Bloodlines Saga:
1. [The Strings of Time]
2. [Ghost ARK]
3. [Project Gateway]
4. ?
Project Gateway
When we think of the future, pictures of glittering sky scrapers covering the world in chrome jump to mind. Hovercars flying in lines like metal streams, people in silver jumpsuits walking side-by-side with robots and consuming food in the form of pills and pastes. The truth, though, isn't so vividly different as these science-fiction fantasies would lead us to believe.
Even more than two hundred years after the time of Sonic and his friends, Mobius looked little different than it had in ages past. Its residents still live in cities and out in the countryside, and though their understanding of technology had increased, its only manifestations were in small and mostly insignificant advances; a new phone here, a different style of dishwasher there.
The cities themselves had undergone little change. Some buildings had been demolished, new ones built and others remodeled, but still the basic model of life remained the same. Anthropomorphic animals walked the many streets; laughing, playing, shopping, living. The park was surprisingly uncrowded despite the lovely summer day, only a few mobians playing with a ball out in the field and a lone hedgehog by the fountain.
Silver inhaled the warm air deeply, his ear twitching as he heard the excited yells of nearby children. It was a day off for him, since the construction group he spent most of his free time building homes with was getting too far ahead of their architects. His telekinetic abilities were probably at fault for that, their immense value in heavy lifting increasing twicefold increasing efficiency. The hedgehog found he enjoyed the work though - he'd always enjoyed civic projects and finding new ways to improve the lives of others.
A raindrop spattered the tip of the mobian's nose, causing him to blink in confusion and look up. Several dark clouds had formed in the skies above, already beginning to sprinkle moisture down from the heavens above. Strange. He hadn't even seen any clouds a few minutes ago, much less expected rain today.
As more water began to fall and soak Silver's fur, the albino hedgehog threw up a shield over his head as a makeshift umbrella. Getting up and stretching, he prepared to head out and find somewhere drier to waste what was left of the day.
"Going somewhere?"
The hedgehog stopped dead, his head whipping around to the fountain. He'd been looking at it not two seconds ago and nobody was there, but now a demonic figure was perched atop the fountainhead. His form suggested some sort of narrow-faced canid as a base, but had been horrifically warped; solidified and spiked into a body of grayish, jagged crystal. Twin tails of churning violet twisted around the shade's obsidian highlights, staring at Silver with a frigid intensity that matched the now frozen water of the edifice he stood upon.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, the only sound of water pattering the earth around them, the hard tk-tk-tk as they struck the stranger's hardened body and the thwonng of rain bouncing off the disk of energy above Silver's head. A flash of light went off in the distance, followed by the crack of thunder. Then the hedgehog finally spoke, his eyes narrowing.
"I was."
The shadowy being tilted his head, slitted eyes seemingly piercing the other's soul. "Indulge me, then. I'd like to make you an offer."
"Does it involve selling my soul?" asked the hedgehog sarcastically.
The stranger levitated off from his perch, floating forward as he continued to talk, which simultaneously seemed impossible since he lacked any sort of mouth. "Nothing nearly so dramatic. In fact, my proposition doesn't even cost you a thing... Save for a little work on your part."
"Uh-huh," Silver replied. He might have bought that once, when he was fourteen or so. "That sounds more than slightly too good to be true. So really... What's the catch?"
Touching down only a few feet in front of the albino hedgehog, the shade continued to hold him in a locked gaze; unblinking and unwavering. "The 'catch' would be the prize."
Silver just continued to return the stare, his brow furrowing.
"...Perhaps it's better to show you," said the stranger, raising a clawed hand and somehow snapping his crystal fingers.
The albino hedgehog crossed his arms, waiting with evident disbelief. When nothing happened after a few seconds, he turned around, saying: "I don't see an-"
The words died on his lips as he finally looked up and beheld a great flame burning impossibly in the rain. Trapped inside the fire was a figure in obvious pain, a young female cat, her fur blackened and burning, unclasped hair spilling over her shoulders.
"...Blaze?" asked Silver, his eyes dilated as he could do naught but gaze. His Blaze? His long-lost childhood friend? No, it couldn't be... She'd utterly vanished a few years ago, not even a trace to where the cat had gone left behind. It was like she'd been suddenly just... Snuffed out of existence. This creature was obviously just trying to use her memory to get the hedgehog to do his bidding... And yet...
"I know where she is," said the shade, "and better yet: how to save her."
The albino hedgehog's head angled back down, a righteous anger building in his yellow eyes as they settled on this malevolent-looking benefactor. "Who did this? Who spirited her away into that hell?"
"That would have been herself," the demon replied simply.
"I don't believe you!" shouted the hedgehog, launching a psychic wave point blank at the shade. However, to Silver's astonishment, his antagonist was no longer there. The blast smashed into the fountain and cracked the stone, blasting off the upper half of the edifice entirely. Searching around wildly for his opponent, the hedgehog found him standing calmly the same distance behind him.
"You don't need to," said the shade, "you can ask her yourself. Find the seven Chaos Emeralds, and the path to your friend will become clear."
"The Chaos Emeralds?" repeated Silver. He knew of the fabled set of jewels. He'd even used their powers on more than one occasion to battle his nemesis; Eggman NEGA. But why was this strange entity giving him this information? How would they lead him to Blaze? Something definitely wasn't adding up.
"Here," said the stranger, suddenly producing a brilliant crimson jewel from seemingly nowhere and tossing it to the suspicious hedgehog. Raising up his right hand, the mobian caught it with ease, and found himself staring into the radiance of the Red Chaos Emerald.
"That leaves only six more to find," he continued, a dark orb appearing in one of his open claws and rapidly growing, "and I'll leave you with a starting point to the rest."
Violet and indigo lightning streaked off the ball as it flew off of the shade's hand and landed behind him, becoming large enough to lose a small car in its chaotic depths. Turning toward the portal, a single slitted eye cast a shoulder glance back to the albino hedgehog as the mysterious being slowly stepped toward the waiting whirlwind of darkness.
"Wait!" shouted Silver, causing the corporeal shadow to momentarily halt. "Before you go... What's your name?"
Unbeknownst to the hedgehog, the demon smiled internally as the puppeteer's strings silently coiled around the limbs of a new victim. As he continued forward and was lost to the liquid shadow of the portal, the shade called back: "Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark."
Silver hesitated only a moment before running in after, the rift snapping shut behind him.
ALTERNATE SCENE:
Trapped inside the fire was a figure in obvious pain. Silver looked back down in confusion to find the shade had grown a mouth full of pointed teeth and was now singing into a microphone.
"DEVON! WON'T GO TO HEAVEN! SHE'S JUST ANOTHER LOST SOUL ABOUT TO BE MINE!"
