SatAC: The Retelling Chpt. 1

Sonic and the Ability Crystals
The Retelling
Chapter 1

"You've gotta admit. It's great to take a break."

Amy Rose relaxed in her folding chair as she watched the waves roll in and out from the ocean. She couldn't remember the last time things were this peaceful. Sonic had agreed that since it seemed like Eggman wasn't attacking them lately and everything was getting boring back home, a trip away would be good for them.

They have travelled to a small town far away from Emerald Town, far enough where the good doctor probably wouldn't locate them. It was a place called Hericous, named after some explorer that she couldn't remember much about. It was all in the brochure she read. Whoever he was, she wanted to shake his hand. The beach was clean, the waves weren't too big, and the mountains in the distance added to the scenery. Of course the man is long dead, so she'll not exactly get that chance.

Sonic was relaxing on a beach towel, slurping a lemonade as he enjoyed his friends having a nice time. It was good to see them not stressing over some nefarious scheme or world-ending disaster. For once, it was as if that stuff didn't exist.

Tails was working on a sandcastle. He was using some tools to make sure the walls were symmetrical and the structure was stable. Of course, a kid of science would try to make the best sand castle that he possibly could. Maybe he was overthinking a simple sand castle that would only be washed away by the ocean later… but he was having fun, so it wouldn't be right to spoil it for him.

Knuckles, on the other hand, was just lying on a folding chair next to Amy. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed. He wasn't completely happy. "You guys do realize that I should be guarding my emerald, right?"

"I thought you said the Chaotix have it covered," Tails asked.

"Yeah, right now! But the moment they hear something with a reward-"

"Come on, Knux," Sonic said. "They're not gonna disappoint you. Vector and the crew have your back. They always have."

Well it's true that the Chaotix and Knuckles have been friends for years since their first adventure together. They haven't let him down before, but usually it was because Knuckles was around to make sure they didn't. It was probably for the best he just tried to stop focusing on the subject.

For a while after, they succeeded in that goal. Nothing existed but that beach, the cool breeze, and the roaring waves. They were all able to just relax.

"YES!"

They jerked up as Tails triumphantly punched the air. "I finally got the irrigation systems functioning! Now to finish work in the bedroom and screening room, and I can take a break."

"S-screening room?!" Amy said, annoyed she was awoken from her relaxed state. "Why would a sandcastle need a screening room?"

Tails rolled his eyes. "So the king and queen can have entertainment. What else are they going to do? Have the royal jester do the same routine a million times? Please."  He got out a small tool and began drilling into the walls. His friends decided to let him continue at it.

As Amy got relaxed once more, something caught her attention. It was the sound of… something, but she wasn't entirely sure what. Closing her eyes, she tried to figure out what it sounded like. After some time, she figured it out: someone was hurt.

She opened her eyes, and tried to find the location of the noise. Further down the beach, she finally spotted the person. Not clear at first, the figure managed to walk closer and she was able to get a better view. She saw it was a boy, and he wasn't walking at all. He was limping.

"Sonic!" she exclaimed, pointing to the boy trying to stay on his feet. The others turned in the direction, and they got a good look at him too. He was a hedgehog. He looked somewhere between Sonic and Amy's heights, so probably in their age range. Somewhere between red and orange in color, one spine stuck out from both sides of his head, and two tufts shot out of his forehead. His hands were covered by a white set of gloves, and his shoes were a strange mish-mash of orange, green, and white triangles.

As he approached closer, Knuckles asked to the others, “Do you think he’s alright?”

“Not sure,” Sonic said. “Probably should check, just to be sure.”

With this said, Sonic walked over to the boy and said, “Hey there!” The boy didn’t respond, continuing to stare blankly in the direction he was headed. Unsure of whether or not he heard him, he said, “I’m Sonic! What’s your name?”

With that, the guy stopped walking, turning his head in Sonic’s direction. His purple eyes were almost empty in their gaze. “S..Sonic? That name... kinda... familiar...” With that, he lost all ability to stand upright and fell to the ground... and crushing Tails’s castle.

The group mostly reacted with shock at his unsuspected collapse. All but Tails, of course, who reacted with sheer horror. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” he screamed. “My hard work! Ruined...” He gasped as he put a hand to his mouth. “Her royal highness was still inside...” Tearing up, he held out a hand to show a small sand king resting on his palm. “I’m sorry, your majesty. I couldn’t save the queen.” He hung his head in shame at this, not noticing the small sand man crumbling into a pile.

“Help him up!” Sonic said, as him and Knuckles came to the boy’s aid. They were able to get him up on his feet, but when they let go, he began to wobble in order to keep his balance.

The boy gave a quick shake before saying, “I’m fine! Just fine. Heh... I’m just a little... exhausted, you could say.” The emptiness in his eyes from before was gone, probably from a moment of rest. He gave a weak chuckle. “Sorry for worrying you guys! I’ll just be on my way now!”

“W-wait!” Sonic said, stopping him from moving forward. “You just passed out. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course!” Sonic could tell the kid was putting on a fake smile so he wouldn’t worry. It appeared like he was trying to force his eyelids open. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to keep on my way!”

As he tried to leave, he noticed a small yellow fox blocking his path. “Hey, you jerk! You’re gonna apologize for knocking over my sand castle!” Tails pointed to the pile of sand that was his majestic castle.

It took the delirious hedgehog a few seconds before realizing what he had done. “Oh crap!” He put his hand to his mouth. “Did I land on your castle? I’m sorry, little guy.” He bent over the pile and began running his hands through it. “If you want, I can help you rebuild! I was a pretty good sand sculptor back in the day.”

“I can’t rebuild my fallen nation just like that! You’re gonna pay for your crimes to king and country!”

He stood back up. “You mean like… in rings or something?”

Tails stepped to the left and revealed three tiny sand cannons were behind his feet. Beside those tiny cannons were tiny soldiers, which the others guessed were there to man them. With a menacing grin, he said, “Soldiers! Fire when ready!”

Thinking that Tails must have a really good imagination, the hedgehog bent down to look at the cannons in more detail. “Wow! These are really well done, kid. They almost look like they could actually fi-”

Before he could finish his sentence, the cannons shot out sparks that completely enveloped his face. The others leapt back in shock besides Tails, who had a grin on his face. When the smoke went away, the boy’s face was completely covered in what appeared to be soot. A cough revealed a bit of it went down his throat. “Well…” he said, but with a voice that wasn’t very strong, “that’s… some… craftsmanship…” And with that, he collapsed backwards.

The others gasped and crowded around him. They then quickly threw their glances back to Tails, who knew that he was in trouble. “What?” he asked. “It wasn’t real cannon fire. It was just some soot I shoved in there to launch out with a button press. He’s just tired.”

As the others redirected their attention back to the boy passed out on the ground, Amy spoke up. “What are we gonna do with him?”

“Should we take him to a hospital?” Sonic asked.

Knuckles, taking initiative, hauled the boy onto one shoulder and said, “Nah. He’s fine. Let’s just take him back to the hotel room and let him rest.”

Sonic put a finger to  his lip in thought. “I don’t know.”

“It’s fine.” he restated as he made his way back to the Sunny Island Hotel where they were staying. The others didn’t want to argue; the kid obviously needed immediate help. They decided that they’d let him rest for a while, and then let him go on his way once he recovered.