Sonic Adventure 3
I have made a new version of this already, but I realized that it needed some polishing up. This time, Sonic, Shadow, and Silver will have their stories combined. There will also be better explanations as to why things are the way they are with artifacts and characters. While my other stories were good, I hope to make them better with this.
I think I should also mention that this is going to part of a head-canon. In other words, I imagine this is how Sonic Next Gen. should've gone and that it is part of the main story.
This takes place after "Shadow the Hedgehog". (I consider that game to part of the main canon, not a spin-off.)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic Next Gen., I am merely exploring an alternate story.
With that said, let's begin!
The Festival of the Sun
The sound of fireworks exploding and the joyous cries of people rang into the night sky. The water that flowed in a series of canals reflected the brilliance of the light. Fizzling streams of fireworks rained down like snow before slowly dissolving into the night sky. They were followed by one after another with perfect timing.
Crowds of cheering people along the side of the canals gathered around as a large, decorative boat gracefully made its way toward a large centerpiece in the center of the city.
On the very tip of the bow of the boat was a young teenaged girl. Her short ruby red hair only went down just past her neck, and she had two golden and feathered ornaments on each side of her head. Her bright sapphire blue eyes seemed to reflect her smile as she happily and gracefully waved to the crowds on the edge of the canals.
Her white dress, coming down just a little past her knees, had silver trimmings with the kingdom's crest in each individual diamond shaped pattern. She wore slightly tanned leggings, with silver high-heeled shoes on her feet. Around the upper part of her dress was a gold X-shaped pattern with thin black lining. Her white gloves went up just past her elbows and were lined with feathers at the cuffs. Her dress left her shoulders bare, but the short; cambric sleeves covered a small part of her upper arms.
Around her neck, sparkling in the light of the fireworks, was a small diamond necklace. The diamond was in a gold base, and was hanging on a silver neck-chain.
The boat slowly came to a stop in front of the platform that led up to a large, embellished lamp. The girl, followed by two women clothed in brown robes, gracefully stepped off the bow and onto the steps that lead up to the center.
Three others greeted her there with a bow. She graciously curtsied in response. Two of them were Human men garbed in brown capes. The one in the middle, who was holding a was a golden torch with a bright flame already blazing out the top, was a short, brown Mobian Chipmunk. The red and white ceremonial robes he was dressed showed his position as the High Priest, and the thin white mustache and small beard showed that he was an elder.
He stepped forward towards the girl and the torch.
The girl took the torch and held it for a moment. She stared into the fire, feeling its warmth, and subtle tears began to form in her eyes. For a brief moment, she could see in her mind's eye her father smiling at her with pride and love.
"Miss Elise?" a female voice said softly, interrupted her thoughts. "Is something wrong?"
Elise quickly came back to reality, blinking for a moment before turning to the lady who had spoken and saying calmly:
"No, I'm all right. Let us proceed."
Elise and the others bowed for a second.
"We give thanks for the blessed flames." Elise recited. "May we always continue to have peace. Sun of Soleanna, guide and watch over us with your eternal light."
The Princess then walked forward, lowered the torch to a small lamp, and the fire ignited. The flames quickly snaked through channels that lead up to the largest torch that overlooked the platform, and the fire ignited in a magnificent splendor and the crowds cheered again. More golden fireworks exploded in the sky and gave the night a feeling of magical radiance.
Elise happily waved to the crowds for a brief moment, sharing in their joy of the celebration. She turned back to the High Priest who handed her the torch and gave it back to him.
As she did so, he beckoned for her to lean down bit so that he could whisper something to her. She became uneasy when she saw the look on his face was one of hidden distress.
"What is it, High Priest?"
"Princess," the High Priest said solemnly, his voice old and gruff, "I have some unfortunate news that you must know about. The Scepter has been stolen."
Elise gave a sharp gasp of fear. She quickly remembered that she was supposed to be at a joyful celebration and restrained any more outbursts.
Instead, she took a deep breath and whispered, "When and how was it stolen? Do you know?"
"We aren't quite sure how it was stolen," the High Priest replied. "All we know is that it taken shortly before the ceremony started. We don't who did it, but we do have a few… suspicions."
"Do you think it was them? But…they were destroyed ten years ago."
"I can't say for certain, but I wouldn't rule that out. Fortunately, we have some G.U.N. agents in the area. They are looking into this even as we speak. All the same, I believe we should deal with the Amulet."
Elise looked down at the pendent around her neck, lightly touching it with her fingers. After pondering over what the priest had told her, she looked back up and nodded.
"Very well," she said. "Tell the elder priests to meet at the Temple of Solaris. I'll meet you there as soon as I can. Then we can discuss what to do next. But be discrete; we don't want to cause a panic among the citizens."
"Understood," the High Priest nodded. "Just be careful, Your Highness."
Elise straightened herself up and bowed. She then ushered for her attendants to follow her back to the boat.
An Hour Later…
Down in the city, the streets near the canals were crowded with people. Both Humans an Mobians alike were walking around and checking out the stalls that had been set up for the festival. The sound of light-hearted chatter, footsteps, and food sizzling in the frying pans all mixed together into a lively atmosphere. The smell of Soleanna food freshly cooked floated through the air. It made anyone's mouth water when the aroma reached their nose.
Among the crow were three Mobians. Two of them were Hedgehogs and the other was a Fox. Like all Mobians, they were about half the height of a full-grown Human, and had a mix between human and animal-like qualities. It was clear to see that they possessed a high level of intelligence such as the ability to speak and think.
One of the Hedgehogs, who was the only girl in the group, mostly had pink fur, but her arms had a light tan color. Her hair - which was actually quills - was short and straight. She wore a matching outfit that consisted of a red dress with white lining, a red headband, and a pair of ankle-high boots with a white stripe running of the middle of each of them.
The young Fox had yellow and white fur, baby-blue eyes, and two fluffy tails. On his hands, he wore white gloves with thin, black bracelets; and on his feet, were red and white sneakers with clean white socks.
The other Hedgehog, who was the tallest one in the group by just a few inches, mostly had fur the color of deep blue. However, he also had tan fur on his arms and stomach. On his hands, he wore white gloves. On his feet, were white socks and red shoes. Each shoe had a white band that was held together by a rectangular golden clasp.
Their names were Amy Rose, Tails, and Sonic.
At the moment, the three of them were walking through the crowds of the city, looking around at all of the festivities that were going on.
"Isn't this great?!" Amy said excitedly. "Everything is so lively here!"
"Well, the Festival of the Sun is one of the important events in Soleanna." Tails explained. "It celebrates their sun god, Solaris."
"Heh, someone's been doing his homework, as usual." Sonic grinned sarcastically.
"Well, yeah." Tails replied. "Ever since Amy won that sweepstakes, I've been studying about Soleanna and its history. It's actually has quite a rich history. For example, this holiday is actually a celebration of when Solaris defeated…"
"Yeah, yeah, very interesting." Sonic waved his hand dismissively. "Let's just get back to having fun. I want to see if they have any chili dogs around here."
Amy looked at Sonic with a slightly annoyed expression. While she knew perfectly well that he had a sarcastic streak to him, it was starting to irritate her now.
"This is a country festival, Sonic," she said sharply. "They wouldn't have tourist foods here. Besides, we didn't come to Soleanna to eat chili dogs. We came to relax and see the country for its beauty."
"Actually, you only invited us because that sweepstakes allowed you to invite two friends," the blue Hedgehog replied.
"Well, I noticed you didn't turn down my offer." Amy said, folding her arms across her front and looking at Sonic with an impish grin.
"That's because I had nothing better to do." Sonic shrugged.
That remark made Amy frown. But Sonic didn't seem to take any notice of it. He just continued talking.
"Besides, Eggman hasn't launch any kind of attack in weeks. I'm starting to think that…"
Suddenly, a tall, slender Human girl came rushing through the crowd and collided with Sonic. Since Sonic was shorter than the Human by about two feet, she tripped over him and both of them fell to the ground.
"Ow!"
Both Amy and Tails jumped and turned around when they heard Sonic slam into the pavement and exclaim in pain. The incident didn't just catch Amy and Tails's attention. Everyone who heard the commotion all turned at once to see what happened.
The Human groaned and rubbed her cheek, which now had a small scrap on it. When she had gotten her sense back, she jolted in surprise and hastily got off of the blue Hedgehog, scrabbling back a bit as she did.
With the extra weight off of him, Sonic was able to get to his hands and knees. He looked over to see who had fallen on him.
The Human wore a violet sleeveless, along with a long, dark gray sports skirt with tight, black shorts underneath that stretched almost down to her knees. Around her waist was a black belt with a hip-pouch on her right side. On her feet were purple and black tennis shoes and white ankle-high socks. On her hands were black, fingerless gloves, and she wore black and purple elbow and knee guards. On her head, and covering her hair, was a tannish polyester hat with a wide rim.
But the thing that surprised Sonic was that she was also wearing a pair of sunglasses. And not small, thin ones at that. They were so large that they covered her eyes completely. They looked totally out of place, as this festival was during the night and was only lit up by lanterns.
When the girl saw whom she had run into, she froze. Although her eyes were hidden behind the dark shades, her eyebrows raised noticeably up. Her mouth fell open and she stared right at Sonic.
But Sonic was oblivious to that detail.
"Hey, you mind watching where you're going?" Sonic said, getting to his feet and wiping some dirt of his arms.
"Sonic?"
Sonic blinked and paused for a moment. He could've sworn that girl had just whispered his name.
It was at this moment that Sonic noticed the way she was staring at him. He looked back at her with a confused and uncomfortable expression. It wasn't so much that fact that she knew his name that made him uneasy. He knew that he was famous from his heroic deeds in the past. He was used to going someone and getting looks of admiration when someone recognized him.
But this girl was looking at him like he was some kind of ghost.
"Uh, you okay?" Sonic asked tentatively, not quite sure of what to do.
The girl jerked her head slightly before shaking it. She then hastily got to her feet.
"Y-Yes," she stuttered, her voice sounding just slightly distressed. "I'm fine. I'm very sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Please, excuse me."
The girl immediately set out again. Some people tried asking her if she was fine and even offered a helping hand. She just gently turned them down, raising her right hand to her face like she wanted to hide behind it.
In a matter of seconds, she disappeared among the people of the crowd.
"Who was that?" Tails asked.
"You got me." Sonic replied. "But it's no wonder she ran into me. I doubt she can see much with those sunglasses on."
"Wait, she had sunglasses on?" Amy asked, confused.
"Yeah, how could you miss them?" Sonic replied.
It was then that Sonic heard a clinking sound from below him. He looked down at the ground and saw there was a diamond on a gold neck-chain beside his left foot. He bent down and picked it up. He held it in his hand for a moment, looking at it with curiosity.
"What's that, Sonic?" Amy asked when she saw the pendant.
"Don't know," the cobalt hedgehog replied. "But I bet it belongs to that girl. She must have dropped it when we bumped into each other."
"We should return it to her then." Tails suggested.
"I can do that."
Sonic slipped the necklace into his right glove.
"Be back in a flash," he said with a smirk and a wink.
Before Amy and Tails had time to debate on the matter, Sonic was off like a shot. He ran so fast that he caused several people to stagger from the powerful wind his speed produced. When he saw his chance, he quickly scaled up the wall of a nearby building so that he could run on the rooftops. With a birds-eye-view, he was would be able to see where the girl went and where she was heading.
After a few minutes, he found her again. However, there was something about the direction she was heading in that made Sonic start to become suspicious. She wasn't participating with the festivities, and she didn't seem to be meeting up with anyone.
If anything, she didn't seem interesting in the Festival at all.
On top of that, the way she was moving her head made it clear to Sonic that she was trying to see if anyone was following her. Obviously, she was trying to get through the crowd unnoticed.
"Where's she going?" Sonic asked himself. "I should probably keep an eye on her. It's not safe for someone like her to be out her on her own."
Eventually, the girl came to an abandoned street. She stopped for a moment and took off her sunglasses and put them in her hip pouch. Sonic tried to get a good look at her face. But since he was on top of a building, and it was nighttime, he couldn't see her
The girl began to run down the street. Despite the fact that she was alone, she still looked defensive. She obviously didn't want to be seen.
However, she hadn't gone more than a few yards when the sound of small engines came from above. Sonic's ears twitched in alert and he whipped his head around to see where the sound was coming from.
A platoon of robots came out of the darkness of the night and landed on the ground, stopping the girl.
The girl gave a gasp of alarm and stepped back. She looked around frantically to see if she could find any way out, but the robots had her completely surrounded. Each of them had their laser guns charged, and were pointing them at her.
She reached inside her hip pouch…
…And stiffened in horror.
Sonic immediately leapt into action. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't care. The only thing that registered in his brain was that these robots were attacking a defenseless person.
Before the girl knew what was happening, there was a sudden gust of wind and a blue blur came from what seemed to be out of nowhere and began knocking out the robots one by one. In a matter of seconds, all of the robots were on the ground in heaps of bashed-up metal with exposed, broken wires that sparked and flickered.
After he was through defeating the robots, Sonic came out of his spin-dash and landed skillfully on the ground. He looked back at the damage he did and wiped his hands like an artist admiring his handy work.
"Too easy," he said cockily. "No sweat."
He then turned around to the human girl.
"You okay?"
The girl hesitated for a second before saying, "Uh, I think so. Thank you."
"No problem." Sonic shrugged. "But you really shouldn't be out here on your own. You're just lucky I showed up."
"I'm very sorry," the girl said hastily, "but I'm in a bit of a hurry."
The girl turned around and began to run back down the path she used before.
"Wait!" Sonic called out. "Didn't you just come that way?!"
"Yes!" the girl replied. "But I…I dropped something! I need to find it!"
"You mean this?!"
The girl stopped and turned back around towards the Mobian. Sonic slipped the diamond necklace out of his glove and displayed it in the palm of his hand. Now that it was in the blackness of the night, Sonic could see that it was glowing faintly, almost like a distant star.
Upon seeing the necklace, the girl ran back over to Sonic.
"Oh, thank you!" she said gratefully. "Thank you so much!"
The girl bent down to retrieve the diamond. As she did, Sonic saw her face. Now that her sunglasses were off, he could see that she had bright blue eyes. And something about those eyes made him squint in curiosity. He felt as if he had seen her before.
Just as she took the necklace, he said, "Uh, sorry if this sounds weird, but you look kind of familiar."
The girl looked sharply up at him with shock. She stared straight into his emerald green eyes.
"You…you remember me?" she said, her voice wavering between hopeful and fearful.
Sonic blinked and leaned back a bit in mild discomfort. His face showed his puzzlement quite clearly.
He was about to ask her what she meant by that when he got interrupted.
"Sonic of all people?!" a familiar voice shouted angrily. "Why are you here?!"
Both Sonic and the girl looked up immediately. To Sonic's dull revelation, some kind of hovercraft surrounded by combat robots came down from the sky. When the craft and robots reached the same level as the platform, Sonic saw a man in the cockpit of the hovercraft. He was roughly in the shape of an egg, with a large mustache, and dressed in a red and black suit.
Sonic frowned as he recognized the person.
"Dr. Eggman," he said dryly, folding his arms across his chest. "Why am I not surprised?"
"No more than I am to see you!" Eggman scowled.
The human girl shivered with fear and clutched the necklace with trembling hands, pressing it close to her heart at the same time. She started to take a step back, but immediately stopped when she remembered that dangerous robots surrounded them. She didn't want to accidently bump into one behind her. She looked around to see if there was any way out.
There wasn't. They were trapped.
However, Sonic wasn't intimidated by the situation at all. It was plain to see by the confident smirk on his face that he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
This was nothing more than child's play to him.
"Now what are you doing here?!" Eggman demanded.
"Well, my friends and I were here on vacation." Sonic said sarcastically. "But I guess its cut short now thanks to you showing up. What are you doing here anyway? I hope this isn't like the time when you tried to unleash a water monster, or blow up the world with a space station."
"None of your business, hedgehog!" Eggman bellowed. "Swat Bots, ATTACK!"