Part 2

Hero of the Future

Chapter 1

The Mysterious Island

One time each year for the past two millennia, there is a marvelous occasion, where enchantment and wonder ignite and fill the hearts of the Earth. Each home in the world fills with this joy when this moment occurs, with hearts growing warm in a seemingly magical way. Each room filled with decorations. The mantles prepared with a warm blaze roaring within. Lights twinkle and glow. Bells chime brightly. The moment is near.

Christmas…

This year, a precious gift shall be bestowed upon many the world over and beyond. But this is a gift that cannot be wrapped in papers, or placed under the tree. Far from it… it is a gift of the heart, and it means so much more.

In the heart of the Atlantic, a large airship was on a voyage to the American republic. Its crew: the Freedom Fighters, who for many years have been fighting against the evil genius Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik.

And among them, stretching her wings outside of the ship, was a very special girl: Angel the Hedgehog, also known as Maria Robotnik. It had been almost six months her return from the grave and reunited with her best friend and secretly beloved Shadow the Hedgehog. Before their reunion, Doctor Eggman, her former cousin, unknowingly resurrected her, and to this day, he is still trying to reclaim her. But in the end, she and Shadow escaped his clutches and haven't seen him since.

Between then and now, the two begin to accomplish an old dream they shared: along with all their friends, they have travelled the globe. It was a time of great joy and pleasure for Maria. For the majority of her previous life, she had literally looked down on the Earth, with little knowledge of its splendor and beauty. But like a dream, all things must come to an end, and this was no exception.

Soon, the hedgehog girl came in the ship through the hangar. Chris Thorndyke, a partially roboticized human, was waiting. Shortly before, Amy, Vanilla and Cream asked him to give an early Christmas present to her. A woman's holiday jacket in with a matching beret, and they were both her favorite color as well. Maria was quick to find a place to change, and she looked in a nearby mirror. "I think it's just wonderful," the girl said in a thankful voice.

"I'm glad you like it," Chris replied. "The gang really wants to make your first Christmas on Earth special."

Maria breathed a silent sigh. "Yeah… um, can I tell you something kind of personal?" she asked her friend, who nodded in reply. "This isn't just my first Christmas on Earth… it's my first real Christmas all together."

"Really? You've never… not even on the ARK?" the boy asked, and she nodded in turn. "That's so sad…"

"It was because of my NIDS way back when. My grandfather was always too busy trying to find my cure for me, so he was never around. I couldn't contact any family either because technology wasn't as advanced, so I was almost all alone."

"But wasn't Shadow with you back then?"

The hedgehog girl smiled at those words. "Of course… He was always there for me, and he made my life on the ARK warmer with every passing moment."

"Aww…" Chris teased. "Shadow showed that side of him? I would've loved to see that." The two couldn't help but laugh, knowing it was a joke.

Maria had almost forgotten how she never met her human parents. She honestly saw the Freedom Fighters as family, especially her 'twin brother' Sonic the Hedgehog, whom she got her new body from. It was truly to be a Christmas she would never forget.

As they were walking, the human boy noticed something out the bay window… "Huh? What's that doing out here?"

On another part of the ship, Shadow, Jack, and many of the other boys were at the ship's food court. All of them were looking forward to the holiday season to come. Only Sonic, despite his usually cheerful holiday spirit, was complaining. "We've been on this thing forever. How much longer until we return to the States?"

Shadow shrugged. "You're so impatient, Sonic. Sometimes, you have to slow down and enjoy life." He then handed the blue hedgehog a plate. "Here. Have some pumpkin pie."

Adhering to Shadow's instructions, Sonic ate a fork-full, and he gave a mild moan from the taste. "This is good."

"Really good," Tails added between bites.

Shadow grinned. "I never get to have these desserts around Rouge. She's allergic to cinnamon."

"Yeah, that's the bummer about limiting your number of friends," Knuckles pointed out.

"I wish I could eat," Jack complained. "Food always junks up my circuitry."

As they continued, Shadow sighed in a somewhat despairing way. Sonic noticed. "Something wrong?"

"Sort of…" the organic being replied. "It's Maria's first Christmas on Earth, you know, and…"

"…and you haven't found a good gift to give her, have you?" the blue hedgehog cut in.

"H-How…?"

"I'm having the same problem with Chris."

Shadow smirked. "You haven't thought of anything for him either, huh?"

"Nope. I mean, what do you get for the son of a CEO and a movie star?" And as he spoke, he and Maria came in. "Hey, guys. What's up?" Sonic asked.

"You guys should see this," the college boy replied.

Rousing with curiosity, the others did as told. They followed him to the front of the airship, and Chris pointed to an island not too far away from them.

But this wasn't some standard tropical island one would expect in the mid-Atlantic. This one was full of pines and oak trees. It was like a continental island, but what was one like this doing so far from the mainland?

Shadow pondered this thoroughly. Such an island couldn't be thought of as real. "Let's go check it out. Up close and personal," he said finally. So they carefully landed their ship on the beach, and everyone came off.

Once they got there, Sonic fell face down to the ground. "Finally!"

Shadow shook his head. "Wuss," he muttered. Suddenly, he took himself to the head. Images filled his head of monstrous creatures he quickly recognized.

Sonic looked and scoffed at him. "Looks like you need your land legs too, Faker!"

"No. It's not that," he replied. "I… I thought I sensed the Black Arms nearby."

"Sensed?" Maria asked curiously. Shadow started to explain. Bluntly put, the Black Arms thought and felt as one. Black Doom was the hive mind, controlling them all at the pulse of his mind. Since Shadow was only partly their kind, he shared a very loose connection. He could feel their presence within a close radius. "But… a Black Arm? I thought the Eclipse Cannon wiped then all out with the Black Comet."

"That's what concerns me," replied the black one.

The team decided to investigate the island more thoroughly. If there was a threat upon this island, they would find it. Very cautiously, many maneuvered through the trees and bushes. They crackled and snapped as they were being passed by.

Those who could fly, including Maria, took to the skies for an answer. Then, Rouge the Bat found something even more curious. There, at the top of a nearby hill, were statues of Sonic, Tails, Amy and the rest of the gang that was sent to Earth from their home world. The stone figures were all arranged in a circle. The island was just getting weirder by the minute.

They quickly climbed the hill to get a better look. None of them were certain why that was there. Then again, what was a continental island doing so far away from any continent? Cheese then jumped around like mad. He was trying to direct them to a pedestal in the middle. The group came over, and Maria read the plaque aloud.

"This memorial is to commemorate the Freedom Fighters who gave their live to defeat Doctor Eggman. These few include Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius and Eggman's greatest enemy," she read.

Tails then realized something. If Angel Island was brought here to Earth, as well as Eggman's fortress and the Mobians, then maybe…

All at once, the aerial scouts departed to retrieve the remainder. But Maria stayed. She decided to get a better inspection of the monument for clues. As she did so, she didn't notice a hooded figure approaching her from behind. Before she could, two arms wrapped around her, and from the wrists came beams of energy.

"Don't move," a female voice instructed. "We saw your ship land on our shores, and we know you're behind the recent attack on my father. Come quietly, and we won't hurt you. Got it?"

But before Maria could answer, another more familiar voice spoke. "I've got a better idea." The being holding Angel turned to see the blue hedgehog in the distance. "You let her go by the count of ten, and I won't hurt you."

The figure didn't answer. She stood in awe at Sonic. "It... can't be..."

"One... two... TEN!" Sonic curled up and charged for a spin attack. He spun at full throttle toward his target.

The figure pushed the winged hedgehog aside and quickly combined her wrists, and a sphere of energy appeared. Sonic ricocheted off the barrier into a nearby tree.

"Sonic!" The blonde hedgehog dashed over and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

The blue hedgehog simply stared in shock at the mysterious female. "You dodged my spin attack... Nobody's ever done that before..."

"Well, I've had my experience," she replied as she approached him. "I know your type. Confident, often sarcastic and witty, and let me guess: you're the fastest thing alive."

"Who... Who are you?!"

The figure was now only inches away. "You mean you don't remember? Perhaps you remember this..." Then, out of nowhere, she pressed her lips to his.

Before Sonic could react, she pulled away. The ends of Sonic's lips stretched up and wide. "Sal!"

With a squeal of joy, the girl was lifted into the air. Sonic spun her around as they gazed into each other's eyes. The blue hedgehog gently placed her back on the ground and wrapped his arms around her.

Then, after he let go, the girl lifted her hood to reveal a Mobian. Judging by its appearance, it was a female chipmunk with soft red hair on her head. "I knew you'd come back someday! You always do! I... I love you."

"I know." It was Sonic's turn to kiss her now.

"Uh... What just happened?" Maria asked.

Sonic and Sally pulled away and looked to the source of the voice. They both blushed at this very awkward moment.

Before anybody could do any more, there was the sound of footsteps from all over. The Freedom Fighters charged in from all over. They were accompanied by three extra Mobians: a walrus, a coyote, and a partly roboticized rabbit.

The walrus was the first to speak. "If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Hey, Rotor! Long time no see!"

"Sonic ze Hedgehog, mon'amie!" called the coyote. "'Tis good to be seeing you again!"

Sonic chuckled. "Still got that wacky accent, huh, Antoine?" Then he turned to the rabbit. "And Bunnie Rabbot! How are the robot limbs?"

The rabbit giggled. "I ain't a 'Rabbot' no more, Sugah-Hog... Now, it's Mrs. Antoine D'Colette."

Sonic's jaw almost dangled open. "Shut up... Seriously?!"

Bunnie showed him the ring. "I wish yah could've been there."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Sonic replied, "but we were all separated through Eggface's experiment. That being said, I didn't know you were warped to Earth too."

"We… we were what?" Sally asked.

"Yeah. Somehow, his machine warped this whole land mass and us to all over this world through Chaos Control. We've been trying to find a way back to you guys ever since." The blue hedgehog then introduced his new friends to his old ones one by one, ending with the winged one. "…and this is my sister, Maria 'Angel' Hedgehog."

"Sister?" Sally asked out of curiosity.

The yellow hedgehog girl giggled. "It's a long story..."

One long story later, Rotor was the first to speak. "I see… so you're a clone of Sonic, who used to be Eggman's cousin, huh?" the walrus asked Maria, who confirmed her summary. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet a Robotnik who's not out to rule the world. Then again, Eggman was assumed to be the last living of his family line when he started."

"Yeah… I figured that out the hard way," the former human replied.

"Well, on behalf of the Freedom Fighters, I welcome you all to our cause," Sally told them. "So, are any of you guys hungry? I know of a great place for lunch."

"Where is it?" Shadow asked.

"Trust me… you'll know it when you smell it." On that note, they began their trip into the forest.

Sally glanced back at Shadow with a sense of doubt. She had never seen a Mobian like him before. Plus, he looked like one of the invading Black Arms from a few years back. And he was partially one of them, biologically speaking.

Sonic noticed her glare. "Relax, Sal. He's cool, and here's all the good he's done," he started, and Sally listened closely.

Upon hearing that, Shadow's ear twitched. He was reminded of the day he lost Maria. He had once used those same words as a sample of what she might say to vouch for another. But to hear them personally from another about him… Shadow smiled a small smile as they walked. It felt great to know that he had a clean slate amongst his own kind.

Maria smiled at Sonic's words, and he playfully elbowed Shadow. "Remind you of anything?"

"Aw, shut up," he mumbled in a somewhat joyful tone.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a mysterious figure watched them go by from the distance. He was particularly focused on the black and red hedgehog. "I finally found him," he said to himself. "Black Doom's executioner…"