Altered Destinies, Pt. 1: Stranger in a Strange Land A Sonic FanFic by Keith Aksland This entire story and everyone in it are protected under copyright laws. Distribute if you like, but don't change it, don't try to make money off it, yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill by now. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally, and all other related characters are (C) SEGA, DIC, and Archie Comic Publications, save the following: Bookshire Draftwood, and Sandra Nightweaver -- David Pistone Rebecca MacPherson and Me -- Myself (and I) Destiny -- David Gonterman, I think (Perhaps he got it elsewhere, I'm not sure) Author's Note: Here's the part where I try and justify placing myself in the Sonic universe. Well, I won't. Call it impulse, a whim, if you will. I'm just curious as to how I'd react to a situation like this, so I'm gonna write about it. Hope ya like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earth -- Manteca, California, AD 1997, Summer, 3:49 AM Keith Aksland was never one for peaceful sleep. His dreams were usually confusing surreal ordeals that left him scratching his head upon waking. Tonight, though, his dream was more twisted and frightening than usual... <"Just say the word when you finish."> * * * * * Back in the real world, Keith shook the sleep from his eyes. He looked about groggily for a second, but then the memories of his dream slammed back into his head. He got out of bed, dressed quickly, grabbed a small journal from his nightstand. "Okay, whoever you are, let's get on with this." Immeadiately, a silver glow surrounded him, and he faded from this world, never to return. * * * * * Mobius, The Great Forest, Year 3238 -- Spring Today was a slow day in Knothole. Robotnik was hiding out in Robotropolis, scheming something big, Sally thought. With a sigh, she gazed out the window, drumming her fingers on the small table idly. What to do, she asked herself. Then she decided. A walk sounded great. * * * * * Sally smiled and hummed to herself, enjoying the peace and beauty surrounding her. A bright sliver flash cut into her thoughts, one that had originated from somewhere off to her left. Quickly, she hurried over, careful to stay out of sight. One never knew what Robotnik was planning... What she saw made her gasp. A tall human, about six feet, she thought, was sprawled out unconscious next to a large oak. He was dressed in white shorts, and a hooded white shirt of some sort. His hair was brown, and fairly short. What shocked her most was the fact that he was human. She was sure the few humans there had been were already either dead or robticized early in the coup. But here was living proof that she was wrong... * * * * * Sonic was relaxing by the power ring pool with Tails and Bunnie when Sally ran up. "Sonic, you are not going to believe this. Come on, we need to hurry. Bunnie, Tails, you too." Sonic opened his mouth to question her, but something about the wild light in Sally's crystal blue eyes made him close it quickly. He grabbed Bunnie and Sally and took off, Tails in hot pursuit. With Sally guiding them, they made it back to the human's body in seconds. Bunnie was the first to speak. "Sally-dear, what is he doin heah?? Ah ain't seen a human in years... Ah thought they were all gone..." "Me too, Bunnie, but it seems that they're not all gone. Come on, we have to get him to Bookshire. He'll know what to do." Bunnie started to pick the human up, but Sonic grabbed her shoulder. "Bunnie, if he's human, he may be one of Robotnik's. Be major drag if he wakes up and tells Buttnik where we are... I say we dump him back at the gates." Sonic folded his arms. Sally was furious. "Yes, Sonic, but he may not be. You think perhaps that he's running for cover? Or lost? We should give him all the help we can." She glared at Sonic with all her regal will. Sonic just shook his head and tapped his foot. Sally growled. "Sonic Hedgehog, if you do not pick him up and take him back to Knothole, I will have you tried for treason. You get me?" The vehemence of Sally's order shocked the hedgehog, and without a sound, and eyes wide as dinner plates, he grabbed the human by his arm. Making sure the two girls had a firm grip on him, he tore off for Knothole. * * * * * They had gotten back to Bookshire's in record time, as usual. The strange human was laid out on one of Bookshire's beds, Sally and Bookshire standing over him, talking. Sonic paced back and forth, muttering under his breath. Outside, a crowd had begun to gather, and rumors were already flying, as they do. Sally looked down at the unconscious form of the human. How strange, she thought, that he end up, practically at my feet right when we needed help... maybe there's a reason... But that thought faded into the comfused jumble of theories which had been tumbling around her mind since they had gotten here. Bookshire had done all he could, now all there was to do was wait... It didn't take long. About a half hour later, he moaned and stirred. "Ohhhh, my head... Without even opening his eyes, he started to massage his temples. "Can someone PLEASE tell that guy to shut off the jackhammer? I'd appreciate it a lot..." Sally decided to speak. "Who are you? Where'd you come from?" The human waved the questions away, eyes still closed. "Save it for when I get as aspirin, miss. I have one mother of a headache right now..." He chose this moment to open his eyes. Every muscle in his body froze still. One hand dropped to the bedframe. "Er... hi..." "Hello. I'm Princess Sally Acorn. And you are?" Sally then became aware of a small crackling noise coming from the bedframe. She looked down too see the humans hand gripping the fframe, knuckles white. The sound was the strong ashwood crackling under the pressure of the human's grip. He smiled nervously. "I am... going to pass out now..." And he did. Sally wasn't *quite* expecting a reaction like that. So she didn't really know how to respond. "Er... Bookshire, let me know when he wakes up, please? I'll... be in my hut." With that she walked out, a touch confused. * * * * * "Okay. I guess I see what's going on. I only have one more question." The human, who introduced himself as Keith, had spent the last forty-five minutes learning from Sally what had gone on over the last decade. Watching the confusion fade into anger, determination, and resolve was in a way reassuring. If he is a spy, she thought at one point, either he was an expert actor, or he had been partially brainwashed. These suspicions soon faded. From the look in his eyes, she decided, he could be trusted. "And what would that be, Keith?" "That I get a one-on-one crack at this Robotnik. I'd like to see how a tyrant's nose breaks. I think it'd be kinda interesting, don't you?" Keith grinned as he said it. But the look in his eyes told Sally he meant every word. "Er, ah, okay. But you realize that you'll have to go on a mission with us..." Keith waved his hand. "To prove my loyalty, I know, I know, I'm not entirely naive. Just tell me what we're going to do. I'll do it, don't you worry." Sally's voice still had some trepidation. "Okay. Come back at 8 tomorrow morning. We'll outline everything and make sure you have the procedure down. Got it?" Keith nodded. "Gotch. See you then." He began to walk out. "Wait!" Sally had just remembered something. "We don't have a place for you to stay yet! Where'll you sleep?" Keith shrugged. "Wherever I can find a good couch, I guess. I wouldn't worry about that yet." With that, he walked out. Sally stared after him, her brow furrowed. How odd, she thought, that he can be so calm, in this place that is obviously unlike anything he's ever seen... Chapter 2 Keith decided to take a stroll in the forest surrounding the village. Man, this place was beautiful. The air was clean and fresh, the trees were huge, letting in just enough sunlight to make everything look even better than normal. Keith found a large, flat rock and laid out on it. He closed his eyes and let the sensations just wash over him. It was perfect. He loved doing this to relax back home, but he never got the same rush of sensation that this forest gave. The area almost seemed to sing with life and tranquility. Yes, he thought, I could *definitely* get used to this... "Now, ain't this a pretty sight." The rough voice cut through Keith's daydreaming like a dull, rusty knife. He blinked back to reality and saw three large figures standing about ten feet off. They wore derisive sneers on their faces, and carried what seemed to be large clubs. The one who spoke up before, a large bull, pointed his club at Keith. "Stay right there, pal. Make it a lot easier on all of us." Keith only looked confused. "And why would I want to do that? Seems if I lay here, you'll pound the snot out of me." The one to the right of the bull, a beefy warthog, laughed. "Catches on quick, don't he? Yeah, that's what we're gonna do. You got a problem with that?" Now Keith looked surprised. "Well, actually, yeah, I do. See, I kinda have this thing against passing out. Did it once today, don't like it too much, see? But that was outta shock. This'll just suck even worse. So, no, I don't think I want you to beat me." As he said this, he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the rock. "But perhaps you want to go for a drink?" The figure to the left of the bull, a scraggly-looking fox, snorted. "Prolly poison it. Just get it over with, Evan. I wanna see what he looks like out cold." The bull grinned. "Yeah, I wanna see that, too. Then, when we're done, maybe we drag him back to Robotropolis and let Robotnik fix 'im up, eh?" Keith held up his hands. "Hold on, hold on, WAIT. Robotropolis? Are you saying you think that I'm one of that bloated sack's grunts? Oh, MAN, are you in SERIOUS need of a reality check. Okay, here's how it started..." The bull, Evan, cut him off. "Shut up, human. We know you're lying through your teeth. Well, we see through your little story, so we're gonna take you down. Got it?" "Actually, Evan, I think YOU are the one who doesn't get it. But you will. And then maybe you'll pull your head out of your ass and see the truth." Keith's face was perfectly even as he said this. He was standing now, watching the three intently. Evan's eyes flew open. "Oh, you're gonna PAY for that, kiddo..." He took a step forward. Keith didn't move. Didn't even put his hands up. "What's the matter, human? Scared? Cause you know you can't take me?" Keith rolled his eyes. "Actually, I'm fairly sure I can take you. But I don't want to. Because I hate fighting. Someone always gets hurt." Evan growled. "Yeah. This time it's gonna be you. Get 'im, Pete." The fox charged, hands out in front, ready to tackle the lean human. All of a sudden, he wasn't there anymore. Hands grabbed Pete by his shoulders, and pulled down, causing him to lose balance. A foot was planted in his gut, and shoved. The next thing he knew, he was airborne. Pete landed on his back, skidding until he slammed sideways into a tree. He groaned in pain and stayed where he was. Keith stood up and brushed his hands. "He learned. Have you?" Seeing the warthog charge him, he muttered, "Guess not," and set himself for the next one. The warthog was smarter. He stopped in front of Keith and took a swing at him. The human blocked it and rabbit-punched the warthog in the snout, causing him to sneeze and blink. But, then he roared in rage, and put his entire weight into a haymaker that would kill the human. If he hadn't ducked. He then came up, using both his legs and arms to increase the force of the punch that he landed on the warthog's kidney. The unfortunate warthog collapsed, clutching at his side. Keith looked up at Evan, whose eyes were wide. With a cold fire blazing in his hazel eyes, Keith said, "You get it yet? Or do I have to give you a firsthand lesson. Mind you, I'd rather not, and it'd make me a hell of a lot happier if you'd just shut up and walk away, because then I won't have your pain on my conscience, too. But if you're still ready for a fight, far be it from me to disappoint you..." Evan stepped forward slowly, swinging his club back and forth. Keith nodded, with what appeared to be a look of sadness. "All right, then. I'm sorry it has to be this way..." "Not as sorry as you will be, you puke." With that, Evan stepped forward and swung the club down with all his might. Keith sidestepped quickly, and the club came crashing down to the ground, harmlessly. Evan took another swing, once again connecting with empty air. "What's the matter? Can't you take me?? You scared of someone who's better than you?!" He began a backhand swing, murderous intent written in his red eyes. The swing was stopped midway through. Keith had one hand on Evan's wrist, another on his elbow. "Not better, my friend. Just angrier. Now, I have two things to show you about how to deal with an opponent. The first is the joint-lock." With that, he twisted the arm and pulled, snapping it straight out, making it impossible for Evan to move it. A knee powered into his gut, causing his to gasp. "The second," came Keith's voice through the red haze of pain and rage, "is leverage." Keith then pressed his knee against the elbow and pushed, causing a considerable amount of pain for the elbow's owner. "Come on, Evan, you should know by now that I don't want to keep this up. I hate it. I hate everything about what I'm doing. But you forced me into it. People like you always end up doing things like this, and this is where it ends up. Now can you just GIVE IT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE?!?!" With that, he dropped Evan's arm and began to storm off, leaving the three to reflect on their respective pa ins. * * * * * He arrived in Knothole to find a huge crowd milling about, angry rumblings coming from nearly everyone involved. Someone looked in his direction, pointed, and shouted, "There he is! Get 'im!!" Before he could react, he had been overpowered by the huge mass of people. They grabbed him, held him down, while others beat him mercilessly, some even using sticks. "Enough!!" Sally's voice tore across the mob's angry yellings, silencing them instantly. "Where is he?!" Keith, now bruised and bloody, was shoved up to the front, where he saw Sally, Sonic standing next to her. He was glaring straight at him with undisguised hatred in his eyes. "I saw you, pal. I saw you beating up on Evan and his buds. Don't even try and say you weren't. I was there." Sonic spat at the human. "What do you have to say for yourself, Keith? What do you have to say now that you've taken my trust and ground it into the dirt??" Sally's tear-filled eyes were shot through with pain, anger, and betrayal. "ANSWER ME!!" Keith knew that, witht he state of mind she was in, she would never hear what he had to say. So he just stared evenly at her, forcing her to look back into his eyes. Perhaps, he hoped, she would see something that would convince her... "Enough. Take him to the prison." As the crowd dragged him off, he saw Sally turn and run to her hut, slamming the door behind her. Another thing he saw that interested him was a young female, not joining in the mobbing, yet still watching him, as if trying to decide what to think of this strange human... * * * * * A soft knock sounded from outside Sally's hut. The door opened a slight crack. "Sally girl, y'all in there?" Sally lifted her head from the desk, and looked over at the bunny who had stuck her head through the doorway. Smiling weakly, she nodded. "Come on in, Bunnie." Bunnie closed the door behind her and knelt at Sally's side, placing her robotic hand on Sally's shoulder. "Sugar, what's wrong? Y'all been cryin'?" It did indeed look that way. Sally's eyes were red and puffy, her cheekfur matted slightly. Sally sighed and turned away. "Bunnie... why did I trust him? What possible reason could I have had to think he'd be any different from Robotnik? I mean... he seemed nice enough... but when he went out and did that to those three... Bunnie, he didn't even TRY to plead his case! He just looked at me..." Sally shook her head, out of words. Bunnie's gaze remained steady. "Sally-girl, if he had, would y'all 'a listened? Y'all seemed pretty mad back there. Ah don't think you'd'a let him get ten words out. As fer what he did, who-all's ta say he picked a fight with Evan an' his buddies? Y'all know those three as well as ah do, an' they've done that since school... 'Sides, kid HAS ta be smarter than ta pick a fight with them..." Bunnie chuckled. "Ah mean, he's human, but he don' look stupid..." Sally sighed. "I don't know, Bunnie... I guess you're right, but I'll have to do some thinking..." Bunnie nodded. "'Kay, sugar. Y'all go on ahead. But ah don't think that boy's what y'all make him out ta be..." With that, she left, leaving Sally alone with her thoughts. * * * * * When Sally walked into the prison, she saw Keith lying on his bed, eyes closed. Turning to the guard, she whispered, "Have soemone come for me when he wakes up. I need to talk with him." "No need. I'm awake right now." Both Sally and the guard turned. Keith was still lying down, his eyes still closed. Just when Sally was about to turn away, he spoke again. "Say whatever it is you have to say, Sally. I'm listening. But before you begin, please dismiss the guard. I'd rather have as few people listening in as possible. Makes for less rumors, don't you think?" Sally nodded her head, and the guard left. Turning back she said, "At least open your eyes, so I know you're listening." Keith's eyes stayed shut. "There's nothing else to listen to, Sally. This way, I can tell how sincere you are. It's important to an innocent man to be able to hear how his accusors truly feel, I think. Go ahead." Sally sighed, and began to speak. "I did a lot of thinking over what's gone on today. As much as I value Sonic's word, when I stopped to consider the situation, I found myself holding a different opinion... I mean, those three have been incurable bullies ever since childhood, and what they described certainly didn't seem like their style." "And what WAS their story, Sally? I never got to hear it." Keith's voice held a faint tinge of amusement, as if he knew what it would be. "Well, according to them, they were bumming around in the woods, when you jumped them from behind and pounded them flat." Sally smiled faintly. "I guess not everyone's what they're made out to be..." "Wait a minute... Sally, is this an apology? I mean, it sounds a lot like one, but I just want to make sure..." Keith had sat upright and was looking straight at the princess. Sally's smile widened. "Well, yes, I suppose it is... do you accept?" "Of course I do, Princess. I've waited so many long hours to hear a repreive..." Sally interrupted, slightly confused. "But you've only been here for two hours..." Keith grinned. "You ever spent a couple in here, miss? It ain't all honey and crackers, lemme tell you..." His voice dripped false misery. "So many long hours, waiting for something, a sign, a sign that I may..." Sally unlocked the door. "Come on, get out before I lock it again for disturbing the peace..." She chuckled, watching him practically skip out, grinning. "You're an odd human, aren't you, Keith?" Keith flashed a crazy grin. "Me? Odd? NO! I'm always in several of my right minds... why do you ask?" He opened the door, and screeched to a halt. "Wait... maybe you better go out first... so I don't get mobbed again for trying to escape..." Shaking her head in wonder, Sally walked out and made her announcement of Keith's release. * * * * * As expected, Keith's freedom didn't go over too well, especially with Sonic. But after Sally 'talked' to him, he settled down, eventually. Bunnie and Sally showed him around the place, getting him familiar with every nuance of Knothole life. ("When Rotor says 'Oops', sugah, y'all better run lahk blazes!") By the end of the day, Keith was pretty exhausted, both physically and mentally. That's when Sally found herself in another quandary. "Keith, where are you going to sleep?" Keith shrugged. "Like I said, as long as the couch is comfortable, I'll be happy." He kept on walking, until the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them grabbed their attention. They turned to see the female raccoon that Keith had noticed earlier, the one that had hung back from the mob. She smiled sheepishly and nodded to Sally. "I'll take him in, Sally. I've got a spare bedroom." She looked over at Keith, and her smile widened a bit. Keith regarded this girl curiously. She was two feet shorter than he was, and had deep brown fur, with the markings of a raccoon around her eyes and tail. Her jet-black hair hung past her shoulders in wavy curves. Her emerald-green eyes were dancing with mischeif, but a bit subdued by her apparent nervousness. "Rebecca, are you sure? I mean, there's a lot to think about before you make the decision..." Keith chuckled. "Yeah, you have to walk me twice a day, and feed me three times. And let me out in the middle of the night when I need to go... Sally, I'm not a pet. I know what to do and how to act in someone else's home. She'll be fine, and I'll be fine." He looked back up at Rebecca. "Thank you for letting me stay in your house. I appreciate it. Now... where is it?" Rebecca chuckled a little and walked in the direction of her house. Keith grinned at Sally. "Later." Sally could just stare in puzzled as he fell into step beside Rebecca, as if he'd done this hundreds of times before. * * * * * It was late that night. Rebecca had been asleep for a couple of hours, and Keith just couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the change of location, or possibly the sudden shift in his reality had something to do with. At any rate, he needed to get out of the house for a little while. He scribbled out a quick note, on the off chance that Rebecca may wake up in the middle of the night, slipped out the window, and went for his walk. Now, Keith wasn't an idiot. He knew that there may be predators that he'd never seen before stalking the forest, so he made sure to stick close to the village, always keeping the sentry towers in sight. The more he walked, the more he thought about the decision he had made. Keith sighed. He knew that most of the people back on Earth would just as soon shoot him in the back as look at him, and that basic human kindness was all but forgotten now... but there were still things about his planet that he missed. All his friends were out of his life for good now, as well as his family. He found himself wishing he could have at least said goodbye to one of his friends, or even his mother, something that wouldn't have him feeling like he'd let everyone down by abandoning them... No. Keith shook his head, angry at himself for thinking that. He did not let anyone down. They would be perfectly fine as they are. He sighed, and walked on back to Rebecca's hut, feeling exhausted, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Welcome to Mobius, he thought.