighter, Sonic replied, "Oh, it’s nothing, it's just one of those Egg Fighter things ol' Robuttnik has lying around here. You know who he is, right?"
Tael only shook his head. "Never heard of him, sir--I mean, Sonic."
Sonic hummed. "Well, I'll give you the lowdown on ol' Eggbelly later. Now, listen." He knelt down in front of Tael, taking off his bag. "I want you to take this and hide while I go take care of that badnik, okay? Last thing I want is for you to get hurt in the crossfire."
"O-okay, Sonic." He nodded and quickly hid behind a nearby bush.
Smiling, he turned his attention back to the patrolling Egg Fighter. Sucking in a breath of air, he crouched down to the ground, leaning on one knee. One hand to the ground, he looked ahead, locking his sight on the robot. He looked carefully at the robot's every movement: the way it trotted; the way it looked around for its target with its tiny head. Once he was sure of how to approach it, he crouched down into fetal position. Hands over his face, he closed his eyes and curled into a ball. In one quick motion downwards, he started to spin in place.
Ready...
As he spun faster and faster, he heard a loud buzzing sound from ahead.
"Target sighted: Sonic the Hedgehog. Objective: immediate extermination."
Now the robot was aware. Sticking out his ears as far as he could, he tilted from side to side, adjusting himself in the direction the buzz was coming from. A small cloud of dirt gathered all around as he spun. A few seconds in, he could hear the buzz grow louder, masking the loud stomps the source was making. His ears twitched; now, he was ready.
Go!
He launched forward as quick as a blur. He opened his eyes for a brief moment: first, he saw the Egg Fighter jump in panic. Next, all he saw were bundles of colored wires with a slit-shaped hole in front. An even louder, though brief, buzz sounded off as he went through the wires and gears. Next thing he knew, he was back on the forest ground, down on one knee and no worse for wear. Just as he started to stand up, a loud explosion sounded off from behind. The forest turned red and white as a fireball grew in size, wiping out everything in its path. Then, just as abrupt as it appeared, the fireball dissipated.
As he brushed off the dirt and soot on his body, a long metal rod crashed down next to his feet. Looking down, he smirked: it was the burnt remains of the Egg Fighter. "Looks like this clunker’s ready for the scrap pile!"
"Th-that was incredible!"
Sonic looked back and saw Tael poking in through a bush, mouth agape. "W-what was that thing you just did to the metal man? H-h-how did you move so fast?"
Sonic beamed, chuckling as he walked over to the winged boy. "Oh, that was just the Supersonic Spin Attack. Nothing special, really."
Tael dropped his shoulders. "B-but, what do you mean that was 'nothing special?' You practically warped at the metal thing, Sonic! You were like a... blur!"
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm just that fast."
As he reached down to grab his bag, something peculiar appeared off the corner of his eye. Looking back, he saw a bright red light emanated from Tael's face. Sonic raised his eyebrow at seeing the odd spectacle.
"Hey, Tael, are you all right?" he called out.
Tael looked up, redness abruptly subsided. "Y-yes, Sonic. Why did you ask?"
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Why were your cheeks red, then?"
"I-I think--” Rearing his head back, Tael shot forward and gave a loud sneeze. “... I'm just coming under the weather, sir. I've been out here all day trying to look for my sister..."
Frowning, he shook his head, saying, "Well, let's hurry and find her, then. I’ll get you back to the village in no time!"
"Okay!" the winged boy said, nodding.
Just as Sonic made his way out of the clearing, a loud jingle abruptly sounded out. Sonic jumped back and balled his fists.
"Wh-What was that?" Tael shouted.
Just as Sonic turned his head around to discern what was going on, he suddenly felt a sharp pain run through his shoulder from behind.
"Aah-!" He fell down on his knees with a thud. Groaning, he put his hand on his shoulder and felt it--blood soaked onto his glove, giving it a pinkish color. His arm twitched from the sharp pangs of pain surging through it.
“Hah, how ya like that!”
He looked up and saw a girl standing over Tael, brandishing a large knife in her gloved hands. Her skin, light as cream, seemed to emit a faint yellow light. A huge, horned skull mask over her face, the girl had long, blonde hair that flowed down past her shoulders. Her sleeveless yellow dress reminded him a bit of Tinker Bell’s, as does the squarish pouch flanked her left hip, tied to a belt encircling her waist.
“Hey!” Sonic yelled, balling his fist. “Get away from him!”
“Oh, and what if I don’t?” she replied. With the skull mask over her face, the eye sockets emitted a bright white light. “What, you’re not planning on hurting a lady like me, are you?” Her voice, mildly shrill and squeaky, carried an air of obnoxiousness that simply angered Sonic the longer it echoed in his mind.
Lady? Sonic gritted his teeth. “Look, ‘lady,’ I’m in no mood for jokes! Just step away from that kid, and we won't have any problems!”
The girl cackled. “Oh, my, it appears we got a tough guy over here!” She raised her knife, reverse gripped, to her face. “Well, let’s see how tough you really are, then, blue boy!” She charged straight at Sonic, arms flanked on her sides.
Is she serious...? Looking at the running girl, Sonic slapped his forehead and sighed, covering his face with his palm. Looks like I have no choice…
With his eyes locked on to the masked girl, he breathed in and prepped himself. His stance, with his arms locked to his sides, balled fists facing forwards, placed his dominant leg away from front. Just as the girl was in close range, he took off like a bullet towards her.
In a blink of an eye, he lunged at her and grabbed her on her shoulder. As the glow of her mask’s sockets began to widen, Sonic smirked. With one mighty swing, he struck the winged girl head-on with a sharp kick in her stomach. The girl flew back from the impact and right into the nearby grassy ground, her knife plunging into the ground just inches from her body. The girl groaned as she curled up, facing away from Sonic.
Righting himself from the impact, Sonic grunted, his shoulder still stinging with pain. “Well, there’s one problem outta the way. Now, where’s Tael?” As he looked around, he saw that the winged boy was nowhere to be found. "Tael?” he yelled, hands over. “Tael, where are you?!"
Just as he started to take off down the dirt road in search of the wayward child, he felt a slight tap on the back of his head.
"Hey, rodent!"
Just as he looked back, a brown sphere suddenly struck him right in his face. As the ball split open, it emitted a huge flash of light. The light--rivaling that of the Sun--locked Sonic's muscles in place for a split second. He could feel his pupils shrink at the sight of the abrupt light. As the instantaneous paralysis subsided, he let out a loud shriek, rubbing at his eyes as hard as he could.
"I can't see!" he screamed. "I can't see!"
Before he could reach his unharmed arm out to defend himself from the now-invisible threat, he heard a hollow, breaking sound from behind, following by a sharp pain erupting from the back of his head. He screamed as the force of the impact sent him into the grassy ground of the clearing. He looked up as much as he could and saw the winged girl standing over him, her skull mask now in her hand. She bore a deep scowl on her face. Her eyes, red like Shadow’s, appeared lit in flames in the glow of her aura.
His vision started to dim as he tried to get a good look at the girl. As he gazed closer, she started to look more and more familiar to him: The glow faded away; the bright, white hair became a more muted pink; a gentle smile replaced the snarl; and the malicious reds of her eyes turned a subdued grey. Just as his vision gave away completely, he gasped weakly.
What… the…
As his consciousness faded into black, the last thing he heard was a loud groan from behind…
As she tossed the metal pole aside, Tatl could only look down upon the blue hedgehog. A large gash ran down his shoulder, with a small trail of blood trickling down onto the ground. A huge bump grew right on the middle of the downed hedgehog's forehead, almost seeming to pulse. As she looked on, a single tear ran down her cheek.
"I don’t get it. He wrecked a giant metal skulltula like it was nothing, yet he got knocked out cold by that?” She sighed, wiping her cheek. “Well, let's see what he got..."
“Heh, you two did great!”
Surprised, Tatl looked around and saw a figure leaning next to a large tree. As she looked closer at it, she dropped her shoulders and grinned.
"Well, well, well..." Tatl rested her hands on her hips. "If it isn't the Skull Kid. Where have you been, huh?"
"Nice to see you too, Tatl," the figure, the Skull Kid replied.
Giggling, the Skull Kid started to walk forward. With every crouchy, wooden step he took, his head twitched and tilted from side to side then forward in a sort of mini-lunge. Stopping in front of the fairy pair, the Skull Kid lifted his mask just above his forehead, revealing his face. His skin a dark woody brown, it had a pair of solid yellow eyes and a short bird-like beak. He rested his hand on his face and adjusted his jaw, making little popping sounds with every movement.
He looked down at the unconscious hedgehog, still bleeding from the shoulder wound. "I wonder if he has anything good on him..." he murmured, his mouth contorting into a weird smirk.
"Hey, you should check that bag of his over there," Tatl replied, pointing over to the bag lying underneath Sonic. "I think there should be something good in there."
"Right, then. That shouldn't be a problem..."
Lowering the mask back over his face, the Skull Kid walked over to the unconscious hedgehog. He crouched down and pulled the red bag from underneath him, turning the hedgehog over onto his face. With a simple tug, he swiped it right underneath him, breaking the straps in the process.
"Aha," Skull Kid murmured as he walked back towards the fairies. "Let's see what's inside..."
Tatl looked on as Skull Kid set down and opened the bag. The masked boy reached right in and rummaged through the assorted stuff. He pulled out and threw out various materials: a few golden rings; a glassy wristband; spiked metal boots; two shoes with huge springs attached to the soles; a pair of shoes with wings attached to the heels; and a couple shoes made of solid gold.
As it went on, Tatl folded her arms and stomped her foot, looking cross. Despite how it looked before, the hedgehog appeared to have nothing of real worth to her. "That's it?" she yelled as the Skull Kid tossed aside a stack of orange and blue medals. "Just that useless junk?"
Looking up, the Skull Kid shrugged his shoulders in response. “Looks like so, Tatl...”
She gritted her teeth. "Well, keep looking! There's gotta be something good in there!"
As the Skull Kid dove back into the bag, she looked back and saw Tael with his head looking towards the ground. She could barely hear faint whimpers coming from him. She sighed and rolled her eyes--he’s just being a crybaby again, she thought. Walking over to him, she noticed tears dripping down from his face. She frowned--why did he care so much about that blue hedgehog? He never even met him before today! Not like me...
Stopping in front of him, hands on her hips, she yelled, "Hey!"
Tael snapped back into attention and looked around. His black eyes were practically drowning in tears.
"What's your problem?" Tatl asked, glaring at him.
"Oh, nothing, Tatl!" he replied, quickly trying to wipe the tears from his face. "Really, I swear!"
She sighed. I hate it when this kid lies to me… "Are you still fretting over that hedgehog?"
Tael only looked back down and uttered, "Maybe…"
"Tael, tell me the truth..."
"...Yes, Sis."
"What for?" Tatl yelled.
"But, Sis…" He slowly looked up to Tatl, tears forming in his eyes once more. "He was so nice. You didn’t have to knock him out like that… what if you killed him?"
Immediately, Tatl gasped. "Of course I didn't do that! You honestly think I would stoop to outright killing someone!?"
"What? O-of course not!"
“Tael, you know I would never even entertain the thought of doing that! Why'd ya ask me such a question like that in the first place!?”
"Okay, okay!" Tael yelled, hands to his face. "I'm sorry, Sis!"
“Seriously, brother, will you get over it already? He’s not dead, so what does it matter!? He’ll be fi--!"
"Hee hee! Look what we have here!"
Tatl looked back and saw the Skull Kid, prancing in place next to the blue hedgehog. In his hands, he held a long, glowing object. A faint blue aura emanated from it, sparkling brightly even in the dark jungle.
"What the heck is that?" Tatl yelled, taken aback by the Skull Kid's display.
"When I tried to grab some weird glowing orb in that bag, it turned into this crystal flute thing!" Skull Kid replied, giggling. "The hedgehog must be one of those fancy types!"
Tatl squealed giddily. "Ooh, ooh! What a pretty flute!" She rushed over to the Skull Kid and tried to grab at the crystalline flute. "Hey, let me touch it! I wanna see!"
"Wait your turn! I wanna try it, too!" Skull Kid put the flute up to the holed mouthpiece of the mask and blew a puff of air into the flute. As he did, a loud hollow note rang out. Both the Skull Kid and Tatl giggled at the goofy, off-key sound he made.
Ugh, what the heck happened?
Sonic lifted his head up as much as he could and felt the back of his shoulder. Blood still ran down from it a bit from the inflicted wound. He looked around in a daze, his head still throbbing with pain from the masked girl's assault. He looked down and noticed most of his items were laid strewn along the nearby jungle floor.
Why is all my stuff on the ground? What the!
He looked over and saw a trio of figures surrounding his bag. Two of them were Tael and the unmasked girl that struck him, with the girl yelling at the winged boy. The third figure was a strange imp-like creature, wearing a large red witches' hat, the crown of which lined with a ring of orange and green leaves. Red and green in color, respectively, the tunic and shorts it wore hung loosely against its near-skeletal frame, held down by a belt consisting of a series of wooden rings bound together. With its thin and twiggy frame in conjunction with its brown, wood-like skin, the figure looked almost like a living scarecrow. Its most unique feature, however, was the strange mask it wore.
Many different colors and symbols adorned its distinct heart-shaped design. Long multi-colored spikes lined the rim of the mask; four jutting out diagonally from both sides and two stuck straight up from the top like demonic horns. A series of small holes were carved into it near the mouthpiece. Its most striking feature, however, was its large "eyes." Small green irises, complete with pinpoint pupils, were painted onto the mask's sunset-colored sclera, giving it an unerring look to it.
As Sonic looked closer at the masked imp, he noticed a faint blue aura emanated from its hand. When he squinted his eyes to take a closer look at the blue glow, he gave a small gasp at what he saw.
My flute!
The masked imp played around with his flute, tossing it in the air like it was a doll. Tael and the blonde girl, on the other hand, were arguing amongst each other.
"You can't, Tael," The girl ordered, glaring at the winged boy. "What would we do if you dropped it and it broke?"
"But sis--!"
"No buts!" she yelled, folding her arms over her chest. "You can't touch it, and that'll be the end of it!"
"Aw, but… w-why can't I try it out too?"
"It's not yours, that's why!" With that, she turned her attention back to the giggling imp.
Sonic quickly got to his feet and glared at them, fists clenched. He reached into his quills and took out a small metal whistle. Taking in a big breath, he put it to his mouth and blew straight into it. An ear-splitting sound rang out from the whistle, scaring away nearby wildlife. The winged pair looked up in alarm and looked behind themselves.
"Uh-oh!" Tael shrieked and immediately hid behind the blonde girl.
The masked imp looked back at the hedgehog and jumped back in shock. "W-who are you?"
"A ticked off hedgehog!" he screamed, sending the imp back further. "What are you doing with my stuff? My Mystic Melody?!"
"The Mystic Mel--oh, um, this? Well, I--uh..." The imp hid the Mystic Melody behind his back, shaking his head. "W-what flute? I don't see any flutes around here!"
Sonic put his whistle back in his quills. "You gave yourself away!" He stomped toward the imp, nose flared up. "Don’t play dumb--that's my Mystic Melody thing that you have there! Hand it over, now, or so help me…"
Skull Kid stepped back even further, looking around him. "W-well, I found it lying on the ground and I just thought it would be okay! I didn't know it was yours! Honest!"
Sonic lunged at the imp, fist extended. Using his unharmed arm, he grabbed the Skull Kid and hoisted him up into his face. "I said, 'give me back my flute!' I’m not playing around!"
"Put him down, you dirty rat!"
"Huh?!" Sonic looked and saw Tael and the blonde girl. Seeing her wrap her arms around Tael's shoulders took him aback a bit, until a thought struck him: why else would the kid be so hesitant with his words about his family…
"Tael, you were with these guys?!" Sonic yelled.
Tael only looked away. "Sorry..."
"So, it was a trap?" He balled his fist and turned back towards the imp. "You little--!"
Just then, the masked imp shook himself out of his grasp and leaped over him. Without the leverage of the imp's weight, he lost his balance and fell to his knee. As he started to get back on his feet, the imp jumped down right on his head, sending him headfirst into the muddy ground. Landing on his feet, the imp took off into the jungle, with Tael and the girl alongside him.
"Ta-ta, rodent!" the imp shouted just as he, along with Tael and the girl, disappeared into the forest.
Forcing his head out of the mud, Sonic quickly got back on his feet. His shoulder stopped bleeding; however, the throbbing pain in his head only grew since his head got sent back into the ground. He trudged over to his bag, holding his injured arm in place. Reaching inside, he pulled out some bandages. After patching up his shoulder wound, he started to gather his remaining stuff. To his surprise, he found that his stuff stayed relatively intact - only his flute was missing. Once he gathered his belongings, he carefully placed the bag back on his back.
"Okay,” Sonic growled, looking ahead. “Now to find those guys..."
With that, he took off down the dirt path after the trio of thieves. The jungle seemed to meld together as he went faster and faster, dodging every object in his path. He tucked his arms in as close to his body as he could, relieving himself of drag. As he zoomed along the jungle pathway, he couldn’t spot a single sign of the thieves. It was as if they vanished into thin air.
In only a few seconds, Sonic skidded to a halt in another clearing. Only a few groups of bushes and stumps laid around, the sky completely obscured by the treetops encircling him. He looked around, trying to find any possible sign as to where the thieves were hiding. Going over to the bushes, he searched around inside them. Getting near a fallen tree, he saw a long lock of blonde hair right in front of a huge wooden tunnel carved in at the base of a giant tree. Next to the hair was a small purple jewel, looking not unlike a gem shard inside a Chaos Drive.
He knelt down and picked the jewel and hair up, eyeing them suspiciously. Even in the absence of sunlight in the thick darkness, the hair managed to emanate a soft whitish-yellow light. "Could this be from that girl?" he murmured, looking over to the tunnel. "Well, there's only one way to find out..."
Pocketing the hair and jewel, he took off into the wooden tunnel. Inside, he saw a small wooded area, with two small trees flanking the entryway. Right in front of him was a long stairway made entirely of tree stumps, leading up to another entryway. Huge leaves and other bits of foliage lined the entrance, giving it an elegant, yet forested look. With a nod, he made his way up the wood stairway, leaping from stump to stump. As he leaped, he looked up to the sky; it took out a greenish appearance, not unlike the skies from Blaze's world. Its look left him with an uneasy feeling in his stomach - was this another way into that world?
After leaping up to the entryway, he took off into it. Complete darkness surrounded him deep within the tunnel. After running down the seemingly endless hallway for a few seconds, he saw a glimmer of light. He smiled--perhaps this was just a shortcut into another part of the jungle. As he came closer and closer to the light, his smile soon curled into a frown. Before he knew it, he found himself looking over a gigantic chasm. Even with the glimmer of light, he could barely see anything in the near pitch-black room.
Where did they go? D-did they jump off…?
As Sonic stepped back, he felt a small crack sound off below his feet. He jumped back and clutched his chest -- his heart pounded like a jackhammer at the sudden shock. The crackings grew louder and louder as he stood there, unable to discern what was going on in the darkness. He felt the ground starting to slide down. Before he knew it, the bit of ground gave way in one mighty crack, sending him sliding right into the chasm below.
“Oh, no!” Sonic shouted.
He tried to stay on the bit of ground for as long as he could, even trying to cling onto it. Terminal velocity eventually caught up and he started to drift away from the ground. He let out a loud scream as he fell faster and faster into the stark abyss. Every muscles in his body tightened, his quills tensed up erect. He tried to gain some control of his fall, even trying to use his quills to stick to the wall, but to no avail.
“AHHHHH!”