Chapter 1: A Snow دن and a Simple Errand
Location: Waktini family residence, Northern District, Freedom City
Date: Friday, January 2nd
Time: 7:30 P.M.


"Hey, Mom? Can I ask آپ something? Please?" A somewhat tall, slightly chubby yellow hedgehog asked with excitement in his voice as he walked up to a tall, long black-haired woman.

"Yes, Kyle? What is it?" The woman asked with a bright voice, turning her head to look at the hedgehog with a smile.

"Um... Well..." Kyle looked up slightly at his mother, taking a small breath. "Kagen and I wanted to hang out together and maybe play out in the snow if it was ok with you... Uh... آپ know who Kagen is, right?"

"Of course I do! آپ know that he's been invited over here many times and hangs out with آپ all the time. He's a very sweet boy. I wouldn't mind at all if آپ want to go see hang out with him for a while," His mother replied with a smile.

"Ok! Thanks a lot, Mom!" Kyle hugged his mother happily, then turned to walk to the front door.

"Now, wait just a minute, Kyle," His mother called. Kyle stopped and turned to face her. "You need to ask your father first, too. It's ok with me if آپ go, but your father may need help with something in the lab. آپ might want to ask him before آپ leave."

"Ok! I'll make sure I ask him, first." Kyle replied, walking towards the kitchen. He walked over to the side, knocking on a large wooden door on the right side of the room. "Hey, Dad? Is it ok if I come in?"

"Come right on in, Kyle!" His father's voice called through the wooden door. "Just be careful when آپ come in; it's a bit cluttered in here! Don't want آپ to trip."

"Ok, I will!" Kyle pushed against the wooden door, and was surprised that it actually took quite a bit of force to get the door open, even just a crack. He squeezed in through the crack, looking at all the mechanical robot parts laying against the door.

"Hello, Kyle! How's my boy doing?" A tall tan-skinnded, blonde-haired *human asked; Kyle's father (*Kyle's parents are both human. He was born human, but turned into a hedgehog through a lab accident*). He had his eyes intently focused on the small mechanical device in front of him, which was far from completion.

"I'm doing just fine, Dad. And, I'm not your only boy, آپ know." Kyle replied with a chuckle, slowly making his way to his father through the maze of robot parts and wires in the floor.

"I know, but your brother isn't here right now. He went out with his girlfriend, if آپ remember."

"Yes, I remember. I hope Daniel's having fun right now."

"I'm sure he is. His girlfriend is really nice. Your mom and I think she's a very good choice for him."

"I agree with that." Kyle had finally managed to reach his father, and was now standing right beside him. "So, why exactly is the floor so... messy? Cluttered? Did something blow up in here, Dad?"

"Oh, no, no, nothing blew up in here. A lot of this stuff is just old parts that I probably need to get rid of now. Now, all of the robotic parts in front of the door are new. The only reason they're on the floor is because that shelf over there fell over and dumped them onto the floor," His father replied, pointing to a large black shelf that had fallen to the side, اگلے to the door.

"Oh... I thought a robot had blown up یا something." Kyle chuckled quietly, feeling just a bit stupid for thinking such a thing.

"Well, آپ didn't hear the 'BOOM', did ya?" His father asked, also bursting into laughter.

"No, I guess not." Kyle replied, laughing with his father.

"So, did آپ need anything? I mean, it's totally fine with me if آپ came in here to just to be with me, but is there something that آپ specifically came in here for?" His father asked, his laughter dying down after a few short moments.

"Oh, I was wanting to know if I could go hang out with my friend Kagen for a while. I already asked Mom, and she کہا it was ok, but she also told me that I should come ask آپ first before I left. So... Here I am." Kyle replied, his laughter also dying down after a bit.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine if آپ want to go play with Kagen for a while. I don't mind at all," His father replied with a smile. "Also, a word of advice, be careful with your bike if آپ take it to Kagen's house. I THINK I fixed the brake, but I can't say that I did for sure. So, in other words, don't go too fast, because I'm not sure if the brake will fail again یا not."

"Ok, I'll make sure I'm careful, Dad." Kyle replied, taking a note in his head about his bicycle's unstable brakes. "I'll see آپ later!" He gave his dad a quick hug, then started back towards the door.

"Bye, Kyle! Just be careful while you're out there. آپ might want to go inside if آپ start getting too cold," His father added.

"I will! Bye!" Kyle called back, walking out of the lab and closing the door behind him. He looked over in the kitchen, seeing his mom. "Dad کہا it was ok if i went over to Kagen's house. Is it still ok with you, Mom?"

"Yes, it is, Kyle. However, can I ask آپ to do a small errand for me, sweetie?" His mother asked, turning to face him.

Kyle walked over to all of the hanging jackets and coats near the living room, grabbing his dark red hoodie. He put the hoodie on, looking over at his mother. "Sure! What do آپ need, Mom?"

"Do آپ think آپ could run سے طرف کی the grocery store on your way home? We're out of bread." His mother replied.

"Of course I can do that! Do آپ need anything else, Mom?"

"No, that's it, Kyle. Normally, I would go get it myself, but I thought I would ask if آپ could get it since you're going to be going سے طرف کی the grocery store anyway on the way to Kagen's house. It's ok if آپ want me to go get it." His mother said.

"No, it's fine! I'll get it, Mom!"

"Ok, thank آپ so much, dear. I'll see آپ later, then. I love you."

"I love you, too! I'll be back!" Kyle said, happily walking over to the front door.

"Try to be ہوم سے طرف کی 9:00, Kyle! I don't want آپ to be out there in the cold and dark!" His mother called.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm back before then! Bye!" Kyle called back, walking out of the front door and closing it behind him. He took a deep breath, the winter cold stinging his warm cheeks. He began trudging out into the thick snow, heading towards the side of his house.

Kyle walked over the side of the house, seeing a black bicycle leaning against the stone wall; his own personal bike. He grabbed the bike, struggling to pull it through the snow and out to the snow-cleared road.

Once out to the road, Kyle climbed onto his bike, and began pedaling down the road, heading towards Kagen's house. Of course, he stayed on the side of the road, out of the path of incoming vehicles.


Down the road, in a large two-story white house, a black لومڑی sat in a living room recliner chair, bored. Perhaps laid back in the chair would be a better term for his posture in the chair. He ran a hand through his thick red hair, looking over at the nearby grandfather clock. "Why must today be going سے طرف کی so slowly..." He complained, continuing to stare at the large clock. The loud metronome-like tick of the clock certainly didn't help.

The لومڑی was stirred away from his thoughts سے طرف کی a loud, pronouced knock on the front door. "Who could that be... Maybe it could finally be Kyle? I've been waiting a while for him to arrive..." Snapping out of his thoughts, he walking over to the front door and opened it, to see a smiling yellow hedgehog standing before him. "Hi, Kagen! Did آپ miss me?"

The لومڑی chuckled, moving out of the way to let the hedgehog inside. "I've been waiting on آپ for a little while, Kyle. Do آپ still want to have a snowball fight یا something? This snow may not last for long, آپ know."

"Yeah, I still want to play in the snow! At least for a little bit." Kyle replied, wearing a look of excitement on his face.

"Be careful out there, boys!" A female's voice called from the kitchen. Kagen's mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Duncan!" Kyle called.

"Hello, Kyle. It's nice to see آپ again." The voice replied in a happy tone.

"We'll be careful, Mom. We promise!" Kagen called towards the kitchen, walking towards the front door with Kyle.

"Ok. Don't stay out too long!" His mother added.

"We won't! Bye!"

"Bye, dear!"

Kagen walking out of the door, followed shortly afterward سے طرف کی Kyle. He shut the door firmly. "Ok, so now what do آپ want to do? Want to go to my backyard?"

"No... Not really," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "How about we go to Tiny Hill? It's not that far from here, and I hear it's great for sleding and stuff like that."

Kagen turned his head, looking at Tiny ہل, لندن not far in the distance. 'Tiny Hill' was not exactly the best name for it. It was rather large and tall, in fact. "Sure, that sounds like fun! Maybe we can bring some trash can lids یا something to use as sleds." He looked at Kyle, starting to walk towards Tiny Hill.

"Hm... I don't really know if I feel like sleding. Plus, I don't know where we would get the trash can lids." Kyle said, following Kagen towards the hill. "I was thinking maybe just a simple, fun snowball fight یا something such as that."

"Ok, we can do that, then! Anything sounds fine to me," Kagen replied in a calm tone, continuing towards the snow covered hill.

Upon arriving at the ہل, لندن shortly afterward, the two دوستوں climbed to the سب, سب سے اوپر of the hill, looking out across the سٹریٹ, گلی that had just walked down and all of the houses.

"Wow, I never realized there's such a great view up here!" Kyle exclaimed, looking out at all of the glistening snow on the houses and ground below them. The sunset cast out across the snow, making it gleam with a faint, orange-red glow.

"So, what are we going to do first? Jump right in with the snowball fight? یا make forts?" Kagen asked, looking out at the vast open range that they had on سب, سب سے اوپر of the hill.

"I say we make forts! Then we can bury each other with snowballs," Kyle responded with a laugh.

"Ok, that works for me," Kagen laughed, walking over to the other side of the hill. He began shoveling snow up using his hands, slowly trying to put together a دیوار of snow to use as a fort.

Kyle also began trying to put a دیوار of snow together, focusing on making the دیوار fairly wide and tall. He paused for a moment, suddenly raising his head to look at Kagen. "Hey, Kagen? Do آپ hear that...?"

Kagen stopped, staying completely still. His ears twitched slightly when he began to hear a faint sound in the distance; the sound of flapping bat wings. "Sounds like bat wings... I wonder who it could be..."

"I don't know..." Kyle stopped building, looking around in the skies and areas around them. He smiled when he discovered that the sound was coming from a red and black hedgehog with dark red bat-like wings. "Oh, look, it's Drake!"

Kagen looked up at red and black hedgehog, noticing that he was coming right towards them. "Hey, Drake! How are آپ doing?" He called out happily.

ڈریک laided softly in the snow اگلے to Kyle and Kagen, smiling as he folded his wings behind his back. "Hey, guys! What's up? Can آپ believe all of this snow? This is probably the most snow that we're ever had before!"

"I know! Isn't it really cool?" Kyle کہا with a happy smile on his face. "Uh... Heh... No pun intended, there."

ڈریک laughed, a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. And, Cinder is on her way here, too... She should be here any time now."

Kyle smiled at the mention of the مالٹا, نارنگی wolf's name. Cinder and ڈریک were always really nice to him, almost like سیکنڈ *parents in some ways (*Cinder is an adult, not a teenager like Kyle. She's married to Drake, who is the same age as her*). "Really? She's on her way over here, too?"

"Actually, I'm here right now, Kyle!" A cheeful, sing-song female voice responded behind Kyle. Everyone turned to see that the voice belonged to a dark مالٹا, نارنگی بھیڑیا wearing a white لمبی بازو, طویل بانہہ and dark blue jeans.

"Hi, Cinder! It's great to see آپ again!" Kyle replied cheerfully.

"How have آپ been doing, Kyle? آپ sound like you've been doing fine." Cinder noted with a smile. She looked over at Kagen. "And, how are آپ doing, Kagen?"

"I'm doing fine as well! Thanks for asking, Cinder!" Kagen thanked with a smile.

"So, what were آپ guys up to? Preparing for a snowball fight?" ڈریک asked, taking notice of the small, barely-put-together forts.

"Yeah, Kagen and I were going to have a snowball fight. We were building forts, but we stopped when we heard you-" Kyle was silenced suddenly when a large clump of snow struck him center in the face. A snowball, but who threw it? A grin grew on his face as he listened to a certain مالٹا, نارنگی wolf's giggle. "Cinder hit me with a snowball! I declare war!" He exclaimed.

Cinder laughed, running off to a far side of the hill. She ducted down under a small mound of snow, sticking her head up over the mound for a short moment to look at Drake. "Come on, Drake! You're on my side!"

"Um... Uh... Ok!" ڈریک replied while releasing a laugh. Apparently he was a part of this snowball war now. He ran over to hide behind the mound with Cinder as Kagen and Kyle ran over to one of their previously made forts.

Kyle and Kagen crouched behind the fort, quickly trying to add مزید to the دیوار of snow to make it better cover. "We're going to work together to take them down, Kagen! We can beat them!" Kyle کہا with a snicker, packing snow against the fort wall. "Don't آپ agree?"

"Yeah, we can try. I don't know if we can beat them, though." Kagen کہا with a laugh. "Drake and Cinder can be pretty surprising with what they can do and what they can't do."

"I know, but I still believe we can beat them!" Kyle said, putting together snowballs as fast as he could.

Kagen slowly and cautiously stuck his head up over the fort, looking around slowly. "Everything seems pretty quiet and calm right-" He was interrupted as a cold snowball slammed into his face, knocking him back down into the snow اگلے to Kyle.

Kyle gasped, looking down at Kagen's snow-covered face. "The first shot has been fired!" He exclaimed, picking up a snowball. "Let's go, Kagen!" He threw a snowball over at the mound that Cinder and ڈریک were behind, but wound up missing them horribly. "Uh oh."

Cinder raised her head up over the mound, an almost evil looking grin on her face. "Nice try, Kyle."

Kyle quickly ducked behind his little snow fort, expecting to get showered سے طرف کی snowballs any second. Sure enough, he was right as snowballs rapidly began showering over them, quickly covering Kyle and Kagen in thick snow.

"Ha ha! I claim victory!" Cinder exclaimed, laughing. "Are آپ boys ok?" She asked, looking at the giant snow pile that Kagen and Kyle were covered with.

"Perhaps that was a little too much snow, Cinder..." ڈریک شدہ تبصرہ with a laugh.

Cinder shrugged her shoulders, looking at ڈریک with a goofy, humorous expression on her face, which received a laugh from the red and black hedgehog. She looked back over at the snow pile. "Really, are آپ both ok? Can آپ hear me?"

Cinder and ڈریک waited in silence for a few moments, not hearing a response یا seeing any movement in the snow. "Um... Kyle...? Kagen...?"

After a few مزید moments of waiting, the snow mound suddenly flung up, sending now EVERYWHERE. As the snow flew everywhere, it was followed سے طرف کی "FIRE!".

Cinder and ڈریک quickly dived behind the snow mound, knowing that snowballs were headed their way. They listened to Kyle and Kagen's laughter as they became buried under snow.

"Ha! We repaid the favor for آپ burying us!" Kyle said, laughing. He fell backwards into snow due to laughing so hard.

Cinder climbed up out of the snow, also laughing. "Ok, now we can say it's even."

"Agreed." ڈریک added, raising up out of the snow beside Cinder.

The four دوستوں continued laughing for quite a while, until they all decided to just settle down and relax in the cold winter snow. They all laid down in the snow, staring up at the cloudy evening sky.

"The sun will probably be going down pretty soon... Are آپ boys going to be ok walking ہوم سے طرف کی yourselves?" Cinder asked, turning her head slightly to look at Kagen and Kyle.

"We'll be fine, Cinder. I'm not trying to be mean at all سے طرف کی saying this, but we're old enough to take care of ourselves..." Kyle replied, watching as small, faint stars slowly began appearing in the twilight sky.

"I know, I was just making sure since the sidewalks and roads are slightly icy," Cinder said. She sat up, looking over at Drake. "Anyway, ڈریک and I should probably be getting ہوم now... It was really nice to play with both of you, boys." She said, giving a smile towards Kagen and Kyle.

"It was really nice to see آپ too, Cinder. آپ and ڈریک need to be careful on your way ہوم as well," Kagen said, standing up.

"We will, Kagen. Don't worry. We'll see آپ some other time!" ڈریک replied, standing up with Cinder. They both turned, walking back down the hill.

"That was awesome! That snow ball fight was hilarious, even though it only lasted for a few minutes," Kyle commented, laughing.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny," Kagen agreed, also laughing over what had happened during the snowball fight. He looked down towards the streets, noticing that streetlights were beginning to turn on as it became darker and darker. "Hey, Kyle. It's starting to get pretty late... Maybe we should go home."

"That's probably a good idea, actually. I told my mom that I would stop سے طرف کی the grocery store on my way home, and I told her that I would be back سے طرف کی 9:00," Kyle said.

"Really? Then we better start going home, then. My mother is probably expecting me to come ہوم soon, anyway," Kagen said, starting down the ہل, لندن with Kyle. They both remained silently for the rest of the walk to Kagen's house, not really having anything in particular to say.

Kyle stopped outside of Kagen's house, watching Kagen walk up to the front door. "I'll see آپ some other time, Kagen. It was great hanging out with you!"

"It was great to see آپ too, Kyle. Don't forget that your *bike is over there," Kagen responded, pointed to Kyle's black bicycle, which was leaning against the front of the house (*Kyle had left his bike at Kagen's house when they went up to Tiny Hill*).

"Thanks for reminding me, Kagen. I actually forgot about it for a second," Kyle admitted. He walked over to his bike. "What time is it, anyway? Do آپ know?"

"It's... uh... 9:13..." Kagen replied, looking down at his dark red wrist watch.

Kyle froze in shock. 9:13? How did it get that late so quickly? Did he really lose track of time that much? "Kagen, I have to go! I'm late!" He said, dragging his bike out to the road as quickly as he could.

"Just make sure you're careful! Don't go too fast یا آپ might crash!" Kagen warned as he watched Kyle quickly climb onto the bike, nearly losing his balance.

"I'll be careful! Don't worry, Kagen! Bye!" Kyle called, as he began pedaling quickly away from Kagen's house. Kagen watched until he couldn't see Kyle anymore, then walking back inside his cozy, warm house.

Kyle pedaling down the side of the road as quickly as his legs would allow him, ignoring Kagen's warning to be slow and careful. "I'm so late, I'm so late, I'm so late!" That's all that was racing through his mind as he pedaling up the street. He squinted his eyes, slowly beginning to see the outline of the grocery store using the faint light coming from the various streetlights that lined the road.

Kyle pedaled towards the grocery store as fast as he could, slamming on the brakes of his bike as soon as he zoomed into the parking lot. He struggled to keep his balance as the bike jerked and wobbled horribly as he hit the brakes. "Ok... So maybe the brakes aren't exactly great..." He thought, putting his feet down to stop the bike completely as it slowed down. He quickly climbed off of the bike, leaving it where it was. He wasn't afraid of someone stealing it; he wasn't going to be in the store for very long at all.

Kyle walked with a quick pace, hoping that his mother wouldn't be furious with him when he got back. He quickly walked past the food shelves, quickly locating the loaf of روٹی that his mother had requested. He had been in this store many times, so he knew just about where everything was. He carried the روٹی to the counter, quickly paying for it, thanking the clerk, then leaving.

Kyle walked outside, searching for his jet black bike in the darkness. He should have parked it closer to a light, but he didn't. He searched around the parking lot, not having much luck, until...

"STOP! آپ HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN!" A mega-phone amplified voice yelled, immediately followed سے طرف کی loud, near ear-piercing sirens. Police sirens.

Kyle quickly whirled around to see what was going on, just in time to see five figures dressed in jet black robes that seemed to blend in with the darkness around them. He couldn't make out who they were یا what species they were, due to only seeing their ears and tails. Everything else was covered سے طرف کی those robes.

The figures didn't seem to take notice of Kyle; they just dashed past him, being chased سے طرف کی at least five یا six police cars.

Kyle squinted at the figures, attempting to get a better view of them, but staggered back when a bright flash of light shined in his face; one of the figures had dropped some thing of cube that sent out a blinding white flash of light. "GAH!" He fell back onto the concrete, rubbing his eyes as his eyes slowly began adjusting to where he could see again, also doing the best he could to ignore the pain that shot up and down his back from falling on the concrete. سے طرف کی the time he could get up and see again, the figures and the police cars were already long gone into the distance.

Kyle stared off into the distance for a short moment, not moving an inch. He was in total shock of what he had just witnessed. He slowly shook his head, slowly bending down to pick up the روٹی loaf that he had dropped when the flash went off.

"What WAS that...? Was that some kind of police chase...? Who... were they chasing...?" Kyle stood there wondering for a moment, until he realized that he was making himself even later سے طرف کی standing there in the cold. He took the loaf of bread, and began looking for his bike again. After a short time of searching, he found his bike and climbed onto it. He tucked the روٹی under his arm, grabbing the bike's handle bar with one hand. He knew he should probably be using both hands, but he had no other way to hold onto the bread.

After a few minutes, Kyle began to see his house in the distance, اگلے to a streetlight. He drove his bike up in the driveway, climbing off of it and letting it fall into the snow. He was مزید worried about getting inside than where the bike landed. He ran over to the door, and walked inside.

"I'm home!" Kyle called, looking over at the nearby دیوار clock. 9:32 P.M. "And I'm sorry I'm so late!"

"Did something happen, Kyle? Are آپ ok?" His mother asked, walking out of the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ with a look of concern on her face.

"I'm ok, Mom... Nothing happened," Kyle fibbed a bit, not wanting to tell her about the police chase that he saw. "I just lost track of time. I'm so sorry..." He added quietly, feeling guilty for being so late.

"It's fine, sweetie. I don't care that you're late. I'm just glad you're ok." His mother said, walking over to him. She gave him a hug, then took the loaf of روٹی from him. "And, thank آپ for getting the bread, Kyle. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Mom..." Kyle replied quietly. He still couldn't help feeling guilty.

"You don't have to feel bad, Kyle... It's ok. Really, it is." His mother said, gently rubbing his head. She turned around, walking back towards the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ with the bread.

"Hey, Mom...? Is it ok if I go to bed...? I... wore myself out today... Kagen and I played for a while. Both of us were pretty tired afterward," Kyle said, slowly walking towards the stairs. He was indeed tired, but he also wanted to get to بستر so he could attempt to find out what that police chase was in the morning.

"Yes, it's fine, Kyle. I hope آپ sleep well, dear! I love you." His mother called.

"I love آپ too! Good night!" Kyle called as he started up the dark wood stairs to his room upstairs. As he climbed the stairs, he couldn't help but think about the police chase again. What could that have been? Were they killers? Robbers? یا something entirely different? Kyle didn't know. Most importantly, were they people that he knew...?