Chapter 1

Foggy Horizons

Author's Notes:

This is the first chapter of Colors Fade – it may seem a little confusing at first, but you'll understand later in the story. The disclaimer and characters' owners are at the bottom of the chapter. Here is also the book cover – Image Manager wasn't being that nice, so I decided to link to it as well: . Finally, I created this version with colored text, but only allows black text. If you'd like, I can share the document with you upon request through DocX, with colored text. Enjoy!

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The world is spinning. Everything breaks, eventually. But can you feel it when it breaks? Can you hear the whisper in the dark; can you feel your fear of the light? The wind kisses your skin like a mother's soft breath. The silence wrenches your heart. Then the colors fade away.

Every time someone creates a 'perfect' character, the flaws that the character was supposed to have are shed and piled up. Then, when enough flaws are layered on top of each other, the flaws create a being. This… being that is created is confused and lost, depressed and unknowing. But they soon find themselves, and they learn to embrace themselves. Still, being created from flaws is still a hard thing to cope with.

But one day, the flaws were packed too tightly together in the body of a Mobian. The imperfections canceled each other out, gnawing away at each other until they created a perfect being. Another perfect being? Yes, this means that more flaws were shed. The impurities of the perfect creature, who named herself Perfect Darkness, concentrated to create another being – a male Mobian named Imperfect Light. P.D. and I.L. were enemies, set to destroy each other, but they cannot live without each other. In a final battle, they both dissolved away due to a massive explosion, presumed to be dead. However, one evening on Mobius, that all changed. They materialized. One was the solid form of Perfect Darkness, lurking in the shadows. The other was the solid form of Imperfect Light, a white-furred, black-eyed rabbit named Sayo. Legend says that Sayo must team up – in modern day, right now – with the Sonic heroes, and arise alongside three other Mobians to combat Perfect Darkness and stop her from destroying the world. And so, the never-ending story… begins.

Sayo

There was the sky, yes, that was the sky behind them. Two outlines were standing in the sky, one outline black, one white. The milky, mid-day sunlight caused the figures to glitter as if they were created from water.

"You don't have to do this…" the white outline whispered, stepping forward with his hand extended forward. However, the darker outline pulled away, standing a good distance away.

"Yes, I do. This is my destiny, and mine alone." The shadowy figure began to walk off in the clouds, but was once again grabbed by her counterpart.

"But what about when we were children? You wanted to be the hero, and I wanted to be the villain!" protested the light figure, having a firm grip on the other's hand.

"We didn't have a childhood, Light. We're flawed beings."

"But what about… what about my dreams?"

"They were just pathetic fairytales in your mind."

The male was evidently offended by that statement, narrowing his eyes, releasing the female and catching her off guard. The black outline fell back, but he caught her hand again before she could crash to the world below. "They were memories. Memories of when I used to be able to feel your thoughts."

"Just shut up!" The female ripped herself from him, stumbling backwards, still trembling from the fact that he'd nearly thrown her back into the world below.

"We're not dead yet… We're just waiting here until we recover, aren't we?" murmured the white outline, then he met his sister's eyes, and he shivered at the sparkle he saw in there, "You can't leave without me. You can't live without me."

A gust of pure wind blew, ruffling the creatures' transparent fur and sending a few distant sparks in the air. "Empirical, as always," she snickered, "But being realistic doesn't mean anything to me. Remember, we're not real."

"You can change, you know, P.D… I can find a way out of this… this sky, and we can go somewhere. Then we'll be able to find ourselves," he went on in his same calm, soft way.

"No," muttered the shadow, "I already know a way out, and I'm leaving you here. Then you won't be able to interfere."

"Well, if you'd like to play that way, I already know a way, too," Suddenly, he bolted forward, but instead of pushing his counterpart, he plunged through the clouds, crashing down to the world below. He heard his sister scream his name, but her voice was too distant in his mind. He began to fall to the ground with fleeting colors, shedding his body until he became nothing but a distant memory. Sparks gathered on the vibrant grass, sparkling like a million crystals. And then it materialized.

The flashback ended.

His eyes fluttered opened, meeting the harsh light of a candle-flame which illuminated his surroundings. His hand was closed against a glass of water, and he'd evidently dosed off, his cheek marked with a bruise from where he'd rested his head on the edge of the smooth, wooden table. He looked around, blowing out the candle and putting on an electrical light, which was even worse for his sleepy eyes. Squinting, he yawned, stumbling forward clumsily until he was out of the kitchen and in his living room, then he swiftly walked onto a small balcony.

It was a good sized house, with a single bedroom, two balconies, a large kitchen and a high-tech living room. It was on the beach, so the roar of the everlasting waves blurred out all other sounds, the heat of the day was swept away by the cool night breeze, and the world seemed to be a peace here, in a special home that he'd rented for himself. However, his mind was not at ease. It never was.

Sayo stared unblinkingly at the ocean, the sweet tang of salt in his throat. He was a muscular, white-furred rabbit – his pelt was like untouched snow, and his eyes were black and inky like ashes. His boots were short and black with silver buckles, and his gloves were also black. On each wrist he wore a silver bracelet, studded with intimidatingly sharp amethysts. His ears were lightly speckled with black – again, like ashes in the snow. There was something eerie about him… something unnatural. But what?

He shook his head, rubbing his bruise and stepping back into the living room, looking around. Something was out of place, and that made his spine prickle with apprehension. Then it came, and he realized with a sinking heart that he'd become unaware of his surrounds. The beautiful glass windows were shattered, the shards falling to the ground like something shimmering. A supernatural glow was emitted from outside the window, followed by black droplets that rained into the house. The droplets distorted, changing from innocent circles into devious-looking butterflies. They charged at him, but Sayo easily swept them away. However, he winced every time they made contact with his fingers. They were steadily draining his energy, and what hurt him even more was the realization that his biggest enemy had sent them to do her dirty work.

He'd always told himself that he'd never, ever hurt a butterfly. They intrigued him – one day they were part of the world, the next day, they were gone. But these weren't real butterflies, he reminded himself: they were pure, concentrated darkness.

They weren't damaging his house – rather, they were swarming in, seemingly going right through the furniture and targeting him. He was fighting them off as quickly as they came at him, but then again, they were internally wounding him with every touch. The darkness-butterflies were beginning to fill themselves with boredom; they needed to finish this, now. Sayo let out a distressed grunt as they all flew at him at the same time, burying him and paralyzing every single part of his body, until his internal organs were the only things that were still working. Still, they'd suck all energy out until his heart stopped beating.

A bright, nearly horror-movie, crazed-killer-like light was emitted from within the butterflies, ripping them apart and splatting every inch of Sayo's living room with black ink. He lay there on the ground, his white fur plastered dark. He let out a shudder, feeling the ability to move flood back into his body. The amethysts attached to his wrists were glowing. Then everything went black, throwing him into the sea of unconsciousness.

Blitz

The mist was thick, covering every single object with its icy film. A figure broke through the mist, running, its agile body perfectly fit for jumping over the multiple rocks that littered the landscape. As the figure moved closer to the heart of the mysterious world, sparks and ashes began to fly through the sky and kiss her skin, as well as mysterious, glowing-blue particles. She slowed her pace, looking around herself, and couldn't help herself but to utter, "What the…?"

She was a beautiful, strong-looking female hedgehog, her golden fur perfectly setting off her clear blue eyes, which glittered like diamonds and could send chills down any other Mobian's spine. The sun made her look like a fireball, and she coolly casted a glance over her shoulder before looking back forward. The wind whipped her medium-length quills, which were tied up in a flowing, wave-like ponytail, with a stray quill framing her face on either side. Her side-sweeping bangs gently swished in the wind, partially covering one of her bright blue orbs. She shook her head, and even more blue particles filled the air, but these were not supernatural like the ones that were carried by the wind – these were just unnatural. Yup, her quills were filled and covered with blue glitter, so every time she moved, a little trail of glitter was left behind. Her white, knee-high socks were tucked into blue sneakers, and slightly-ruffled short-shorts exposed a little bit of her thighs. Her white-and-blue shirt was patterned with multiple designs of birds.

The mist cleared gradually, to be replaced by a dark, sunrise-like sunlight that streaked the sky with amber rays, as well as seeming to ignite the little flying particles even more. Blitz stepped into the light, letting the warm rays diminish the chills from the icy air. As she looked up, though, her eyes met a large, wired wall that stretched for as long as she could see, even seeming to cut the sun in half. But nothing could prepare her for the sight that she saw next.

On the other side of the wall was a perfect twin of her. The crisp, dark version of her was clothed in an all-black jumpsuit that exposed a small strip of her belly. Long black gloves with metal embellishments covered her wrists, and platinum boots were worn on her feet. The twin's golden hair floated out in the wind, tied up in a thin braid, with side-sweeping bangs that covered one of her brilliant, dark sapphire eyes (this was a difference, since Blitz had light blue eyes). The other hedgehog's fur kept on glimmering strangely between black and gold, and that sent chills up Blitz' spine.

The shards and sparks momentarily blinded both hedgehogs – such an intense light was like no other, like an undiscovered world. And yes, reader, they were standing in the unknown. Blitz dropped her hands to her side, before clearing her dry throat, and demanding, "Who are you?"

"I'm you, of course," was the simple, yet strangely dark reply from the twin, "I am a shard of your soul."

"That's impossible! I'm one of a kind, and I have my full soul, thank you," retorted Blitz, eyes dancing with fury.

"Oh, are you now? Then tell me, who am I?"

"Isn't that for you to answer?" Blitz felt something stir within her, and she took the chance, leaping forward and thrusting her fist through one of the holes in between the wires. At first, her fingers closed easily on the cold, thin material, but she realized, too late, that she lost all feeling in her hands. Widening her eyes, she desperately tried to pull back, but the paralysis had gripped her entire body, and she was forced to remain where she was, fear holding her eyes open and blank. Then she felt a shock move through her body, and the next thing she knew, vibrant, shimmering, electrical rays were running through her body and she was being electrocuted. The paralysis released her in once swift, fluid movement, catching her off guard and throwing her roughly to the ground, and she crashed onto the flat side of one of the sharp rocks. Sinking to her knees, grasping her stomach with one hand, supporting herself up with the other, burnt arm, she took ragged breaths of air, but found that she could barely breathe. "You little -!" she screamed out, her eyes taking on a murderous glint.

"What, did I do anything? No, it was you who mindlessly raced toward the wall that separates the two of us, dreams and reality," replied the twin, going closer to the net-like wall. She placed her hand gently against the wires, but nothing happened to her, and she simply narrowed her eyes. "Take a good look at me, Blitz."

Blitz weakly pulled her eyes up to meet her counterpart, and she darted back to her feet with a grunt of surprise, supporting herself by holding strongly onto the rock behind her. "You're… You're what I used to be! You're the ashes of my burnt records… and you're what I used to be before I figured out myself," For you reader, we must explain, yes? Blitz was a thief, and her comrade was the famous Rouge the Bat. Together, they could steal anything. They could do anything. But one day, due to a near-death experience, Blitz packed up her bags. She burnt all traces of 'Blitz the hedgehog' and fell off the face of the world, moving to a cabin in a secluded part of the forest.

"Yes, I'm everything you lost. I was created to destroy you, by something that you destroyed – yourself. How to escape me? You can't, I'll always be here. The only way to get rid of me, now, is to figure out who you want to be, and then I'll morph into your heart,"

"Oh, really?" Blitz growled, grasping something from in her pocket and darting back towards the wall. It was a small, well-crafted knife, but as she rotated a red gem on the handle, the blade burst into flames, becoming a fire-knife. She cut it into the wall, slashing her counterpart, but nothing happened, and as she paused to see why, she was roughly thrown against the rock again. The impact was so hard, it shattered the rock, and Blitz looked down to see the knife broken, and the wounds that she inflicted on her twin were instead on her body.

"I didn't forget that you're the famous weapon maker, the only hedgehog in Mobius to figure out how to create a flaming blade," smirked the other hedgehog, flickering from black and gold even faster now.

"Did you know that the word 'blitz' means 'to destroy'?" she went on, raising an eyebrow, "I will destroy you."

Everything surrounding them, even the wall, burst into flames, both blue and red. Blitz tried to get up, but she no longer had any escape. The flames danced around her, the sparks burning into her clothes. Her vision was blurring, and the world was fading from color to black. Blitz heard a voice in the background, and she shivered as it said, "Oh, and you can call me Alpha." Then everything went black.

Kiya

The sky was simply distorted, black storm-clouds rolling through the gloom at an incredible speed. The wind carried flowing red petals, and a pair of feet trampled an already-dead garden. The saturnine world seemed to be spinning, but a soft voice was carried on the wind. The feet stepped into a field of bright red roses, and a pair of ruby eyes saw a shadowy figure crouched next to a small, baby hedgehog. The figure was shaped into the size of the motherly-like Mobian – however, none of her other features were distinguishable, except for a glowing pair of ghostly red eyes. The baby hedgehog was wrapped in a small white cloth, a few of her short blue quills spilling out, and her ruby eyes glittered as the met the identical eyes of the shadow-creature.

The moving clouds allowed a gap of sunlight to pour down and hit the owner of the mysterious feet, revealing the entire body. It was shown to be a bright blue hedgehog with long quills that went all the way down to her knees. Her hair was styled simply – her quills flowed downward, her side-sweeping bangs curling down the side of her face, and she wore a silky, white headband, like Amy's, with a red lily attached to the side of it. Her loose-fitting, white dress fluttered in the wind – the breeze mixed with the pure sunlight was like a million butterflies kissing her skin. The red ribbon around her waist swirled around her body in synchronicity with the red petals from the field. Ruby eyes, which were complete with a sparkle that remained there, had a bright, nearly-frightening lust within them. Around her neck, tied up as a necklace with a black cord, was a shimmering shard of a red stone, carved expertly into the shape of a distorted, stylized crescent moon. The blue slippers on her feet had a few water-droplet-like crystals attached to it.

"So you brought me here?" Her wistful voice echoed. The stone pendant began to glow, and she had to place her hand over it to calm it down. However, it began to emit fearful red particles into the sky, brighter than sparks, more beautiful than glitter, and flickering faster than fireflies. The storm-clouds erupted at that moment, pouring millions of droplets of rain onto her body. They trickled, slowly, softly, down her hands and face, but she remained where she was. Images flitted past her eyes, and the colors of the world began to blend together, save for the red particles. With the dazzling flash of lightning, mixed the deafening crack of thunder, everything was gone, washed away in streams of colorless life. Another image took the place of the red field – it was now a dormant volcano, which strangely enough had a thin stream flowing through it. A soft breeze whistled in the background, filling the air with flute-like music. The shadowy creature was there, as well as a toddler – the baby hedgehog, three years later.

"And this is where I was taught how to control the four elements?" Kiya stepped forward, suddenly filled with a dark energy as soon as the crescent moon was pacified. Striding forward, her bare shoulders chilled by the calmness of the place, she reached out a hand, instantly grasping onto something. The memory ended. Flashing, breaking, falling, the world began to crumble. She looked around her, and instantly pulled bits of rocks from the disappearing landscape forward towards her hand, and then she pushed it forward, knocking away debris from hitting her. She began to stomp around, getting a feel for the earth, before she managed to rip more pieces of earth, piecing back together the world like a puzzle. It didn't last, however, and everything shattered once more.

In the darkness, she saw two figures. Her two teachers, both in her age group, both who were very dear to her heart. One was an ebony hedgehog who blended into the dream's surroundings, his red eyes hardened, and the red streaks in his quills resembling fire in darkness – his furry, white chest and golden bracelets glimmered in the darkness. Next to him was a silver hedgehog with blue accents, wonder-filled golden eyes, and silver quills that were styled up futuristically on his forehead. He too, had gold bracelets and a white, furry chest that stood out in the black pit that they were standing in. Kiya's eyes widened with happiness at seeing her mentors, Shadow and Silver, but she instantly choked when she saw that they were becoming pinpricks in the distance, blending once more into the pure darkness. She dove forward, but the only thing that remained where her friends once stood was a sharp shard of glass, which instantly shot through the air towards her.

She let out a yelp of pain when the shard of glass cut into her arm, holding her with an invisible force. Then it wrenched her loose, shoving her to the ground. She avoided being sucked into the inky black ground by shooting out spurts of air from her palms, holding herself in the black sky, seeing little puddles of ink developing under her. Suddenly, the ink shot up out of the puddle, turning into a grotesque hand. Gasping, Kiya raised her free hand and shot out a torrent of water, washing away the puddle of ink. The hand disintegrated. This was madness. Nonsense. A dream, yes, that was all it was. A bad dream. A nightmare filled with forgotten memories. Of course. She needed to end it, now.

The air released her, and she felt the support vanish beneath herself. Kiya's knees splattered against the hard, ink-spread ground. Her white dress became black, the ribbon around her waist transitioning oddly from red to blue. Her hand pressed against the ground, and everything burst into flames. Her ruby pendant was glowing violently now, the red particles mixing with the sparks and enveloping her in flurry of light. She groaned, the sparks and particles becoming unbearable. Multiplying every second, the two little types of light were eating away at her body, freeing her from the cruelness of this odd world. She felt the strength drain from her, and she began gasping for sweet air. However, she found that she couldn't breathe any longer, suffocating. Amongst the flurry of particles, she thought, just thought, that she saw a glimmer of starlight, but then everything flickered and was gone.

LL

Dizziness blurred his eyes, and he dropped the folder which he was carrying with precaution. Important papers were scattered on the ground, the folder's papers mixing in with each of the piles. Reaching forward, he stumbled, his hands pressing against his desk for support, but the swift moment of trying to regain his balance caused him to tip to the side, knocking over a glass of water. He collapsed onto the ground, groaning, trying to catch his breath, but air didn't fill his lungs. He weakly moved his hand to his heart, gently applying pressure to a tender scar in his chest.

"Keep your shirt on; I'm just getting some air," echoed an annoyed voice from somewhere around the room. Suddenly, the strength flowed back into him, and he began to gasp, choking. He turned around, trembling as he limped over to his own private bathroom, retching into the sink moments later. Holding onto the door for support, he felt as if he'd been stabbed in the heart, but that pain soon diminished too.

He was an extremely handsome golden hedgehog – he was the hedgehog in the entire company who everyone loved, inside and out. He had a few darker golden stripes and markings, and his eyes were bright, glowing, unearthly aquamarine; they were often referred to as 'pools'. His figure was good, with muscular arms and he was rather tall, with a smile that could melt anyone's heart. He wore a loose-fitting white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, exposing a small bit of his furry chest, and his sleeves were rolled up, revealing a few scars. His navy blue workpants only went to his knees. His toes were exposed due to the blue sandals on his feet, and he shook his head at the mess he'd caused, still not frowning. "You need to warn me, first, Sorai. Your name might be the splice of Sora (sky) and Kurai (dark), but you're supposed to keep me alive, and not go dancing out of my body like the wind."

"I'll do what I want!"

Sighing, LL crouched down, beginning to sort out his papers once again, using useless scraps to mop up the spilled water. As he picked up the empty glass, he peered into it for a moment. An image flashed in the glass for a moment – it flickered from a white rabbit, to another golden hedgehog, to a blue hedgehog. He pulled back in alarm, blinking violently. "I must be seeing things, now," he muttered, his accent soft and sweet.

"Um, Leonardo Linnattan?" LL looked up, and saw a brown cat standing in the doorway, her violet eyes shy. It was the secretary, and as LL waved at her, she blushed.

"What may I help you with today?" he asked, grinning and getting up, careful not to mess up the piles of paper on the ground.

"Sky and Saki think that you've been working too much, and they're worried about you. They told me to tell you to take a half-day, and to meet with them tomorrow morning," answered the secretary. Sky and Saki were two geniuses – Sky was a sixteen-year-old rabbit, and Saki was a hedgehog, aged anywhere from eight to twelve. They were also LL's bosses, and his best friends; they were like sisters to him. Right now, you might be wondering: where does this golden hedgehog work? LL, Saki, and Sky were the three owners of this company, created to find ways to develop weapons that don't damage bystanders – they only catch the criminal, and still don't damage the criminal. The three developers had wanted the famous Blitz the Hedgehog to help them, but just as they were about to ask her, she disappeared off the world.

"Oh, alright. May I leave right now?" When the brown cat nodded, LL smiled at her again, going outside and locking the door to his office. The entire building was made from strong glass – glass hallways, glass floors, glass windows, even glass walls. Sunlight filtered like a beautiful spectacle through the building, and LL once again smiled to himself that he had such a wonderful job. He shook the secretary's hand, and they parted – LL began to climb down the seven flights of stairs that separated him and the exit.

By the time he'd gotten to the last flight of stairs, he was panting and choking – he'd over-exerted himself once again. "Do you need me to help you down to the last floor?" asked a voice from behind him, and he was met by the lavender orbs of a black Mobian – he couldn't tell what kind of animal she was, due to her deep purple hoodie-dress covering most of her head, but he immediately felt flustered and warm when he peered into her light eyes.

"I… think I can manage," he said softly, wincing as he began to move down another stair.

"Don't be cocky – you can't manage," she growled, grasping his arm. LL immediately gulped he noticed that the entire body of the other Mobian was shrouded in shadows that moved along with her.

"O-okay," he said quickly, and the female moved her hand higher up so that it was on his shoulder, and she pulled him along, until she had guided them to the ground with ease.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she smirked, beginning to walk off towards the exit. LL instantly jumped forward, reaching out his hand, but his stomach turned over and he was knocked to his knees by a force: Sorai.

"No!" hissed Sorai in his mind, "She's dangerous – she's unreal!"

LL, though, ignored her and called out to the strange shadow-creature, "What's your name?"

The black Mobain turned back, raising an eyebrow. She thought for a moment, and then, with a sly grin, she smoothly said, "Inazuma."

"I'm Leonardo Linnattan!" replied LL, smiling at 'Inazuma'. Again, he was zapped by Sorai, grasping his belly with terrible pain. "You can call me LL," he added, coughing.

"Goodbye, LL," Inazuma turned around, shaking her head and beginning to walk away.

"What's your last name, Inazuma?" slurred the golden hedgehog, rising to his feet and stumbling forward, sinking back to his knees with a grunt at Inazuma's feet.

The black creature's eyes softened, and she crouched in front of LL, gently patting his back to comfort him. Something fluttered with hardness in her gaze again though, and she growled, "This is my last name." She lifted up her fist, and brought it forward with great force, punching Leonardo's cheek. He was caught off guard, yelping with surprise, and the force of the punch pushed him backwards. His head hit the ground with a thump, and everything went shadowy.

A small flicker of starlight out of the corner of his eyes drew his attention, but he couldn't look directly at it. "You should've listened to me. I tried to read her… and I don't know if I'm right or wrong," Sorai murmured.

"What do you mean?" echoed LL's voice in his unconscious mind.

"She doesn't have a heart, and she doesn't have a soul. In fact… she doesn't even have a real body. She's not real, LL. It's almost like if… she was a trick of the light."

"But she was there!"

"That's exactly what puzzles me," Then the starlight faded away.

?

And so, the journey begins… now.

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Extra Notes: Did you enjoy it? I hope you liked it – It's one of my best ideas out of my previous fanfics, which have not been posted on here. I do have some apologies to make, though: For slowness in between chapters. My life is quite busy and I only have limited time to update. Please bear with me; I'll try to update every three weeks or so. And the second apology is for this chapter being confusing – the first few chapters will be a little hard to understand until it reaches a breaking point where everything seems to fall into place. So, please, bear with me for this too. Lastly, my writing style constantly changes, so the chapters might be a little scatterbrained. Thanks for reading, please review, and the disclaimer is below!

SEGA owns the universe, all official Sonic characters, Mobius, and almost everything to do with this fandom.

SunnyAirisu222 owns Sayo the Rabbit, the main antagonist, the story, the plot, and any added elements, buildings, and background characters.

Zelzaina and Lina owns Kiya the Hedgehog, and most of her design.

Blitz the Hedgehog owns Blitz the Hedgehog, and most of her design.

Comrade Athelwine owns Leonardo Linnattan, and most of his design.

Webkinzrule2 (on WebkinzInsider) owns Saki the Hedgehog and Sky the Rabbit, and most of their designs.

Thanks for everything, guys! See you soon!