It was a nice day on Mobius. The plains were filled with green grass and the few trees about had birds singing in them. The sky was clear and the sun shined bright in the sky. Sonic was on a run this day. He jogged at his regular pace of about 300 miles per hour, leaving a blue streak behind him. Sonic had just recently foiled one of Dr. Robotnik's newest plot with the Death Egg to take over the world. That was also the first time he saw the Master Emerald and its secret guardian, Knuckles. Now he was enjoying the free time while it lasted.

"Hmm?" Sonic thought to himself, "What to do?" He ran a little while longer before he got an idea. I know. I'll go see Tails." Sonic made a hard left turn as he ran toward Tails's home.

The house was small; one floor, surrounded by 4 walls made of wood. The roof was different though, made of black panels that reflected the sun's light off of them, blinding Sonic for a brief second as he approached. He knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later, a young anthropomorphic orange fox with two tails answered the door.

"Sonic!" Tails said excitedly.

"Hey there Tails. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great. Won't you come inside?"

"Thanks." Sonic entered. Tails walked over to a chair near the center of the room and sat down, but Sonic remained standing.

"So, did you notice what I did to my roof?"

Sonic looked up and smiled while scratching his head. "Uuuhh. Heheh. I hate to disappoint you, but I didn't notice a difference."

Tails sighed but smiled, "Same old Sonic. I installed some solar panels on top which lead to storage batteries in my workshop downstairs. Now I can have all the power I could ever need for my house…and my projects."

Sonic smiled and winked, "Sweet, pal. You sure do keep busy."

"I've been making some improvements to the Tornado too. I installed a more stable engine so I can power it with a Chaos Emerald without worrying about a power overload. Would you like to see?"

Sonic chuckled and answered, "Actually, buddy. I was just about to go back on my run."

Tails looked a little disappointed. "Oh. So you're not staying."

"Nah. Places to go and people to see, you know."

"O…Okay." Tails just smiled and opened the door for Sonic. "Thanks for stopping by…even if it was a brief visit."

"Hey, buck up buddy." Sonic said as he patted the fox on the head, "It's not like I'm leaving for good. I'll be sure to take you on the next adventure.

"Really!? Gee thanks, Sonic."

Sonic only responded with a thumb up and a smile as he zoomed off. Sonic ran for a little while longer before another figure caught his eye. This one, however, made his spines stick up on edge and make him nervous. The figure turned to face him and he stared into the all too familiar gaze of Mecha Sonic; Robotnik's newest imitation of his nemesis.

"Hmph." Sonic sneered, "I thought I destroyed you on Angel Island." Mecha Sonic just stared at him and prepared for battle, reshaping his left hand into a laser gun. He fired, but Sonic dashed and tucked into a ball, dodging the laser bolt and hitting Mecha Sonic in the chest, sending the robot to the ground. Sonic landed a distance away as he watched Mecha Sonic stand back up. Mecha Sonic just stared at Sonic for a few seconds before Sonic attacked again, kicking Mecha Sonic hard in the head. Mecha Sonic stumbled, but quickly regained his posture.

"Come on." Sonic teased, "I thought you were more of a challenge than this."

Sonic came down for an axe kick on Mecha Sonic's head, but this time, Mecha Sonic counterattacked by grabbing Sonic's leg and slamming him to the ground. He then picked up the hedgehog by the neck and gave him a solid punch in the face. Releasing his grip, the punch sent Sonic sprawling into a rock, slamming his back into it. Sonic fell on his face and looked up just in time to see Mecha Sonic standing over him with his metallic foot raised. Sonic rolled aside as Mecha Sonic stomped the ground where his head was. Sonic spun on the ground and kicked Mecha Sonic's ankle, causing the robot to trip.

Sonic jumped away and said, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Mecha Sonic got up and looked up at Sonic with a clenched fist. Mecha Sonic fired his rocket boosters on his feet and went towards Sonic. Sonic was not an agile in the air as on the ground, so Mecha Sonic slammed Sonic in the gut with his head. Sonic recovered and landed on his feet, but stumbled for a second as Mecha Sonic landed in front of him. Sonic remarked, "Okay. That one hurt. Now you're in for it."

Sonic revved up his figure 8 technique. Mecha Sonic charged up his rocket boosters. Both combatants flew at each other at full speed and met head to head, each on not willing to give ground.

"You're nothing more than a worthless piece of junk that will soon be headed for the scrap heap." Sonic insulted.

The mute robot pressed hard against Sonic's head and appeared to gain ground, but then, Sonic fell backward onto his back. Mecha Sonic's boosters sent him flying at full speed into a nearby tree. Mecha Sonic's head got stuck in the tree. As Mecha Sonic was struggling to get free, Sonic just pointed and laughed. "Oh that was priceless. You actually fell for that one." Mecha Sonic soon got free and turned back to Sonic. Parts of his body were starting to spark from damage.

Mecha Sonic then flew into the air and stared down at Sonic with a look that could only be described as anger. Sonic watched as the jewel on Mecha Sonic's chest began to glow. Mecha Sonic clenched his body up, crossing his arms around his chest, spreading them out quickly after a few seconds and releasing a bright light. Sonic got a glimpse at Mecha Sonic's chest, making out an unmistakable shape.

"That's…a Chaos Emerald!" The light grew brighter and brighter until everything in Sonic's world was white. Soon, the white turned to black as Sonic lost consciousness. His last words before blacking out were, "I…won't…let you win."

When Sonic was starting to come to, he started to hear voices. At first, he couldn't make any of them out, but soon, he could make out a young boy's voice. "Doctor, I think it's waking up."

Soon, Sonic heard the voice of an older man. "Oh good. I was wondering when the creature would be awake. I would like to know more about it."

Sonic woke up in a flash and sat up quickly, almost panicking. "Robotnik!" Sonic jumped out of the bed, getting in a fighting pose. "You're not experimenting on me."

"Hold, who…or whatever you are. I'm not going to hurt you." Sonic looked up past the bed he had been laying in. He saw two figures. The older man was of a plus sized build, but not quite as fat as the Robotnik he knew and hated. The man wore a simple shirt with a tie, jeans, and a white lab coat. His face was mostly covered with a thick white mustache and beard that stretched down to his chest. His face was welcoming, showing no signs of malice.

Sonic also took note of the smaller figure standing next to the man. He appeared to be a young boy, but dressed in attire unfamiliar to Sonic. The boy wore blue all over, with large metallic boots, body armor, and a blue helmet. Sonic noticed he was pointing a weapon at him; some kind of blaster on his arm where his hand should have been. The man put his hand on the boy's shoulders. "Easy, now. We don't want to appear threatening." The boy smiled up at the man and lowered his weapon. It seemed to reform itself into a normal hand.

Sonic was astonished. "Whoa, whoa, now. Where am I? Who are you? Where's Mecha Sonic? How…"

"Take it easy now my little blue friend." The man interrupted. "We mean you no harm. My name is Dr. Thomas Light. And this small fellow here is my creation, Mega Man."