Hello to all the readers who have decided to check out my story. This is my first story that I have posted to Fanfic and I hope that I will post more in time.

This is a story about Sonic and his interactions with a new character (No he is not me, he is my OC though). In this story I have tried very hard to stay true

to the timeline and story that has been established in the Sonic the Hedgehog comics in the Pre Super Genesis Wave Timeline.(Since that is when I began

writing this). I have been working on this piece for a little while now and after much editing and fixing I have decided to post it. This is the prologue to a

the story that will forever change the face of Mobius (or at least one of the Mobiuses. (Multiverse is cannon anyone?)). I would greatly appreciate any and

all criticisms of my writing or any inconsistencies that anyone should point out within my story. I am trying to stay as true as I can to the Timeline of the

comic before my character is introduced. As I said earlier my story is based off of the comic and I would recommend that anyone who hasn't already read

the comic to go and pick it up somewhere or download it online. All chapters before STH#237 are considered cannon to my story, and everything after is

up for debate. Chapter 1 begins in between the chapters of 236 237. in the STH comic. For anyone looking to read this work it is crucial to know and

understand the events going on in the universe within that time frame. Now that all of the introductions and notices are out of the way, time for a little

disclaimer.

All characters used or mentioned in this story are not owned by me. They are owned, licensed, and trademarked by either the Sega Corporation, Archie Comics, or Ken Penders. All trademarked characters are explicitly owned by those mediums and are not my own creation or idea. All characters not explicitly owned by them are my own creation and therefore my characters. Any use of these characters by anyone who does not have my express permission to use them are stealing.

Now then, I hope you enjoy the very beginning of a tale of Ash...

Time:Unkown

Place:Unkown

Name:...

I was laying in the ashes that covered the ground around me. They were still warm from the fire so I had covered myself in them. I had been laying in them for several hours, staring into the distance as I tried to warm myself. It was midday in the middle of the desert and I was sitting in the embers of a fire under the burning sun. It was hot enough outside to create waves of heat that could be seen shimmering on the desert sand. I was outside in this heat and yet I was cold. I rubbed my shoulders and my skin felt hot to the touch. I knew that I must have been very hot and running a fever, but inside I was colder than I had ever been before. It felt as though body had lost all the heat it normally held. My skin was hot, but I was still cold on the inside. So very very cold.

"I am going to die." I thought, as I sat there and stared blankly into the horizon. My time on this world was coming to an end. I was dying, and I didn't have long left to live. This is why I was cold, and also why I was tired. My eyelids kept trying to close and I kept feeling myself start to fall asleep. I was cold, hot, tired, and felt like taking a nap. Every time I felt myself begin to nod off I tried to keep myself awake. I knew deep down that if I fell asleep that I wouldn't wake up, but it was so hard to stay awake. I kept myself awake by thinking about things. My thoughts shifted from one thing to the next in order to keep me awake. At the moment the only thing that I could still focus on was survival, and my lack of ability to do so. I didn't have any food, and yesterday I had run out of water. I had drank the last bit of liquid that I had, and there were no sources of water around for miles. I would soon die of dehydration and then I wouldn't have to worry about surviving anymore. The lack of water made it difficult to do anything, like move, breath, and think. I had tried so hard, done everything that I could, but there was nothing left to keep me going. The only thing I could do in that moment was to wait for my life to end. My struggle was over, my time was finished, and soon enough I would join my parents...

I shivered as the thought engrossed my mind. I wouldn't cry for them now, not any more, not even if I still could. They had both died eight days ago and left me without food, water, or shelter. My mom and dad had gone into the ruins of the city in search for something to eat. At the time it never crossed my mind that I would never see them again. I didn't try to remember them, I didn't try to think about it anymore, but the scene still played out in my starved and dying mind. Mom was standing next to Dad who had a large backpack on. She was looking at him with a caring smile upon her face. They were standing just outside of the city's limits and making sure that they were ready to travel inside. Mom reached out for Dad's hand and he took it and held onto her gently. She smiled at him and he smiled back with the same love and caring she had. After a moment they had turned their attention back to me. At the time, I was sitting on the ground and playing with some bricks I found lying around. I was stacking them up into the shape of a tower. I took my eyes away from my bricks and looked up at them. They smiled at me as they watched me play. They always showed me nothing but love and kindness no matter how bad things were. Mom let go of dad's hand and walked up to me. She bent down to my level and gave me a hug. Dad walked over and patted me on my head while mom held me closely. I remembered the final words they said to me.

"We will be gone for just a few hours to scavenge food." Dad said as he looked at me.

"It shouldn't take us too long to see whether or not there is anything to eat out here. Don't stray far from this spot, and stay outside of the city limits..." He finished. He grabbed Mom's hand and pulled her away from me. She stood up and continued to look at me as she held hands with dad.

"We will be back soon." Dad said as he looked at me. He turned his attention towards Mom who was also looking at me.

"I love you, be safe." Mom said. She and Dad then turned around and walked into the ruined city. I thought about what they said as I sat in the ashes, thinking of how they lied to me. The memory began to turn into another one, a loud sound, feelings of panic, me crying in the street. I forced it away and decided to stop thinking about that. It wouldn't help me in my current situation, and there was no point thinking about it anymore. There was no point in me thinking about anything anymore. I was cold inside, my parents were both dead, and now I was alone...

On the first night after my parents died the wind picked up and I sat there in the streets of the city, in the darkness of night, shivering. I was cold, but not in the way I was now. It was the frigid air and the lack of warmth that had made me shiver. I knew that nights in the desert were cold, but I didn't expect them to be so harsh. I would have died from the cold if I hadn't found something to keep me warm. From my spot in the street I could see a burning building nearby. I didn't know what had started the fire or why the building was burning. After a while outside in the cold, I went inside of it and laid in the ashes of the burning building. I stayed close enough to the fire to feel its warmth, but far enough away so that I wouldn't get burned or hit with burning debris. I covered myself in the ashes of the fire and slept in the building that was burning away. Every night I went back to it and covered myself in the embers it produced. I used the fire to keep myself warm and sheltered, but that wasn't enough. I didn't have any food, nor did I have any for quite sometime before my parents had died. Looking back we always seemed short on items like food and clothes. I guess that we were lucky enough to have the amount of water we did. Even with the lack of supplies my parents would take care of me and make sure that I got enough to eat and drink. I always noticed that they gave me more food then they would eat and sometimes they would go hungry as they made sure that I was fed. They always told me that they were full and that because I was growing, I needed more food then they did. Like any innocent child I believed them, but now I knew better. They did everything they could for me even though it cost them, but none of that helped me now. Because they had tried so hard to provide for me they were both dead, and I was left with a pain in my heart, and a hole in my stomach. I was hungry, but I ignored that. There was nothing I could do about it now anyway. there was nothing around for miles that I could eat, nothing at all, Except for...

I stopped myself from following that train of thought, I didn't want to do that. I was hungry, however my father had said that people can go much longer without food than they could without water. I didn't have any food, but I hadn't died yet so I simply ignored the pain in my stomach. I did wonder though whether my will to survive would overpower my own stubbornness or not. It didn't matter if I ate anything or not right now. Although I was starving, I was dying of thirst first and foremost. That would kill me before anything else and there was nothing I could do to stop that. Water is the most important thing someone needs in order to survive. It was what I needed and what I couldn't stop thinking about. Living in the desert I knew and understood the importance of water since before I could talk. I knew that I needed to drink something in order to live. For two days after they had died I had been without water. On the third day I could feel myself begin to die, and so my natural survival instincts took over and I found something to drink... I licked my lips and swallowed as my body remembered the liquid going down my throat. Now however I had nothing left. I was out of water, out of food, and I was alone; sitting in the ashes of a building that had been burned to the ground. I sat in the ashes while staring towards the horizon, waiting for myself to die...

The sun moved overhead and the heat continued to beat down on me. Time was irrelevant in the sense that I could no longer count the minutes. Time was time and nothing else. It dictated nothing as there was nothing for it to dictate, other than the position of the sun. I felt myself begin to go to sleep and I knew that this time I wouldn't be able to keep myself awake. It was time for me to leave this world and join my parents in whatever waited beyond. Just as I was about to close my eyes I noticed something off in the distance. At first I thought it was a tumble weed or a piece of cloth blowing in the wind. After looking at it for several seconds I realized that it was a person who was coming towards me. They were far away and I couldn't make out any details. I could barely see the motion of them against the heat waves of the sand. I held my eyes open and kept myself awake. It was pointless to do so, but the possibility of someone approaching me was something that I couldn't ignore. They were probably out here in order to look for food or supplies. There was nothing out here for miles, so once they arrived they wouldn't stay for very long. If they were hungry enough then maybe they would eat me after I was dead. I thought about that as I watched the figure approach the city. Time had regained its relevance as I counted the seconds it took to arrive. After nearly thirty minutes the figure had reached the city and was much closer to me than it previously was. My body grew heavy and I felt more tired and cold than I had earlier. I wanted to go to sleep, but the figure allowed me to focus on staying awake. It came closer and I realized that it was walking directly towards me. After several more minutes it was close enough for me to make out specific details. It was a tall person wearing a sand colored cloak that concealed their entire body. The cloak was worn and ragged and looked as though it had been torn a number of times. The cloak covered everything but the eyes and mouth of the person under it. I couldn't see him under it because of the shadow the cloak's hood cast on the persons face as they stood in the sun. As they came closer I also noticed that they were wearing a large backpack that was also sand colored and ragged. The person had walked forwards and was now just a few feet away from me. They stopped and looked at me and I looked back at them. We watched each other for a moment and I wondered what they were going to do. I imagined him ripping me apart and eating me, but that thought didn't bother me at all. I was destined for death and if this person would be my end then I was ready to accept it. I looked at him for a few more moments in silence before anything happened. Finally, they decided to speak to me.

"What are you doing out here kid." The person said to me. I could tell by their voice that it was a man who was under that cloak. His voice was deep and cool, and easy to understand. He spoke his words with purpose and I felt myself grow content listening to them. I opened my mouth and tried to speak, but found that I wasn't able to. I had drank nothing in days and my throat was too dry to make sounds. I tried to talk to him a few more times but I wasn't able to. I looked at him in a defeated way as I sat there and stared at him.

"Here," The man said. "Drink some of this." He reached into the pack that he had on his back and pulled out a large metal container filled with liquid. I heard the way the water sloshed around within and every part of my body exploded with a burst of energy. He had water, and he was willing to give it to me. For so long I had accepted my fate. I was dying and there was nothing that I could do to continue to live. I didn't know why he was doing this, I didn't know how I was still alive in the first place. I had been without water for so long that I could no longer use any part of my body. I was on the verge of death and had given up any hope of staying alive. I had given up hope, hope of living, hope of surviving, and hope of finding meaning in my life.

He unscrewed the cap and held the canister out for me to grab. I didn't know if I could move my arm but I needed to try so that I could continue to live. I moved my arm and found that it was shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't feel my arm, but I was somehow still able to move it. I tried to steady it so that I wouldn't spill the contents of the container when I took it from him. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I spilled even a single drop of precious water onto the ground. I grabbed the container and began to move it towards my mouth. I could feel every part of my being thirst for the life source that was contained within.

"Don't drink it all." The man said to me before I took a sip. I held the container close to my mouth but didn't drink. As much as it was killing me not to, I listened to his words as the man spoke to me.

"There aren't any rivers or lakes around here for me to refill that in. Once that is gone I'll be out of water until I find some more." He said. I held the container in my hands and looked at it. It was over halfway full of water but I could easily drink it all. It looked so good, and I was so thirsty...

I could feel the blood pounding in my ears, the cold of my insides, the failure of my liquid starved organs. All of my senses were telling me to drink it all as quickly as I could, to save myself and continue to live. I held it in my shaking hand and brought it closer to my mouth. I almost poured all of the contents down my throat, but I managed to overpower my instincts and use my head. I couldn't drink it all, nor should I. I needed water to live yes, but I didn't need it all. After several moments hesitation I put the end of it to my lips and took a drink. I took a few gulps full and somehow managed to stop and put it down. I may have needed it to live, but so did he. This man had given me his water, had given me his life, and as much as I wanted to I wouldn't drink more than I needed. Besides, If I drank it all now then there wouldn't be any left for me or him later. That would do more harm than good and could end up killing us both. I licked my lips as I felt saliva begin to coat my tongue. I handed him the container back and he took it from me and then gave it a shake. I heard the liquid slosh around as he shook it. He then screwed the cap back on the container and returned it to his pack.

"You drank less than I thought you would have." The man said to me. I swallowed my saliva and tried to respond to his statement.

"If I drank it all then we would both die." I said. I noticed that my voice sounded different than it normally did. Maybe it was because of how long I had been dying of thirst, or maybe it was because of everything that I had been through. I didn't know which reason it was, but my voice sounded deeper, emotionless, as empty as I felt.

"Hmm. You're strong for your age, and resilient too. He said to me. I continued to sit in the ashes and stare at him. He had given me his water and kept me alive. I didn't know what would come next.

"Now then." He said to me. "I have questions that still need answered." He said. I thought back and tried to remember what his questions were. My mind was still a little fuzzy from being dehydrated but I was begging to think clearly again. After a few moments of searching I remembered what it was that he had first asked me.

"I was out here with my parents who were looking for supplies." I said to him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking because I couldn't see his face under the cloak. He stood there and did nothing for a moment before he spoke again.

"Where are they?" He asked me. I didn't need to think to know the answer to this question. I responded to him immediately and with no emotion in my voice.

"They're dead. They both died over a week ago." I said. Saying that didn't make me sad or angry in any way. After everything that I had been through since their deaths I was well over it and no longer sad. Being sad wouldn't have kept me alive, and it wouldn't do me any good now. The man continued to look at me and I still couldn't see his face.

"And you've been by yourself the whole time?" He asked me.

"Yes." I responded. There was a brief moment of silence before either of us did anything else. After a brief moment of time had passed I heard him speak.

"How long?" He asked me. I counted the days in my head and gave him an answer.

"Eight days." I replied. I thought that it must not have seemed like a long time to him, but for eight days I had struggled to survive with nearly no food, water, or shelter to speak of. For those eight days I had done more to survive than I had ever thought possible. I was unsure of what would come next but I did know that it would involve the man that I was speaking to.

"So where did you find food and water?" He asked me. I didn't have to think hard to come up with an answer.

"I didn't eat anything. I didn't have any food and there isn't any around." I said to him. He asked me another question immediately after I responded.

"And water?" He asked. I stopped looking at him and instead stared into the ground. I didn't want to answer him. I didn't want to say what I had drank. That had to have been the worst of the eight days and I didn't want to think about it anymore. I sat in silence and didn't reply. After nearly a minute of silence he finally said something.

"Well, it would be nearly impossible for you to go an entire week without water. That being said it looks like you're dehydrated and on your last legs. How were you planning on surviving without anything to eat or drink?" He asked me. I responded to his question by saying the words that I had thought of for so long, the words that I had accepted days ago.

"I'm not going to survive. I don't have any way to sustain myself, so I am just going to die out here." I said to him. After I was done I took a moment to take in what I had said. I knew that I was going to die, that there was nothing for me other than death. I had accepted my fate when I had run out of water, and I was over being sad of my situation. It was the way it was and there was nothing that I could do about it. I had cried and wept for the first few days but now that there was only one option left to me. Now I had felt nothing at all. When everything else had died around me, the only thing left was acceptance of my situation. The man stood there in silence as I thought about my life. After I was done I looked up at him and asked a question that I had thought about.

"Are you going to leave me?" I asked him. I didn't know what he wanted to do or what he thought about me. All I knew was that he had most likely come here in search of supplies and food like my parents had done. Now that he knew there was nothing here he would most likely leave me here to die. I wasn't his concern and he had no reason to take care of me. He looked at me from under his hood and I could tell that he was about to give me an answer.

"Yes." He said. He took several steps towards me and then veered to the right and began to walk past. I didn't turn and watch him go. He was leaving me and there was nothing I could do. He may have granted me some extra time on this world but in the end it didn't matter. I was going to be alone again, and then I would die. I was so lost in thought that I almost missed what he said to me.

"That doesn't mean you can't follow me." He said. I turned around and looked at the man. He was standing behind me with his back facing towards the setting sun. He didn't move as he stood there and took in its brilliance. I didn't believe that I had heard him right. I didn't believe that this could be real. I tried to put my feelings into words and tell him how I felt.

"You... Would let me come with you?" He turned around and looked at me as I sat in the ashes.

"If you prove yourself useful you can." He replied. I thought about his offer and about this town. Everything that was left of my old life remained here. Everything that I had was in this city, and it was all either dead or dying. If I stayed then I would soon be dead, and there was no point in dying if I could stay alive. I thought about leaving with him and decided to do so. With him I had a future, even if I didn't know where it would take me. I realized that if I was to travel with him I might as well learn as much as I could.

"Where do you plan on going?" I asked him. It was a simple enough question, but one that helped to make the idea of living a reality.

"I'm looking for someone, and I am going to keep traveling until I find them." He replied. I thought about that for a moment before I spoke again.

"Who are you trying to find?" I asked him.

"A woman named Veihl." He said. I didn't know anyone else other than my parents. If they were alive then maybe he could have asked them about whether they knew this person or not. I wanted to know as much about this man as I could. He had saved my life and was going to let me come with him. I should at least get to know him, so I kept asking him questions.

"Do you know what she looks like?" I asked him. If I knew what she looked like then I would be able to help him search for her. He didn't answer me at first but after a moment he responded.

"I... Don't know what she looks like." He said. I was confused by his statement and didn't understand what he meant.

"Why are you looking for someone if you don't know who they are?" I asked.

"I will tell you later... Maybe." He said. I stared at him and wondered just what this person might look like. The only people I had ever seen was my mom, dad, my reflection, the cloaked man, and...

A face appeared in my mind and a memory surfaced. It surfaced and I shoved it back down. I wouldn't think about him now. I would keep him out of my thoughts as much as I could. Other than them I had never seen anyone else before, and I didn't know that other people had existed. Before they had died I had only thought that we were the only people who existed. The thought of meeting more people was a curios thought that both scared and excited me.

"So what's your name?" He asked, disrupting my thoughts.

"My parents called me Hope." I answered. He nodded in response.

"Okay then Hope, come with me and help me find who I am looking for." He said. He then turned around and began to walk away from me and towards the end of the city. I stayed seated in the ashes and didn't go with him at first. He walked about ten feet before he turned his head back and saw that I wasn't walking with him.

"What?" He asked. I thought about my name and all that it entailed. My name was a statement, a message, and the only thing I had left of my parents. It was who I am, or rather who I used to be. In my mind it was my name and what I was meant to be called. But in my heart I no longer felt that hope was who I was. Everything I had ever loved was dead, and all that was left was me. Hope couldn't leave the city, because Hope had been buried under the rubble with both of my parents...

"My name was hope." I said to the man who was still looking at me. "But I don't want to be called Hope anymore."

"Then what do you want to be called?" He asked. I stood there and thought for a moment. I then replied.

"You can call me whatever you want, just not Hope," The man stood there and looked at me and thought for a moment before he responded.

"Very well. Your new name is Ash. Now come along." he said. I stood there and looked at him as he began to walk away into the unknown. This stranger had shown up and saved my life and he had given me a purpose to keep on living. I stood there and stared at him for a few more seconds before I did anything. Then I called out to him.

"What is your name?" I asked him. He turned back around and looked at me. The man lifted up his hands to his face and pulled his hood down. He had long quills like me, except his were jet black with red stripes in the middle. He had red eyes and an expression that would have scared me if he had not save my life.

"My name is Shadow, now hurry up." He said. And so I followed him and we left behind everything else, including the remains of my parents.

Well then, did you enjoy the first chapter? What did or didn't you like about it? Questions, errors, problems, please feel free to ask me or tell me about anything that comes to mind. Thank you Reader for looking at my story and for giving me a shot. There will be more chapters to come and more stories after that. Thanks for reading and please come again soon.

This story is based off of the Archie "Sonic the Hedgehog Comic" and therefore combined with the Comicbook writing style.

Actions will be put in *BOLD* with asterisks around them.

Sounds will be described or Italicized.

Thoughts are Italicized and put in "Quotation marks.

The name of the person from which the story's perspective will be told from will be stated at the beginning of the story along with the time and the place that they are speaking from. (Unless it is unknown for *some* reason.