… And One Shall Live: The Begining On a clear Mobius morning, you can see the sun, the sky, the marshmallow like clouds, and somewhat that appears to be a rock in the sky. But that rock is indeed no rock at all. For it's an island. A Floating Island. The Chaos Emerald holds it up in the sky. The island is a very beautiful island by far. It's fortunate that Robotnick's pollution hasn't destroyed it yet. For one fellow echidna wouldn't let this happen. And he happened to be the guardian of the floating isle, Knuckles Echidna. This matter is mysterious itself. No one knows too much about Knuckles, except for his little sister, Cher Echidna. Just by one year younger, Cher is a female echidna. She puts all her dreadlocks but one in a ponytail. The loose one hangs down around her face. She wears a light colored baby-tee, it's a light blue, and blue denim cut offs. She wears these shoes similar to army boots. She was always a tomboy, never had any sisters, or nevertheless a mother. But the only thing that she has to remind her of her mother is a necklace. But a special necklace. It was a silver chain with a tiny charm. The charm was a little chaos emerald. Her mother gave it to her when she was born. Her father told her that when she was two. When Cher was born, she only had a mother for three, maybe four, weeks. When her mother had her, she got deathly ill. Cher was taken away from her mother so the sickness wouldn't reach her. Knuckles were only one when Cher was born, so he also was taken away from his mother. It's a mystery still how Cher and Knuckles's mother died. But none of it is recorded in newspapers, videos, or even the death certificate doesn't claim anything of a sickness. But, that was the harsh past. Now we enter the terrifying present. The loud and obnoxious alarm clock set off at 6:03 A.M. Followed by a slam. Cher pleasantly awoke at the sound of the alarm in a grunt. "I'll never make it through this day! I just know I won't!" Cher got up and went to her dresser. She brushed her dreadlocks back in a ponytail and pulled one loose. Then she put on her shoes and went to go check the mail. Mondays were not her day. She always got up and did the same routine, over and over. When she finally made her way towards the black mailbox, she heard a soft humming sound she'd never heard before. She quickly turned around. A portal began to open. It was a bright green light, and she had to shield her eyes so she wouldn't go blind. The light died down, and Cher opened her eyes to see the fattest man alive. Dr. Julian Robotnick. "Well, well. What do we have here?" Robotnick snickered as he looked at Cher. "Perfect bate for that echidna the call Knuckles! Swatbot patrol unit E-3902, take her in the hover craft!" The Swatbots surrounded Cher. But Cher wasn't all that helpless. She did a roundhouse kick at one Swatbot, and jumped kicked another. But there were too many of them. Finally, one captured her and was ordered to take her to Robotropolis. "Ow! Watch it!" Cher screamed as she was thrown in a damp cell. The Swatbot slammed the rusty barred door with a thud, and locked it tight. Cher kicked an old bolt that was deserted in the cell. "Stupid butt-nick…." Cher mumbled. She saw something move in the back left corner of the cell. She hesitated and watched the figure. It would lean its head forward, then jerk it back. "What are you doing?!" Cher asked the stranger. "Playin' wit my ears!" The figure replied as he nodded his head back and forth with his ears flopping every direction possible. "Why?" Cher asked. "'Cause they're cute! See!" He tugged his ears lightly side ways. He was a light blue fox with big brown eyes. Almost looked like a little kid. "My name is Chaos the Fox. I used to live outside of Knothole, but now I'm here." Chaos looked down. "My name's Cher Echidna. I live on Floating Island." Cher outstretched her hand for a hand shake. "Pleased to meet ya!" Chaos said while shaking her hand. "Wait a sec, how'd you end up here?" Cher asked suddenly. "The strangest thing happened." Chaos said. He continued, "I was runnin' around a field makin' total chaos. Just havin' fun. But then, a green light appeared, then Robotnick was there! He grabbed me and took me away to here!" Chaos started shaking. "Y'know," Cher mentioned, "that's the exact same thing that happened to me…" Cher was interrupted by a loud thud above them. Chaos and Cher heard noises above. "Stupid! I told you we should've taken the ground level!" A female voice screamed in a whisper. "Sorry! Just thought we'd try something like Mission Impossible routine!" A male voice whispered. Cher picked up a rock and threw it at the ceiling. "Hey!? What was that!?" The female voice echoed. "It came from below, D'OH!" The male voice replied. "This is the last time I'm teamed up with you Psycho!" Cher and Chaos heard a drilling noise. Then the roof broke, and a winged dingo and a green hedgehog dropped towards the bottom of the cell making a big dust cloud. The bright green hedgehog stood up and outstretched both arms out in the air and held out two peace signs. "Too cool too cool!" He said bowing down like some gymnast. The winged dingo stood up and saw Cher and Chaos through the dust particles flying about. "Hi. My name is Alpha Dingo. That psycho over there is.…well…. his name is Psycho T. Hedgehog." Alpha was a slender dingo. With an Australian type hat, and a light beige vest. She had on olive boots. The one thing that stood out mostly was her gigantic bat wings. Psycho was a bright green hedgehog, with eyes that were red spirals. He also had bright blue sneakers. "I'll save the day once more!" Psycho bellowed as he turned into a sonic spin. He cut the bars of the door and watched it fall over. "Hop on my back! Quick!" Alpha motioned for Chaos and Cher. They jumped up onto her back. She started to fly while Psycho ran as fast as Sonic. They arrived in Knothole, a town deep in the Great Forest. Cher got off and looked around in amazement. "Hi there!" A voice from afar called out to Cher. "Huh?" Cher said. A tall female cheetah came into view and greeted Cher. "Have ya been here before?" The cheetah asked. "No, not really." Cher said in a quiet voice. "My name is Spotsy. What's yours?" "Cher. Nice to meet ya…" Cher shook Spotsy's hand. "There's some room at my place. Your welcome to stay the night if ya like." Spotsy offered. "Yeah. Sure. That'll be great!" Cher said. "Well, I've gotta go. See ya around, k?" "Yeah. Ok!" Cher waved good-bye to her as she sped through the Great Forest. As soon as Spotsy left, Cher walked alone in the forest. She'd shuffle her feet and watch the dust cloud around her boots. "Why so low?" A voice asked. Cher looked up, then she saw a brown echidna wearing a red shirt and wide legged pants. "Oh….I…. just new here. That's all!" Cher replied as she looked away so he wouldn't see her blush. "Well, my name is Derek. What's yours?" Derek inquired. "Ch… Cher…" Cher stuttered. "NO YOUR NOT!! YOUR NAME IS MUD!" A little red fox came flying from a tall oak tree out stretching his feet towards Cher's head. "Lay off Inferno!" Derek said while knocking Inferno out of the way. "Why!?" Inferno whined. "'Cause I said so!" Derek snapped. Then he turned to Cher, "This is my friend, Inferno FireFox." Inferno took a bow, "Pleased to meet you!" "Yeah, you didn't look pleased to meet me just a few minutes ago!" Cher said. "Sorry. Thought you would beat up on my friend or something…" Inferno looked down. "Well, it's okay. You didn't know any better." Cher said while patting Inferno on the back. Derek looked at Cher with twinkling eyes, but Cher just looked away, pretending not to notice. Then, Azrael came into distance. She was a shorter version of Alpha, because basically they were sisters. Except Azrael had black Nike tops and a leather jacket. She was your basic eleven year old. "You guys," Azrael said, "like, we're 'bout to eat!" "FOOD!" Inferno screamed. He ran really fast towards Knothole. Azrael went after him, and Cher and Derek walked together. "So, how'd you like it here in Knothole?" Derek asked. "It's ok… but I like Floating Island more." Cher looked down. Derek smiled, "Really? I like it better here." "I just miss people I know…" Cher gazed at Derek, and he looked back. "Uh… we're gonna be late for supper." Derek said. "Yeah. I think so too…" "My ears are cuter than your ears!" Psycho said to Chaos. "Unh-uh! My ears are the cutest!" Chaos said while flapping them around. "Alright, you win. But my nose is cuter!" Psycho said while wiggling it around. "Pass the salt!" Azrael screamed across the table. "There is no salt!" Spotsy said. "WHAT!?" Azrael cried, "You can't have mashed potatoes with out salt!" "Aw, poor baby." Inferno snickered. "Then I'm goin' on a hunger strike!" Azrael said while crossing her arms and sticking her nose high in the air. "I'll have your plate if you don't want it!" Chaos said while outstretching his hands. "No, I'll have it!" Psycho yelled. "No, me!" Chaos screamed. "No, ME!" Psycho yowled. "I asked first!" Chaos stated. "I have a cuter nose!" "So, I have cuter ears!" "So, I'm green!" "So, I'm blue!" "CHILDREN!!!" Cher screamed while shoving a fork in her pork chop, "Let's get along… k?" "Yes Cher." They said at the same time. Psycho slumped in his chair while Chaos's ears hung low. "Now I can eat in peace!" Spotsy said while shoving a chicken nugget in her mouth. Someone came rushing through the door just then. It was a skunk. "Oh Geoff!" Alpha ran up to him and gave him a long hug. "Missed ya, luv." Geoffrey said while holding Alpha. "Oh, quit the lovey-dovey crap!" Azrael snarled. "Azrael," Derek said, "Y'know you're gonna go through that mushy stuff when you're older." "No I'm not!" Azrael cried, "Just watch and see!" "We were just eating, Geoff" Alpha said. Geoff smiled, "You don't mind if I grab a bite to eat, do you?" "How can you grab a bite?" Chaos asked. "Expression, mate." Geoff said as he sat down next to Alpha. Azrael kicked Chaos's feet under the table. "Ow!" Chaos screamed. "What?" Azrael snickered. "You kicked me!" "Did not!" Azrael stuck her tongue out at him. Spotsy slammed her fist to the table. "Can't we all get along!?" Everyone ate in silence after that. Cher yawned as she made her bed, "It's been a very long day." "Everyday is a long day in Knothole!" Spotsy said as she gave Cher some sheets. "So, ya like it here?" "Yeah," Cher replied, "The people are pretty… well… friendly." "You say that like you're not sure." Spotsy said. "I'm sure." Cher said as she turned away to fix the pillow cases. "If you say so." Spotsy said while walking out of the room, "I'm gonna turn in for the night. Cheer up Cher." "I'm cheery! Just, not sure…" Cher woke up to Chaos's screaming, "I'm makin' total chaos everybody! Wake up peoples! Hahahaha!!!" Cher put the pillow over her head. "Cher, wake up." Spotsy said while opening up the blinds. Cher threw the pillow to the side, then sat straight up. "Ok. I'm comin'." Cher went to the dresser and fixed her hair. Then she put on her shoes and skipped outside. She saw Inferno walk into the REC room. So, she walked in also. Everyone was around a table eating breakfast. "I get the toy outta the box!" Chaos yelled while grabbing for the cereal box. Psycho grabbed it before him, "Snooze ya loose!" Psycho snickered as he ripped off the box top. He frantically searched the box for the toy. When Psycho felt something, he grabbed the toy and threw the box to the side. It was a girly ring. "Ew! I'm not wearin' this! I'll give it to Sebrina!" Psycho said. Sebrina was his girlfriend. A red Echidna. But she was on vacation visiting family and stuff. Cher got up from the table, "Well I'm stuffed." She stated as she got up from the table. Then she went outside. She went to the Lake of Rings and stared at it. It was really beautiful, she thought. It was a glowing pond, because of the power rock that produces power rings. Then Cher saw a big oak tree that outstretched from the shore to the middle of the lake. Right at that moment, Cher decided to climb it. She climbed the steep trunk and laid on a humongous branch. Then, she felt herself going to sleep. "CHER!" A voice called from bellow. Cher almost fell off the branch. "What?! Something wrong?" Cher wondered. It was Chaos running around the tree 10 million times. "No, just like makin' total chaos!" Chaos giggled as he fled up the tree. "Whuz down with you?" "Oh, y'know me…nothin' really…" Cher sighed. "Are you okies?" Chaos asked. "Yeah, I said I was fine!" Cher almost snarled. "Jeez, just askin'!" Chaos whimpered. "I…I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Cher said. "It's otay!" Chaos said in a cheery tone. "I have a lot on my mind, that's all." Cher stated as she looked downward. "Like what?" "Really, nothing…" Cher insisted. "Okay! I leave you alone to think!" Chaos chimed as he ran down the tree. Cher watched him take off into the woods while she pulled out her Walkman. "Cher!" Someone called from bellow. Of course she couldn't hear him. "Millions of peaches, peaches for me…" Cher sang. "CHER!" The voice was louder this time. "Huh?!" Cher said as she looked down. "Oh, hi Derek." Cher said as she took off her head set. "What are you doin'?" Derek asked. Cher paused, then answered, "Oh, nothin'. Just chillin'. That's all" "You're a great singer, Cher." Derek commented. Cher blushed, "Thanks." "Oh well," Derek said, "I need to go. See ya around, k?" "You can bet on it, Derek. Trust me…" Cher blasted her Walkman to the rest of "Peaches". "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" A loud ear piercing scream rang out through the forest. Cher jumped down from the tree she was in and landed on her feet. She came rushing to the scene, which was outside of the REC room. "Sup?" Cher asked as she came to a halt. "Inferno's gone!!" Spotsy screamed. It looked as if she was drowning in tears. "How could he disappear in broad daylight?" Alpha wondered. "I don't know, luv. But we'll find him." Geoff said. "You can flick my ears!" Chaos said stretching them out towards Spotsy. "No thank you…" Then Spotsy continued to cry. Right at that moment Cher tripped, "OW!" Cher hollered rubbing her ankle. Derek helped her up, "You okay?" Cher grabbed his hand, "Fine… perfectly…" "What's that!?" Azrael said pointing to something next to Cher's feet. Alpha picked it up. "Looks like something that came of a robot…" "You don't mean…" Spotsy paused. "Yeah, Inferno has been fox-napped!" Psycho yelled across the forest. "Guys, in the mess hall, now!" Alpha ordered. "The A-team will consist of Geoff, Cher, Derek, and me." Alpha explained while they sat around a large table. "The B-team will consist of Spotsy, Chaos, Psycho, and Azrael." Alpha looked at everyone straight in the eye. Alpha continued, "The A-team will go look beyond the boundaries of the Great Forest. The B-team will search Knothole. Any questions?" No one said anything. "Good, let's do it!" "Ow! That was my foot!" Cher screamed in a whisper. "Sorry." Geoff said. They were all hiding in bushes outside of the Great Forest. "Shut up you two!" Alpha said. "Something's coming." They all watched in amazement as they saw a portal begin to open. They all had to shield their eyes from not going blind. Then a strange looking metal figure came swooping out of the portal. It was a metal Sonic. "Mecha Sonic." Alpha gasped. "We've got to go… now!" "Why?" Cher asked. "No time for questions!" Geoff whispered pushing Cher, "Go!" Cher crawled through the forest followed by Derek, Geoff, and Alpha. Then they ran swiftly through the forest. They finally reached a clearing. Cher flopped onto the forest floor. "Why'd we do that?" "Mecha is a real mean machine, Cher." Alpha said. "If he saw you, he'd rip ya to pieces!" Geoff said. Cher gulped. "Then, he captured Inferno?" Derek questioned. "Yes. Possible. But butt-nick could have…" Geoff replied. "We need to get back to Knothole, pronto!" Alpha said. "Spotsy! Azrael! Chaos!" Cher screamed across the forest, but received no reply. "Psycho!" Geoff called. Still, dead silence. "Oh good grief!" Alpha sighed, "Where are they?" "I dunno." Cher said. "Maybe Mecha got them." Derek informed. "I know!" Alpha said, "Mecha could've got them through the portal before he almost found us!" "This portal thingy has gone too far!" Cher stomped. "Well," Geoff said, "we need to get to the bottom of this, now!" Cher, Derek, Geoff, and Alpha were standing outside of Robotropolis behind a great big trash heap. But then something bumped into to them. "Who are you?" A light brown fox asked with a grayish cape. "Well, I'd like to ask the same question, missy!" Cher snapped. "My name is Kristy Jessi Grant." She announced, "This is my team. Kelly and Katichina." Kelly was a white cat with big brown eyes and black hair that was secured in a ponytail. Katichina was a tiger with a blonde ponytail and gray eyes. "I'm Cher Echidna. And this is Derek Echidna, Alpha Dingo, And Geoffrey St. John." Cher said, "What are you doing here?" "To save our friend, Vicki Hedgehog." Kat said in a whisper. "Why'd you come here?" Kelly asked Alpha. "The portal that Robotnick has conjured up has taken most of our friends." Alpha said. Kat pulled out a 9mm, "We're bringin' butt-nick down… for good!" A shot rang out through Robotropolis. Then dozens of alarms set off. "That's our Que.! Run!" Kat screamed as Cher, Kelly, Kristy and she set off through the gates. They ran through yards of junk, broken down SWATBots and everything else. When they finally got to Sector A, they stopped and ducked for cover. Kat took out her 9mm and fired at some SWATBots while Kristy and Kelly broke open the vents. "Okay. Ready." Cher nudged Kat as the set off through the ventilation system. They finally got to an open vent door, but kept it closed. "My dear Demitri, what's wrong this time?" Robotnick sneered as he circled around a red female echidna. "Robotnick, dear friend, I need some mechanical machines to take over Floating Island." Demitri said. Demitri was a descendent of the original Demitri. She had three dreadlocks in a bundle wrapped by another dreadlock. "And you come to me for help?" Robotnick snickered. "Who else would know as much as you, oh grateful one." Demitri said. She was trying to take over Mobius, one step at a time. "Yes. I have some left over Combats." Robotnick hesitated, then continued, "But, there's a price to pay." "What!?" Denisie Echidna bellowed. Denisie was a follower of Demitri. So was Kristal Echidna. "Five million mobians, and they're yours!" Robotnick snickered. "Deal!" Demitri said while shaking his metallic hand. All of a sudden, Kelly had to sneeze. If Kelly sneezed, they would give themselves away. Cher shook her head wildly for her not to sneeze. But that didn't help. "ACHOOOOOO!!" Kelly ripped out a long and loud sneeze, sending Cher, Kat, Kristy and herself down to the floor right in front of Robotnick and Demitri. "Would you like to accompany the others?" Robotnick snickered. Cher scowled. "Never." She swung her body around and kicked Robotnick in the face. Kat got out her 9mm and shot Demitri, but Demitri ducked and missed. "Pathetic fool!" Demitri snickered knocking Kat to the ground. Kat's gun flew out of her grasp and slid on the floor. Kat tried to get up, but her knee was bleeding. Kelly showed her claws to Denisie. Then slashed her in the face with blood flying left and right. But Denisie ignored the pain that shot through her nervous system, and grabbed Kat's gun. "Die fool!" She aimed and fired at Kelly. But Kristy pushed Kelly out of the way. The bullet barely missed her and shot through Kristal. Kristal dropped dead in silence. "NO!" Denisie screamed as she ran towards the corpse. She started crying in agony. Cher ran to the control panel. "Hmm… I wonder what happens if I push this button labeled "Release prison locks"?" Cher paused, "Only one way to find out…" She slammed her fist onto the button, and the wall came flying open, releasing all of Cher's friends, including a white hedgehog. But Mecha Sonic came out and grabbed Kelly. "AAAAHHH!!!" Kelly screamed. "Fools!" Mecha Sonic said in a mechanical voice. "You will lose her if you don't surrender!" Out of the blue, Vicki got a crazy idea. "You wouldn't harm a mobian, would you?" "Yes." He replied. "Y'know you have freewill!" "Yes." Mecha's grasp on Kelly started to weaken. "Then let her go, and stop serving Robotnick. You don't need to live under his command!" Vicki announced. Mecha let go. Kelly landed with a thud. "I can't continue hurting people." Mecha said. "Well then, don't!" Vicki cried. He aimed his laser at Robotnick. "N-n-o!" Robotnick stuttered as he backed away slowly. "D-d-d-on't shoot!" Mecha fired and shot Robotnick. "NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Robotnick cried. The ground started to rumble. "Guys! Let's move!" Cher screamed as she and the others ran along. "Don't leave me! I'm stuck!" Kat said frantically trying to keep up. Her injured knee was throbbing with agony. But her screams for help were muffled by the rumbling of defeat. Therefore, she was left to die, while the others were scrambling towards Knothole. Kori "Cher" Wells '97