A Second Wind: Book One, A Legacy Found

Prologue

A Second Wind

Disclaimer: this is a fan story, with its own canon. Taking place 20 years after Forces. All official characters belong to Sega. Apologies for spelling and grammar errors, if any are there, I did my best to proof read.

It was dark. It was cold. The snow that fell from the chilly winter night sky may have been falling gently but to her it might have been a heavy hail. The icy winter winds nipped at her face, making warm stinging tears come to her eyes. But none of the pain the harsh environment caused her, could outgrow the pain in her heart. She started to run a little faster and held the brown bundle of blankets in her arms a little closer.

The shouts of people, no hunters, came from behind her. She knew they weren't going to give up, no matter how far she ran; he wouldn't stop. She knew why they wanted her; it was the same reason they wanted the others. It was all the same. But she had something even more precious than herself, and she wasn't going to let them find it.

She jumped down a snowy cliff and landed into an icy drift that made her body sting with cold. She crawled out of the snow and quickly made her way to a small creek, that by some miracle was still flowing despite the winter's chill. She knelt by the river's edge and pulled a small basket from under her cloak. She placed the small brown bundle and a small cylinder capsule on a string into the basket, while whispering the words.

"I'm sorry."

The basket was then placed into the river and was carried away. A great sorrow erupted from deep inside of her heart. Warm tears quickly flooded her eyes, and overflowed onto her cheeks, as she watched the basket flout down the river. She had only felt this pain once before, 10 months ago when another great loss struck her. But her sorrow could only last a few moments, as the voices of the hunters came close enough to be heard. Now, Fear shot up her spine, as well.

She jumped to her feet and ran through the river. Her tears of fear and sorrow froze on her face as she ran. But she wasn't blind. When one of them jumped out in front of her, she threw herself to the ground sliding into his legs and flipped him over her. When he tried to get up, a mighty hammer came crashing down on to his head, knocking him out.

She stood over his unconscious body, holding her hammer, "That was for Vector and Charmy," she said, her voice filled with confidence and pain.

The others came from behind her, but this time she didn't run. She tightened her grip on the long handle of her hammer, twisted her hips and flung her hammer at them. They split, but only two of them managed to escape the flying hammer, the last one was hit in the chest and crashed into the snow. The other two pulled swords and lunged at her.

She effortlessly slipped in between the swings of the metal blades. Once she put enough distance between them and her, she dashed toward one of the trees. She grabbed the thin trunk and kicked her legs around it and into one of her pursuer's heads.

The other pursuer tried to use the golden sword in his hand, but it was clear that he was scared and inexperienced. He lunged poorly, but she used her hand to whip the sword out of his hands all though it caused warm blood to soak through her white glove; turning it red. Now, that he was disarmed, it was her turn. She ran toward him her fist raised ready to destroy the scum who joined the monster who killed her friends, no her family. Jab, block, punch, cross; he fell to the ground.

She stood over him, burning pain and fiery rage in her eyes. Ready to end him, but then the very hammer she had used to protect others for so many years, struck her in the stomach. She fell to the ground. Her torso ached, not just from the blow but from the pain the of now ruptured stitches. Warm blood leaked through her dress and onto the snow.