A Second Wind: Book One, A Legacy Found

Chapter 2: Training and Teammates

Zephyr tossed and turned, under the sheets. His eyes snapped open, and he shot up. He was drenched in sweat, and gasping for breath. He put his hands on his face and slowed his breath. He took his hands off his face and glanced around; it took a few moments to recognize where he was. The room was nearly pitch black, but he could still make out the paintings on the walls.

"Just a dream, just a dream," he told himself, as he got out of bed.

He snuck out of his room onto the 3rd floor. The dark green walls and the almost black wooden floors were alit with the faint flicker of candle light. Zephyr carefully walked around the floor, looking curiously at the unusual looking candles that were ablaze with strange purply/pink flames, until his eyes caught something even more interesting. A portrait; of his father...

He quickly and quietly went toward the portrait. His eyes stared at the brightly colored painting, with wonder. Inside of the swirly golden frame, was a blue hedgehog, that was clearly his father, a bright tangerine two-tailed fox, and a red echidna with sugar plum eyes; all of them with bright smiles. On the bottom of the frame were the words.

"'Team Sonic'"

"Hi dad," he gazed at his father with pride, before looking a little closer at the others in the portrait "I guess those are Sparky's and Angie's fathers."

Did the other floors have these? Filled with newfound curiosity Zephyr went up the stairs to the 4th floor. The 4th floor looked different then the third, the walls weren't a dark green, but a deep indigo-violet and the doors were different colors; the only things that it shared with the third floor was the almost black wooden floor, and the fact that it was lit with many strange purply-pink candles.

The 4th floor portrait was of his mother. She had a bright smile on her and looked much younger than she did in the photos in his room. Standing next to her was the biggest blue cat that Zephyr had ever seen and an adorable little brown rabbit.

"'Team Rose'"

Zephyr smiled at the portrait, at his mother. She looked so happy. "So, this was your team mom?" he thought.

Zephyr continued up the floors looking at the portrait of each team that once lived on them. the 5th floor was a dull, honey gold, once again the doors were different colors, and the floors was the same as the last two. There Zephyr found, a portrait of what looked like a team of a lime green crocodile, a grape juice colored chameleon, and a young bee or he could have been a wasp; Zephyr couldn't tell.

"'Team Chaotix'"

Zephyr went up on to the 6th floor. It was the same as the 3rd; the same dark green walls, same almost black wooden floor, same purply-pink candles. Only the doors and portrait were different.

"This is the floor that Aunt Maria said she lived on," He remembered.

Zephyr came up the 6th floor portrait, and he saw Aunt Maria, but she looked completely different. Her quills were shorter. She was standing up strait, without any sort of cane, and the tired looked she usually had on her face was replaced with a bright energetic smile. She, like everyone else in the portraits looked so happy, standing next to her team mates, who looked like a jackal and a red wolf.

"'Team Sahara'"

He came to the 7th floor; where the staircase seemed to have ended. However, unlike the other floors, it was so dark that he could barely see four feet in front of him and the deep indigo/blue walls weren't helping. Where were the candles? Zephyr looked around, straining his eyes against the darkness until he finally saw the only source of light, on the entire floor. It was a single purply-pink candle, sitting on the ground, right below the 7th floor's portrait.