Everything Changes (A Sonic Boom Fanfic)

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

"I'm not trying to get rid of you or anything," Amy began as she pushed the sheet of cookies she'd been baking into her oven and then turned to face Kay, "but have you thought any more recently about where you may have come from?"

Kay looked up from the book she was reading on Amy's couch, partly startled by the question. It had been four days since her mysterious arrival on this peaceful version of Mobius; she'd spent most of her time reading or talking with the others, learning as much as she could about the world. She hadn't given much thought as to where she would eventually need to settle permanently. She didn't really like thinking about it; with every new thing she learned it seemed more and more likely that she wouldn't be able to live in this village with Sonic and the others. At least, not at first. Not until after some light traveling at minimum.

"Well..." she said at last, "kind of. I'm mostly trying to read up on as many places as I can to see if anything sounds familiar." Which was true, but not for the reasons Amy probably thought.

"And?"

Kay sighed, marking the page she was on before closing the book. "Nothing clicks, really."

"What's that book you're reading there?"

"This is a general history of Mobius. How we all started mostly in one part of the world and then spread out as our population grew." Kay couldn't help but feel good about using collective words in that sentence, as if she had been part of all that history instead of just being plopped into it a handful of days ago.

"That doesn't sound very helpful." Amy put her apron on one of her bar stools and strode over to join Kay in the living area.

"Well, I got another book from the library that's specifically about Bygone Island, but nothing really stands out to me there, either." Kay paused, trying to figure out how to slip into her role as amnesiac. Finally she looked at the pink hedgehog and asked, "What do you think?"

Amy tilted her head, considering. "I still think that if you were found on Mount Safety, you must be from the island somewhere. I doubt you could have been shipped across the sea and deposited up there without anyone noticing or thinking something was off."

Well, from what I've seen, these Mobians don't entirely seem to care about things going on around them that may be suspicious. They act like it's just a part of life. "Well...what should I do, then?"

After another thoughtful pause, Amy spoke again. "Well, maybe you should try visiting some other villages around the island." Suddenly she perked up, her eyes bright with excitement. "We could go together! It could be a girls trip!"

"A girls trip?" Kay asked dubiously.

"Yeah! Sticks could come along, too. She's an excellent tracker. I'll bet she could find out where you're from."

Kay had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. That made absolutely no sense, but over the past few days she'd learned that statements like that were accepted as completely accurate and normal. Still, she shook her head at the idea. "I don't know about that."

"It could be fun," Amy insisted, grinning widely. "I hear the north end of the island is lovely this time of year."

"What if we find out I don't belong to any of those villages either? What then?"

Amy held up a hand. "One step at a time, Kay. First we'll try the island's villages. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out where to go from there. But I'm sure you must be from somewhere on Bygone. You couldn't have just magically appeared here."

Actually, I did. "So no more ninja clan theories, then?" Kay couldn't help but ask. But when Amy frowned thoughtfully in response, she regretted the question instantly.

"That's a good point. You do handle a ninja staff really well."

"It's called a bo staff, Amy. And I swung it like a baseball bat. That doesn't require any skill."

"So maybe you just swung it around. But you know what it's actually called! Doesn't that count for something?"

Kay sighed. "I don't think so. That's something someone could read in a book, you know."

"But you knew what it was called before all of that reading."

"Amy, I am not a ninja from the east."

"Well, how do you know for sure?"

"Because I'm a hedgehog! There are no hedgehog ninjas. I thought you knew about the east ninja clans."

Amy shrugged. "I know a little. You should never say never, you know."

"Amy," Kay said as patiently as she could, "if you know anything about Chun-Nan's ninjas, you'd know that there are no hedgehogs in any of the clans. There are hardly any hedgehogs in Chun-Nan to begin with! How could I possibly be from all the way over there?"

"I'm just saying you should consider your options," Amy replied calmly.

Kay closed her eyes to calm herself before she exploded in frustration. The logic of this world was so illogical it hurt her head to think about it for too long. Finally she acquiesced. "Fair enough. But I think my chances of being from somewhere on this island are much higher than anything else."

"I agree with that." Amy nodded just as the oven chimed to let her know her cookies were done. As she stood to go back to the kitchen, she said, "I'll talk to Sticks and see if we can go on a weekend girls trip around the island. I'm sure the boys will be able to handle themselves for a day or two."

Kay frowned. "How long does it take to get from one side of Bygone to the other?"

"Not very long. But we have to account for stopping in each village, asking around a little, eating time, and so on. We could probably make it an overnight trip, really. That would probably be best anyway, seeing how Eggman always seems to know when one of the group is away for any reason." She set the sheet of cookies on her small kitchen counter, shut off the oven, and smiled. "I'd say give these five minutes, and they'll be ready to eat. And don't worry about any travel plans, Kay – hitchhiking is basically second nature to me. I'll take care of everything."