Chapter 1
A/N: This is just something I thought of the other day. I was trying to think of something for my Halo fic, when this idea occurred to me. But it wouldn't work there, so I gave it its own story. Enjoy, and always R&R!
Note: This story occurs after Shadow the Hedgehog, but before Sonic and the Secret Rings.
Chapter 1
Sonic strolled down the main street of Westopolis, taking a trip down memory lane at the same time. It hadn't been so long ago that he and Shadow had defeated the Black Arms here, and Shadow had gone on to completely eliminate their presence on earth. Since that day, the planet had been at peace.
And Sonic was bored out of his skull.
He was a creature of action, and as such, was only happy in the thick of action. Or asleep. But mostly in the thick of action. And, with nothing to do for six months, all he'd been doing was sleeping.
That was about to change.
It was dark, almost midnight, so not many people were about, but Sonic saw a shadowy figure dart out of a jewelry store ahead, something glittering in its hands. "Finally, some action!" he muttered. Speeding up, he zigzagged around parked cars, slowly gaining on the fleeing figure. He reached out to grasp the thief, and his fingers closed—
On a fistful of thin air. At the same time, a loud crack announced an implosion of air, and the figure vanished and reappeared about twenty feet away. He'd teleported!
Sonic cursed, speeding up again. There was no power that could enable teleportation that he knew of, except for the Chaos Emeralds, which were accounted for. He ran through the list in his head: he and Tails had three, Shadow had two, and Knuckles and Eggman had one each. This meant that either one had been stolen, or this thief had some hitherto unknown power. Either way, something would have to be done.
Sonic reached Westopolis Square and looked around. There was no one in sight, shadowy figure included, but in the center of the square was a large statue of Shadow, which the people had erected as a monument to his contributions in the War of the Black Arms. Atop the center spine of the giant stone hedgehog's head stood a familiar red and black outline: Shadow himself!
Sonic called up, "Hey Shadow! I'm chasing a thief; seen anyone run this way?"
Shadow spun and leaped, landing in front of the surprised Sonic. "I am not the one you seek," he said, "but you will need my help soon. Here—" he pressed a black gem into Sonic's hand. "Keep it secret, keep it safe, and don't bring it near any Chaos Emeralds. Farewell!" He leaped onto the roof of a building, and dashed out of sight, leaving an openmouthed Sonic standing agape.
After a moment, Sonic remembered where he was and what he was doing. He glanced around, but the jewel thief was long gone. Sighing, he started on his way home, examining the gem as he went. It exactly resembled a black Chaos Emerald, but there was no such thing, as far as he knew.
About this time, Sonic reached home. By now, it was about three AM, so he was exhausted. Yawning, he decided to let Tails check out the gem in the morning.