Hey, readers. Finally, got a new fic up. I've been planning on doing this one forever and finally got around to it. I need a couple of OCs for the fic, and I think it will be interesting to use some other authors'. Therefore, send me your OCs. They've got to be detailed and thought-out characters, for they will be playing semi-major roles in this long term story. I'll need two villains and a hero, by the way. I'll take the most interesting ones.

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The last graveyard flowers were blooming,

and their smell drifted across the cotton field and

through every room of our house,

speaking softly the names of our dead.

- The Scarlet Ibis

[~]

Chapter 1: An Eerie Wind

It was unusually cold that late evening.

The wind blew through every tree and whisked a golden-brown leaf away with a single breath. The air whistled as the weak leaf twirled and danced on the breeze, flying past the abandoned warehouse, through the desolate city, and into the empty park, where only a single being could be found.

On a rickety, wooden bench sat a familiar yellow fox, gazing up into the dreary sky with pure unease. A gentle leaf landed on his nose and he shook his head to get rid of it.

The young fox was troubled.

For the last few weeks, Station Square had been in complete terror. There were unexplained disappearances, random deaths, and not to mention the blatantly ominous atmosphere that seemed to surround the community.

Something's up, he thought.

Rising from the chair, the kitsune took to the sky with his twin tails, and made his way home.

[~]

"What're you talking about, Tails?" A certain cerulean hedgehog inquired. He sat in the kitchen munching gluttonously on a sandwich.

Tails was persistent.

"I'm talking about the city. Something's not right, Sonic. Anyone can see that," he said.

"Actually, I've noticed that, too," came a strong voice from the front doorway.

Knuckles the Echidna stood sturdily in the threshold after having let himself into the pair's quaint flat. Knuckles rarely made appearances at their home, only showing up when there was trouble. Sonic scratched his head unsurely.

"So, what? There's been a slight raise in the city's crime rate. We can handle that."

"It's not just a mere crime increase, Sonic," insisted the frustrated Tails. "It's something bigger- something sinister."

Sonic sighed in defeat. "Fine. Tomorrow we'll make a full patrol of the city and its surrounding area. Then, we'll see if there's anything wrong." Sonic decided that this resolution was fair enough. He himself had in fact noticed the strange state of Station Square, but he did not think his little buddy's ghastly attitude was necessary.

Tails nodded with bittersweet satisfaction. The yellow fox could read his blue counterpart like a book, and it was obvious that the blue hero was not thrilled by his observation. Feeling that it was best to leave the conversation for the morrow, Tails left his two friends to chat and went into his room. He pulled down the stairs in his ceiling and climbed up to his space observatory.

It was his unmatched favorite place in the whole city, and he and Sonic had gotten a flat at the very top of the building just so Tails could build the celestial lookout.

Tails walked over to the centre of the large dome where a very large telescope stood. He put his eye to the piece and searched until he found what he thought was the most beautiful entity in the universe: the moon. He gazed at it for a few minutes, noting all of the craters and gently rolling hills- he knew them all by heart. However, his reverie was ended when he noticed a rather distinguishable black dot on the face of the plant.

A dot that he certainly had no prior knowledge of.

Tails ruled out the possibility of the strange dot being a national colony. He knew of every station from every country that settled on the moon, and all of their locations. Come to mention it, Tails saw no trace of any of the known colonies on the planet at all. It was then that the fox knew for certain that something was terribly wrong. He was just about to call for his friends, when the sound of a door bursting open could be heard from downstairs. When Tails made it to the living room, he could see Amy Rose bent over and panting. She was red-faced and looked as though she'd run at top speed.

"Amy? What's going on?" Sonic asked with genuine concern.

It took a moment for Amy to regain her composure, but when she did, she pointed to the television frantically.

"Turn… to the… news!" She commanded.

Knuckles grabbed the remote and flicked the TV on, clumsily pressing the buttons to input the numbers for the news channel. A brunette anchorwoman appeared on the screen, and even she looked quite terrified.

This is breaking news! She gasped. The president has been killed!

The hush that fell over the room was completely silent, but somehow, it seemed to be pounding in the ears of the four comrades.

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So? R&R (Read and Review)! I'm trying my hardest to keep everyone in character. Constructive criticism is appreciated. If you've got developed characters and are interested, hit me up with a comment or message. Peace! :]