A/N: Hey, ShadowClaw98 here. Welcome to the first chapter of my Sonic the Hedgehog series.

This has been attempted twice before. The first time it was pulled due to being crap. The second time...stuff happened in my personal life and I took the fic down due to not being able to do my duty and write it.

Without further ado, let's get started.

...SEGA!

DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Sonic the Hedgehog is owned by SEGA. I only own OCs and lore of the First Civilization. Please support the official release.

Prologue: Genesis

South Island. A treasure trove of gems and hidden ruins that belonged to a civilization that encompassed every known corner of the world. The most mystical of these gems were the Chaos Emeralds, a set of Emeralds said to have been created by the gods themselves. As such, their powers were infinite, allowing the owner to command life and death and harness their energy for powerful superweapons.

The abilities of the Chaos Emeralds drove a wedge through the middle of the civilization, leading to a huge civil war that obliterated it. The remnants the civilization took it upon themselves to convert the shrines of the Emeralds into containers and them away until their time of need. Four thousand years later the Chaos Emeralds are all but forgotten, regarded as mythical as the gods that created them.

Their presence, however, is shown due to South Island's movements through the ocean. This movement attracted the attention of a certain scientist...

-*G:S1-

Running. Still running. Got to get away. Got to get help.

The girl ducked under a falling tree, charred from the laser of a Buzzbomber mech. Picking up speed, she carried on, moving swiftly through the bushes as she tried to force her legs to move on despite the fight her lungs put up.

She hid behind a tree, allowing the mechs to drive by. Then, once the coast was clear, she crawled out from behind and headed for the coast.

"Reiko!" a menacing voice echoed throughout the forest, followed by a chuckle that only a mad scientist could pull off. "I know you're here, Reiko! Come out and you won't end up like your parents."

Reiko hid in a small cave not making a sound. She waited until the man's hover machine whirred by before rushing to the coast.

Upon reaching it she frantically raided a seaside shack, throwing the drawers and merchandise on the floor.

"C'mon...c'mon..." she hissed in quiet frustration. "Yes!"

She pulled out an empty bottle, pen and paper and began to write.

-*G:S1*-

Sonic wandered around the deck of the boat, breathing in the sea air. It was another warm day at sea and the hedgehog looked forward to where he would land next. Completing his morning two hundred laps round the boat, Sonic headed for the bow to sunbathe for the rest of the journey.

Just as he lay down he noticed something bobbing up and down in the ocean. Squinting, he noticed it was a bottle.

"Captain, can you stop the boat for a second?" he asked.

When the boat stopped Sonic bent down and grabbed the bottle when it came close, noticing the paper folded up inside it.

Chuckling to himself, Sonic uncorked the bottle and pulled out the note, his eyes narrowing slightly at the rushed mess of the writing.

I don't care who reads this, just please get some help.

I live on South Island, it moves I know but there are coordinates at the bottom. Anyway something terrible has happened, a man named Dr Eggman has taken over the island and has begun to roboticize everyone here! I'm the only free person left...

I don't care who you are but if you can help, or know people who can, please, hurry to the island before it's too late!

Reiko the Chinchilla

There were tear stains at the edges of the paper and the writing trailed off on occasion. At the bottom were the Island's current coordinates and a badly scrawled drawing of the Eggman Empire logo.

"So...you're up to your old tricks, huh, Eggman?" Sonic said quietly "Captain! Take the boat to these coordinates!"