Author's Notes: I'm back...again. After 2 or 3 years of soul searching, I've decided to continue writing fanfics.
I hope you all like it. I also put in music references from previous Sonic games to help with moods but mostly character introductions. Disclaimer: Sonic and co. are owned by Sonic Team. Also the music is not mine (even though it's awesome) or the games.


Chapter 1: Vacation

(It Doesn't Matter/Sonic Adventure)

Sonic, the hero everyone thought passed on, was zipping through Green Hill Zone. He wanted to spend his time doing what he loved: running. The sunlight allowed his quills to glow as they were at the mercy of the wind. The hedgehog had his trademark smirk on his face.


Earlier...

Tails grabbed his toolbox and started to study the Tornado. While he was scrutenizing the plane, he thought about what happened a few months ago. Everyone thought Sonic died but Eggman's hubris kept him alive. He wanted Sonic to see a world under his rule.

"Fortunately, Egghead just imprisoned him. Otherwise, I don't know how I would still be here, happily tinkering away," Tails thought with a smile as he observed one of the plane's wing.

As Tails was getting lost in his work, he didn't notice Sonic looking at him with an innocent grin.

"Hey, Tails. Whatcha doin'," he asked while eating a chili dog.

"Oh. Hey, Sonic. I didn't see you there. Are you going on your morning run," the yellow fox asked while picking up a wrench.

Sonic finished eating his snack and pat his belly to show his satisfaction.

"Yeah. Why? Is there something wrong, Tails?"

"I just thought you needed more rest. You just saved the world!"

Sonic looked at Tails with a puzzled expression.

"But I always do that. What's so different from those other times," Sonic asked as he started to stretch.

"Well I thought you were a goner, Sonic. I...um...we were worried when you were captured by Infinite," Tails struggled to say to his hero.

Sonic's usual casual expression faded as he felt guilt. He didn't realize his best friend was still trying to process what happened. Tails looked deflated as he thought of the mornings of waking up and sitting in his room where only pictures of Sonic provided a little comfort. The world felt like it was crumbling down. He even started doubting his abilities and stopped working on his projects.

"It's okay, Tails. I'm here now," Sonic said as he noticed a tear rolling down his cheek.

He was surprised when the child ran up to him to give his hero a hug. It felt more like he was holding on to Sonic tightly so he wouldn't leave him. Tears were all over his fur, making him feel a bit heavy. Slowly, the hedgehog gently loosened Tails' grip so he could get his attention. Tails looked up at Sonic's eyes with his own teary and sore eyes.

"You know what, little buddy? There's this game I bought for us to play but I could never figure out the right time for us to play it together," he said as he patted the top of his friend's head.

The fox started to smile and he slowly let go of Sonic.

On Angel Island...

(Unknown from M.E./Sonic Adventure)

A red haired echidna was watching channels through the Master Emerald (reference: Sonic Adventure) while relaxing on a folding chair. It was a very sunny day and the birds were singing as Knuckles was channel surfing. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I love the peace we fought for...but I can't help but be bored. I'm practically falling asleep here," he thought with his eyes partially opened.

Suddenly, he jumped out of his chair and shook his head to wake himself.

"What am I saying? What gives me the right to relax when there are creeps like Eggman out there. All I did was watch as the world was taken over instead of leading the effort to stop him a lot sooner! I feel so useless! I can't even punch anything," Knuckles yelled before gritting his teeth and clenching his gloved fists.

The angry echidna took out a remote and a small cube. He threw the device on the ground and smoke started to come from it. When the smoke cleared, a blue and yellow robot appeared.

"Guard the emerald while I'm gone, okay," Knuckles commanded.

"Yes, sir," the machine replied as it readied its gun.

Knuckles smiled and thought, "I'm glad Tails let me use this thing."

He took out a handful of rings and started to count them.

"This should be enough for a couple of punching bags," he said to himself.

At G.U.N. Headquarters...

(Fly in the Freedom/Sonic Adventure 2)

The GUN commander sat at his desk and looked at the reports Rouge gave him on Eggman's activity. The bat waited patiently for his answer with Shadow at her side with his arms folded.

"Hmmm. So Eggman is doubling his robot production and manufacturing a couple of paralysis weapons. Not only that, but a...hedgehog sanctuary," the man said, befuddled.

"Yes, we had the same reaction when we discovered it. He has been harboring a species of hedgehogs that seem to be unlike Shadow and Sonic," Rouge said as she glanced at her partner.

Shadow didn't know how to react when he saw them. They were small and crawled instead of walked. He never thought Eggman could surprise him until Rouge and him checked out his base yesterday.

"Is he doing anything to harm or robotize them," the commander asked as he was still in disbelief.

"No. He isn't even trying to chemically alter them. Eggman just played with them," Shadow said while trying to hide his shock.

He let out a sigh and said, "Find out why he is increasing production and what he plans to do with the stasis weapons."

"Yes, sir," Shadow and Rouge said simultameously with a salute.

At the Metropolis base...

(E.G.G.M.A.N. OST Version/Sonic Adventure 2)

Orbot and Cubot watched Eggman play with hedgehogs.

"Hey, boss. Don't you hate hedgehogs like Sonic," Cubot asked as he scratched his head.

Orbot was agreeing with Cubot.

"Maybe he's finally cracked," Orbot whispered to Cubot.

Eggman took his eyes off of the little creatures and turned his attention to his creations.

"Yes, I still hate that meddling blue pest because he is actually a threat to my plans. These hedgehogs, on the other hand, do not have the capability to possess the same characteristics. They only follow instinct instead of any sort of complex cognition," he explained with a toothy grin.

"But sir, we still don't get why you have them here," Orbot said, confused.

"Yeah. You would usually be working on some plot that ends with you getting beaten by Sonic or being betrayed by some god you tried to control," Cubot chimed.

Eggman started to walk towards the two bots while they slowly hovered backwards. Then he stopped walking and started to groom his mustache with his hands.

He laughed and snapped his fingers. A robot carrying a stack of paper work activated and brought the sheets to him.

"Read 'em and weep boys," he said as he commanded the robot to hand them to the frightened Cubot and Orbot.

"When I'm done programming the robots, we will start the first steps. This time I'm not using a god's power or suffering defeat at the hands of Sonic. Now we have Infinite and three Chaos Emeralds. The plan will be perfect. Infinite," Eggman shouted into the communicator.

The mercenary floated into the room.

"What are your orders," Infinite asked the mad scientist.

Back at Tails' workshop in Central City...

Sonic was playing Sonic Colors with Tails. They were taking turns and laughing while talking about light topics.

"I still can't believe someone would document all of our adventures and turn it into a game series," Tails said while watching Sonic try to beat a level.

"I can't believe it either. It's so surreal. The jokes could be a bit much. And I'm not that cocky. Right, Tails," Sonic asked while making a goofy grin.

The fox just looked at him and then the Sonic on the game. He laughed to himself.

"What's so funny, little buddy?"

"Nothing, Sonic," Tails said as he tried to hold his laughter.

He only managed to hold it in for a few seconds. Then, Sonic joined in. After about a minute of laughing, Tails' smile slowly turned into a frown. The hedgehog knew something was wrong.

"Are you okay," he asked with a tone that made him sound more like a concerned older brother rather than his best friend.

"I just wonder if Eggman is escalating. And I wanted to ask you if...um..."

"You can ask me anything."

"Okay," Tails took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before he asked, "If Eggman did something horrible to Knuckles, Amy, or me...w-what would you do to him?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Sonic never wanted anyone to ask this question. He never thought of Eggman as a challenge or a threat until he was defeated by one of his mercenaries. The mad doctor could have done anything to him. If he managed to conquer the entire world, Eggman would show him as the ultimate insult before executing him. When Sonic escaped with a little help from a rookie, he pondered this as he was running through the prison hall near the Death Egg.


A few months ago...

Sonic's hands were shackled and he was behind bars. He didn't know what to do. Eggman never actually captured him before or sent anything that could defeat him. Zavok or the illusion of the Zeti walked up to his cell with a grin. Sonic did his usual cocky grin to hide his anxiety.

"Hello, Sonic. It seems as if you were too slow this time," he said with a little chuckle.

"Long time no see, Zavok. I thought I defeated you on the Lost Hex."

The Zeti kept smiling while Sonic was still in the dark about his situation.

"It seems your arrogance has blinded you. Too bad I can't stay and chat. I have other business to take care of."

When the illusion was no longer in Sonic's view, it disappeared into thin air. After a couple of minutes, he was greeted by a familiar masked jackal.

(Battle with Infinite-First Bout/Sonic Forces)

"Hello, rodent. I hope you're getting used to your living arrangements because this is where you will stay until Eggman's glorious empire is complete," he said with a smile hidden behind his mask.

"I don't think so. My friends will come and rescue me," Sonic replied with a more serious expression.

"Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that. Dr. Eggman's data suggested that they were nothing but minor obstacles. Maybe that's why you always insist on fighting alone. You know this is true," he said before he laughed.

Sonic didn't know how to respond. He knew that he was right. His friends only watched as he fought. Even his more capable friends like Shadow, Silver, and Blaze only cheered him on when he was fighting the Time Eater with his past self.

"Now I have to go. There's another hedgehog that seeks to get in the way of the doctor's plans," he said before walking off.

Sonic's only company was flickies that Eggman kept locked up to be roboticized later and his thoughts.

"*sigh* I guess I will have to find out all of the answers when I get out of here," he thought.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Sonic's hope of escaping slowly started to erode along with his faith in his friends. Then the hedgehog's head started to hurt one day. His memories started to change. He remembered Tails cowering in fear as Chaos Zero approached him and an impaired Omega. Then he homing attacked the fake Chaos.

"Classic must be here but why," Sonic asked as he closed his eyes and tried to remember.

He was kind of happy to have something to distract him from his current situation.


The day of the rookie's rescue mission...

(Fitting Room/Sonic Forces)

An operative from the newly formed organization with a wispon started to traverse all of Eggman's traps. They were wearing a hat and had bangs to hide their face. Their loose fitting clothing didn't help when determining their species. The agent didn't talk much, making it hard to discern a gender but it was perfect for hiding the Resistance's intel.

"Alright, rookie, it's all up to you now," Knuckles said on a comm device.

The agent only nodded in agreement before the transmission finished.

In the Prison Hall...

(Death Egg: Prison Hall/Sonic Forces)

Sonic sat on the cot in the cell awaiting rescue or execution. If he was going to be executed, today would be the day since Eggman took over most of the world, seemingly unopposed. His eyes were closed as he kept remembering his younger self going through one of Eggman's bases. It was all he could really do to pass the time. Then to his surprise, his cuffs were finally taken off. The cobalt hedgehog opened his eyes to see Zavok opening his cell. After replying to Zavok's words with his usual snarky attitude, he dodged an attack and ran to a more suitable battlefield.

Meanwhile...

The rookie finally made it to the prison hall to see Sonic waiting for them, unscathed.

"What took you so long," Sonic asked casually which surprised the operative.

They heard that Sonic was tortured but he seemed fine.

"Could he have been so traumatized that he doesn't want to remember or maybe the intel was wrong," the rookie thought while escorting Sonic out of the prison.


Present Day...

"I never answered Tails' question. I just made up an excuse and said that I had to go on a food run. The truth is I don't know how to answer it. Eggman has done a lot of horrible things to the planet but he never really did anything to harm my friends psychologically or even came close to killing them. He almost killed me but it was never really them. But what if he did do something to them that couldn't be reversed or fixed with a few jokes and light humor? I always believed I was invincible but what if I screwed up? Who would stop him from destroying everything? My friends don't even fight with me and it took them months to actually make a dent in Eggman's plans. Even then, someone who was new to fighting Eggman did more than them," Sonic thought as he leaped through the air to see the beautiful landscape.

At Amy's house...

(My Sweet Passion/Sonic Adventure)

Amy woke up from her dream. There was a huge blush on her face. She sat up and didn't see Sonic with her. She was disappointed but it didn't stop her from trying to get the actual hedgehog to date her. The young hedgehog started to get ready for the day. She changed out of her night gown and put on her boots.

"I have so many things planned for today. I barely know where to start. Maybe I should go see Sonic first to see if he is okay. Tails too. He hasn't been the same since Sonic was captured a couple of months ago. After that, I have to go see Cream so I can train her. I'm still not sure if Cream should be fighting Eggman with us but she insisted," Amy thought as she was brushing her teeth and styling her quills.

The pink hedgehog was about to leave when she heard a knock. What Amy saw when she opened the door almost had her out of breath. Her visitor was Sonic. He was holding flowers indigenous to the Green Hill Zone. Amy wanted to cry tears of joy. She waited for this moment for years and she didn't know what to say.

"Amy, I'm sorry for running away from you. I did that because I didn't know how to express my feelings to you but I'm here now and that's all that matters," Sonic said as he handed her the flowers.

She was understandably hesitant but accepted them. The girl was overwhelmed by the situation.

"Are you alright, Amy," he asked with concern as she was about to burst into tears, "Maybe I should take you somewhere nice so you could relax. You seem very tense."

"I'm...f-fine but I guess I could go somewhere nice with you," she struggled to say before he held her hand.

Amy was blushing as Sonic and her took a nice stroll through the forest. After a few minutes of hearing nothing but the birds sing and the sound of their shoes as they stepped on a few pebbles, the pair finally made it to a beautiful waterfall. The pink hedgehog looked around at this lovely scenery. The sunlight allowed the leaves on the trees to glow and the woodland creatures were so adorable. It truly looked like a haven for anyone trying to unwind.

"This place is really beautiful," she said as she sat on a rock.

Sonic sat next to her and they looked at the waterfall together. While Amy was being blown away by the sight of the waterfall, she didn't notice someone hiding behind a tree. Infinite was watching them and waiting for his moment. The Phantom Ruby prototype was gleaming in his chest. He just needed a bit more time.

"Well, I really think our time together has been great, Sonic, but I promised Cream that I would spend time with her today," she said as she stood up and dusted herself off.

Sonic grabbed her wrist.

"But Amy, I want to spend more time with you," he pleaded as he continued to pull her wrist.

"I'm...sorry...but...I need...to train Cream," she shouted between breaths as she tried to get out of his iron grip.

He continued to pull her towards him. Amy gritted her teeth and started to get angry.

"What is wrong with you," she asked angrily as they continued the aggressive game of tug-of-war.

Infinite saw a drone above them with a big cage. The jackal finally came out and pulled out a stasis rifle. Amy was too preoccupied with Sonic to notice him aim at her. He finally positioned it and pulled the trigger. Sonic finally let her go and disappeared. Before Amy could react to Sonic vanishing, a blinding beam of light struck her chest. Her body fell and she was horrified to see a cage fall from above. She closed her eyes and heard the cage's impact with the ground. Amy could hear the sound of it closing below her while carrying soil and rocks.

Infinite hovered near the cage floating with the help of a sturdy drone and a thick tether. He saw his captive's frightened face. Her eyes showed her growing fear. The jackal wish he could hear her screams but she couldn't move her mouth or any part of her body. He settled for her tears instead.

"Now that meddling rat will try to save her. But if 'his' plan works, she may be beyond saving along with this pathetic world," he thought with a sadistic smile.