It was the dawn of a warm spring day on Flicky Island. A slight breeze was blowing in as the Flickies woke up and got ready for what lay ahead that day. The Flickies had finally recovered from the shock of Dr. Robotnik's hostile takeover of the island, and by now the island had been completely cleared of any signs of the evil doctor's industrial rev-up. Now the Flickies roamed the island freely and cheerily. The sun rose higher up in the sky, promising a hot day.
In a hidden chamber deep in the ruins of Atlantis, the last of a once huge chunk of ice, thousands of years old, had nearly completely melted. All that remained was a thin layer of ice formed around a figure like a statue. Within the ice, a white hedgehog stood, still sealed within the ancient ice, still in her seemingly eternal slumber, waiting for the moment when the last of the ice would melt away. Her seven quills pointed downward toward the stone floor.
Magic was in the air. The breeze blew around the chamber, finally finding the mystical place it had been searching for. Then, it circled the chamber, looking for a way in. A stream of fire beamed down from the sun, which then proceeded to join the wind in looking for a way in to the ancient room.
Then, the other elements sensed it. Water leaped from the ocean, stones leaped from the ruins, and light and shadow met together in the swirling energy. The power of the storm joined in as lightning surged through. Water, wind and fire—earth and electricity—darkness and light. Seven powers joined together, and with them came seven gems.
One was the bright blue of the flowing water. Another was the golden passing of the wind. The next was red hot, as a burning flame. The green of the earth came next, and then a startling, shocking pink. A dark blue brought forth darkness, yet the bright, shimmering silver light cut through the shadows.
Seven gems, seven powers. That was all there was to it. The seven gems encircled the chamber, in the ancient symbol of the seven-pointed star. Then, each element chose a gem. They began to cut through the chamber. Then, the ice melted, and the white hedgehog opened her lavender eyes.
Seven strange gems encircled her. But in just a moment, she recognized them. She remembered what happened… why the ice was there… and what had happened to her land.
"The Chaos Emeralds," she whispered.
Yes, Star, called the ancient spirits around her. Atlantis has been destroyed for thousands of years now. But all hope is not lost. Atlantis can and will be restored. Remember: Everything will work itself out eventually.
"What must I do?" she whispered.
Harness the powers of the Chaos Emeralds. They hold more power than you realize. Find a blue hedgehog, and travel to the island that floats above the sea.
"What?" she asked aloud. But the spirits had gone.
She picked up the emeralds, and as she swiftly ran to the door of the chamber, she heard the voices of the spirits once again.
Things are not how they once were. The Trident Room, which once balanced and kept together the Chaos Energy of Atlantis, was destroyed along with Atlantis. You cannot use your powers quite so freely anymore. You need seven gems, one for each power, in ascending order,
"The Chaos Emeralds," she said again as she stopped while reaching for the door. She knew the powers she had had in Atlantis…
The powers of water, in all forms, come most naturally to you. They flow through you easily. You need no emeralds to use them. Next comes wind, which needs but one emerald. Then comes fire, earth, followed by electricity. The final two are darkness and light.
"But what about the seventh emer…" she stopped when she realized that, once again, the spirits were gone.
Star took a deep breath and then opened the door. For the first time in thousands of years, she felt the warmth of the sun on her fur, while the brightness put a smile on her face. But after a moment of looking at the sky, she saw what she had been dreading to see. The ruins of Atlantis, spread out in front of her like a crowd at a concert, just waiting to hear her sing. She had always had a bit of stage fright. But this was worse… much worse.
She could remember looking out at her city all those years ago just before they had closed the door to the chamber. As she walked down the spiral steps that curved around the circle and led to the ground, she saw all the ruins, all around her. It was devastating. What could she possibly do to bring back her city?
Just as she reached the bottom step, she saw a gold ring appear some distance away. Then, four Flickies sprang out, heading straight for her. She tried to duck, but she was too late. The Flickies ran straight into Star, knocking her off the staircase and to the ground a few feet below.
She got to her feet to look for her attackers. Then, she heard chirping from behind her. She turned to see four Flickies chirping around happily in a circle. Flickies had not been an uncommon species in Atlantis. They often came and went through dimension rings that led to the Flickies' Realm. In fact, Atlantis had once been called the Flicky Capital of the world.
But most Flickies' were one of four colors: blue, pink, red, or green. Other colors were extremely rare. Such was the case with the four Flickies chirping around in a circle in front of her.
One was a shining white, with feathers the color of Star's fur. Another was purple—nearly the same shade as Star's dress and eyes. Another was a fiery orange, and the final one had feathers black as a raven's.
Then, to her surprise, the purple Flicky flew in front of her and began to speak in an excited voice. "Princess Star! Princess Star!" exclaimed the Flicky. "We can't believe it's actually you! The boss told us we would meet someone to help on their quest to restore Atlantis, but… the Princess? Isn't this so exciting Diamond?"
The white Flicky flew up to the purple one.
"It is the Princess!" said the Flicky wide-eyed as she looked the white hedgehog down from top to bottom. "You're right Vi! But… how'd she survive?"
The orange Flicky jumped in. "I know! I know! It's—"
The black Flicky quickly put his shadowy wing over the orange Flicky's mouth. "Don't mind Percy, Princess. He's a little random. And crazy." The bird took his mouth from Percy's beak and then he spread his wing over his chest and bowed, saying, "By the way, my name is Jet. And this is Diamond, Vi, and Percy."
Star grabbed her chance to finally get a chance to talk, although she was nearly drowned out by the sounds of Vi and Percy flitting around and around, saying, "Yay! The Princess! She's survived!"
"Umm…" Star couldn't quite think straight. After all, the two colorful Flickies flying around crazily were the loudest sound she had heard for thousands of years. After a quick shush from Diamond, however, they stopped goofing around. Star nodded and quickly thanked the Flicky before moving on.
"Yes, I am Princess Star. As you may have known, they tried to keep all of the Royal family safe with these chambers. However, at the last moment I heard one of the elders say that the magic from whatever had destroyed Atlantis would be too strong even for the chambers. A slash of silver flashed through the sky, and then huge waves came out of nowhere from the seas around us. The sky, which had been sunny all morning, was suddenly filled with dark storm clouds. Yet some seemed oddly familiar…"
The Flickies had now sat themselves down on bricks nearby, hanging on to the princesses every word. They were eagerly awaiting the next part of the story.
"… It was the power of contained Chaos Energy. Whatever had destroyed Atlantis had also sucked in all of the Chaos Energy it could find. It even cut through time and space. Among these were Chaos Gems, such as the seven Chaos Emeralds. Years ago, my friend Sola had saved Atlantis from a time storm by sacrificing his powers to the Emeralds. Now, he was helping me…"
"… He brought the Chaos Emeralds, through his control of them, to this chamber. They floated high above the sky. Then, from the power within them he had stored up, he shot a blast of pure Chaos Energy at the chamber, and then bended it into the one thing that could save me. Water filled the room, which then quickly froze and became ice. As the ice closed in around me, I thanked my friend and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Over thousands of years, I dreamed many things. Of what had happened to Atlantis… of what had happened to my friends and family… of Sola and the emeralds… but after awhile, I understood they were only dreams. I gave up on trying to wake up, on worrying and hoping, and finally settled into the ice. Now, the ice has melted, and I am back. The spirits tell me that I must restore Atlantis, and that I can activate my powers with these—"
She held out the seven gems that she had found lying around her in the chamber. The four Flickies stared at them, shining in the sunlight, and then, as one voice they whispered, "The Chaos Emeralds."
Star nodded her head.