CrystalPhoenixBlader here, bringing in a new fanfic into the scene! And oh yeah, shouldn't forget, I do not own any of the Sonic characters or the Arcana Heart characters; the Sonic characters belong to SEGA and Sonic Team & the Arcana Heart characters belong to Examu and Arc System Works. So, standby, hedgehog hero! ACTION!

*SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: CHAOTIC ARCANA*

CHAPTER 1

THE ACE OF COURAGE, CALIBURN'S RETURN?!

*Angel Island ~ Master Emerald Shrine*

*Insert Theme: "Mystic Ruins" (Sonic Adventure)*

The sound of crickets echoed through the night over the shrine housing a powerful gem known as the Master Emerald; its steadfast guardian, Knuckles, a dreadlocked short nosed anthromorphic red echidna with violet eyes, white gloves with spiky indents poking out, emphasizing the knuckles, a white crescent moon shaped birthmark on his chest, and wearing red and yellow shoes with metal plates on top with green socks, stood in defense of this legendary relic from any intruders who would seek to plunder the enormous gem for their own ends. Oddly, the Master Emerald was glowing brightly as if summoning something from somewhere…

*End Theme, Insert Theme: "The Sacred Sword Caliburn ~ Meet King Arthur" (Sonic & the Black Knight)*

"Ow, I say! Wouldn't the trip from Camelot have gone a little more smoother?" the voice groaned as a small light appeared near the sacred relic of the echidnas, its last guardian, Knuckles, just happened to witness the light show.

"Alright, what's going on here?!" The red echidna pounded his spiky fists hoping to deter whoever caused this light display the way he knew how... his fists, however, his jaw dropped to the ground when he saw the Emerald intact and a long sword with a golden hilt and silvery blade appear bouncing on the ground.

"That figure… it can't be! Sir Gawain, why are you here in this very place?" The sword, through some sort of magic, begins to speak to the guardian of the Master Emerald, whose face turned to utter surprise.

"Ga.. Gawain?! I'm not sure who you're talking about! My name's Knuckles!" Knuckles waved his hands around as he tried to get a clue of what is even going on, and if the main instigator of his problems… and arch-rival of his good pal and rival Sonic, Doctor Eggman, has any involvement in this mess he got himself into!

The sword, with its green eyes on the very guard took a sharp look at the perplexed mammal, and gasped, now realizing that the place he ended up in is no longer Camelot… not at all. "Oh… I do beg your forgiveness, sir. You see, you bear a striking resemblance to one of the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain."

"..What? Me, a Knight?! You've got to be kidding! Though that WAS real nice to see you at least know my strength!" Knuckles smiled with a fanged grin while he lifted the sword out of curiosity.

"Oh! But where are my manners? I have forgotten to introduce myself! I am the Sacred Sword, Caliburn!" The talking sword properly introduced itself as Knuckles looked at the blade.

"Knuckles the Echidna! Just call me Knuckles! I guard the Master Emerald. So what brings you here, uh… 'Caliburn'?" Knuckles introduced his rugged self before asking the blade.

"I have matters to discuss about.. certain events to someone by order of Nimue, Lady of the Lake. Do you happen to know.. Sir Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"SONIC?!" The red echidna's dreadlocks flew upward in surprise of his pal's name mentioned by a sentient sword. "I DO know of him, but, what do you want of him?!"

"If you can bring me to Sir Sonic, I will explain more. Now, have you any way to head to where Sir Sonic would at, Sir Knuckles?" Caliburn calmly made a request to Knuckles, which got red echidna thinking for a second.

"Well, Sonic can pretty much be anywhere at the moment! However, last I checked, he said he wanted to stop by Tails' lab to check on something. I can carry you there if you wish, though my duty is with the Master Emerald." The Guardian of the Master Emerald offered, to which the sentient sword smiled.

"Very well then, Sir Knuckles, let us make haste, for time is of the utmost importance!" Caliburn implied as the red echidna jumped from the air, and, capturing air under his long dreadlocks, began to glide to South Island.

*End Theme*

*South island ~ Tails' Workshop ~ Outside*

*Insert Theme: "It Doesn't Matter ~ Theme of Sonic" (Sonic Adventure)*

Along the balmy shores of South Island on a bright beautiful sunrise, a blue blur raced towards his best friend's workshop. The blur itself is an anthromorphic blue hedgehog, standing at 100 cm. (3 ft., 3 in.), weighing 35 kg. (77 lbs.) having his sharp blue quills slicked downward, having a peach color on his muzzle, inner ears, and arms, which may be close to skin color, emerald green eyes, and wearing white gloves on his hands and red shoes with a single white strap bound by a golden buckle; this is Sonic the Hedgehog, the island's resident hero, renowned for his numerous exploits against the villainous Doctor Eggman. Ever since the mad doctor and his younger self were lost in time during the events of the Blue Blur's 16th birthday, the hedgehog has taken things pretty easy by running around the islands, and apparently for some reason, nearby Japan with his supersonic running speed.

"Man, this is a real nice day! Wonder what Tails has on his mind right now? He did call me over before he left back to the lab on the Tornado!" The blue hedgehog wondered as he ran at his true blue speed and soon enough, arrived at a small laboratory with a runway used for their plane, the Tornado, was at sight. As he saw the sight of the lab, the blue hedgehog's right ear twitched when he heard the voice of Knuckles nearby. "Sonic! Hey, matte!"

"Yo, Knuckles! It's not every day you usually take a break from guarding the Master Emerald! So, whatcha need?" Sonic turned to his friend and rival, who glided over to the blue hedgehog. The red echidna looked at the green eyes of the blue hero with a serious gaze and responded. "Actually, THIS SWORD wished for me to find you, strange as it sounds."

"Knuckles, what do you... wait a minute, do I recognize this sword?" Sonic scratched his head when he saw the sword with the golden hilt, but then the eyes of the sword opened and a familiar voice. "Sir Sonic... it has been a long time..."

"Wh..WH.. WHAAAAAAA?! CALIBURN?!" Sonic's quills stood on end, as he stood wide eyed at the talking blade. Knuckles placed the sword on the ground, and the blade hopped, speaking in his usual tone. "Sir Sonic, I wish I had time to reminisce in our past glories. Sadly, we cannot afford such a luxury as Lady Nimue had sent me to find you in your own world.

*End Theme, Insert Theme: "My Sweet Passion ~ Theme of Amy" (Sonic Adventure)*

As if overhearing the conversation, a young 12 year old pink hedgehog wearing a red halter dress and red and white go-go boots, happened to pass by on a stroll, when she saw the blue blur, and... wouldn't you know it.. single-mindedly ran towards with her overly cheerful tone!

"SONNIKU!" The pink hedgehog shouted, alerting the blue blur, but before he even had a chance to run, the girl glomped him!

"He...Hi, Amy!" The nervous blue hedgehog groaned as he tried to get his own fangirl off of him! Caliburn stared at the girl and spoke to himself for a moment. "La..Lady Nimue? ...No. Couldn't be. They may share the same body, but if seeing Master Knuckles and accidentally mistaking him for Sir Gawain has told me.." Shaking his uneasiness aside, the sentient sword spoke. "If I may, can I speak about why I was looking for you, Sir Sonic?"

Amy got off of Sonic and stared at the bouncing royal sword. "Uh, Sonic.. what is that sword?"

"Oh yeah... can you tell us why you're here, Caliburn old buddy?" Sonic, realizing that he has to get back on topic, asked the blade, to which he closed his eyes a bit. "Very well."

*End Theme*

*South Island ~ Tails' Workshop*

Sonic stepped inside the lab of his best friend Miles Prower the Fox a.k.a "Tails", an eight year old twin tailed orange-yellow fox cub, standing at 80 cm. (2 ft., 7 in.) and weighing 20 kg. (44 lbs.) and placed Caliburn on a large table that was all littered with schematics of devices he has built, including one of his latest, the handheld Miles Electric which proved helpful during the Dark Gaia Incident and the adventures at Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park, and set Caliburn down on the table. Knuckles, Amy, and Tails all took a seat under the beautiful spring breeze that blew through the window.

"Sir Sonic, I have a message for you from Lady Nimue, attached within a gem attached to me. If you may..." Caliburn spoke in a serious tone, as a strange small green gem appeared out of thin air and landed on the sand. From the gem, the skies darkened around the area for a bit as a silhouette of a pink hedgehog girl, who looks EXACTLY like Amy, but showed a more refined air as she appeared in a beautiful periwinkle dress, opened her eyes and smiled. "It's been a long time, Sir Sonic, Knight of the Wind, chosen wielder of Caliburn."

"Wait, wait, wait... WHO IS THAT GIRL?! AND WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE ME?!" Amy stared dumbfounded at the sight of Nimue, who merely giggled. "You must be my counterpart in Sir Sonic's world, correct? Amy Rose, is it?"

"Yea...yeah.." Amy stood phased, looking nervous to how someone looking like her knows her, to which the enchantress gave a firm answer. "You do not need to worry. Sir Sonic and I are not involved in any affairs. My duties as the Lady of the Lake do prohibit me from such things, but now I have a matter of importance that I must share with all of you."

*Insert Theme: "Nimue – Lady of the Lake" (Sonic and the Black Knight)*

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy look at Nimue, as she gave a concerned gaze. "Listen, and listen well, for what I will speak of is of dire importance. Remnants of what were the forces of the Underworld have begun to leak out into your world. However, since Merlina was saved from her despair thanks to your valiant efforts, Sir Sonic and Caliburn, we can safely rule her out. But now it seems that the forces have garnered a new power, a power foreign to the land of King Arthur... the power of Arcana."

"Arcana? What's that?" Sonic asked, looking a little alarmed, to which Nimue simply answered. "An ancient magical power, which if misused, would bring disaster. But if used together with an Arcana spirit, untold miracles would happen. In a way, this magic is somewhat similar to the seven gems that lie within your world."

"So in a way, they are kinda like the Chaos Emeralds..." Knuckles answered, to which the lady nodded and spoke. "Yes, but not just anyone can use it. Only those with efficient skill in its power may use it.. Sir Sonic, remember when you were using Soul Surge in the land and in midair?"

"Yeah, it was like Caliburn and I glowed for a moment before we struck. Helped out a ton!" Sonic recalled the feeling for a moment as he got up from his seat to grab Caliburn and see if he still knows how, despite how long ago it was since he wielded the sacred blade. Though Sonic was not one to cling to the past, he was in awe when he was still able to focus energy into his sword and cleaved some discarded metal pieces in two effortlessly! Only this time, his body just began to glow a bright white color now through each slash he performed.

"Wha... Sonic, how did you..?" Knuckles stood slack jawed as he saw the feet Sonic pulled off, only for Sonic to scratch his head. "That's what I want to know! Caliburn old buddy, what happened?"

"It seems that that sometime after Merlina was defeated and after you left, I had a vision... of the original King Arthur and Merlin, her grandfather, that even though they are gone, they are still able to tracks traces of magic from all over the world... young women with extraordinary magical potential who can communicate and harness the power of the Arcana spirits known as Elementals... these.. 'Arcana Maidens'... And for some reason, they seem to be heading to a single location... the land you call 'Japan'."

"Wow, Caliburn... you're kinda hurting my head here..." Sonic rubbed his forehead, feeling this is more info than he can bear, but then Amy, who was shuffling her tarot card deck for her hobby as a fortune teller, decided to confirm the authenticity of the conversation as she had Nimue somehow pull out the cards. "Sonic, I have a pretty bad feeling that sword friend of yours has a point. I just checked your fortune and, though I hate to admit it, Nimue knew my fortune to be true! ..You will encounter two such maidens... but..."

"If I may, Miss Amy." Nimue stepped in to intervene in the conversation. "I believe, in the near future, you will encounter a girl with pink hair with a heart shaped bang on it and another one with long blue hair. These two, who I can confirm as Arcana Maidens, might become a big part in your next mission, which is exactly why I am here talking to you, Sir Sonic..."

*End Theme*

Sure enough, the conversation was interrupted as the T.V. Tails kept in his lab had a sudden news bulletin, with a woman with green hair reporting from the spot.

"We interrupt your daily scheduled program with some breaking news! A large castle was spotted floating in the skies over Kyoto. Also, an ominous light seems to emanate from around it. We warn citizens to take shelter as soon as possible! ...Itai... too bright... Anyway, from what eyewitnesses have given, it seems that the castle is headed towards Mt. Fuji. We'll bring you more after these commercials.."

Sonic could only glare and grit his teeth as he looked at the television report, as it ended in static.

Nimue, hearing clearly what was in that particular news report put a grim expression on her face as she spoke. "..It is as I feared; events have begun that cannot be undone. The people in this land will have need of your courage as the people of Camelot once did. Sir Sonic, as Lady of the Lake, I must ask you, will you aid the people there... as the Ace of Courage?"

*End Theme: "X-Tornado" (Sonic X Japanese OST)*

"Heh, did you need to ask?" Sonic showed his ever cocky smile as he gave a thumbs-up to the enchantress. "I'll help them out! Also, I bet these, uh, 'Arcana Maidens' or whatever they're called, I bet they're heading to the spot as well. Wouldn't hurt to give them a helping hand... especially if it's ol' Egghead again as usual! Even after that Time Eater mess, I doubt he learned his lesson anyway!"

"I thank you, Sir Sonic!" Nimue bowed down, happy to see that Sonic had not changed his ways. Taking the initiative, the hedgehog turned to his little brother figure with one thing in mind. "Tails, let's take the Tornado out for a joyride... off to that castle!"

"Alright, Sonic! I'm not too certain about that 'Arcana' thing is or whatever it is all about, but I guess we'll figure out more along the way!" Tails smiled as he readied the bright red biplane of their past adventures.

"Let me come too! Something tells me that my fortune telling skill might end up coming in handy for once!" Amy volunteered, taking her tarot deck along and placing the cards in a fine leather pouch, although one thought lingered on her mind. "Sonic helping these 'Arcana Maidens' or whoever they are is fine and all if I'm along, but if ANY of them... and I mean ANY of them.. tries to flirt with MY Sonic, I'll give them a quick introduction to my Piko Piko Hammer!"

"Alright, as for me, I'm heading back to Angel Island. Can't leave the Master Emerald unguarded for too long, you know." Knuckles responded as he began to catch air in his long dreadlocks and glide back to Angel Island.

"'Kay, Knux, you can sit this one out! Something tells me this is just a piece of a bigger problem. But where's the fun if there isn't a challenge?" Sonic smirked and called out to the echidna as he hefted Caliburn and placed him in the elaborate sheath that the blade brought along this time. However as the blue hedgehog hopped on the wings of the plane and Tails started up the engine, the Blue Blur could help but feel a premonition about what he might face. "I have a feeling that I may be in for a real long ride this time... heh, doesn't matter! If it's just that Egghead again, I'll just break his toys like always!"

Making certain that there would be no interruptions in the takeoff procedure, Tails pressed the buttons on the cockpit's dashboard and placed his Miles Electric handheld as he glared forward and shouted. "Tornado, takeoff!"

Soon after that, the Tornado, with Tails as the pilot, Amy as the passenger, and Sonic playing wing walker again flew off from the laboratory's landing pad, and off into the air!

*End Theme*

MEANWHILE...

*Kyoto City ~ Shopping District*

*Insert Theme: "A Possibly Peaceful Everyday Life" (Arcana Heart)*

It was a busy day in the shopping district, where people go and buy clothes, food, accessories, and other necessities. Amidst the hustle and bustle, we see two girls, both of them sixteen years old in age, simply enjoying the day shopping. The first of the girls has short pink hair with a recognizable heart shaped bang, showing an innocent, yet naïve personality, always full of energy, and an irresistible smile on her cute face that seems contagious; this is Heart Aino, the Arcana Maiden who seeks the power of Love.

"Sa-Sa! Hurry up! I want to check that shop next!" Heart, showing her boundless energy, smiled as she held her best friend's arm; the girl in particular has with long silky blue hair with a vivid long bang on her left side, and chocolate brown eyes and was wearing the same school uniform as her best friend, although hers has a red vest that is absent in Heart's attire; known as Saki Tsuzura, the Arcana Maiden with a noble heart. Also different with this girl is her calm demeanor.

"There's this cute little shop with some really nice accessories and I want to hurry before they're all sold out! So please hurry up, Sa-Sa!" Heart, with sparkles in her eyes at the thought of the pretty accessories, from cute pendants to stylish bracelets, urged her best friend with her unstoppable smile, to which Saki, unable to relent, sighed and spoke, although sweating a little from the embarrassment of the nickname she gave her.. "Okay, okay! I'll come! Just don't pull my arm so hard! ...And please, also, stop calling me 'Sa-Sa'..."

*End Theme*

Soon enough, the cheerful shopping atmosphere got cut short as a large castle on a floating landmass hovered over the skies. The townsfolk, easily unnerved by its sheer mass and how it easily blocked the bright sunlight in the area began to point and scream at the sight of the colossal mass. Soon enough mass panic echoed in the area as the people all had to turn tail and run... except for Heart and Saki, who merely glared at the landmass, recognizing it right from the get go... and knowing exactly WHO caused the commotion.

*Insert Theme: "Close Sisters" (Arcana Heart 2)*

"Mildred... she STILL has not learned her lesson? Just what is she up to this time?" Heart, clearly not looking happy, shouted out, thinking of Mildred Avallone, who some time ago planned to kidnap Heart in her past plan to combine the real world and the Elemental World into one... only to ironically be defeated by the very Arcana Maiden she sought to capture. Nowadays, she had succeeded in becoming a full Arcana, serving under her beloved sister Angelia, who was left eternally in a ten year old body due to her time in the Elemental World..

"I'm not sure... but I doubt it is anything good..." Saki shared her friend's uncertainty, for personal reasons, with one thought clinging in her mind as she glared at the castle with one in mind, at the thought of another friend of hers still linked to that very castle. "Fiona... if you're still there... no matter what, I WILL still save you!"

*End Theme, Insert Theme: "To the Rescue: A Knight's Law" (Sonic and the Black Knight)*

"Sa-Sa, I don't know what Mildred is planning, but by the power of Love, she won't have her way so easily! Let's go!" Heart declared as she began to run toward the castle, with a way to go there in mind. Saki, a little worried for Heart, but sharing her determination to storm the floating castle, nodded with a serious look on her face. "Alright... but we need to be careful. Let's go!"
As the two friends began to run towards the floating castle, Saki had a determined thought on her mind as she ran, her thoughts on her best friend from two years ago who was still missing in the Elemental World... and that this Mildred had the key. "Fiona-chan.. no matter whatever it takes... I WILL see you again. And this time... I will set you free!"

*End Theme*

Little do the two heroines know that a lone red biplane was coincidentally heading in the same direction; its destination the same as the two girls, with a lone blue figure eying the castle and smirking with confidence as the plane tailed it..

This is the pilot chapter of the new fanfic, which I had to admit, took longer to plan, since I also have my other fanfic "Mario & iDOLMASTER Party" in the works. Comments and constructive criticism is appreciated on how to improve things, since I know little of Arcana Heart, yet I used the Wiki for the third game for much needed info before I plan the next chapter.

Also, I'm basing the timeline of the story after the events of Sonic Generations but before Sonic Lost World. Would make much more sense this way.