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Sonic sat on a swivelling stool at the diner, which bore the name Uncle Chuck’s after its proprietor. The young hedgehog looked and felt very sorry for himself.

“Alright, here we go,” Uncle Chuck said with a touch of pride in his work as he laid a plate in front of Sonic, “This is my own recipe. I think you’ll find they’re the best anywhere around”

Sonic looked down at his plate. Staring back up at him was a hot dog lathered in chilli with sprinklings of cheese and onions. Sonic looked at Chuck and raised an eyebrow.

“They don’t look like much, do they?” Chuck laughed, “Trust me. I think you’ll like it”

Gingerly, Sonic raised the snack to his mouth and took a bite. His eyes widened almost immediately. It tasted heavenly. Sonic scarfed down the rest in quick order.

“I’m going to assume that passed your taste test,” Chuck smiled, “Would you like another?”

Sonic felt guilty- he had no way to pay for any food but he knew he had to have another of those delicious dogs. Almost sheepishly, he offered a “Yes please”.

Uncle Chuck happily obliged, giving Sonic second helping. This one lasted about as long as the first.

“My chilli dogs are the most popular fast food around!” Chuck beamed with pride, “We’ve got branches of our diner all over- it’s a family business, you know! My brother and sister-in-law help out and we serve hundreds of hungry Mobians each day!”

Sonic’s stomach growled. Even though the food was divine, he hadn’t eaten in days and he felt like he desperately needed more.

“Ready for a third helping?” Chuck smiled.

“I can’t,” Sonic shook his head, “I don’t have any money”

“Never you mind that,” Chuck placed another chilli dog on the plate, “I’ve never been one to let a youngster go hungry”

Sonic looked at Chuck, then at the plate, then back at Chuck, “Thank you”

Sonic ate the third chilli dog more slowly, partly to savour the taste but partly because he was concerned Chuck would keep on loading the plate up if he continued to devour the food so quickly and he had no desire to take advantage of Chuck’s kindness.

Chuck tidied away some of his cooking utensils, “My friends Longclaw and Sophocles tell me you’re new in the Zone. Seems to me you’re going to want a place to stay”

“Yeah… know where I can find a bed?”

“I might just do- if you don’t mind sharing a house with a stranger or two”

“I just need somewhere to rest my head”

“Then I’ll have a chat and see what I can do”

Sonic looked at Chuck’s reassuring friendly face. He’d known him for all of twenty minutes- including the time it took to prepare the chilli dogs- and yet Sonic felt as if Chuck was family. He felt completely at ease around the older hedgehog.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a Charles Hedgehog?” Sonic turned to see a young yellow dog with brown spots on his fur walking towards them. The dog had a big brown spot over his eye which made him look a little cutesy. Around his neck was a red neckerchief.

The dog casually strolled up to the diner counter and rested an elbow on it, “It seems the owner of this diner hasn’t been paying taxes on his chilli dogs and I’m here to collect”

Uncle Chuck cackled with laughter, “Mutt, you mischievous pup!”

“Hi, Uncle Chuck,” the dog smiled, “How’s business?”

“Business is good. Here, a dog for a dog,” Chuck plated up a chilli dog and passed it to the youngster and winked, “I assume that will cover the ‘tax shortfall’?”

“Hmm, yes, this looks about right,” the cheery canine agreed and began eating, “Yes, this should just about do it”

Chuck turned to Sonic, “Sonic, this is Ben Muttski- Mutt for short”

“Nice to meet you, Mutt”

“You too. New in the Zone?”

“Sonic arrived in the Green Hill Zone just this morning,” Uncle Chuck nodded, “Sonic, Ben is my assistant”

“Oh, he works here in the diner!”

Chuck smiled a wry smile, “Not exactly. Finish up, you two, we’re going to give Sonic a tour of my other job”

***

Chuck opened the door to the darkened room. Sonic wasn’t entirely certain what to expect as neither Chuck nor Mutt had said anything on the journey in order- Sonic assumed- to heighten the surprise of the big reveal. The trio stepped into the cool, silent room and Chuck flicked a switch just by the door. Strip lights blinked on and illuminated the surroundings. What Sonic saw filled him with amazement.

“…woah,” was about all Sonic could get out.

“Yes, pretty impressive, if I do say so myself,” Chuck smiled.

The room was evidently some sort of laboratory or research facility- or perhaps both. Banks of work tables surrounded the perimeter, each with a different blueprint or half-completed trinket resting on it. In the middle of the room were a handful of basic computers displaying read-outs and various charts that seemed to calculate and compute the various machines dotted about the room- and what machines! From hand-held to room-filling, there seemed to be a gizmo to suit all tastes.

“I’ve never seen anything like this!” Sonic blurted- and he hadn’t.

“Uncle Chuck is a genius inventor,” Mutt said, singing the praises of his mentor, “He’s going to revolutionise the world, I just know it!”

“Oh, now, Ben, let’s not run before we can walk!” Chuck smiled, “We have a long way to go before any technological revolution. The first step is getting the people of Mobius to understand the huge benefits technology can bring to them. We’re a simple people by nature and we manage to get by alright- adopting sweeping change, even for the better, takes time. When you look at the grand scheme of things, it’s only comparatively recently Mobius has even embraced electricity!”

“I know, I know, but the idea of changing the world for the better- it just excites me so much!”

Chuck chuckled softly, “That’s the idea, m’boy. Even if it takes our whole lifetime, working towards peace and prosperity is the greatest goal I can think of! I want our world to be a utopia, where nobody wants for anything and we all work together for the betterment of society”

Sonic was marvelling at practically every gadget he laid eyes upon. On one desk was a water purification device with an attached note explaining how a large-scale version could cleanse the planet’s waters. At the next desk was something marked “suncatcher”, which was seemingly designed to bring out the best crops all year round, not just during the bright months. At the next desk was a formula for some sort of super-strong polymer to be used to improve the integrity of buildings, particularly homes, allowing them to weather any storm.

“If you like,” Chuck offered the young hedgehog, “I could take you on as an assistant too. Having another pair of hands around the lab would be a tremendous help”

“I appreciate the offer, really I do,” Sonic smiled, “But science has never been a strong point of mine. I’m not sure I’d be much use in a lab”

“That’s okay,” Chuck gave a kind smile in return, “Research isn’t for everyone! I’d much rather my assistants be dedicated than have them not enjoy their work”

“But,” Sonic offered, “even though I can’t help you design or build them, I’d be happy to help you share your ideas with everyone else. Or if you need someone to help you test them out, just point me in the right direction”

“You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Sonic,” Chuck put that same comforting hand on Sonic’s shoulder, “Thank you very much”

“So, Uncle Chuck,” Sonic said, without even thinking, calling the older hedgehog by his familial-sounding nickname, “You run a diner, you’re an inventor, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Yeah!” Mutt piped up, “He can’t play the guitar to save his life!”

“I knew you were going to say that!” Chuck laughed.

“Well, it’s true! Sonic, check this out!” Mutt ran over to a corner of the lab that Sonic hadn’t inspected yet and returned with a pristine red guitar.

“Hey, nice axe,” Sonic grinned.

“It’s one of Uncle Chuck’s coolest inventions- a self-powered electric guitar! No need to plug it in, you just strum and the vibration of the strings charges the battery!”

“But I’m afraid Ben is right,” Chuck admitted, “I can’t play for toffee!”

Something about the guitar seemed to call to Sonic. He gingerly reached out to gently take it from Mutt’s hands and looked it over before turning it around to the playing position. Sonic strummed his hands over the strings and a brief sound of music filled the air.

“Hey, look at that,” Ben grinned wryly at Chuck, “Never touched it before and he’s made it sound better than you ever did”

“Sonic, m’boy, if you like it, it’s yours!”

Sonic looked at Chuck in disbelief, “R-really?”

Chuck nodded, “Provided you practice every day, of course- that’s the condition!”

Sonic didn’t know exactly what to say, “Th-thank you… I’ll practice every day, I promise! Uncle Chuck, you’ve been so kind to me and I’m really just a stranger!”

“I believe in showing kindness to everyone, even if they’re a stranger. If everyone were to do that, the world would be a nicer place, don’t you think?”

Sonic looked at Chuck. The older hedgehog’s words had clearly resonated, “You’re right… I’ll do whatever I can to help everyone who needs it”

Chuck placed an arm around the two youngsters, “Sonic, I think you and I are going to get along very well indeed”

On to Chapter 3