The Guardian

Sonic walked along the checkerboard flooring of a strange factory they found as Tails flew close behind. Bright blues and pinks everywhere, on geometric shapes that looked fit for a children's indoor play area. It even smelled like a mall, and the ground was that strange rubbery plastic material found forming slides and whatnot at mall play places. "Huh… Tails, doesn't this place look like some kind of toy sto-OOOAAAAAHHHHH!" Sonic yelled as the ground lit up beneath him, some kind of force bouncing him into the air. He hit his head on the ceiling and was knocked out.

Sonic awoke to someone shouting for him. Shouting for him to wake up. But it wasn't Tails. Tails was there, but even closer was someone who Sonic didn't recognize. "Sonic the Hedgehog!" She shouted, as Sonic drowsily opened his eyes fully. "Oh, thank the heavens you are alive!"

"I keep telling you this, Sonic's been through worse head injuries," Tails replied. "You all good, Sonic?" He asked, standing a few inches away.

"Who's this, my girlfriend?" Sonic chuckled, tired and stupid. The top of his head felt warm, and he couldn't think straight. "Hey, thanks for looking out for me babe. Also Tails…" Sonic nearly conked out, but the woman slapped him hard. That snapped him awake and back to his senses. "Whuh…?! Where am I?" Sonic asked, looking around. He was still in the factory. He didn't notice before, but his head felt like someone took a hammer to it. "Ow!" He cried, holding the spot where it hurt.

"Are you alright, Sonic?" The woman asked, running to his aid and holding him as he stumbled to the floor.

"Yeah… why do you care, though?" Sonic asked. "That… sounded nicer in my head. But I mean, I don't even know who you are. How do you know who I am?"

"Your friend Tails told me all about you. My name is Aurora. Aurora the Guardian," the woman replied, smiling warmly. Sonic didn't notice until now, but Aurora had clipped wings like an angel, and a broken gem on her head. "I apologize, but it would appear the security system went off when it detected you two lost men entering. I meant you and your friend in particular no harm… The trap was not meant for you."

"Was it meant for Robotnik or the Iron Queen?" Sonic asked, as he managed to stand on his own. Aurora stepped back.

"No! Well… not originally, at least," Tails replied. "It was meant for the plants, and Vista."

"Yes, I am the overseer of a group of animals that have all survived their own generation of Forestation and have made their home in this… Wacky Workbench, let's call it. We must protect these few survivors from the dangers of Little Planet," Aurora replied, tilting her head to the side as several alien animals rushed to her, danced in circles and played. They all felt safe in her presence.

Aurora giggled, then looked up from them and back to Sonic. "It is impressive that you two managed to get here. Most Erians don't even know of Little Planet's existence. Very few who come here make it back to their planet alive. Those who survive the plants get turned into Angel Statues by Vista the Carnation, who I am sure you have met by now. They all serve the rest of their days shackled to this deceptive planet, providing life to new flowers and plants. They are hardly even aware that they once had free will."

"No way… is Amy of the Roses one of those people?!" Sonic asked, shocked. Amy certainly fit the bill, being a statue with angel wings and whatnot. He looked to Aurora's amulet and then to her clipped angel wings. "Were you?"

"Yes, I was," Aurora sighed. "But I was saved long ago by an animal, who destroyed the amulet inhibiting my thoughts and awareness of the situation I was in, as well as my statue form. I suppose you could say I'm returning the favor by protecting them all." She paused. "This… 'Amy of the Roses'... is likely under the same spell I was."

"Then were's her amulet?" Sonic asked.

"More recently-turned Angel Statues do not have the amulet," Aurora stated. "The sedatives… of sorts… and stone that newer Angel Statues are made of is sustained by the statues processing air from the atmosphere of Little Planet."

"So if we took Amy back to Erius where she belongs, would she by any chance turn back to normal?" Tails asked.

"Yes, the air there would not keep her statue form sustained, nor her sedated state of mind. She would become flesh and blood once more as a result, but… I do not advise that you worry too much about her," Aurora answered, looking to the ground in sadness. "Tonight is the last night that you will be able to leave this cursed place and go home until next year. Once the clock ticks midnight, you will both be trapped here as Little Planet ascends back into the vast reaches of space until next February."

"What about the chain holding it down?" Sonic asked.

"There's… a chain? Holding Little Planet down to ERIUS?" Aurora asked. She reached forward and placed her hands on Sonic's shoulders. He blushed a tiny bit. She fearfully shook him hard enough for his mask to nearly fall off, instead having it bounce all around his face. "Do you realize what this entails?"

"We get to go home, right?" Sonic asked. "It won't fly away with that thing holding it down. Cold, hard iron. Right down to a mountain by Never Lake."

"Yes, but… should that chain remain…" Aurora gasped, looking terrified. "The flowers, and Vista… They could both spread to Erius itself! I am afraid that planet and its denizens will not survive long should Little Planet's flora reach its soil."

"Well then, good thing Robotnik and Iron Queen have everything in Palmtree Panic under control," Sonic replied. "Maybe that airship turning everything all dark and gloomy will be good for something after all."

Aurora smiled. "The proper term for the grasslands would be 'Salad Plains', but alliteration is fun." Aurora cleared her throat, and put back on a serious face. "Yet I digress. We should not attempt to undo the effects of this 'airship'," Aurora replied. She chuckled. "I'm sorry, but it's so funny. Back in my youth, ships only traveled across water. I truly have been gone longer than I thought. Do they still have plants on Erius?" She looked to Sonic attentively.

"Err… very few," Sonic replied.

"Good, good! When I was still there, they said such chemical and power plants would destroy the world someday," Aurora laughed. Sonic smirked awkwardly. "It scared me so much as a little one that I ran for refuge here as a result. I didn't want to breathe only polluted air and live in such a bad future as an adult. What I wouldn't give to have those days back…" She looked down sadly. "I'm glad you're doing better, Sonic and Tails."

"I'm sure you have things under control here better than we do down on Erius," Tails sighed, biting his tongue when it tried to tell her the true state of Erius. "How'd you make it safe for animals with all those invasive plants in this place?" Tails looked at a flower in the corner, which appeared almost sheepish in its posture.

"Plants aren't all bad," Aurora replied. "Even dating back to Vista's invasion of Little Planet, plants don't attack when given proper care. Vista wanted an army out of them, I wanted coexistence and friendship. It was easy to 'tame' the plants in this crazy toy box we call the Wacky Workbench once that was communicated. Whereas the plants out there feed off of animals, here we synthesize nutrition for them from the bits of star from the nearby speedway, and even just tap water. It goes a long way for them."

A flower crept towards an animal playing near Aurora, and started gnawing at its tail using its soft petals as teeth. The animal whined. "Hey!" Aurora warned. The flower cowered away and slithered back into the ground. "Of course, they still have quite an appetite for meat. Which is part of the reason I'm here. To keep everything in check."

"So the reason plants are eating animals is because they have been treated poorly?" Sonic asked, thinking about it all. "Maybe they feel threatened because Robotnik and Iron Queen are mechanizing the landscape."

"Yes and no, respectively. The flowers feel threatened by them, but these tyrants are not mechanizing anything," Aurora replied. "Not exactly. You see, the quartz here is made of a special property I call Time Stone. When I went to check for animals last, I witnessed 'Robotnik' and 'Iron Queen' mining in the nearby quartz quarry. Time Stone allows those who wield its power to time travel. It is used when creating Angel Statues, which explains how they appear to move around from place to place in what seems like an instant. They relocate themselves not only in space--- but also in time. I believe Robotnik and Iron Queen's airship is using Time Stone to thrust everything its laser touches into the future, a future where they have conquered Little Planet after years of industrialization. It would appear they just don't want to wait until they inevitably conquer the planet."

Sonic tapped his foot instinctively.

"And it would appear you do not want to wait to have me ramble on any further," Aurora sighed. "I understand. I am only boring you. But I do believe my information could help you across the last two regions of Little Planet. If you can, treat the plants kindly. It will go a long way in making a good future for everyone."

"Thanks, lady," Sonic replied, giving her a thumbs-up and a smile. "We'll try our best!" He ran out of the room, with Tails following after waving goodbye to Aurora. Aurora smiled.