Chapter 1: The Blue Hero

Speed, it's not just a mindset. To our first hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, it's a way of life. Running faster than the speed of sound is an everyday practice to Sonic, and that is how our story begins, with Sonic running across a special obstacle course created for him by his best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower. Flames, spikes, sharp turns, and even bullets were part of this obstacle course, but they weren't Tails's idea. "You have to step it up, Tails," Sonic had told him. "I need to be prepared for anything Eggman throws at me, especially the dangerous parts." Tails unwillingly conceded, and he now watched worriedly as his friend performed one death defying move after another.

After several agonizingly long moments, Sonic completed the course and went to Tails without a scratch. Tails looked at his timer. "3.43 seconds," was the young fox's answer to Sonic's inquiring look.

Sonic groaned, "You've got to be kidding me! I could've sworn it hadn't taken me more than 3.4 seconds! I must be getting slower."

Tails chuckled, "Sonic, it's only three hundredths of a second. Besides, that's what this course was built for, training!"

Sonic laughed along, "Yeah, you're right, Tails. To be honest, I wasn't keeping track."

The two friends were interrupted by Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic's other close friend and the muscle behind their group. He was breathing loudly and had obviously been running. "Sonic! I finally found you, and I must say Sonic, I'm shocked by your recent behavior. I didn't think you had it in you."

Sonic was puzzled in more ways than one. "Um, Knuckles, first, what are you doing here? Second, what behavior are you talking about? Third, why didn't you say hello to Tails?"

Knuckles paused from his frantic breathing. "Well, I came here looking for my Chaos Emerald. I woke up from my afternoon nap yesterday and realized it was gone. I thought you might have 'borrowed' it again for one of your O so heroic adventures, so I came looking for you to get it back."

Sonic replied, "I already have a Chaos Emerald, the blue one, so I wouldn't need to borrow yours for anything unless I had to use my Super form, and I'd tell you if it was that important. Besides, I still have no idea what behavior you're talking about."

Now Knuckles was puzzled. "You don't know? You must know. It was you, wasn't it?"

Sonic shook his head. "What was me?"

Knuckles looked down, now visibly distraught. He looked at Sonic. "You really don't know, huh? I saw it all over the news on my way here." Tails was now worried.

Sonic seemed frustrated now. "For goodness sakes, Knuckles, will you just tell me already?"

Knuckles was silent for a moment. Then he answered, "It's Dr. Eggman. He's dead." Sonic stood still and silent. Tails was dumbfounded, and his jaw nearly hit the ground. There was no answer to Knuckles's statement, so Knuckles continued, "I thought you'd finally did him in. I just assumed—" Knuckles stopped. This was no longer the time for words.

After several more moments, Sonic managed to utter a word: "How?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Nobody's sure. Apparently some government agent found him dead in his new laboratory. He built it after you trashed the old one in the incident with Super Mecha Sonic about a month ago. He'd been beat to death. The government agent said that she saw the silhouette of a hedgehog shortly after she arrived at the scene, and investigators deduced that Eggman was definitely killed by someone of about your height wearing gloves. All of that fit your description, so I guessed it was you. In fact, most of the general media is guessing it was you."

Sonic remained speechless, so now Tails spoke. "Couldn't it have been Shadow? He's a hedgehog about Sonic's height with gloves."

Knuckles now turned his head to Tails for the first time since their conversation started. "No, the government agent confirmed the location of Shadow at the time of her arrival in Eggman's laboratory. He was nowhere near the site."

Sonic lifted his head to face Tails and Knuckles. "Tails, get my Chaos Emerald. We're going to find out who did this and clear my name. Knuckles, are you in?"

Knuckles smiled. "I wouldn't miss a good adventure with you, Sonic, but I'll only help if you agree to help me find my Chaos Emerald along the way."

Sonic smiled too, and Tails came back with the Chaos Emerald. Evening fell across the landscape. Sonic faced the setting sun and exclaimed, "Let's go, guys!"