Sonic.EX3: Chapter 1

I can only remember a few things that happened. What I do remember most prominently is the game I played that can't be explained.

I was idling around at home with my homework. The topic in question: history and algebra. I wanted to study hard so I can qualify in the future for a shot at a computers oriented college. My biggest hope was going into game designing and development so I had a lot to work with. High expectations didn't stop me from trying though.

I hear police cars driving up past my house at the front. I couldn't understand why they were here to begin with – nothing really exciting ever happens in this neighborhood. I had to pause from my homework to take a look out the window to see. What I saw at the front was a rather horrific sight.

Some police were at the front door of a neighbor's house with an ambulance accompanying it. Did somebody die there? Was there a robbery with someone injured? They weren't going to let bystanders near so it's rather pointless to worry about it. But what is gonna worry me is if it might happen to anyone else in the neighborhood … or it would've been my house.

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A few days had passed since then. During that time, I saw more officers checking the house along with a private detective and his assistant. They came over to my house one time – the detective and assistant – and asked some questions about the goings on and if I knew the victim. All I could do was explain what I knew.

The guy next door was later revealed to be a kid named Kyle. Apparently his computer was broken and he was left with a slack jawed look in a bloody comatose state. I'd explain that they said something about being 'alive but dead' but... I don't think they went to a medical college good enough to explain that bullshit. Dead or Comatose... I was rather confused on how he ended up that way.

I didn't pay it much mind otherwise. I was just happy that it wasn't me. What I didn't know was the foreboding dread I would end up in later on.

This also came with the fact that I kept hearing about some group of video game worshipers talking about a weird ass game. Sonic.EXE. God these guys sound like the extremists of popular cartoon fans... Me, I'd rather not have any of those creeps in my neighborhood.

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It's been a few weeks since the first victim when more kept popping up on the news. When the holidays rolled around it was like counting down to Christmas in a rather tasteless way. One death per day closer to the holidays at a time no less... Made me wish for homeland security for Christmas.

I even saw that one of the victims shown was the same assistant that detective had. The name mentioned was 'Chelsea green.” Poor girl. Guess those murders got to her and that detective rather quickly. That and I thought I saw one of those Sonic.EXE followers around the neighborhood or something. The outfit he wore was a shirt and jacket with the sonic the hedgehog Sega logo on the front. The way sonic looked in that picture was … just not right...

It had this gunk like blood depiction to it and black soulless eyes. The center of each eye was a beady white dot to them. Looked something like what you would see from a Halloween joke... The way he looked didn't 'feel right'. But seeing something like that … I'm questioning why there aren't police in the neighborhood to cuff someone that crazy.

I guess the police are kept busy with the other murders to the point where they can't keep track. I really don't know how else to explain it. This... is just beyond me.

I can't really explain how long it's been since then. At least the new years passed by rather easy enough without another incident. Though it's been a while now seeing all this steamroll into worse and worse.

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I saw later on the news that a detectives apartment was ransacked also. The photo depicted on the screen was that of the same guy last year involving that Kyle kid back in November. I guess it's time to move out of this neighborhood then.

I went to gather up some of my things to take my mind off the whole fiasco. I went to the closet to pick out my Sega Game Gear to play with for a while. I didn't know if it will still work after so much dust was gathered on it. However, when I pulled it up, I saw it had a cartridge in its back end. I didn't remember putting one in before.

I slid the cartridge out and took a look at the back end. The sticker on it was ripped off and replaced with a strange tape on it. Sonic.EX3

… That made me spooked and I dropped the cartridge then and there. I stumble back a bit while gazing at it, looking at it just laying there doing nothing. I wasn't sure what to consider about it... This game was said to be behind those cultists movements. I checked my window to find no signs of breaking in. I also went to my front door and nothing. I can't wrap my head around HOW it ended up there.

This game was … really involved in a lot of mystery. In the end I wasn't stupid enough to play it. Why would a game said to cause accidents be WORTH playing?

I could go to the police to just hand this in. In fact...I might as well do that. It didn't take me long to get the cartridge packaged and head out the door. Suddenly, my Sega Game Gear started beeping when I stepped out the bedroom door. That...wasn't right.

The damn thing was off for one... for another, I don't think I even changed the batteries for it. I give it a check to look at the screen. I flip the on and off switch and it doesn't seem to even want to turn off. What was on the screen was what bothers me more than the cartridge.


=Please Insert Cartridge=


Again... this was seriously unrealistic. First the game appears out of nowhere, now my Hand-Held for it is acting like it's possessed. I'm definitely getting it checked.

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I stand at the police station that afternoon with the cartridge in a plastic bag. Against my better judgement, and regretting it already, I had the Hand-Held with me for further evidence that this 'Game' is unnatural. Maybe it might be able to lead to some clues about the murders.

The inside of the Police office was like a Hon-Kong crossroad during traffic hour. There were people filing complaints and I thought I saw a mother with her arms around her husband in tears. I guess these were the victims of that whole cult, or probably something worse that goes on. How can one incident like this spiral things so out of control...

I had to take a seat somewhere and gaze around quietly. It wouldn't stop making that turning on effect with the thing calling out its own name … I had to reach over to it and pull it out so I can try to smother it – or break it – to make it stop. Then … it hit me.

I saw that the cartridge somehow appeared in the back of the Hand-Held Console. I checked the plastic bag at my hip. Gone! That made no sense... Obviously the longer I'm holding onto this thing the worse it gets for me! I don't even know why I'm still HOLDING THE DAMN THING! Sooner I get rid of it... sooner I can get my sanity back.

The game showed a different screen when the game started to play. It showed a small bee like character sitting at a rocky looking background. The background had some parts of machinery put around it to make it look like a mix of Marble zone and Scrap Brain zone.. But what I saw around the bee character were small little critters that were hopping up and down. The sound effects sounded like they were... crying? The screeching noises were hard to pick up, but it was probably the noise of the police station waiting room with the people in panic over the incidents.

But I couldn't place my finger on it … I think... that the character in the game looked like … Charmy? But what would charmy be doing in a Sega Game Gear game? … more like WHY is this game even running and WHY am I humoring it?

Well … at least it isn't running into anything out of the ordinary. But I can take notice of a badnik bug bot rolling on through while I stare at it. I don't give it a bother as I stare up, noticing an officer just pass by with a quiet look at the people there.

I look back at the game and figure that fiddling with some buttons might break it or something. If it did then it might be a benefit for me. However..I try to push some of the buttons to no effect. Charmy didn't jump, move, or even make any actions. He just … stood there.

I figure I wasn't going to get my turn anytime soon, so I had to get up and get some water. I take time to gaze on at the screen again … but I suddenly stop where I am as I notice … charmy moved.

Is it a cutscene? A glitch? Something? I still can't imagine going on with this but … I look back over where the other people were before I groan and hurry to the watering fountain.

When I get there, I work the fountain until it started to spray its water in the typical arch for me to drink. A couple of drinks was enough to get my nerves down before wiping my mouth again. I had to take another look at the game hoping it either froze or restarted …

Charmy moved again...

But what I saw was the most creepiest thing. Where he was now...was nearby something that was akin to a marble zone fountain spraying upward... This is either a seriously stupid rom hack or … oh fuck this. A game doesn't just appear out of nowhere and a Sega Game Gear doesn't just suddenly become possessed. If all these things happened then there's no WAY a human could've been behind this. If anything, I had to throw the game away in a garbage and just scram out of there like no tomorrow.

I had sprinted some ways away from the police station and gave myself time to pant and heave from the events. I might have lost the game finally. Sure it had cost me an antique hand-held console out of print but at least it isn't bothering me with that creepy ass screen anymore...

… or so I thought.

I heard the familiar sega tune as it started up again. I look to my back where my pack was before noticing the noise again. I nervously reached in, grasping what I hope wasn't there … It was. The damn game ended up on me AGAIN! I pull it out to gaze on at the screen as it played. It showed Charmy again, standing out along the same scenery of marble zone mixed with Scrap Brain zone. However, the sprawl looked more … Urban? I give myself a facepalm on the head as I felt like giving up.

I could only stare on as I walk on down the street. As I push the buttons, I can only see Charmy moving to the left as if backtracking. It wasn't until I was too distracted by the damn thing that I almost stepped past a stop light with just one foot. But as I did, the game gave a sudden screech noise making me stop in place. I held a hand to my ear while looking down - noticing some truck size badnik push right past on the screen. When it did, I heard the screeching horn of a cargo truck drive past with mad yelling from the driver seat.

I take a quiet moment to contemplate the coincidence … or LACK there of in terms of coincidences being out the window here. I look back on at the game … and it felt like the character was just staring right back at me, as if with an expression of worry similar to my own …

… this wasn't right …