This story focuses on the Classic Era of Sonic the Hedgehog. It is meant to be a tribute to the series I love, with special focus on friendship and character interaction.

CHAPTER ONE

Peace doesn't last for long

The world was quiet.

A blue hedgehog was lazing the afternoon away, in a grassy meadow along the outskirts of Westside Island. Known as "The Island of Illusion" to some, this was the place where he met his closest friend - a two-tailed fox nicknamed (appropriately) "Tails" - and spent much time adventuring; travelling through curious caverns, sparkling lakes and even into outer space.

This blue creature was none other than the world-renowned Sonic the Hedgehog. Known to all for his impossible, supersonic speed, love of freedom, and itch for adventure, Sonic was admired by many. His quick feet and carefree attitude had taken him to many lands, and he never seemed to settle down in one place for too long; an aching wanderlust and his remarkable speed prevented it. His attire consisted of white gloves and his trademark red sneakers, complete with a white strap and gold buckle to keep the footwear securely in place.

The aromatic grass swayed gently in the breeze. The sky was purest blue. White, fluffy clouds made their commute along the horizon, and a small wooden sign nearby read: "EMERALD HILL ZONE".

Sonic sighed contentedly as he lay in the meadow, his body getting ready for a long nap. It had been months since his last big outing, where he had travelled with his twin-tailed sidekick to the floating landmass, Angel Island. When he got there, Sonic found trouble, as usual. The nefarious Dr. Robotnik had tricked the resident echidna, Knuckles, into believing that Sonic had stolen the Chaos Emeralds (a source of great power), and mayhem ensued. Luckily for Sonic, Robotnik showed his true colours, and the "blue blur" gained a valuable, if gullible ally in Knuckles the Echidna.

Everything was going well since then. Well, except for one small detail. Sonic had noticed that there seemed to be far fewer animals roaming the countryside as of late, but he didn't think much of it. Perhaps they had gone somewhere else.

Just as the hedgehog was dozing off, he felt a slight rumble in the ground beneath him. He opened his eyes, irritated, and was just about to look around when a powerful impact from below sent him flying upward. He toppled to the ground, landing on his rear, and got up quickly, ready to fight, when he noticed a red figure sticking out of a small hole just where he had been lying.

"Knuckles!" exclaimed Sonic, smiling, "Long time no see, amigo! Wish your aim had been a little to the right, though - you nearly broke my back there!" Normally the hedgehog would have been a bit more confrontational, since he and Knuckles had a bit of a rivalry between them, but he hadn't seen the echidna in a while, so he decided to be friendly.

The red echidna perked up, his quills moving along with the gentle breeze.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Knuckles answered with a mildly sheepish grin, "I can't exactly see through the ground, however."

Brushing small traces of dirt from his frame, the hedgehog walked over and offered a hand. The echidna took it, and Sonic pulled him up out of the hole so that they could stand face-to-face. Knuckles was slightly taller than Sonic, with long, vertical quills on his head, a pointed snout, and a white crescent marking on his chest. He wore rugged shoes suited for spelunking and mountain climbing. His knuckles were sharp, like spikes; perfect for punching, his gloves were specially fitted to accommodate this. Knuckles' frame was somewhat more muscular than Sonic's; who, despite running hundreds of miles per day, managed to maintain a slight roundness of figure.

"So!" said Sonic, a hand on his hip, "What's up, Knuckles?"

The red echidna gave a look of discontent, crossing his arms and leaning to the side. "Well, I hate to ruin the good vibes, but..." He hesitated. "I think Dr. Robotnik is up to his old tricks again."

"Now? But he's been off the radar forever - I was under the impression he'd given up..." Sonic replied, his smile fading ever so slightly.

"I thought so too. But, as I was tunneling through South Island yesterday, I dug right into an underground base of his... and the place was filled to the brim with badniks. I barely got out of there unscathed."

"Aw, man, are you serious? I thought that egghead finally got the message when we wrecked his Death Egg!" Sonic's left foot was tapping impatiently, flattening the grass underneath it.

"Apparently not." Knuckles frowned. "Do you wanna check it out?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Sonic grinned. "While I ain't too thrilled about the possibility of Robotnik messin' around again, I have to say - it was gettin' pretty boring around here! So does this tunnel you came out of lead to the base?"

"About that... the location of the base is within an area that's particularly susceptible to cave-ins... I think it would be better if we went there the long way, honestly."

"Fine by me! With my Sonic speed, it won't even make a difference. You ready?" the blue hedgehog beamed.

"Yeah! ...No, wait a second. Where's Tails? He'd probably feel pretty left out if we didn't invite him to smash robots with us."

Sonic shrugged. "I haven't seen him in a while, actually. Last I spoke to him, he said he was gonna get some parts to fix up the Tornado, so he's probably around there somewhere. Let's go find him!"

The pair strode to a grassy field where Sonic usually parked the Tornado when it was not in use. The field, however, was totally empty.

"Huh. I guess he took it for a test drive..." A puzzled Sonic glanced up at the sky, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun. "Wonder where he went?"

"As much as I'd like to look for him, the Island of Illusion-"

"Aww, come on, Knuckles! Only the crazies call it that anymore!" Sonic chuckled.

"Fine. As much as I would like to look for our friend, WESTSIDE ISLAND is huge, and he could be anywhere. He might not even be on the island, if he's using your bi-plane."

Sonic nodded. "Guess my little pal is gonna have to catch up with us later." He paused for a moment, thinking, before continuing. "So, ya wanna head to South Island now, Knuckles?

"Yeah, let's get g-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the blue blur grabbed Knuckles' hand and took off running at lightning speed.

"ooooIIINNNNGGG!"

My first fanfic :) This is gonna be pretty long and pretty epic, so stay tuned! The next two chapters or so will be more introductory blabber, but after that, the real fun starts :D