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Ginger sighed. It had been more than a day since the Death Egg Robot attacked Hedgehog Village, and Shadow was on high alert in case another Badnik had come by. Shadow was a bit overprotective of her. She didn’t know why, but she chose not to say anything about it. Ginger just assumed that he didn’t want his friend to get hurt. Right now, he was out with Sonic, looking around for robots.
And here, Ginger was sitting on the floor of her room. Alone. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t like it. She didn’t want to be alone after what happened to her. Not after… No. Ginger shook her head, trying to forget about it. She looked down at the paper in front of her. Next to it were a few crayons. She was having difficulty thinking of something to draw.
She thought for a moment, but Ginger eventually had an idea. She was going to draw Shadow, a gift to him as a friend. She closed her eyes, imagining the drawing before her. She looked back at the empty paper, then at the crayons. I should really get some colored pencils one day. Ginger thought, picking up a crayon.
After a few minutes, she finally finished her drawing. Ginger smiled at it. It wasn’t a perfect picture of Shadow, but it had its charm. Her ears suddenly perked up as she heard a sound. She knew Shadow was home. She ran into the living room and looked through the window. Standing outside were Shadow and Sonic. Before they noticed, Ginger opened the door. “Ginger! Are you okay?”
Shadow almost leaned in for a hug, but stopped himself. Ginger flinched when it happened. Shadow knew she didn’t like touching. “I’m fine, Shadow.” She tilted her head. “What’s Sonic doing here?” Sonic looked at Ginger and chuckled. “I’m here to ask you something. Me and Shadow here are going somewhere to speak to an old friend of ours. Wanna come?” Ginger gasped. “Sure! Just give me a second; I’ll be back!”
Ginger went back into her room and looked around. She then grabbed a backpack that was lying in the corner. She knew that the sun was bright that day, so she grabbed a pair of sunglasses and gently placed them into the backpack. Ginger grabbed a pack of gum and also placed it in the backpack. She looked around again, saw her fidget that looked like a gaming controller, and put it in the backpack. She ran to her closet, grabbed a dark gray hoodie, and put it in the backpack. I should bring my art stuff in case I get bored. Ginger put her notebook and crayons in the backpack and finally left her room.
Now in the kitchen, she found two small chip bags and put them in the backpack, just in case she got hungry. Ginger knew she might’ve packed too much, but she packed whatever kept her calm and comfortable. Now that she was ready, she finally walked out the door and smiled at the hedgehogs in front of her. Shadow was surprised to see the backpack, but a small smirk appeared on his face, implying that he knew what she packed. Sonic was a different story. “What the heck did you pack in there?” Ginger felt her tail twitch and hesitated for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, where are we going?” She asked as they all started walking down the street.
After a few minutes of walking, Ginger broke the silence. "So, where are we going anyway?" Sonic put a hand on his hips and looked at her. "We're going to a special place called "Angel Island”. An old friend of ours lives there.” Ginger looked in awe. She never heard of Angel Island, but she was willing to try new things. At least, most of the time. "Where is it?” She asked. Shadow stopped walking, then pointed to the sky. “It’s… up?” Sonic laughed, then replied, “Ginger, it’s in the sky!” Who ever heard of an island in the sky? Ginger thought. “If it’s in the sky, then how are we getting there?” Shadow bluntly replied, “Teleporter.”
Later, they found themselves at a bus stop. Ginger felt a bit nervous. She wasn’t a fan of places like this. “Hey Shadow, didn’t you once say the G.U.N. headquarters of this planet had a teleporter to send you anywhere? Is that where we’re going?” Shadow nodded, then pushed a fidgeting Sonic away. “Sonic, can’t you stand still for a moment?” He asked, staring at the blue hedgehog. Sonic shrugged. “Dunno. It depends on the situation.” Ginger lowered her ears in sympathy. Sonic can’t usually control himself, and she understood that. She was similar.
The bus arrived, and the three of them got on and found a few seats. Ginger looked around. The bus smelled wrong to her, and the music on the bus was a bit loud. Taking a deep breath, she opened her backpack and took out her controller fidget. She messed with it for a while, then noticed an older male bear giving her a strange look. Feeling embarrassed, she hid the fidget but felt someone touch her shoulder. It was Shadow. “Ginger, you shouldn’t feel nervous about acting like yourself. Just ignore the looks.”
Smiling, Ginger continued to mess with the fidget. After a while, she noticed Sonic staring at it. “Do you want to mess with this for a while? I don’t mind!” Sonic nodded, took it from her, and began to play with it. She stared at him for a while, then turned to Shadow and asked, “Are we there yet?” Shadow, who was slouching down and staring at the window, sat up and replied, “Yes, we are here.” The bus stopped, and the three of them stood up and got off the bus, with Ginger jumping off the last step. They walked into the G.U.N. building and proceeded to follow Shadow throughout. Eventually they managed to find a room where a bat was sitting on a chair. “Huh? Who’s there?” The chair spun around, and Ginger got a closer look at her.
Her fashion style was interesting. Her white and tan fur looked very soft, and she was able to smell the rose-scented perfume on her. She didn’t know why, but it was enough to make her blush. “I didn’t know you’d be here, Rouge.” Shadow said, smirking. Rouge put her salad on the table and replied, “I was told to come to work and wait for a new mission. You?” Shadow replied, “We’re going to Angel Island to speak to Knuckles about the Badnik problem. Want to come with me?" Rouge smiled. “You know it! Now, who’s the cat?” Ginger replied, “Um, I’m Ginger the Cat. And you are Rouge, right?”
Rouge nodded, then started typing on a keyboard. “Alright, Angel Island... Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Knuckles in a while. I wonder how he’s doing." Sonic sighed. “Of course that’s what you’re thinking about. But then again, we don’t see him much anyway.” Rouge chuckled and finished typing in the island’s coordinates. “If I’m not worried about him, then who will?” Rouge said, stretching her wings as she stood up. Her wings were a dark purple and looked big enough to wrap around like a blanket. Ginger wished that she had a portable blanket like Rouge’s wings. But she knew people would probably stare at her like she was from another planet. Still, it would keep her warm whenever she got cold.
“Are you ready, Ginger? We’re going into the portal now.” Ginger turned, noticing that Sonic was reaching for her hand. “Yeah. I just have one question.” She nervously took Sonic’s hand, walking towards the portal. “Is this Knuckles guy going to be mean? You know how I feel about new people.” “Don’t worry, he might be off-putting at first, but you’ll warm up to each other. Trust me.” Sonic said it reassuringly. Letting go of Sonic’s hand, Ginger walked into the portal.
The first thing that she saw when she stepped out of the portal was a strange-looking altar in the distance. Ginger shivered at the cold breeze and took her hoodie out of her backpack just as the others began to stand next to her. “Hey Shadow, what is that?” she asked. “That is where Knuckles lives. He’s not like us, Ginger. He has something to look after here.” Sonic ran ahead, with Rouge waving at Shadow and flying after him. Ginger looked at Rouge again. “And Rouge is your coworker?” Shadow nodded. “Yes, she is. And… more. I think it’s best if I explain later.”
After running for a while, Ginger stopped, taking huge breaths once she was next to the others. "It looks like someone can’t handle a bit of running.” Rouge said, teasingly. Ginger’s ears flattened, believing she was being mean to her. Sonic butted in. “Hey, it’s not her fault. Not everyone can run fast, but that’s ok.” Ginger smiled at Sonic, then heard a deep voice from on top of the altar. “Who’s there? Is that Eggman?” Another Mobian came into view. He was red with a white dash on his chest, and he also had dreadlocks.
Is this Knuckles? I can’t recognize his species. Hedgehog, maybe? Ginger stared at him. Knuckles gasped, his face appearing surprised when he saw them. “Sonic? What are you doing here? And with Rouge, Shadow, and—" Knuckles squinted, not being able to recognize Ginger. “Some orange cat I’ve never seen before?” Knuckles went down the steps of the altar, making sure it wasn’t anyone he knew. “My name is Ginger the Cat, and I'm a new friend of theirs. And you must be Knuckles. What kind of animal are you?”
Ginger covered her mouth, realizing that she might’ve said that the wrong way. Knuckles, confused by this action, looked at her for a moment before he looked away again. “I’m an echidna. The last of my kind. I can understand why you asked me that.” Knuckles looked at Sonic. “So why are you guys here?” “It’s kind of a long story. Is it alright if we stay near the Master Emerald while we talk?” Knuckles nodded, not looking at the blue hedgehog. “Fine, as long as you don’t touch it.” He said it, looking at Rouge while he said it.
Ginger, who was watching the others talk, stood alone. She knew that she should’ve participated, but she never dealt with Badniks before. She’d probably be a burden if she was there talking. Ugh, the sun’s so bright up here. Ginger thought, grabbing her sunglasses and the bag of chips out of her backpack. Ginger zoned out, staring at the Master Emerald for what seemed like an eternity. She thought it was pretty and wanted to touch it. But Knuckles said they couldn’t. She didn’t want to know what would happen if she did.
"Hey, Ginger, was it? Sonic told me I should get to know you better. Whatcha got there?” Ginger nervously looked down at the chips. She wasn’t scared of Knuckles or anything; she actually had a strange feeling about him. A comforting aura, almost. Ginger wasn’t sure why. “Chips. You want some?” Knuckles gazed at the bag for a moment, then took a few chips out and began to eat them.
“So, why do you have those sunglasses?” Ginger looked at him, trying to figure out what to say. “I like to carry these around sometimes when it’s sunny. It’s because I’m very sensitive to bright lights.” Knuckles silently listened, then nodded in understanding. “Me too. I always found it strange, considering I’ve lived outside my whole life.” He stared at the clouds for a moment, then turned to Ginger again. “Can I try them on?” Ginger was hesitant. She was surprised that he didn’t mind that she had her sunglasses. Usually, people made fun of her for it.
Despite that, Ginger already trusted Knuckles. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the sunglasses. She watched as the red echidna gently put them on. “I never knew this was a way to make the sun less bright. I like this.” Knuckles said, punching his fists together. Ginger smiled but squinted as the sunlight fell on her eyes. Knuckles noticed that something was wrong. “Are you okay?” He asked, taking off the sunglasses. “I’m alright, the sun is just bright."
Knuckles quickly gave her the sunglasses and crossed his arms in embarrassment. “Sorry.” His voice was quiet, and he once again wasn’t looking at her. Putting on the sunglasses, Ginger replied, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault that the sun is so damn bright. And it’s not your fault that I’m sensitive to it.” “I know, I just..." Knuckles stopped himself, his voice cracking a little.
“I just hate when I do something wrong. It feels like I’ve failed my race whenever that happens. I know we just met, but there’s something you need to know about me. Almost my whole life, I’ve had to watch The Master Emerald. I’ve had to sit here, day after day, with no one to talk to. You know what it’s like to be alone, right?” Ginger began to put the chips back into her backpack. “Yeah. I mean, everyone has experienced loneliness at least once in their life, right?” She turned to him, noticing tears welling up in his eyes for a brief moment.
“Whatever. It’s my destiny, and I can’t change that. But you know, I can’t help but admire them." Knuckles motioned to the others and continued, “They don’t have anything tying them down. They go their own way. And as far as I can tell, the same goes for you.” Ginger shrugged, messing with her backpack. Almost immediately, she felt a piece of paper inside and took it out. It was the picture of Shadow that she had planned to give him.
“Oh crap! I completely forgot to give this to Shadow! I can still do it, right?” Just as she asked that, the wind picked up and the drawing flew out of her hand. She began running after it, but Knuckles was faster. In a flash, he leapt up in the air and caught it in his hand. He looked at the art for a moment and looked at Ginger. “You made this?” She nodded. “Nice. I wish I was good at art sometimes, but I’m not.” He gave Ginger the drawing, trying not to rip or crumple it with his large hands.
“Can you draw that rock over there?” He asked, pointing at a red rock laying next to him. Ginger stared at it. “Why does it have googly eyes?” She watched the echidna’s jaw drop, like he was offended at her question. “This is Timmy! He’s my rock son! Don’t make fun of him. I love him just the way he is.” Ginger laughed, not in a mean way, but in more of a teasing way. Timmy was goofy, and she liked goofy. She took out her notebook and crayons and began to draw the rock. After a few minutes, she handed Knuckles the finished drawing. “Aww, that’s cute. Thanks Ginger. You make some good art.”
Ginger nodded, and she noticed that Shadow and the others were approaching. “Shadow! I have something to show you.” Bouncing with excitement, she handed Shadow the picture she made of him. Shadow stared at it, a small smirk appearing on his face. “I like it. You did a good job.” Out of pure happiness, Ginger began to flap her hands. Knuckles looked on curiously. “She does that when she is excited, Knuckles," Shadow explained.
Knuckles nodded, not saying a word. Usually, when Ginger acted like this, people would give her strange looks and laugh. She was glad Knuckles wasn’t bothered by it at all. Sonic and Rouge eventually came over. Rouge looked slightly uncomfortable, as if she were in pain. “Hey Shadow, are we going to leave soon? Rouge’s stomach is acting up. Y’know, cramps and stuff. Apparently she is on her-”
Knuckles cut him off. “Yep! You can go now! Goodbye.” He pushed Sonic away from him in a joking manner. “Hey!” Sonic laughed. “Hands off the merchandise, Knuckles. I can get off the altar myself." He said this, giving Knuckles a fist bump. “Whatever Sonic. It was still nice seeing you and the others again. You can visit me anytime, you know.” He crossed his arms. Ginger watched Sonic, Shadow, and Rouge leave before turning to Knuckles.
“Thanks for the picture, Ginger. It was nice meeting you.” Ginger nodded and ran toward the others. “About time. My stomach is killing me! Let’s go.” Rouge said, flying away. Ginger felt like she should say something, so she nervously replied, "I hope your stomach gets better. Maybe it was from something you ate?” The bat grunted, then looked away. “Rouge, are you sure you’ll be okay?" Shadow asked, a look of sympathy forming on his face. Rouge said yes, then flew ahead to the portal.
Before stepping in, Ginger looked back. She smiled, glad that she was able to meet someone new. Someone who didn’t care about her autism. Not that she didn’t have that before through Sonic and Shadow, though. Knuckles was just a new friend who didn’t care. A friend that accepted her for who she was.