Hello everyone, Ciel here! I know a lot of you probably don't remember, but awhile ago, I started an all-OC story called Bounty Maelstrom. Remember? Well...I decided to rewrite and resubmit it. And so, here it is! Bounty Hunters Recommence, the new (and better) version!

Now, for those of you wary about a story without your favorite blue and/or black hedgehogs...for one, this story will cross over with the Sonicverse eventually. Second, I ask that you just give this little prologue a read, and see what you think, okay? Thank you, and please enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters, places, etc. are property of I, Ciel the Hedgehog. This story takes place in a universe parallel to that of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, owned by SEGA. Exluding similarities to the works by SEGA, any and all similarities to any real characters/places/etc. are purely coincidental.

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Prologue: A Sudden Alliance

He was running. Running, and he wasn't sure exactly why. On all sides, cold and unforgiving metal loomed over him, with no sight of the sky above. Day or night, he could not tell.

Footfalls that weren't his own reached his ears; he ran faster. The only important thing here was not to be caught. Freedom was the goal, yet by blind instinct alone, he had no idea how to get out.

Noises on either side of him. The endless corridor was flooded by soldiers, all with blank faces and a lifeless aura. Guns raised simultaneously, all aimed towards the one who didn't belong, dead center.

There was no other alternative. He was going to die…

"Remember your powers, boy! Use them!"

Bullets fled from their chambers, released toward their target.

"Maelstrom Release!"

Light flashed and blinded, like a savior in time of need. The soldiers fell back, as the bullets intended for the runaway hit their own numbers instead. As everything faded, it was revealed that no target had been there…

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Rozik panted, glancing around him at the carnage. Ambush attacks were never his favorite things, but he could deal with them well enough. Bodies were strewn everywhere, the vast majority of them on the brink of death. Blood pooled the street like a lake, and Rozik thought blankly that he'd have to clean his boots off when he got home.

Running a hand through his snowy white quills, he turned, seeing a flash out of the corner of his eye. A bomb? No; too small and noiseless.

Curiosity killed the cat, he thought with a snicker. Then again, no one ever said anything about hedgehogs. Besides, he was armed. Gripping his gauntlets, which had three long, claw-like blades on each gauntlet, he strode into the alleyway where he saw the flash come from.

He saw a boy.

"Hello?" The boy asked. Something was off about him, but it was hard to tell exactly what. His fairly scruffy fur was dark blue with gray markings, and he had long quills that were similar to spiky dreadlocks. Rozik guessed that the boy was an echidna, then, which was a rather uncommon species. The boy was wearing a gray jumpsuit and a metal collar around his neck (and was that a broken chain attached to it?). His face was innocent looking, but this was offset by two things.

First; the eyes. One eye was violet in color, and the other, a deep sky blue.

Secondly; a tattoo of the number 6-6-5 was on his right cheek. Tattoos like that were known to be from people who had served time in a big-name prison. Rozik had almost gotten one himself a few times.

"Hello?" The boy asked again. "Where am I?"

Snapping out of his observations, the snowy hedgehog turned his attention back to the boy.

"Blackthorn City, District A-5. You passed out in an alleyway or something."

"Blackthorn…" the boy muttered. "Is that far from Prixtal Prison?"

Rozik raised an eyebrow. "Depends on your definition of far, really…it's a few days away. Why? You headed there?"

"I just escaped from there." Right…Rozik didn't find this to be likely. How could someone escape from a prison, and not know where they were now, much less how far away they were from it? Besides, Prixtal had some pretty tight security; escaping from there was unheard of. Especially for a little echidna boy like this one.

"Right, whatever…" Rozik turned to leave; while he was still curious, he probably had to get back to the base soon. The permanent masses of clouds over the city were darkening; either it was close to nighttime, or it would be raining soon. Acid rain, most likely. Whatever the option, it wasn't a good idea to be out when the clouds were dark.

Unfortunately, it turned out that a couple of Rozik's attackers hadn't died. And, apparently, they weren't happy about it. They were on their feet, sloshing through the blood with murderous intent in their eyes.

"Here little demon," one of them, a rather tall lizard, hissed. "We jussst want a nice little reward for turning in your hide. Trussst usss; we'll make it quick."

"I'm not a demon!" Rozik growled, falling into a fighting stance. "Get it through your thick skulls! Gee, maybe I should skin you instead. I heard that some twisted freaks like lizard-skin boots."

The lizard hissed and rushed forward, slithering from ground to a brick wall with ease. With a smirk, the snowy hedgehog also ran forward, leaping up and thrusting a claw at his opponent. It hit the reptile's tail, which was ripped off with a sickening tear.

The echidna watched in awe as the two battled against the building. The lizard was naturally taller, but Rozik was faster, and seemed to be unexpectedly strong for his short size. It was then that the boy noticed the hedgehog's eyes; there was no color to the eyes, but they were a hole of black. The whites of the eyes were also bloodshot, adding to an appearance that could only be described as a violent frenzy.

So amazed was the boy that he almost missed seeing a large bulldog appear from behind him. The mutt tried to grab the echidna by the head, but the boy whirled around and stepped back. Staring up at his new attacker, he had a brief memory of the soldiers back at Prixtal.

A punch was thrown; the boy dodged. Whirling around, he pulled a roundhouse kick, hitting the dog in the thigh. The echidna faltered, and the bulldog brutishly tossed the boy aside.

"Didn't I teach you to fight? You have to stand right back up, and don't rely on strength alone. You have a gift, boy."

Not questioning the words echoing in his head, the echidna got shakily to his feet. The bulldog laughed at the grim determination etched into the boy's face, not noticing as the discolored eyes began to glow ghastly silver. Outstretching his hands, the boy muttered two words.

"Maelstrom Lance!"

A spear of light materialized out of nowhere in the growing shadows of the alleyway, streaking from the boy's hands to the bulldog's chest. It seemed to penetrate right through his body, as if he were made of soggy paper. The massive hound stared soullessly at the sky before collapsing, falling to his knees, and finally hitting the ground with a thud. The lance sticking out of his back glimmered briefly before fading away, and the boy sank to the ground.

Rozik's eyes were dilated, staring at the young fighter in surprise. The lizard he had been fighting was on the ground, twitching every now and then. Stomping on the reptile's neck, Rozik ran over to the boy.

"Kid, how did you do that?"

"Do what?" The boy asked.

"You…that shining spear thing!" Rozik paused, trying to get a grip on his amazement; he had an image to upkeep. The boy shrugged as an answer.

Shaking his head, Rozik realized that he didn't know the kid's name. "So, what do people call you, kiddo?"

"Number 6-6-5," Was the automatic reply, as the echidna stared at the ground, as if amazed by the blood-stained cement. "That was my prisoner number."

"I meant your name."

"Name? I don't have one." Rozik's jaw dropped. The kid had no name? He looked about thirteen or so; how could he not even know his own name?

"You sure?" The boy nodded. "Crap. Well, I'm not calling you a number. That's just stupid…hmm…" Trying to think of what to call the kid, the snowy hedgehog shuffled through his pockets, glancing at the results. A few loose coins, his wallet, various scraps of paper, a few store receipts, a letter for some place called the Starry Night Brew, and a crumpled up paper with the words "Mission" on it. Rozik glanced over it, having already done the mission it requested, when he noticed a name on it.

"Gary," he finally said. "Kid, I'm going to call you Gary. Think you can remember that?"

"Yes sir!" The newly named Gary gave a miniature salute, a smile breaking out over his face. "And what do I name you?"

"I already have a name! I'm Rozik."

"Rozik…Rozik! Got it!"

"Good." The snowy hedgehog opened up what looked like a small pouch on his belt, somehow stuffing his bloodied gauntlets inside the small space. When he had done this, he looked Gary in the eye, and said, "So, you're not headed anywhere, are you?"

"Not right now," Gary replied. "I don't even know where I am…oh yeah, Blackthorn! District A-5, right?"

"Yeah…but now, you're coming with me."

"Why?" The echidna looked confused again.

Rozik shrugged. "You just escaped prison, and you have no place to go. You ain't half bad at fighting, and I think I know a person or two who might be more or less interested in that ability of yours. Besides, I named you. Because of that, that means you have to do what I say, and I say that you come with me."

Of course, he still didn't totally buy into the boy's claim about escaping Prixtal…but the rest he said was true. It was a hunch, he thought; letting this stranger just walk off was a bad idea.

"Okay then. Lead the way!" The duo walked out of the alleyway, leaving footprints of blood other than their own. Unknowingly, Rozik had just taken his life, and began turning it upside down.

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Alright, now for what will probably be the last of the author's notes. From here on, it will just be story, story, and more story!

As mentioned earlier, this world is parallel to the Sonic world. So, there will be some similarities, like species and how the Maelstrom stuff is like the Chaos stuff...and some things will be different. Of course, that is to be expected. Still, it has enough similarities to be placed here, instead of on Fictionpress (where I also post stuff...)

Also as mentioned, these are all my characters. Sorry, but I won't be able to put your OC's in here...no questions asked.

Well, I think that's all I need to say. If you'd like, review, and tell me what you think. Now, here's the end of my notes, so...enjoy the fic!

Ciel