Disclaimer: I own nothing of the sonic franchise, saga does. I have made a few characters up to fit the story, if there are saga characters they resemble I apologize. I do not authorize copying of this plot.

Chapter One: Whiplash

Lonesome dust clouds dragged through Baghdad as an U.S army tank division did its usual patrol. The Abram's sweet hum filled the streets along with the soldier's footsteps. The buildings lay in a silent slumber as the dwellers hide inside. It was indeed just another dull afternoon. Cpl. Richard Peterson was among the ground troops who walked beside the tank.

He had stopped listening to what the other men were talking about and had just started counted the bricks in the road. He didn't usually get included into conversations that much anyway. But as he counted the sixteenth brick, he noticed a weird feeling in his stomach. It was a strange creeping feeling that sent a chill up his spine. The voices of the men around him became tensed at an all of a sudden. They must have felt it to.

And just as they were in the middle of the street some men pointing out this ominous feeling, a disturbing thing happened. Sounding through the air was a tremendous RIIIIPE that seemed to crack the skulls of the soldiers. The whole patrol stopped. All the ground troops had there hands over their ears, and torsos leaning forward trying to smother their ears away from the noise. They were so occupied that they did not see the brilliant ray of lights in front of them.

The lights continued to grow brighter, until it finally took shape. The noise faded away, and the troops were able to gather their wits. But in front of them, a light show was fading. In its place was a small gust of wind that flung dust across the street. The soldiers held their guns close to them, waiting for what felt like some ambush. Cpl. Peterson felt his heart sputter and he heard footsteps in the dust.

"Stay frosty!" yelled one man from his side. They remained still for a few more moments. Then, a figure started to form from the dust. It seemed eerie as it started to shape more and more. Then it finally broke through the screen. Peterson's whole body freeze.

"It's Shadow!" the men were confused. Standing before them was Shadow the Hedgehog. They knew him from when the government would send him on special operations. All the men seemed buzzing with confusion. But as he neared, they realized something startling. This being wasn't Shadow. He had the same body shape, but where there would be red on his hair and body was replace with a dark blue color. And his irises were a very light shade of blue. On his right wrist looked like some kind of digital watch.

The soldier's earpieces started buzzed with orders from the patrols commander. "This is not Shadow the Hedgehog! Repeat, not Shadow the Hedgehog! Perceive as a hostile!" Before he was even done, all the men already had their weapons aimed for the head of this creature. "Stop right there!" he heard the man in the lead yell. But the creature just started to walk towards the patrol.

"I said FREEZE!" but the thing took know heed to his warning and continued his slow advance. "OPEN FIRE" Peterson felt the adrenaline rush as he let loose a burst from his rifle. Ten more of the soldiers did the same.

A wave of hot lead hit the being but simple bounced off like flies. The men were astounded and afraid. They kept up the barrage in vain. Then suddenly, the tank beside came to life as the main cannon started to move.

"Move aside boys, we're blowing away this bastard!" rang from the earpieces. They took notice. They men quickly stepped away from the tank. BOOM! Peterson felt his ribcage vibrate and one of his eardrums pop. The shot had sent a shock wave, spraying rubble of brick and pieces of the road. All the voices were slightly muffled but soon things started to sound clear.

As he opened his eyes, were the thing stood was a massive cloud of dust and smoke. "WOO, we got him!" but the men on foot were still shaky. None of the men moved forward but stayed close to the tanks. "You think it was one of Robotniks?" he heard one asks. "Nay, that thing was too advanced for that quack to make. Besides, it looked organic." They mumbled around for a few minutes to find out what they had just killed.

Then, there was soft sound off rubble being turned over. At that moment all the men were still. Slowly from the cloud, an image emerged. It was the creature they had "blown away". But this time he looked beaten up, covered in dirt, scratches, and a little trickle of blood came down the side of his mouth. He stumbled as he approached, and was breathing hard. All the men stood stupefied. The creature stopped about fifty feet away from them with an angry and murderous look upon his face. He slowly raised up his right hand, which had some kind of black combat glove on it, towards the tank. There was a stifling pause. Then, the creature's pupils and irises become lighter until both of his eyes were completely white. His hand started to glow mincingly. The soldiers felt the air condense and it became harder to breathe. Then the spikes of his hair started to quiver as his hand began to shake with power.

"Everybody get the hell out the WAY!" Peterson didn't think twice. He turned and started to run to nearby cover. But the moment he got three steps, he felt the tension in the air release like a spring. An explosion almost as loud as the tank erupted behind him. As the tank exploded he felt the hot fire on his back, but only for a moment. For the explosion lifted him and flung him forward. He let out a silent scream as he came hurtling back to the ground. The road came rushing towards him and sent him into blackness.

Find out what has become of our heroes during their year of grief in the next chapter: Voices.

My first fanfic story, sorry if first chapter is short. Please review and stay tuned.