Sonic Gem EP2: Hedgehog's Day Out

Hedgehog's Day Out is the second episode of season one of Sonic Gem.
== Plot ==
*beep**beep**beep**beep**be - click*
Steven, as much as he didn't want to just get up and go, finally reached out and got the alarm clock to stop beeping its head off. The young boy gave a long yawn and a good stretch, his body a bit stiff and sure but overall, still okay.
The boy's room was actually a bit more than just a bed: his room actually connected openly to the rest of the house: he could see the kitchen from his own bed on the second floor. The whole room was nicely fitted with wood, a couch just by the bed's wall, the usual works for a building like this. Usual that is, except for the fact the house was apparently built in front of cave in the back of the room, having a warp platform and a fancy door in the way back.
Steven got himself out of bed, with another yawn escaping his mouth before he began heading down the steps and got his routine going.
"Good morning world. Good morning, Sonic. ... Sonic?"
At least, he would've done so before he looked over towards the couch. Steven had made Sonic a bed before he went off to sleep: nothing fancy, just a blanket and one of his pillows, even a pair of spare folded PJs for maximum comfort. However, looking there, Sonic wasn't there at all. The blanket was tossed aside, and pillow and PJs left unused. Steven, curious, picked up the pillow and checked it out.
"Hmm. No quills. ... Aww man, he didn't even use it? I worked hard on it for him," Steven said, bummed out. But then that begged the question: where was Sonic? Nothing inside the house really gave him any answers, so the next logical step would be to look outside. Well, AFTER he went through his morning routine and got himself dressed for the day, Steven, holding Sonic's PJs, went right on outside his house.
"Sonic?! Where're you?!" Steven called.
"Up here, kid."
Steven turned his head upward, and sure enough he saw Sonic now. The Hedgehog, rather than sleeping inside, actually did his own thing and spent the night outside. On top of Steven's roof. Sonic wasn't even fazed either, he just looked down with an elbow on the rooftop, propping his head up and leg kicked up.
"Morning."
"Sonic? What're you doing up there? I made the coziest bed for you and everything," Steven asked, again bummed out.
"I tried it, but it's not for me," Sonic simply answered. "Nothing personal, but I prefer sleeping outside anyway. Speaking of, how'd you do?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Steven said. But he then noticed something else while looking up there, and looking around.
"Where's your bird friend? I thought she stayed out here," Steven asked. Sonic, now fully awake, hopped down from the rooftop and landed right in front of Steven.
"She was, but I think after carrying everyone back she was pretty much done with your ... Crystal Gems, was it? So she flew off. Guess she doesn't want to stay around your friends. Can't say I blame her," Sonic said, recalling the trouble in his head as he picked at his ear to clear it out somewhat.
"Hey, my friends aren't that bad. In fact, they left me a sticky note saying they're out saving the world right now!" Steven insisted. Sonic paused the moment he flicked off some earwax from his pinkie.
"Come again?"
Sonic and Steven began to go back inside the house as Steven explained, "Yeah! That's what the Crystal Gems do: we fight monsters, and protect Humanity every day. It's like our job, only we don't get paid and monsters try to eat us."
Sonic decided to take a seat by the kitchen counter on hearing all of this. Side note: he actually saw the sticky note on the kitchen door as Steven said. A small yellow sticky note with writing that said "Went out on a mission. Love U - Garnet"
"Huh. You know, that's not far off from what I do every day."
"Whoa, really?" Steven gasped. "You save the world from monsters too?"
Sonic, sensing how intrigued Steven was in this news, hopped up onto the countertop to better dramatize his story.
"Well not "monsters" exactly, I'm more talking giant robots. Picture this: I'm racing through the forest, facing them at every turn, and aggressively recycling them to get my animal friends out of their robot grasp, all the while getting them out of being stuck as part of the twisted robot theme park!"
Sonic at the end was giving a hero's pose, pointing to the sky with a confident grin. Steven got starry-eyed, imagining the blue Hedgehog in a smashing spree to save his woodland buddies. 
"Coooool."
"Yeah, it's pretty sweet when you get the lay down," Sonic said. While Steven was super impressed, something else was also brought up in the form of a notable growl. Steven looked to his growling belly.
"Guess it's breakfast time. Oh yeah! You didn't eat anything either," Steven realized. Sonic could tell where this was going, and since the Crystal Gems weren't around, he might as well settle down for a moment.
"Well, I didn't eat anything since yesterday so, guess I could go for something. What's on the menu?"
That was all Steven needed to hear. "I know just the thing. Not to worry: Chef Steven is on the Kitchen!"
Just like that, Steven got himself busy. He wasn't an expert chef by any means, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve to make something grand for his guest. After all, what kind of host was he if he didn't provide for his Hedgehog roommate? As he was busy putting in some waffles into the toaster, Sonic still was starting to think about things. He rested his elbow on the counter, he foot casually kicking as his eyes wandered.
So, as Steven got the waffles done and covered in a big stream of syrup, Sonic went towards that strange door in the back. The door's only weird property is the star pattern on it with several gemstone like marks on each point.
"Hey, you guys doing your mission in there?" Sonic called, banging on the door. Nothing.
While Steven cheerfully got some popcorn made, popping said popcorn bag and showering the waffles with the stuff, Sonic checked the warp pad next. He stood on top of it, stomping with his foot to activate it, but no luck there either.
"Three. Two. One. Warp in!"
... still no good.
So, while Steven was getting the whipped cream on said waffles, Sonic went outside and on top of the roof to look around for the Crystal Gems, thinking they might just be wandering around outside for some reason or another. But alas, again, no luck.
Sonic groaned. "Hurry up, will you?"
Sonic went back inside, just to find Steven putting on the finishing touch to his breakfast creation: one. Single. Strawberry. One small plop later.
"COMPLETE!" Steven beamed, the plate up good and high. Sonic went back to the kitchen hearing that, seeing ... whatever the heck Steven just made, as Steven cut the waffle tower in half down the center. Sonic just stared for a moment, Steven sitting next to him with fork and knife in hand.
"Umm ... what am I looking at here?" Sonic questioned, his head tilted in confusion as he tried to process it.
"It's breakfast: Today's special is four waffles stacked with syrup, popcorn sprinkles, and topping it off, a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry," Steven explained. Sonic, again, needed a minute to think it over. He heard of waffles before, but who would have THIS for breakfast?
"You sure this is breakfast and not cheating on a diet?" Sonic pondered.
"Come on, you'll love it," Steven reassured him, cutting off a big piece and taking a big bite himself with a smile all the while. Sonic, though reluctant, did cut off a small piece and popped it into his mouth ...
"Holy - this is too sweet!" Sonic thought, but not in a good way. Steven could tell Sonic didn't seem to like it, even as the Hedgehog tried to at least swallow it. Sonic pushed the plate away.
"You know what?" Sonic said, as he got back up, "I think I'm gonna go out to eat."
Steven slumped, taking another bite of his creation, the sweetness perking him up but it still stung that Sonic didn't want his piece. As Steven was eating, he looked and saw Sonic just outside, standing at the edge of the front porch. Steven was waiting for him to just go, but he didn't really go beyond that. Steven swallowed his piece and went on outside to join him.
"Do you want me to wrap yours up for later?" Steven asked.
"Eh yeah, sure. ... Hey, kid?" Sonic turned back to Steven. "Got any idea what's to eat around here?"
~~~~~~
Soon, Steven and Sonic were out of the house. Steven's house was right by the beach, sure, but it take them a bit to actually get to somewhere more populated (his house was on its own down the beach anyway). For much of the walk, Sonic just saw the sea to his left, and a rocky cliff to his right, but eventually they did end up seeing some buildings down the ways.
Their first stop? A building just on the very edge of town. The building was small, with a pink and blue rooftop, windows all along the front with a bench on the side of it. The main thing that made it different though is a great big donut on top of it, brown with sprinkles of course. Fitting though since the place was called "Big Donut" according to the sign.
"So we went from dessert waffles to donuts," Sonic thought. But he might as well check - maybe they got something fitting him here, who knows? Before they could go in though, Steven paused and stopped Sonic going in.
"Oh, I forgot, no one else has seen you yet. Quick, wait over here," Steven said, pushing Sonic just out of sight by the windows.
"So? They gonna freak out or what?"
"No, just wait right here while I set things up. They're gonna be so psyched," Steven replied. Sonic played along, though he didn't see what the big deal was. New? Sure, but not enough to scare em surely.
Inside the Big Donut, Steven wasted no time and went straight over to the front counter. Even better for him too, there were two people up at front, one relaxing and one working: the one wiping down the counter was a short and heavyset girl, her skin a bit fair and with shoulder-length blonde hair.
The other one, who was sitting with his legs kicked up on said counter was a sort a slim, lanky guy with looped ears and a orange "mohawk".
Both of the workers had the same uniform though, which was a purple shirt with the Big Donut logo on it.
"Lars! Sadie!" Steven called, sounding very excited. The shout was just enough to get Lars aware of the world, even if it made him stumble off of his seat and onto the floor. Sadie winched seeing him fall, but knew it wasn't all that bad.
"Morning, Steven," said Sadie.
"Hey, Steven," Lars added in a groan as he got to his feet and rubbed his head.
"Come by for your morning donuts again? We just got re-stocked, so there's a lot to choose from today," Sadie said. Steven checked the display at front, and sure enough there were quite the variety of different treats to pick out from: glazed, chocolate, plain, white chocolate, even one with sprinkles. Steven's eyes shot wide open on the selection, but he remembered why he was there so he got to focus.
"Absolutely, but first, I must tell you something," Steven said. "You're NEVER gonna guess in a million years what I discovered yesterday."
"Gee, is it another super magic rock from some ancient temple?" Lars asked, not really too interested in it honestly. Sadie just ignored him as Steven huffed.
"No. That was last time, and it wasn't an ancient temple, it was an ancient ARENA," Steven corrected, going off what Garnet said to him when he got said rock. Lars just rolled his eyes.
"Don't mind him, Steven, he just had a tough morning. But seriously though, what'chu find?" Sadie asked. Lars didn't feel up for any of this and simply sat back down. Steven found this good enough, so after he propped the door open, he cleared his throat.
"Introducing: the newest addition to the Crystal Gems ... I give you ... SONIC!"
Right on cue, the blue blur was quick to make his way inside. He kept at his high speed though, and curled up in a ball to roll around the place. Nothing smashed as he rolled around, but Sonic still gave a good show as he zoomed and raced around inside the building. Sadie and Lars ducked for cover during all of this, trying not to get hit. Sonic did eventually stop himself though with a skid, posing with a wink and a finger in the air.
"Hey, everybody. Sonic the Hedgehog here," Sonic introduced, confident as ever, and not even caring that his entrance got empty cups and napkins all over the place.
Sadie and Lars's reactions were exactly what you'd expect.
"AAHH!" Lars yelled, as Sadie gasped.
"And they're freaking out," Sonic sighed. Steven nervously chuckled, but the Big Donut workers got their act together - at least one of them did.
"W-Wait, wait," Sadie said, getting her nerves together, "I-It's not really just "you" but -"
"What the heck was that?!" exclaimed Lars, "You trying to kill me?!"
"Whoa, easy man! I was just making a grand entrance, that's all," Sonic explained. Too bad the audience he got here would beg to differ ... especially when they heard another stack of cups fall over behind him. They'll clean it up later.
"Can we have two donuts to go, please?" Steven then asked.
"Uhh ... yeah, sure. What kind would you like?" Sadie asked.
...
It took them a few more minutes, but eventually Steven and Sonic did end up leaving with their respected donuts. Er at least, Steven got the donuts as Sonic just tagged along with him. Steven already had a donut in his mouth for his piece, holding Sonic's bitten donut.
"What do you mean, no? Come on, they're really good," Steven said, mouth full from his own donut. Sonic glanced at the bitten donut and shook his head.
"No thanks, if you want it you can have it. I'm just not a big fan of sweets for breakfast, that's all," Sonic said, hand pushing the donut away from him. Steven thought a bit on this news, which probably explained why his breakfast didn't suite him either. After he finished his donut off in the next few bites, he suddenly got another idea.
"No sweets for breakfast ....... would fried food work?" Steven asked.
Sonic, finger to chin, thought a little bit. "Ehh, better, but depends on what the "fried food" is."
"Well you're gonna have a LOT to choose from, just down the boardwalk right over there. Come on, let's go," Steven insisted, actually getting a headstart as Sonic soon caught up with him. It could probably be better than the donuts or waffles.
It didn't take very long until Sonic and Steven were at said boardwalk, and since it was the spring time the boardwalk was plenty busy too. Sonic's pressence, while it did turn heads, didn't actually freak anybody out as Sonic thought. The most he really got was a few murmurs and that was it. Given what he delt with so far though, that probably was something they were more used to. Regardless, Steven got Sonic into one place after another to try and see what foods would suit Sonic the Hedgehog.
... Too bad it wasn't much good. Each time they went in somewhere, or just stopped by a food joint, Sonic just didn't fancy any of the food. Not bad, but not the first choice he would have for his first meal. The pattern usually went; they would go in, Steven would order something for himself and Sonic, and Sonic after trying it would refuse it. Be it some slices at Fish Stew Pizza, or some fries at the CityWalk Fries, even some frozen treat at Cone n' son, it just wasn't much to work for the hedgehog for the time.
Eventually though, they had to sit down for a bit. For Steven's sake.
"Oof. Soooo fullll," he groaned, rubbing his now stuffed gut from all the eating he'd done already as he laid on the bench. Sonic stood next to him, resting an arm on the bench side as he looked to him.
"Well, you didn't have to eat both of our meals everywhere we went. You could've just thrown mine away, I wouldn't mind," Sonic pointed out.
"But it's a crime to leave food alone," Steven said meekly, only to winch a little bit as his bloated stomach groaned. Sonic glanced to that stomach on that groan, it bloated enough so that Steven's shirt rode up slightly because of it. However, this did give Sonic a chance to notice something about Steven that he didn't get the chance to last night.
His stomach had something right at the center of it. Something pink, reflective almost, and seemed to slightly glisten in the sunlight. Not that Steven noticed that at first, too preoccupied. Sonic went in for a closer look, seeing his own reflection in the object.
"What's that?" Sonic asked, not aware that he said that out loud until Steven slowly sat up to look at him.
"Huh? What's what?" Steven asked.
"That on your stomach. It looks ... shiny?" Sonic scratched his head. Steven looked a bit young to have piercings, so he ruled that out quick. Steven looked to his stomach and saw what he was talking about.
"Oh, that? It's my Gem," Steven said, seemingly getting over his stomachache as he pulled up his shirt more so Sonic could better see it. His gemstone was on full display, reflecting Sonic's face off of it like a mirror almost (with a hint of pink).
"Not a bad look," Sonic remarked.
"Yeah! I got it from my mom's side. All Gems have them somewhere: Amethyst has one on her chest, Pearl has one on her head, Garnet actually has two on her."
Sonic didn't realize that comparison until after Steven said it. Come to think of it he was right, his first encounter going through his head and now seeing the gemstones on each of them. Sonic stared a bit more at the gemstone, but as he was trying to piece this together, something even more important finally caught his attention. Something so important that he stopped every other thought he had, and only focused on the smell ...
"So I was thinking," Steven continued, "If you're gonna be staying with us, maybe I can show you around town? It'd be like a mini-adventure, and you'll get to meet the best people - ... Sonic?"
Sonic sniffed the air a little bit. Then gave a great big inhale, before his eyes shot wide. He knew that smell anywhere, no matter what place he would go.
"No. Way. No way, NO WAY," Sonic said.
Sonic turned and followed the smell for a few more steps, and sure enough. Just down the boardwalk. He saw it.
"That's new," Steven said. "When did that get here?"
"NOW we're talking!" Sonic said, brightly smiling as he went straight for it.
Who would've guessed that Sonic would find a Hot Dog stand in town? A gift from the stars! Sonic went there at lightning fast speed, from the bench to the stand in a matter of seconds to not miss any moments. The Hot Dog stand was indeed new, Steven not ever seeing any of those in town for a long time. It was just a simple New-York style stand by the shoreline, but that smell of hot dogs made Sonic more than willing for one.
"U-Uhh, hi. Can I help you?" asked the Hot Dog vendor, a bit startled but regained her composure after a moment. Sonic's eyes were right on the Hot Dogs, and checked the condiments for what was available. Ketchup. Mustard. Relish too. THEN he saw the goldmine.
"Yesss," Sonic said, fist clenched in victory. "Hit me with two of your biggest Chilli Dogs! All the fixings."
The Hot Dog vendor was quick to make that order for Sonic. Sonic didn't care if she thought he was weird for being a big blue Hedgehog, he wasn't gonna ditch these dogs for anything non-life-threatening. Either way, Sonic went straight back to Steven with a pair of chilli dogs, each one as big as his hand and the fixings looking ready to just spill off of the bun.
Needless to say, he was a very happy Hedgehog.
"Steven," said Sonic once he got back, "Why didn't you tell me you got chilli dogs here?"
"I didn't know. You like them?" Steven asked.
"LIKE THEM? Steven, Steven ..." Sonic suddenly got down on one knee, holding one of the Chilli dogs good and high, "What you're looking at is the most perfect food in the universe. It's perfection incarnate! Chilli Dogs ... complete me. ..."
"Wow. And I thought Amethyst was that passionate about food," Steven admitted. Sonic then presented Steven with one of the Chilli Dogs.
"Trust me, when you get a taste of one of these, you'd -" Sonic suddenly stopped, glancing at Steven's stomach. "... Eh, nevermind."
~~~~~~
After finishing their meals, Steven did as he set out to do and, instead of just going right back to the Beach House, he and Sonic began going off away from the boardwalk towards their next destination. It honestly wasn't that far - it was a small town - and the place didn't look that big of a deal either. Not that it wasn't any good, it just seemed to be average for a Car Wash (aside from the Elephant sign of course).
"So what's this place?" Sonic asked casually.
"Sonic, welcome to "It's a Wash" the coolest car wash in all of Beach City, with the coolest dad in the entire universe working it," Steven explained, giving Sonic his own finger gun gesture. Sonic could already tell why this was the first stop as he followed Steven over to the place, this time him not even bothering to hide himself like before.
However, speaking of dad, Steven's dad wasn't that far away either, just about getting done with one of his customer's vehicles getting a good ol washdown. Steven's old man did at least seem to be in his late 30s: white sleeveless shirt, that front-only stout beard, no hair on top of the head but a TON of it from the back of his head down. Definitely a guy who probably might not be good on his luck, but Sonic wasn't one to judge that quickly. Besides, he didn't seem like a bad guy at all.
"Steven!" said the old man. Steven didn't waste any time in going right up to him, giving his dad a good hug even if Steven's dad was holding a hose at the time. Who cares if he got wet, a little water never hurt anybody.
"Dad, hi!" Steven said happily.
"Hey, kiddo, what brings you by? Come to help wash some cars? Learn some facts about life?" the dad asked, turning off the nozzle. Yep, Sonic could tell he was a good sort. Steven shook his head.
"Nope: I wanna show you my new friend. He saved me from being stuck in the middle of the ocean yesterday," Steven said. Sonic was out in the open, so all Steven did was present Sonic to him. Sonic waited for a gasp, or a scream, but all he got out of this guy was a simple "step back".
"OH!"
"What's up?" Sonic said, walking over to him. He did make sure to avoid walking in the water the hose was leaving though as he did. Still, Sonic did see some surprise from the dad, though not directly focused on him.
"Geesh, already Steven? You're gonna leave your old man behind if you keep this up," he said, though this of course was joking as Steven smiled, chuckling. Then his attention went to the Hedgehog.
"So ... your friend is a Hedgehog?" Steven's dad asked, "N-Not being rude, no judging here."
"Yep," Sonic said, "AND extra points for, once again, getting my species right and not freaking out like those people at the donut shop."
"Oh, you mean Sadie and Lars," he said.
"You know em? Yeah, you're taking me being here better than those guys. One of em -" before Sonic could even finish his sentence though, the owner of said car suddenly rolled down the window.
"Mr. Universe!" shouted an angry voice belonging to a bald man, "What on Earth is going on over there? I didn't come to get my van a wash for you to - GAAHH!"
"... Yeah, like that," Sonic said, after the guy screamed, pointing a thumb at him.
"O-Oh, sorry mayor, just catching up with my son for a moment," Steven's dad replied.
"Well, while I do support families in the Beach City, as Mayor of this town I need to keep to schedule, so I REALLY would like you to finish sprucing up my car," he made clear.
"Yes sir, I'm on it. I'll be done in a second Steven," Steven's dad said, getting back his hose as he also grabbed a sponge. Steven can afford to wait, but Sonic ... well, he can never wait for long, especially when something that Mayor said earlier got him thinking. That first main sentence.
Sonic tapped Steven on the shoulder.
"Ok. Steven. ... What did he say back there?" Sonic asked.
"Huh? I mean, Mayor Dewey is good at talking loud," Steven said, confused.
"No, no, I heard him," Sonic made clear, hands up briefly before looking back to the van. "But ... What did he say? What on "what" is going on over there?"
Steven actually needed a short moment to actually realize what Sonic was talking about, as his dad was just wiping down the van's tires to give them a nice shine. He replayed the sentence in his head, and found the word Sonic meant quick.
"You mean ... Earth?"
"Yeah, that's it. ... What is it? It's not ringing a bell."
"WHAAAAAT?" Steven yelled, making his dad and the Mayor jump. The two weren't talking that loud, so only then did they get their attention. Sonic cleaned out one of his ears.
"Steven, you okay?" Steven's dad asked, at the ready for anything with the hose aimed. Steven, still shocked by this sudden revelation, pointed directly at Sonic the Hedgehog.
"You don't even know what Earth is!" Steven exclaimed. Maybe Sonic shouldn't have said that. Sonic gently moved the finger down away from his face.
"Well ... yeah," Sonic said, eyebrow raised. Funny enough, it was the mayor who actually spoke next after rolling down the window. "It sounds like a place somewhere, so where's it at?"
The Humans were taken aback, though given the kind of company two of the three Humans knew, the Universes at least got a pretty good idea what they were actually talking about. Steven's dad, kind of getting the picture first, spoke up.
"Eh hey, sorry to sound rude, but, you with the Crystal Gems by chance?" Steven's dad asked. Sonic raised an eyebrow, even more confused.
"Yeah? ... What's that got to do with anything?"
Steven's dad sighed, seemingly understanding the situation. "Ok, that makes sense."
"No, it doesn't. Wherever Earth is on Mobius, why's it such a big deal that I don't know about it?"
"... Mobius?"
Here we go again. Now both sides were completely confused. Sonic, on that note, started to recollect what he knew so far about this place: the Gems, his brief time running through the countryside. His look of thought slowly turned into shock. Even so, he tried keeping his composure.
"... Heh. H-Hold on, this is some joke isn't it?" Sonic asked, but his tone was slightly meeker than before even with his smile, "Okay, so you don't know who Eggman is, and CLEARLY you don't know who I am, but everybody knows what Mobius is! I mean come on."
Sonic chuckled meekly finishing up, but this so-called joke didn't suit him well. None of them really had a clue what he was talking about anymore, which seemed to only make this worse. Sonic's smile slowly went away the longer the silence went for.
"You ... you really don't know?"
"Sorry Sonic, but not really. You're on planet Earth right now, but maybe since you're with the Gems, it kinda makes sense why you wouldn't know," Steven's dad figured, though he was a bit unsure about it himself.
Sonic's shock returned on this revelation, and this time no bravado was gonna cover this up. PLANET Earth? Not planet Mobius?! Sonic took a few steps back, his hand slowly going to his forehead as he tired to properly process this.
"Sonic?" Steven asked.
"I ... You go back home, I'll catch you later," Sonic said.
Before Steven could respond, Sonic turned and made a bolt for it, a blast of speed left in his wake that blew back at the rest. Just like that, the Hedgehog was gone.
...
It was awfully quiet when Steven decided to get back over to the beach house. Sonic did say he would catch him later, but he didn't think it would be so long of a wait. It may have only been one night since Sonic first showed up, but he didn't need their goodbye to end on something so confusing. All Steven could do way just lay in his bed, and pass the time with some TV. At the very least the Crystal Gems would be home later, whenever that would be. That didn't make Steven feel any less bummed out though.
"What's taking you so long?" Steven wondered aloud, rolling over on the bed so he saw the TV upside down.
Well, at least one group didn't take any longer getting back home: While laying there, Steven heard the familiar sound of the Warp Pad activating. It was enough to get him rolling upright, and starting down the steps to see the Crystal Gems. The three Gems looked a bit roughed up though, but mostly soaking wet from head to toe. It looked as if they were in the ocean or something. As Pearl was wiping off some water with her hand, the trio saw Steven coming over to them, but not as enthusiastic as he usually was.
"Hello, Steven," Garnet said.
"Hi guys. What happened to you?" Steven asked, as Amethyst shook her head like a dog - much to Pearl's annoyance.
"We got in a tussle with some monster, you know how it is," Amethyst said.
"BUT," Pearl added, annoyed, "It managed to get away. We won't be here too long, we just need to re-think about our approach before going out again."
It was then Garnet looked around the Beach House.
"Steven. The Hedgehog," Garnet simply said. Steven slumped again, looking down at his feet as he kicked some dust.
"Oh. Oh yeah, he's not here. He said he'd be back later, but it's been ALL DAY. And the tour was going so well too," Steven explained. The Crystal Gems weren't that bothered by the news though, at least not as much as Steven was.
"The tour?" Pearl asked.
"Yeah," Steven explained, "he and I went out on the town today: eating at all the eateries, showing him to all the people ... but then he ran off after we stopped at the carwash and he found out he's on Earth."
"Wait, he JUST found that out," Amethyst remarked.
"I guess so. He thought he was on somewhere called "Mobius". You know what that is?"
Steven waited for an answer, but the Crystal Gems were about as confused as he was. For all they knew, Sonic was another lifeform from planet Earth they just didn't know about, yet the clues did seem to point elsewhere. Pearl tried to think.
"Mobius, Mobius ... Hmm ... did I hear that somewhere?" Pearl pondered. It didn't seem like she knew though, so Steven turned to Amethyst for an answer.
"I got no clue over here, kiddo," Amethyst shrugged, nonchalantly.
"Of course." The group turned to Garnet. "I sensed something peculiar about him when I first met him. Something otherworldly. If this is true, then it's no wonder we never saw anything like him before."
Although she didn't outright say it, she didn't need to as the others got where she was going with this. Amethyst snapped her fingers.
"OOHH! THAT'S why he's blue!" she exclaimed.
"But he's running around out there now? How long ago was it since you last saw him, Steven?" Pearl inquired.
"A few hours ago," Steven replied.
Pearl and Garnet looked to one another for a moment. It took a moment, as if the two silently concluded something, before Garnet spoke up.
"Don't worry. We'll find him," Garnet reassured.
"Umm, how?" Amethyst questioned.
Garnet adjusted her visors before making a simple answer, "Because I want to talk to him."
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, surprisingly not that far away from Beach City, Sonic found himself looking down from a highland cliffside. The view from up there sure gave Sonic quite the sight: he could basically see the entire town from up there, along with a good chunk of the ocean and extra cliffside just along the other side of it. As good of a view as this all was, especially in the late afternoon light, Sonic had a bit more on his mind. He just sat there at the cliffside, his eyes up to the clouds as he tried once more to remember. Some clue to how he got here.
His memories though were still too fuzzy to make any direct details to help him, and he only sighed once he took a break from his mind's marathon of memory.
"Planet Earth, huh," he finally said to himself. "Whatever happened back on Mobius must've sent me through space. ... But then ... how am I gonna even get home now? My home planet ... my friends ... Am I the only one that made it or ......."
Sonic didn't even want to think about that last part, his eyes closed for a moment or two. The very thought of it made him feel rough: bad enough he didn't know how to get back in the first place, but the very idea just made him feel ... bad. Sonic laid down on the ground, staring straight up.
"Come on, memory, work with me. I just need to know how I got here, can't you remember something? ... Come on, think hard," Sonic wondered. Sonic closed his eyes and tried again to think of any sort of clue.
Images began going through his mind. He could see himself running along, as he would normally do, racing towards some sort of goal. He did have his friends with him, one running with him, one just above him. He tried his hardest to remember some sort of words, but he knew at least one of them was talking about something. Sonic remembered glancing away from ahead to see his friend for one moment and then -
All he got was a bright flash. That was it.
"Dang it, that one final piece I need to get back. How hard is it to remember these things?" Sonic groaned, both hands to his face in frustration.
"Looks like it's pretty hard."
Sonic immediately got to his feet on that voice, but he wasn't found by some random person this time. No, instead, he found himself in the company of the Crystal Gems again. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearland Steven were there this time.
"Oh, it's you. How'd you find me way out here?" Sonic immediately asked.
"A good guess," Garnet answered. Sonic just took that as it was.
"Yeah, well, I already said I was gonna come back if that's what you're worried about. I mean I ... don't really know where else to go, so -"
"Steven told us what happened at the Carwash," Garnet cut in. "... You're not from Earth, are you."
The sound of the tone told Sonic Garnet already knew the answer, so as Sonic glanced to Steven, he just turned fully to them.
"Yeah, I guess I'm not," the Hedgehog said.
"How exactly did you get here then?" Steven asked, curious.
"And try to be detailed about it," added Pearl, though that got Garnet to nudge her to be quiet. Not needed, but it wasn't as if Sonic had much to go off of anyway.
"Yeah, about that," Sonic continued, scratching the back of his head, "I've been asking myself that all day. One minute I was running with my own friends in Mobius about ... something, and next thing I knew I ... well, I woke up here."
Steven went over towards Sonic, feeling a bit guilty himself for what went on back at the carwash. Sonic quickly saw that though, and he got another smile on his face.
"N-Now hold on, that news just caught me by surprise, it's not YOUR fault I'm here!" Sonic said, hands up in submission.
"I didn't want you to quit our tour over it though. I'm sorry," Steven admitted. Sonic patted Steven on the head.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Like I said, it's not your fault, so let's not start up the waterworks, ok?" Sonic reassured him. Last thing he wanted was to make someone cry over this. The Crystal Gems nearby took this information with some mixed emotions: it wasn't that much to go off on where Sonic came from, but it did at least seem to get them to relax. Still, with this in mind, they still needed to better figure this Hedgehog out. Sonic left them a few good bread crumbs of info, but they needed a full picture.
"What do you think?" Pearl asked Garnet. Garnet thought some more, but eventually she went over to Sonic and Steven.
"Sonic," said Garnet, catching his attention. "Come back to the Temple. We'll talk more there."
"Let me guess: about me being an alien around here? I'm just as surprised as you are, trust me -" Sonic stopped talking when Garnet rested a hand on Sonic's shoulder. Considering they only knew eachother for a night, this was a bit quick.
"You wanted to know more about the Earth so you can get home. We'll tell you what we know, but we want to know about your world," Garnet said. Sonic took in consideration what Steven said earlier that morning and, instead of just making a bolt for it like before, he decided to chill out and brushed Garnet's hand off his shoulder.
"Ehh, I would've said no yesterday, but after getting a day's worth of getting used to your company, AND what your son told me over some chilli dogs, I don't see why not," Sonic said, as much nonchalance as Amethyst would.
They weren't sure on that last bit with the chilli dogs, but they figured they would learn that later on. With nothing left to brood about, the group began to head on their way away from the cliffside. Amethyst went over to Sonic's side as they went.
"So, you guys all blue where you come from, or are they a whole bunch of colors?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, there any more of ya?" pitched in Amethyst.
"Oh yeah, there's LOTS of different Mobians. Different colors, shapes, sizes, think of one I bet one exists somewhere," Sonic replied.
This conversation continued on for a while, Steven and Amethyst passing around questions to Sonic on their way out. As they were making their leave though, something amongst the trees nearby the hill in question kept a sharp eye and sharper ear on their chatter. It was very small, insect-sized almost ... and it made a mistake of flying a little too close to the group, before Garnet smacked it, sending it falling to the ground in a heap.
The eye of this thing kept sight of them as long as it could, seeing them all walking away before -
...
*ERROR**ERROR**ERROR**ERROR*
That word in bold red flashed over and over on the screen, as the camera was completely disconnected by that point. No more footage today, but for the viewer on the other end, that didn't seem to bother him all that much. If anything, what he did hear intrigued him all the more so. So much in fact, he couldn't help but laugh a bit. He wanted to better enjoy this, as his fingers tapped quick away on the keyboard in front of him, number and letters flashing like lightning along the screen as he focused his attention on something else.
"Looks like that blue rat survived my little test run after all," he said, with a mix of annoyance for finding him alive, and triumph that this test worked, "And he's found himself on the Planet Earth. Who'd of guessed my test would send him off that far away! Impressive if I say so."
His glee shortened when he began working out the data on what info he heard. Turned out this little spying game went on throughout the day: images of Sonic and Steven throughout the boardwalk showing up from the spy's POV. One in particular caught his attention - seeing that gemstone on Steven's stomach. He focused on that for a moment or two, before typing away some more, bringing up even more pictures of the Gems, namely the pictures of Sonic's first encounter with them.
"Gems, eh? How funny that I never even heard of these beings before, yet they can even give Sonic a run for his money. I wonder just how much power they got on them? ..."
Soon, the guy pressed a button nearby the keyboard, which seemed to activate something just out of sight. The sound of an opening door perhaps, only to show ... something else. The viewer's grin only widened, as the sounds of machinery brought over something huge into view, aiming it right over at the figure. The figure in the shadows did not even hesitate, move, or anything.
It just stood there ... menacingly ...
"Let's just figure that out, shall we?" the man said eagerly, as he activated his prized machine ...
Category:Sonic Gem