The train stopped in Sunset City, and Dagger left the train eagerly. When he left the train station, he was met with a smaller city, almost like a large town. Dagger walked around, scouting the area. "Hello, tourist," a man behind him said. "Would you care to buy a souvinir?" "Uh, no thanks," Dagger said. He turned and saw a box containing an orb identical to the one from Prison Island. "On second thought, how much for that box?" "400 rings," the salesman told him. Dagger produced the rings, spending all his money, and recieved the next part of his memory. He walked to the edge of town before opening the box. The orb flew out and was obsorbed into Dagger's head. Dagger's mind raced. He saw a vision of fire, a falling, scorched support beam, kids crying reaching his ears, thick smoke, and coughing. Dagger's eys went wide as the vision continued. He heard an ear-piercing siren, and the thanking from a little kid. Dagger girped his head, causing the vision to cease. Once it subsided, a name floated in his thoughts: Nutty. "What does it mean?" he wondered. "The name, the vision, these orbs?" Suddenly, an ear-splitting siren cut the air. Recognizing the sound, Dagger wheeled to see a red truck whizzing down the street. At the end was a burning house. He could smell the smoke from where he was standing. Like a rocket, Dagger zipped down the road to the burning building. The smoke was so thick, that you would be choking as soon as you got within 5 feet of the house. Still, Dagger pressed forwards. He heard the sound of screaming kids next, almost as loud as the siren. Dagger grabbed 2 babies in one arm and grabbed a 10 year-old's hand with his free one. Dagger dragged the three of them out of the house, then coughed the smoke out of his lungs. Then, it hit him like a ton of bircks. There was a cry for help from in the building. He'd missed one. As he ran through the doorway, the support beams of the roof above him collapsed. Dagger darted up the stairs, causing them to collapse. Up on the second floor, there was a small bedroom. Inside was a 8 year old squrrel, cruched under a fallen top bunk. Dagger sighed heavily, then coughed harshly. He dashed over to the kid and, with nearly all his strength, threw the bed off of him. "It's going to be ok," Dagger said, suprized at how his own voice sounded. "I'll get you—" his own harsh coughing cut him off. He grabbed the child and jumped out the window, the force of his leap tearing up the charred floor boards. Just as the two of them hit the ground, a huge wave of water came from the road and flew at the flames. The last thing Dagger saw before he passed out was the red trucks, which had just arrived, doing their job to stop the fire from spreading. . . . Dagger woke up suddenly, his eyes darting around. He was still on the property of the burnt house, and in front of him, he could make out the father and mother of the squrrel family. As he got up, he felt two arms wrap around him. "Thank you!" came the voice of the 8 year old. "If it wasn't for you, I would have been lost to that fire!" "No need," Dagger said. "I was happy to do it." "Hey, this is a wierd ask, but can I live with you?" The kid asked. "I'm Nutty, by the way." The name brought a flash of the vision back to him. It had all happened as he had seen it. And this was the kid. Dagger looked at him. "I don't have a house, but if you're willing to travel with me—" Nutty dashed to his parents and dropped to his knees. He was asking if he could go. After a while, Dagger saw Nutty's mom nodd, and Nutty returned. "Ok, let's go!" he said, pulling Dagger along. Dagger followed, noting that his duties had now expanded to babysitting. To be continued...
Song used: Sunset Hights Act 1 from Shadow Generations Sunset City was first fetured in the Sonic IDW comics, and was not created for this story. Well, Nutty's in the story now. so that's cool. I think this is the biggest change I've made so far. Most notably, Nutty isn't an only child. I most liekly won't make designs for his siblings, but now you know they exist.
