The Beginning

Cherry stood at the edge of the island, her back towards the cliffs that seemed to reach down endlessly. There were no waves at this island's coast, only high breezes that rippled the echidna's green jacket and caused her long spines to flow freely before her. Instead of water, a sea of blue sky and clouds surrounded the banks of the floating landmass.

So, she thought, this is the Floating Island, the land of my ancestors. It's even more beautiful than I imagined. Cherry stood for a moment, admiring her surroundings. Before her stretched rolling hills of bright green grass dotted by small bushes and fields of flowers of various colors. The emerald sea gave way to an immense forest at one side, and on the other side round mountains that appeared almost violet in the light of the sun. A shining blue river snaked its way through the landscape, neither its beginning nor end in sight.

Cherry's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a slight rustle from a group of bushes nearby. As she turned, a figure flew out at her. Instinctively, she grabbed a hold of her attacker's arm and flipped him over her shoulder. "What are you doing?!" she cried. "Why are you attacking me?!" Her assailant stood, and she gasped. Another echidna! But...that's impossible...

The stranger seemed equally surprised. For a moment they both just stood and stared at each other. Finally, the stranger spoke. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"I...I just came here because--"

"You're not welcome here!" the other echidna snapped. "How do I know you're not going to cause some sort of trouble?"

It was at this moment when Cherry suddenly noticed the white, sideways crescent mark on the stranger's chest. "You're the Guardian, aren't you?"

"That's right. It's my duty to keep this island and it's inhabitants safe. I don't care if you are an echidna."

"You probably think I'm after the Master Emerald or something, don't you? Well, I'm not. I only came here because I wanted to see the land of my ancestors. They left long ago before the island rose into the sky. As far as I know I'm the last descendant of that group. And until now I thought for sure I was the last of my kind entirely."

"I know how that feels..." the Guardian mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Even if what you're saying is true," the Guardian said, "I can't trust anyone. The last time I did, the results were disastrous..." His eyes shifted to the side. "And I had to rely on that hedgehog to help get everything back in order."

"If I know anything about the history of my people," Cherry responded, "I know that echidnas have always been honorable. And it's on that honor that I swear I would never think of doing anything that might affect the well-being of Angel Island."

The Guardian considered the echidna girl for a moment. "Okay. Fine. You can stay for a little while. But," he gave a menacing look, "don't think I won't be keeping a sharp eye on you. I'll make sure you don't cause any trouble."

Cherry rolled her eyes. "Right. I'm not scared of you. And I'll stay as long as I want."

"If you don't leave pretty quickly, I'll have to throw you off myself!"

Cherry eyed the other echidna, then started laughing.

The Guardian just stared at her, waiting for her to finish laughing before he spoke. "Look," he said, "here's the deal." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'm not sure why I'm doing this...but, I'll let you stay with me in my cabin while you're here."

Cherry looked at him in surprise. "That's an awfully nice thing to do for someone you don't trust," she mused.

"Don't think too much of it," the Guardian said quickly. "It'll make it easier for me to keep an eye on you."

"Uh-huh," Cherry said, raising an eyebrow. The Guardian turned around and started to walk off. "Wait!" Cherry cried, causing him to stop and turn back. "I almost forgot! I should introduce myself." She extended a hand. "I'm Cherry."

The other echidna turned again, ignoring the gesture. Cherry scowled as she began to follow him. "Boy, aren't you Mr. Polite. What about you? Don't you have a name?"

"Knuckles," he said simply without turning his head.

"Knuckles," Cherry repeated.

"That's what I said, you don't have to repeat it."

"That's your name then?"

"Yeah," Knuckles said, stopping this time to face her. "Got a problem with that?"

Cherry smirked. "No." Knuckles scowled, but instead of saying anything he just continued to walk to his cabin. He needs to work on his temper, Cherry thought as she followed. But, I guess he's not so bad. After all, he didn't throw me off, and he's letting me stay with him. Who knows, maybe we'll end up being friends. She smiled to herself. If he'd allow it.