Summary
Secrets. Everybody has them. But if your secrets were to ever get out, it could cost someone else their life. It was a dilemma for Sonic The Hedgehog, one that he was determined never to happen. But when the world famous Diamond, The Heart of Gold, is stolen, it turns Sonic's world upside-down, leaving his reputation is tatters and him fleeing for his life.
Chapter Contents
Chapter One – Stolen
Chapter Two – The Crime Scene
Chapter Three – Hostages
Chapter Four – The Underground
Chapter Five – Shockwaves
Chapter Six – Starship Troopers
Chapter Seven – Sorcery
Chapter Eight – Battle Grounds
Chapter Nine – The Chi Bender
Chapter Ten – Paths Intertwined
Chapter Eleven – Curve Ball
Chapter Twelve – Choices
Chapter Thirteen – The Heart Of Gold
Chapter Fourteen – Beginnings
Chapter One – Stolen
Prejudice. It is a word that had dominated Sonic The Hedgehog's entire life. He both feared it and loathed it. He had secrets. Hey, everyone has secrets, but his could cost someone else their life and Sonic would rather go to hell then let that happen.
He was sat on his bed in his room thinking, looking out the window, on a beautiful, clear, early morning. He was in his room in Tails' house, a large house with only two large bedrooms. One each for Sonic and Tails, with a bathroom upstairs, and a large open-plan lounge-kitchen-diner downstairs which was in a large L shape, the small kitchen was set towards the back of the house and the lounge towards the front. There wasn't exactly a dining room there, but a large breakfast bar which was doubled as kitchen work surface. The lounge took up all of the front of the house, along the longest edge of the L shaped room and there were sofas everywhere. All misshaped, all different sizes and colours. There was enough space to sit ten to twenty people. To the side of the kitchen was the staircase, which run up through the centre of the house and the other side of that was another large room. It was separate from the open-plan living space and could only be entered and exited by a single door. It was Tails' Workshop. Sonic had not idea what when on inside that room most of the time, but it was very grateful of it, the inventions that came out of there had saved his life on more then one occasion.
Even though this was technically Tail's house and Sonic was a permanent guest in his 'guest' room, Knuckles was another semi-permanent guest who could often be found lounging on one of Tails' sofas. But the kid fox did get a 'hell of lot of visitors' in Sonic's opinion, as almost all of their counter attack plans against Eggman were always derived at Tails' House. How the hell Eggman hadn't found them yet, was completely beyond Sonic's comprehension and right at that very moment, Eggman was the least of his concerns. He was still sat on his bed in his room. A large square room with the door in one corner and in his bed in the opposite corner, with a window next to it. Around the edge of the room there was a wardrobe, a chester draws, a desk and chair and a bedside table. In the centre of the room, there was a large amount of floor space, of which Sonic liked to just lie on the floor in the middle of it.
The room was white and very bland. Sonic had very little in material wealth, items he could truly call his own, but he did have a thing for photographs. Every flat surface was covered in framed photographs, most of which were of Sonic and Tails when they were children. There were, however, photographs of everyone he called a 'friend'. Knuckles, of course, Cream and Cheese, Big The Cat.
Amy. Why she was there, he had no idea, she did his head-in but she was a good friend when he really needed one.
Team Chaotix. Sonic smiled, when he saw that photo of Vector, Charmy and Espio. How those guys managed to make any money from their Detective Agency they ran was a mystery in its own right. But they were good guys and could always be relied upon if he needed anything.
The Babylon Rogues. Some people had asked Sonic why a photo of Jet, Wave and Storm was in his room. Sonic wouldn't have considered the Babylon Rogues as true friends but when it came to a Grand Prix, they did know how to have fun.
E123 Omega, Rouge and Shadow. Catching his number one rival on camera was fun, though Shadow was throughly unimpressed by it all. He knew it frustrated Shadow that no matter what the black hedgehog did, he could never beat the Blue Blur in a race, a punk kid against the Ultimate Lifeform.
He sighed and closed his eyes. His long, royal blue quills flowing down his back, shimmering in the sunlight through the window, his long legs, dangling over the edge of the bed, swaying too and fro, his cherry red shoes with the famous red stripe shining in the morning light. His white gloved hands supporting himself on the edge of the bed as he sat there thinking. He could hear movement coming from downstairs, his black nose and hearing told him that Tails was up and making breakfast, and for the first time in a long time, they were alone in the house. No visitors.
Sonic thought back to that word. It had been bugging him badly. Prejudice! Why did he fear it? He knew why. If the truth became known, then history would be against him. Unbeknown to his friends, Sonic had a history, despite what people thought. It went back thousands of years. It was the origins of his incredible speed, but it came with a lot of prejudice to anyone who knew. Technically, according to history, he shouldn't even be alive, but his family, his ancestors, survived against all the odds. They were fighters, and so was he.
But nobody knew this, of course. Sonic gave the impression to everyone, that he had just popped out of the ground, speed and all, and that he was completely alone, no family, no history, no nothing. He was amazed how his friends had just accepted this, no questions asked. But there was one thing for sure. It couldn't be further from the truth.
A voice broke his train of thought. He was being called for breakfast. Sonic could always rely on Tails for, well, everything, and wondered how forgiving the fox could be if the truth really did come out.
Sonic went downstairs to find Tails in the kitchen, the cooked breakfast he had been making, smelled delicious. It tasted delicious. Tails was a superb cook, though a cooked breakfast wasn't very taxing. They were both up early as there were preparations to be done. They were having large meeting this afternoon, here in Tails' House. Everyone was invited. The discussion was on Eggman, and the all of sudden, out of the blue, invitations to a Grand Prix. Something was going on. Eggman hadn't arranged a Extreme Gear Grand Prix in well over a year. They used to be regular, every couple of months, but then it all just stopped. It was Sonic who put a stop to it, as the Grand Prix were getting more and more dangerous and he feared for someone's life. So why suddenly do one now? It had all the hallmarks of a diversion. But a diversion from what? Was a bigger scheme at work here? They had no idea, but it sounded incredibly fishy and were eager to talk to the others about it.
Inviting everyone over to Tails' House, took some preparation. They had to make sure they had enough seats, food and drink to go round and for Sonic not to be too full of himself. That wasn't going to happen today. He was just too tired. He had not been sleeping well lately. He had been unable to sleep due to his instincts. He kept getting the feeling that someone he knew was in trouble, he didn't know who or where. But he kept getting this faint message on the ether that he needed to help. It was driving him mad, because it was too faint to make out any details and as a result, keeping him up all night. This had been happening more and more, over the past couple of months, the Chaos with him, was getting stronger and stronger, but manifesting itself as speed through his feet but also as something different, something more. But, through his hands. Like it was able to manipulate the world around him without even touching it, almost. Like a secret power. He had been doing some research. A lot of research, learning how to potentially work these new abilities. He had been getting extremely good at it, recently and had been proud of his achievement. It was heightening his instincts, hence the faint messages from the ether. That was the part he wasn't so keen on, it made him so tired. Of course, nobody knew this. He wasn't ready to reveal a new power to his friends before he'd got a perfect grasp of it first.
Desperately trying to say awake, Sonic helped Tails set up the house and that afternoon, everyone arrive.
They were all there. Knuckles arrived first and made himself at home, soon followed Cream and Cheese with their mother Vanilla with Big The Cat. Amy arrived with Team Chaotix who were having a massive argument over...something. Sonic couldn't make out what. Properly different tastes in music. Vector, Espio and Charmy were all music nut-heads. Then last to arrive were E123 Omega, Rouge and Shadow. Team Dark never really gave much input into these meetings, but they always attended. Sonic reckoned that Shadow wanted to keep an eye on the rest of them, and didn't want to be left out of any decision making. He was welcome too, Sonic always made sure he had the choice. Sonic considered Shadow was much of a friend as well as a rival, and always made sure he had the choice, because he had suffered enough in the past, when that choice was taken away.
Sonic noticed that someone was missing. The Babylon Rogues. They were invited but had turned them down. This confused Sonic. Why turn them down? Thinking about it, he wasn't that surprised. The Babylon Rogues were a very selfish group of people. Jet, Wave and Storm only cared for themselves and were only in it for the money. Sonic wasn't massive fans of theirs but it was a Grand Prix, they would be there. It would be their fault if were left in the dark.
The lounge of Tails' House was now getting very noisy, with everyone talking at once. Tails tried to take charge. He normally did during these meetings, he is the one who normally organises them.
"Hello!" He called. "Everyone, quiet. Can we start?"
Nothing.
He was completely ignored. The noise of the chatter continued. But Amy heard him, and quickly put two fingers in the mouths and blow. The extremely loud, high pitched whistle immediately got everyone quiet. Sonic was seriously impressed. Even though Amy drove him mad, there were times when she surprised him.
"Thank you, Amy." Said Tails, acknowledging his friend. He continued.
"I take it that you have all received invitations to the Grand Prix." He looked around. Most people nodded. "Does anyone have any ideas as to why Eggman had decided to host this tournament, especially now?"
There were blank looks but all eyes fell on Shadow. As the one person in the room who has directly worked for Eggman, he was more knowledgable then most. With his Ark watching Eggman, twenty-four seven, there was little that got past the black hedgehog. Shadow stood to the side, in the shadows, his back against the wall, carefully watching. His large sleek black body somewhat hidden in the shadows, his black quills with their magnificent red stripes, flowing down his back behind him. His white chest fur glinting in the daylight.
Silence reigned as Shadow walked forward. He sighed. He spoke, but there was barely a sound in his voice. He sounded somewhat frustrated.
"I have been watching Eggman from the Ark for sometime, and the timing of this Grand Prix is somewhat convenient. He is indeed planning something, but what, he his keeping very close to his chest. These is increased activity in his territory but I can't see it leading to anything specific."
Detailed information. Sonic smiled. Expect nothing less from Shadow, however nothing useful. Sonic understood why he was so frustrated. Eggman was giving nothing away. He spoke again.
"Our best bet, is to go to the Grand Prix and see what he has in store for us." He said coldly with a smirk.
Several people were about to object when they didn't their chance when someone rudely interrupted them.
Knock! Knock!
It was the door. The two crystal clear sounds that rang out across the entire lounge.
Silence.
They all looked at each other. As far as Sonic and Tails was concerned, they weren't expecting anyone else. Sonic was about to get the door, when Knuckles beat him to it. He opened the door, to be greeted by a chestnut Hedgehog, with large brown eyes and a smile. His fur and quills were not as well kept as Sonic's or Shadow's and he was wearing a navy blue uniform with a logo that Knuckles instantly recognised. He was from the Mobian Authorities. If there was one place they trusted less then Eggman, then it was them. If the Mobian Authorities had their way, then they would be all be locked up. The Authorities distrusted any Sapient with any level of Chaos power, which included most of the people sat in that lounge. As a rule, they went out of their way to avoid the Mobian Authorities, so Knuckles was extremely surprised to see him on their doorstep, and therefore wasn't happy.
"What are you doing here?" The Echidna snapped. People were surprised to hear Knuckles treat their guest so rudely, until they heard who it was. The chestnut Hedgehog was used to it, the Mobian Authorities were not well liked. He was very calm, given the circumstances.
"Is Sonic here?" He asked coolly, but with a huge sense of urgency in his voice. The Blue Blur felt all eyes on him. What did the Authorities want with him? Sonic got the feeling that he had betrayed them all, which wasn't true. Confused, he looked around Knuckles and immediately recognised the visiter.
"Charlie!" He spat, without thinking.
Sonic knew Charlie. He had known him for years, long before he worked for the Authorities and even before Sonic met Tails. Stunned, Sonic grabbed Charlie and pull him inside the house, closing the door. He spoke, very quickly.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. Sonic and Charlie had an unwritten agreement. Mainly, for Charlie to never come to Tails' House unless it was an emergency, because awkward questions would be asked. This worried Sonic.
"He's stolen The Heart of Gold!" Charlie said simply. Gasps filled the room. Sonic too was stunned. Charlie didn't need to tell Sonic who 'he' was or what the 'The Heart of Gold' was, either.
The Heart of Gold is the world famous Diamond. A extremely large heart-shaped cut Diamond that was the yellow colour of gold, hence the name. Measuring 27.64 carats (5.528 g), and a member of an exceedingly rare class of coloured Diamonds. This Diamond was worth at least sixteen million Mobian dollars, potentially the world's most valuable Diamond. It always travelled in the highest and the most absolute maximum of security, classed at utterly unbreakable, many thieves have tried and failed. Currently it was on display at the Robotropolis Museum under quadruple surveillance. It was going nowhere.
Everyone looked at Rouge, they all knew that she tried to steel the Diamond once, but failed. Everyone knew how difficult it was to steel. How was the Diamond stolen and who took it?
Suddenly Sonic whirled round and bared down on Charlie.
"Are you sure?" He gasped. But the chestnut hedgehog held his ground. He nodded.
"All the tell-tale signs were there. It was definitely him!" He sighed.
Sonic was panicking. Really panicking. He had never panicked like this before in his life. He was pacing around Tails' lounge. Everyone was watching him, but he just didn't care. His mind was racing.
He now knew who had sent the faint messages from the ether. There was only other person on the planet with the ability to do so. Sonic should have known. He should have seen the signs, and now he was in trouble. But it left the Blue Blur confused. Why would he steal the Diamond? Sonic couldn't believe that he would do it. It was not what he'd had taught him. Granted. He wasn't perfect. He did steal from time to time, mainly food, which really irritated Sonic. All he had to do was ask, but he had tried teach him otherwise. But the Diamond, this was beyond him. Oh, he was physically capable of it but it was morally the wrong thing to do. Sonic had taught him that and he knew it.
Sonic had now gone very white, panting rather heavily. Tails moved up to him concerned. Everyone was silent and watching carefully. Tails grabbed him.
"Who?" He gasped. "Who took the Diamond?" He asked.
Sonic was still shaken so Charlie answers.
"Manic The Hedgehog!" He sighed.
They all looked at each other. They were all clueless.
"Who?" Tails asked, on behalf of everyone.
Sonic sighed. Now was the time tell the truth, he had no choice.
"My brother!"