Prologue

Dark Times

Sonic is enjoying a peaceful day in Station Square, sitting on a chair outside. He has sunglasses on, and was drinking a cup of soda from a straw. He smiled, looking at the sun. It felt so good to have a break from adventuring. Suddenly, Amy pops in front of him, and Sonic jumped from shocked, almost dropping his cup.

"Hi Sonic…" Amy said, smiling.

Sonic lowered his sunglasses so he can see Amy properly, "What is it?"

Amy cuddled onto Sonic, "Oh, nothing."

Sonic tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she was holding pretty tightly. Sonic thought of something quickly, and something triggered in his mind.

"Hey look! Someone is selling perfume!" Sonic shouted, pointing.

Amy looked behind her and looked around, but when she turned around, Sonic was out of sight, only seeing a trail of dust.

Amy growled, "Sonic! I'll get you yet!"

Sonic ran across the city, doing various acrobatics on walls, swinging across a pole to grab more air. He lands on the side of the wall and jumps on another wall, then jumps up, landing on a building.

"Sonic!" a voice shouted.

Sonic turned around to see his buddy, Tails.

"Hey, Tails," Sonic said.

Tails flew down and landed on the building. He smiled at Sonic.

"I just came out with a new invention!" Tails exclaimed.

"Another one? What is it?" Sonic asked.

"I call it, Tornado X!"

"Another plane?"

"Not just a plane, but it's a jet. It can fly to space."

"Sweet, looks like we won't have to steal Eggman's jets anymore."

Tails chuckled, "Right, that's why I made it."

"Cool, although it won't be as fun."

Tails glared at Sonic.

"Hey! I was only kidding around."

"I know," Tails said, smiling.

"Sonic!!!" a voice shouted.

Sonic looked down, and saw Amy running after him, "Wow, that girl doesn't give up! Gotta go buddy!"

Sonic jumps to another building, and lands on the ground and resumes run. Amy continues to chase Sonic.

"But… I've been loyal to you guys."

"I'm sorry, but it's just out of my hands."

"What? Why are you doing this? No matter what, I've completed my missions."

"That's exactly right, Rouge, you do it no matter what, but you've also put some of your missions in jeopardy."

Rouge looked irritated, "Mr. President, I can't help that I have a thing for jewels."

"That's what everyone is so worried about," the President said, "About two years ago, you allowed Eggman to have five Chaos Emeralds and put Station Square on the brink of destruction. Also, a year later, you've worked with Shadow, a hedgehog that also worked with Eggman."

"But Shadow isn't with Eggman anymore!"

"I know, and he has gained my trust, but back then, he was still a mystery. And that still doesn't excuse you from the Eclipse Cannon incident."

"So I can't be trusted anymore?"

"I still trust you, but the soldiers feel unsafe around you. Your lack of self-control and lust for jewels has really shaken up GUN."

Rouge's eyes drifted off, feeling a little ticked.

"You will be on probation until further notice. Don't expect to be called until GUN calms down."

"Yes, sir," Rouge said.

"Keep in mind I had to fight my way just to keep you in, so take my advice and take a break from being a government spy."

Rouge nodded, "Understood."

The President stood up and looked out the window, "You're free to go."

Rouge walked out, cursing under her breath. She let her lust almost jeopardize her job. She wouldn't be so worried about it if this weren't the only way to get jewels without openly stealing them. Rouge walks out the building, spreading her wings, and flew away.

Knuckles rested by the Master Emerald, keeping a close eye on it. His calm life has been very enjoyable. He always felt guilty for leaving the Master Emerald behind to help Tails and Sonic. He felt that his place was to always be by the Master Emerald, never leaving its side.

Knuckles smiled, looking at the sky. He felt at peace, feeling the Master Emerald behind him. Suddenly, he saw a figure flying towards him.

"Not her again…" Knuckles said, automatically assuming it's Rouge.

His thoughts were right, Rouge landed on the ground and looked at Knuckles.

"I can never be at peace, can I?" Knuckles asked, standing up.

Rouge walked up the steps, going up to the shrine, "Just get out of my way."

"Can't do that," Knuckles said, getting in front of her.

"What's up with you and that emerald!? I can't even lay a finger on it!"

"Because it's not just an emerald! I have to protect it. I can't even trust Sonic to hold it."

Rouge looks at Knuckles angrily, "I just want to touch it, knucklehead!"

Knuckles glared at her, "And how can I trust a thief?"

"Maybe you can, maybe you can't. Just remember, I'll use force if necessary."

"I'm not really in the mood for a fight, Rouge."

"Then get out of my way!"

Rouge tried to force her way to the emerald, but Knuckles holds her back.

"Can't you just steal stuff from the jewelry store!?" Knuckles shouted.

"That emerald is unique! I just want to touch it!"

"What's wrong with… whoa."

Knuckles looked up at the sky, still holding onto Rouge. A large, bulky figure fell from the sky and landed onto the ground, making a tremor. It had a club in its hand, and stared at Knuckles and Rouge.

Rouge turned around, "What is that thing?"

"I don't know, but…" Knuckles looked up as the sky turned red, "this could be bad."

Rouge rushed to the giant, "You picked a bad time to drop in!"

She kicked the giant's side, but it didn't flinch. Rouge did another kick and had no effect again. The giant swung its club, hitting Rouge. She skids across the ground due to the force of the impact. Knuckles jumped up and punches the giant's face. It stumbled back, and Knuckles landed on his feet, and just kept punching repeatedly. The giant punched Knuckles, and he flown to the stairs, crashing into it. The giant ran up to Knuckles, raising its club to make a strike, but Rouge fired off her Black Wave, and it hit the giant hard. Knuckles stood back up as the giant skid down the field. He pulled his arms back as he began to glow red.

"Heat Knuckles Attack!" Knuckles shouted.

He literally threw himself to the giant, going at high speed. His fists forward, he crashes into the giant, and it goes flying. Rouge flies up, pulls her foot back, and does a fierce kick to the head. It flies farther and falls off of Angel Island, screaming as it fell. Rouge breathed hard, and fells to the ground. Before she landed, Knuckles caught her.

"You okay?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge stared at him and Knuckles looked back, then she kicked him to the face and jumped back.

"I'm fine!" Rouge shouted.

"Well I can see that now!" Knuckles shouted back.

Rouge and Knuckles look angrily at each other, but Rouge snaps out of it.

"Look, we have worse problems right now," Rouge said, walking past him, "We need to get Sonic, I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen."

"I have to stay here," Knuckles said.

"For your crappy emerald?"

"It's not crappy!"

"I was kidding, sheesh… you know you're going to be useless staying here, right?"

"I've already left the Master Emerald too many times."

"Why not this time? You know this could possibly threaten the world, and you know, if the world is gone… then what's the point of protecting the Master Emerald?"

Knuckles smirked, "You just want me to go with you."

"Oh yes, I need a strong and bold man to protect me… NOT!" Rouge said, "I just know you and Sonic are buddies, and you saved the world with him more than once, so it's best to have all there is."

Knuckles turned around and looked at Rouge, growling, "Fine, I'll come, but if I come back and the Master Emerald is gone, then it's you I'll be coming after."

"Always the accuser, are you?" Rouge asked, smiling.

Knuckles ran by Rouge and they both ran to the edge of Angel Island, jumping off. They both glided to Station Square.

Sonic was able to get away from Amy, and finally had a chance to relax. The sun was setting, and the blue blur couldn't help but to stare at it. His mind suddenly shifted from thinking about what to do, to Shadow. He thought back to what happened recently.

Sonic and Shadow were running along the forest, racing each other. Their speeds were at top speed, going neck and neck. They separated when robots came, and they both used their homing attacks to destroy them, then kept racing if like nothing happened. Shadow grabbed onto a vine a swung around a tree as Sonic used his triangle jump along a number of small trees to get to a hill that was separated from the rest of the forest. They both landed on the hill, and rolled down. Going up a slope, Sonic and Shadow got out of their balls and got big air. They both did various air tricks and then landed out of the forest, and into the plains. They ran, both of them pushing themselves to their hardest. They saw a big tree, and Sonic smiled, he broke the sound barrier and ran his hardest. Shadow did the same, catching up to Sonic. They gritted their teeth as they got closer to the tree, and they both touched it. There was a long pause between the two of them, and then Sonic looked at Shadow, and he laughed.

"Looks like it's a tie again, Shadow," Sonic said.

Shadow looked at Sonic, keeping his usual expression on him.

"Aw, come on Shadow, you know it was close that time, and you have nothing to say?"

"I only did this because I was bored, not to see who was faster," Shadow said.

Shadow turned around and began to walk off. Sonic frowned at him.

"Shadow! I thought we were buddies!" Sonic shouted.

Shadow stopped, and turned around, "Your name is Sonic."

"Yes, and?"

"That's right, that's all I know about you. If I can't know more, then I can't trust you."

Sonic eyes widened and he looked at the ground, "Well you could just get to know me better."

"The only reason why I'm talking to you now is because I have nothing else to do."

That hit Sonic hard, but he didn't try to show it. He just kept silent.

Shadow turned around, "Farewell for now, Sonic the Hedgehog."

He walked off, and Sonic looked at him, frowning.

Sonic kicked a pebble to the ground, remembering that.

"How can Shadow not remember? Our first time meeting each other, the fight on Prison Island, that race to the control room aboard ARK, the Bio-Lizard…"

Sonic shook all his thoughts off and just looked at the street.

Shadow stands on a hill, staring at Station Square. Many thoughts go through his mind.

"Shadow… why does that name haunt me? It's the only thing I can remember about my past, and that gruesome image…" he eyes squints, remembering it, "Why can't I remember anything? And who is that woman? Why is it that Sonic wants to be my friend so badly?"

Suddenly, at the same time, Sonic and Shadow looked up as the sky turns red…

Shadow sees a small explosion at Station Square, "Hmph, pathetic humans, waste of my time."

He turns around, but then something drops from behind, and a hologram opens up.

"Shadow…"

"What the?" Shadow said, turning around.

"Find the seven Chaos Emeralds, and bring them to me as promised."

"Wait a minute, who are you? And how do you know me?"

The hologram says nothing, and it disappears.

Sonic swiftly looks around, seeing the carnage of what's happening to the city. Explosions were being made, and aliens kept dropping from the sky like bees coming out of a hive. He saw GUN troops, fighting the aliens with their guns, and putting up a good fight. However, the aliens pulled out weapons of their own, and began shooting back, and holding nothing back as they continued their slaughter.

"Oh heck no!" Sonic shouted, "I'm not going to just stand here and watch this, prepare to meet your maker, you ugly aliens!"

Sonic jumped off the building, and entered into battle.

Shadow was stunned, and kept thinking. He kept looking at the city and saw the aliens falling from the sky as well. He knew Sonic was already there.

"I can't just stand here…" Shadow said, "That figure seems to know me and I have no choice but to believe him."

Shadow kept thinking, "Although, I can say the same for Sonic as well…"

Shadow looked up, putting on his usual expression, "The only way to find the secrets to my past, is to get those Chaos Emeralds!"

Resolved, Shadow jumps down the hill and runs to the city…