Prologue – Task at Hand

Everything has a beginning, no matter what we may think of it or how we try to avoid admitting it. Life had a beginning, Earth had a beginning, and so did her elements; it, too, began sometime.

But who were those who took the head among such things? No doubt these elements, when put in the wrong hands, can be hard to control and could ultimately destroy the entire planet. Who has such power to harness such power?

Within an almost completely empty room, containing only a large oval table and seven chairs, a group of well-dressed men and women converse. Nothing really important; just the ol' "how's life been?" and "what do you plan on doing later?" kind of mumbo-jumbo. However, these are not ordinary people that congregate at this table. Each have a special task given to them.

First, turning toward a young hedgehog goddess named Dasami Mairu, she possesses the element of Wind, and her whole demeanor resembles it quite well. With her light blue hair combed downwardly, the tips of her quills reach to the tips of her shoulders, while one renegade bang from her forehead covers her right eye. Her light blue eyes glisten as the light from above shine upon it. She dresses as though she were from the era of the ancient Romans of B.C., having her holy white toga drape to the ground. Snug on her arm bears an armband depicting the symbol of her given element, as do those of the remaining ones sitting with her. Being twenty-one in age, she's been admiring a personal friend for almost fifteen years, and he's sitting right next to her.

And that person next to her is the god of Fire, Murdoch the Hedgehog. He keeps everyone in line. He takes the lead among them in important dilemmas and looks out for each and every one's safety. His fur glows a bright red, with his top quill emits a strong yellow color like neon. The rest of his spines have a similar design to that of Shadow the Hedgehog, with the exception that it points like Sonic. The tops of the quills are gray, while the rest are red. His yellow eyes strike fear into his opponents, making them easier to defeat when he needs to get things done quick. He wears only one piece of clothing on his body, and that's his prized gray vest. His blue gloves have been scorched so much by his fire that it's turned navy blue over time. For such a man, he may look nineteen, but in actuality, he's close to turning twenty-six.

Ariel Diambla, on the other hand, has a bigger difference when looking at her and depicting an age. She's the smallest of the bunch, and also the most perkiest of them all. She is the echidna goddess of Water, Earth's most precious and most cherished element. However, one thing is strikingly odd about her, with the exception of her being small. Her fur is easily mistaken for being black when in reality it's a very dark blue, like that of the glow of the early morning hours, before the sun makes its ascent to the heavens in the sky. When that accusation comes up, it's often followed by "she's the Goddess of the Darkness, but she doesn't look dark..." and that gets irritating after awhile. Being the perky little sixteen-year-old that she is, she dresses like one, that's for sure. She wears a light blue tube top, adorned with the finest jewelry for both her arms and her neck, and fitted with a white short skirt. She's glad to wear something she likes, unlike some people, who wear absolutely nothing at all.

Sitting next to her is the god of Earth. No, not the planet Earth. Earth, as in the ground, but saying the god of ground seems dumb. Anyway, the god of Earth's name is Tsuma Himan. He wears...absolutely nothing! He's just an ordinary brown hedgehog, with a long quill protruding in front of him from his forehead. He's the quietest of the them all. Whenever there's a problem, he presents a solution in a calm and concise manner. However, when it comes to saving those he admires, or appreciates, he becomes a raging bull full of power, capable of leveling entire cities with a single blow to the ground. But he's not a quick as the one reclining next to him, with his arms folded.

Enter Mortaku Spark, the echidna god of Electricity. Ever since he saw the vision of Super Sonic from the heavens when he was young, he began to look exactly like him. He, too, wears nothing. With the blinding gold fur and pulsing black eyes, he could actually pass as an actual duplicate of everyone's favorite super-powered blur. But what comes with his electrifying demeanor is his prideful persona. He declares himself as the ultimate being in the universe, even though whenever he declares it, Ariel beats him in four-square everytime! Kinda funny how much he gets devastated really. Unfortunately, one person gets annoyed by his prideful nature, and he had to sit right next to him, too...

Poor Devan Minot, the hedgehog god of the Darkness. He wears a dark brown leather jacket, covering his black fur. His eyes are a moody gray and his quills hang downward. Wearing baggy black jeans and black military boots, he sits in his chair, folding his arms and keeping them close to his body. In some cases, he become a little...you know...emotional and Gothic, concerning his dark nature. He keeps to himself, rarely talks about anything that may be productive, and always has his eyes closed, like he's sleeping. He hates coming to these kind of meetings. 'It serves me no point,' he reasons, but Murdoch makes him go anyway.

And next to him...is an empty seat! One person is missing. Where was the keeper of the Light?

"Have we had any luck finding her?" Murdoch asked to the whole group.

They all shook their heads. "Murdoch, we'vie looked everywhere to find her. But I think it's time to give up," Mortaku reasoned.

Murdoch stared at him, angered by his comment. "How dare you say such a thing! She's part of our family, for fire's sake!"

"Yeah! I miss my big sister!" Ariel added.

Tsuma sighed. "We all miss her, Ariel. But I think Mortaku is right, Murdoch. We have to stop this search. She's old enough to look out for herself."

"No she's not!" Murdoch yelled, pounding his fist on the table. "I was given a great responsibility from Lady Isabella to look after her! She gave me a direct order while on her death bed! I cannot go back on that order!!"

Dasami tried to calm him down. "Murdoch, just calm down. We'll find her and bring her back."

Devan rose from his seat. "It doesn't matter what we decide, in the end we're still going down there and continue searching, isn't that right Murdoch?"

Murdoch muttered, "Yeah."

"See? Well, this was a waste of time. I'm going back to my quarters, preparing the search supplies..." he said, as he walked out.

Everyone else did the same. On the other hand, Murdoch and Dasami stayed in the room. She was getting worried about his temper. "Are you alright, Murdoch?" she asked him.

Murdoch was breathing heavily, calming himself down. "I'm fine...it's just...we have been looking everywhere...and we still can't find her..."

"Don't worry. I bet that wherever she is, she has people down there to help her. She'll be fine for another couple of days," she reasoned, rubbing his back. It was one thing to soothe his anger and stress.

"I hope you're right, Dasami...I sure hope so..."

While on Central City, the morning sun ascends over the mountain range. The rays of the sun pierce through the curtains of the bedroom window and drape over the face of one young pink hedgehog. Her eyes, although closed, squint at the feeling of its invisible touch. She tossed herself the other way with her back facing the light. She snuggled back into her pillow, continuing her dream she kept visioning over and over again.

"My dear Isabella! What is wrong with you?! Are you alright?!"

Isabella coughed. "I fear that my time has come...my love...please...the light inside keeps fading...send for Murdoch at once..."

"I will..." the man told her, holding back tears. The pink hedgehog stood in the doorway, seeing her sick mother laying in bed, breathing heavily. Minutes later, Murdoch arrived on the scene and was surprised to see her in such a condition.

"Lady Isabella!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Are you going to be alright?!"

She turned her head to see him eye-to-eye and slowly smiled. "Murdoch the Hedgehog...You'vie been my long-time friend...You'vie helped me in so many situations I can't number..."

"Anything for the Lady of Light..."

"I ask of you...one...final favor..."

Murdoch came closer to her. "What is it, Lady Isabella?"

"Watch over my daughter...She is to become the next Lady of Light...when she becomes older..."

Murdoch nodded. "I will, m'lady. I shall."

Isabella looked up toward her ceiling. She envisioned her daughter becoming the Lady of Light and always wanted to be there to see her take that position. "The next Lady of Light...My daughter...Amy Mozado Rose...descendant of Lady Isabella Allyssa Rose...truly...a blessing..."

She uttered those final words and soon passed away. The man from before broke into tears as Murdoch knelt next to her bed, head down and eyes closed. Amy walked up to Murdoch and looked into his eyes. Murdoch looked back at her. "Amy Rose...Your mother...has commissioned me to take care of you..."

"What happened to her...?" she spoke lowly.

"She's gone...sickness...overpowered her...there was nothing we could do..."

All of a sudden, she awoke from her dream, her eyes filled with tears, falling onto her pillow. "I...remember...But...why did I come here? What was I supposed to do here?"

End of Prologue