Chapter 1: Trouble Brewing

(Normal POV)

Life was dull for Shadow the Hedgehog. He aimlessly walked the streets of Westopolis, watching the humans go about their lives. As he watched them, he wondered what he would do with his life. But what could he do? He had no money, no job, no friends, no family, and no home and almost everyone he came across hated his guts. No one trusted him and the Sonic Team always suspected he was up to something and kept their distance from him. Aside from being violent, Shadow did have his reasons for hurting people; who cared if a few humans got hurt anyways? Besides, no one cared for him or his existence. He felt like an outcast in a world full of humans.

When the sun began setting, and with nothing to do, Shadow stood in a grassy field outside of the city to watch the sun disappear behind the skyscrapers. With no noise, except for the wind, Shadow plunged into a deep state of thought. They were the same questions: Shadow the Hedgehog. Why does that name haunt me? It's all I can remember…and that gruesome image…Shadow closed his eyes and saw himself in a different place in time with that blond girl he had been dreaming of. They were running from something but it always ended the same with the girl turning back to look at the people and getting shot in the chest, dying.

"MARIA!" Shadow's eyes snapped open as if waking from a nightmare and he stared at the setting sun.

"Who am I?" he asked himself. "Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Why can't I remember anything? And who is this Maria?" All the questions Shadow asked himself gave him a headache because no matter what he couldn't remember anything.

The sun finally disappeared and lights began to flicker on in the buildings. In Shadow's opinion, people were mindless zombies after the sun set; then again, he figured they were probably like this all the time. When night fell over cities, people would go out to parties, get stupidly drunk, high on some sort of drug, or maybe all three. Then, they'd rape or kill a helpless victim on the streets. Shadow hated humans, he really did, and only saw them as unintelligent, wasteful beings who only followed the "majority". There was only one human in Shadow's mind that cared—well, it seemed that way—and it was that pretty blond girl in the blue dress: Maria, the sapphire-eyed girl who appeared to be angelic.

One image of her was stuck in Shadow's mind: It was the one with her beautiful face full of fear as she got shot in the chest. Then, she fell to the floor, flat on her back, with blood seeping through her beautiful blue gown. She'd gasp and form words that Shadow couldn't understand and then he'd snap back to the present. Those soldiers did it. But why? Why did they hurt that girl? Who were they?

Suddenly, the clear blue sky got shrouded with red ugly clouds and dark creatures fell from the sky and into the city. Car crashes, screams, explosions, and gunshots were heard. Shadow stood at the top of the hill when he saw black smoke rising from the area. For the first time in his life, he felt the urge to help the humans, but then, he turned his back on them.

"Hmph, look at how pitiful they are," he muttered to himself. "I don't have time for these humans."

Just as he turned to walk away, he heard his name being called, and like a dog, he started at the sound of it. He turned and came face to face with a tall, menacing creature with yellow-cat eyes. "Shadow…As you can see, the day of reckoning will soon be here. Find the seven Chaos Emeralds and bring them to me as promised."

Shadow was taken aback by this command. How dare someone order him around, especially something he just met!

"Who are you and how do you know I'm Shadow…and what are you talking about?"

The alien eyed him contemplatively. "Hmm…It would seem that you do not remember anything about yourself."

Shadow just stood, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"If you do as I say, then I will tell you about your past, and your creator."

Before Shadow could protest, the alien disappeared like an illusion. "If he knows the truth about who I am," said Shadow thoughtfully, "then like it or not, I have to believe him. The only way I'm going to get the secrets to my past is to get those Chaos Emeralds!" Without a second thought, Shadow dashed off on his hover shoes and into the war zone that was Westopolis.

(Miriam POV)

I got home from school but something weird was happening: The sky was turning blood-red and strange things fell from the clouds like rain. It looked like the whole city was on fire and buildings were getting destroyed. Was it terrorists like in the year 2001? Surely, terrorists from the Middle East couldn't blow up the whole city like that. My eyes widened with fear when I saw the terrorists heading to our suburb.

I leaned up against a wall and slid down it, going into a sitting position. I tucked my legs into my chest and rested my chin on my knees and closed my eyes, praying for this to be a horrible nightmare. What woke me from my prayers was my cell phone buzzing against my leg. I slid it open and placed it to my ear. Mom's anxious voice nearly deafened me but I could hear explosion from the other side.

"Miriam," she said in a rapid voice, "stay in the house. Do not go outside! Do you understand me? The president ordered an evacuation so get your stuff ready for when I come to pick you up, okay?"

"Okay," I answered shakily, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, baby," she said tearfully before hanging up.

Recovering from my shell-shock, I ran upstairs and began gathering things in a duffel. I packed my laptop, my iPod, three pairs of clothes, a First Aides kit, and my feminine things just in case we stayed in evacuation for more than a month. With great reluctance, I had to leave my books, bed, and TV behind because it would slow us down. I closed my eyes to prevent the tears from rolling down my cheeks. As soon as I got ahold of myself, I grabbed the duffel and ran back downstairs.

I nearly had a heart attack when I heard a loud bang outside our house and when I looked out there I saw…aliens. They were red and black and had creepy feline-like eyes. Suddenly, I remembered something: the beautiful jewel my dad gave me for my birthday. Setting my duffel down, I hurried back upstairs, searched through my underwear drawer, and found the purple jewel my dad gave me. I tucked it safely in my pocket and ran back downstairs to find the aliens had broken through the window.

Grabbing my duffel, I ran outside, ignoring what my mom had told me, and proceeded to run down the sidewalk in hope to find evacuation. I wasn't in shape and my legs started to get heavy but I knew I had to keep running or else I would probably get killed by those monsters. The sky was still crimson so I couldn't tell if it was night time or not. Being directionally challenged, I had no idea where I was but I continued running.

I stopped to catch my breath but I was instantly knocked off my feet and fell to the pavement painfully. Tears burned my eyelids as I struggled to get up but when I saw the aliens approaching me, I ducked down and went into turtle position. I waited for them to harm me but it never came so I opened my eyes and saw…a black-and-red hedgehog? He looked over his shoulder at me with an intense look in those blood-red eyes. He resembled those aliens but there was something different about him.

His fins were black with red streaks going down them and he had peach skin for where his mouth, cheeks, and chin were. He held a shotgun in his hand and had a scowl on his face. His arms were black with slight red streaks and he wore white gloves on his hands. What kept those gloves secure were the golden rings and black wristbands. He wore these weird shoes but I didn't care about those.

"Stupid human…" he mumbled before turning his back on me and starting to walk away.

"Wait a minute," I called out to him, trying to keep up. "Who are you, and why did you help me?"

He turned and faced me with that same scowl. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog and the reason I saved you was because you have a Chaos Emerald."

"You mean this purple jewel in my pocket?" I asked, pulling the gem out.

"Yes," he answered, nodding. "Now give it here."

"No," I said, holding it to my chest. "My dad gave me this for a birthday present—or should I say, his last birthday present." Tears pricked at my eyelids but I blinked them away. Why was I getting so emotional?

"Doesn't matter," he replied, swiping it out my hand before I could even say anything. "I need this to regain my memories."

I frowned as I just realized the gem was taken. "You can't do this!" I cried, trying to grab it but he just leaned away from my advances. "You can't just steal my gift!"

"I believe I just did," he retorted callously. "Follow me if you want to find a safe place. I'll help you but just this once."

Before I could argue, he scooped me up bridal style and ran off with me in his arms. Feeling the wind on my face made me shiver so I snuggled into him for warmth and wrapped my arms around his neck so I wouldn't fall out of his arms if he accidently bumped into something. He had my duffel on his back so I was assured that he would keep it safe. Feeling weary, I closed my eyes and blocked out the sound of the explosions to fall asleep. I was safe—for now.

…

What felt like minutes later, I sat up and looked around to see myself in a bed with a red blanket over me. Shadow was leaning up against one of the walls with his arms crossed and his head inclined as if in prayer. His head snapped up and he looked at me curiously before approaching me. I saw that his red eyes were full of fire and fury and I involuntarily shivered. I didn't feel safe around Shadow because he looked like he wanted to kill me but he didn't advance towards me in a threatening way.

"It's about time you woke up," he said dryly. "I almost thought you died in your sleep."

I was at a loss for words. Did he just make a joke?

"Well, I didn't," I replied dryly, frowning. "Did my mom call at all?"

"Yes," said Shadow, holding the mobile in his hand. "She left you a voice message saying that she would be with you soon."

"When was that?" I asked anxiously, setting my feet on the ground.

"Two hours ago," he answered smoothly, tossing me the mobile.

"Oh, God…" I breathed, clenching the mobile in my hand as I stood up and ran to the door.

As soon as I yanked it open, I was face to face with one of those aliens but this one was bigger and it looked hungry for fifteen year old girl flesh.

A/N: I've always wanted to do a Sonic fanfic since I was young but just couldn't find the words. My first fanfic was actually a Sonic one but I never put up since it sucked and it was kinda stupid now that I look back on it. ;) R&R!