The sky shall rise and the earth will fall,
When winds blow wrong and light is gone,
Apocalypse will die and Espylacopa will be born,
The last miracle will shine.

CHAPTER 1
Follow the Yellow Brick Road

It was a picturesque sunny day in Knothole Village. The forest was in full bloom with the villagers all busy tending to their crops, building more huts, and getting ready for the spring festival coming up. It was a time of peace for many as Robotnik had not been active for months, with the efforts of the Freedom Fighters being a huge success. However not all were of carefree minds as Sally was on one of her walks to clear her head after spending so much time cooped up in her hut. She knew Robotnik was still out there and had to always be vigilant and keep planning for whatever would come next. It was her duty as the protector to her people.

As she strolled through the bustling crowds she stood out like a diamond in the rough. Her beauty was unmatched by any other woman in the village. Despite her shedding any royal formalities and traditions she still carried the air of a princess. As she walked the suns rays danced along the slender curves of her body making her fur sparkle, her fiery red hair blowing in the winds. They were fortunate to live in a warm climate where snow rarely fell, as they were able to enjoy the outdoors without needing to cover up much.

The young princess was only sixteen but had the wisdom even elders respected. She kept her hair short to a mullet over anything that would require much daily combing. Due to a warm brown furry body she had no use for much clothes, as was it a tradition amongst Mobians to not be as conservative as Humans were in terms of wearing more than what they needed. She wore thick blue boots that were passed down to her from a former mentor she grew up with. Sally had no family, only vaguely remembered her fathers face but remembered his love deeply. It is what keeps her going inside to remain strong.

A big gust of wind kicked up, sending the leaves from the branches and almost blew her over. Her hair flapped wildly and she almost buckled against the force. But as it calmed, her friend Sonic walked over grinning. He slapped her lightly on the shoulder.

" When it comes to being a freedom fighter I'm the wind in your sails" he said with a grin.

She grumbled at the pun but smiled happy to have his company. She had long since had feelings for him that seemed to only grow more complicated over time. Nobody knew her better than he did, as they grew up together. Despite his immature sense of humor and cockyness he was always someone who could be counted on to be there for you. He was also handsome.

Sonic was surprisingly thin compared to others despite his bottomless gut he stuffed with food all the time. He had deep navy blue quills that he could harden to become razor sharp and slice through most surfaces. He was considered to be a living folk legend to many. A hedgehog with the power of super speed and strength. Sometimes she'd catch herself staring into his big green eyes and get lost in them.

Sonic was not the only hero of the village. Accompanying him were her Freedom Fighter cohorts. Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor the Walrus, Antoine the Coyote, and the young Tails the Fox. They were all like one big family to her. Trusted friends and valuable team mates to fight with in battle.

Rotor was a large overweight walrus who was always a brain when it came to figuring out Robotnik's technology. He wore a yellow cap backwards on his head with a pouch belt stuffed with tools and contraptions that hung from his shoulder. He was always a shy and sincere one, always willing to lend a shoulder and offer advice when someone was feeling down.

Antoine was a young coyote who had come from a long lineage of heroic knights. He spoke with a very heavy french accent with poor english, often slurring words together. To honor his family he wore their military colors, dressed to fight at a moments notice. This heavily contrasted with his true nature, as if faced with imminent danger he would crumple into a whimpering coward. Yet, he is resourceful and has sometimes came up with winning strategies, almost capturing Robotnik on his own once.

Bunnie was the real trooper of the team. Like her namesake, she was a rabbit girl sporting a cheerful southern belle accent sporting a purple leotard that almost seemed too small for her large bust to contain. She was almost lost in the beginning when she was pulled from the robotizer, her legs and left arm gone and replaced with heavy robotic limbs. It was a heavy blow to her that she turned into an advantage, becoming the strongest Mobian alive. Her mechanical appendages have helped in rip down reinforced doors, break down walls, and smash things that needed smashing.

Tails was the youngest member of them all, known as the child prodigy. He was only five but already had knowledge to learn how Robotnik's technology worked and to disarm it in record time. He was a fox with two tailed appendages who idolized Sonic, trying to become as cool like him. He even began wearing similar shoes like him.

" Is something up, guys? " she asked.

" Did you forget? Today is our 10th anniversary of being Freedom Fighters! " said Rotor.

Sally had been so preoccupied in helping out the villagers with personal building projects, picking fruits, teaching at the makeshift school, going over notes from intel, and the spring harvest she had forgotten all about the party her friends were throwing.

" Yes, m'princess! For zis occasion I wrote a p'em to celebrate our hard work. "

Sonic busted out a laugh at him. " Oh man, p'em. You're the best, Ant. "

Antoine frowned. "What is your problem, can zee not appreciate the soul I put into my p'ems?"

Sonic laughed again at him. " P'em or poem, they are as good as you are with words, french boy. "

As Sonic antagonized Antoine more on his accent Sally's mind drifted back into memories of the years they have spent fighting Robotnik. All the close calls they have had and the victories they have had but still his empire remained ever resiliant. She would not be able to live with herself if anything ever happened to them under her watch.

She put on a smile for her friends and tried to go along with their festive nature. They gathered for a group photo, Rotor putting down the camera and set up the timer as they huddled together. Sally was in the middle and Sonic was beside her having Antoine in a head lock while Tails stood proud beside Sally and beside him was Bunnie and behind those two was Rotor.

In a bright flash the picture was taken, capturing that moment of laughter and love on film. A minute later the picture popped out of a slot at the front. Rotor gave each of them copies and after everyone went back to do what they were originally doing. They agreed to meet up later at Sally's for a little get together.

Darkness came quickly as the weather turned to stormy. Flashes of light were seen outside the windows, the trees howling and swaying in the wind. At this time Sally was in her room typing her journal entry on her intelligent and witty AI computer, Nicole. She looked at the picture taken today and smiled. She wondered if everyone were still coming over that night due to the storm. 'Oh well' she thought. Their will always be tomorrow for them. She felt drowsiness set in and threw back the covers to her bed and fell into a deep dark dreamless sleep.

The morning after when she awoke something immediately told her something was amiss. She ignored this gut feeling and threw off the covers. It was very cold in her room. Her breath could be seen clinging to the air.

' Odd' she thought. This isn't the type of season to have cold mornings. She went over to her desk and opened up ' Nicole ', her miniature computer that seemed to have a mind of its own for an analysis of possible weather changes from Robotnik's factories. When she picked up Nicole she got a even colder chill. She felt her energy leave her as if something was sucking the life force out of her and she threw it to the ground gasping. A thick black bubbling smoke oozed out of Nicole's screen followed by a horrible groan.

" Espylacopa " it said over and over, not in its usual cocky feminine tone but in the deep masculine voice.

The screen was erratic of white fuzz and the black bubbling smoke drifted closer. Sally let out a scream and scrambled towards the door. But when she opened it she grabbed onto the inside and threw herself back. Her hut was no longer on the ground. It was suspended high above the air above the Great Forest sitting atop a mountain of gigantic twisted tree roots twisted around in a spiral fused to the bottom of her hut. She shook in fear and looked behind her as the black cloud drifted closer.

" Espylacopa " it uttered in a whisper.

" Nicole? " she stammered. " Whats happened to you? Have you been infected? "

The small computer went dead, no longer speaking. Sally left it and began her trek outside to wherever this now was. Sally climbed along the side of a root wrapped around the outside and began to climb downwards. She felt a pulse go through them and looked up and saw the hut slowly get squeezed apart by large pulsating vines. She shuddered and continued climbing down towards wherever the ground might lay. As she climbed she looked she saw even stranger things. The sky was still like a painting and saw parts of what looked like city ruins covered in moss poking out of the Great Forest and solid looking clouds impaling some of the buildings. This wasn't even physically possible for a cloud to do that to a solid object. Then it suddenly all made sense.

" Of course! This must be a dream I'm having! " she said confident.

As she kept climbing down she noticed the ground was covered in a thick and creepy fog. She couldn't even see the ground. She wondered what she ate or saw to have a dream like this. It felt like forever that she climbed as she passed into the fog. After ten minutes of climbing she kept expecting to hit the hard ground after each step but nothing. This all didn't feel right and felt too surreal for a dream. The fog was wet and was cold and she could feel it against her fur, as were the branches slippery and muddy. She felt that against her hands. It felt very real. Fear crept back into her as she began to wonder if this was still a dream. She looked up and could no longer see anything but a gray void. Only thing she could see now was what she was climbing down on. As she felt her way around she felt something soft and furry. A chill went up her spine as she dared to look. She leaned to the side to see what it gasped. It was a face of one of the villagers fused into the mountain of roots.

" Oh god " she uttered, her pupils shrinking in shock.

The eyes sprung open revealing where eyes should have been rows of razor sharp teeth. The face began to speak but spoke very fast. " Ssentiw raeb dna eht fo sluos eht epahs dna...yks eht ni edilloc llahs yeht " it said. It snarled its teeth, lashing out at her. It's jaw hung open as a black snake oozed out and slithered up her arm. She screamed and lost footing and fell into the gray void. Her head spun and blacked out before she hit the she finally opened her eyes she felt that she finally hit the ground sometime after she blacked broke down and tears streamed down her face.

" Where am I? Where are you Sonic " she moaned hanging her head. She felt a small warm breeze and something familiar sweeped in front of her as a sign or message. Her tears stopped and she picked up the picture and found it was the one taken yesterday of them together. Everyone looked so last stray tear rolled down her cheep touching the picture.

" Sonic...Tails...everyone...where are you? " she said wiping the wetness from her eyes. She took the picture and put it inside her pocket on her vest. She got up finally brushing the dirt off her knees and explored her surroundings. All around her was a dead marsh where she could see faces in the tree's and in the water. For a moment she thought her friends joined them but she shook that thought away. " No. They couldn't have. They're too strong for that! "

The air around her didn't feel cold or misty anymore but thicker and warm. She looked up at the tree's as they reached higher and higher than what they normally were and looked up into the sky and saw the great blanket of fog above her. This wasn't right. None of this was but it was no dream. It was real. Some of the huts were poking out of the marsh. Others had just disappeared or great seemingly bottomless pits where one should have been.

" I've got to get out of here " she said.

When she turned around she laid eyes upon a yellow brick road. That was not there before. She knew that well. That could not have been possible. She stomped her foot on felt real and it looked all felt like one sadistic fairy tale she was trapped in.

" Sonic, I hope your alright. "

She trusted the bright road and followed the path hoping it would take her away from this madness to her friends. Along the way she saw some mushrooms growing and felt like picking one but didn't want to stop. She didn't dare look behind her only ahead of her towards the horizon. The tree's around her were dead and twisted looking and the ground around the road was soft like quicksand and once in awhile she would catch something dark at the corner of her eye dart around the tree's which made her feel uneasy.

She would often glance at the murky bogs around the road and would look for her reflection but didn't see one. But then suddenly in front of her path stepped a figure. He was tall and wore a brown dusty cloak. It was the Guardian. An ancient sentinel she and Sonic had encountered from the past. Sally stepped back shocked. He glared at her with his red eyes and spoke in a deep graveling voice.

" Go back " it warned.

" W-what? " she stammered.

" Go back " he said again.

He then began to fade away like a memory. Sally got to her feet and ran towards him. " Wait! Come back! "

But he was gone. She felt like crying again but she held back her tears and grief and pressed on hoping to find an explanation for all this or better yet, her friends. Another fifteen minutes of walking brought her to a dead end rock wall that was too slippery to climb. She collapsed again feeling tiredness and fatigue set in.

" Dammit. What is this place. Why can't I wake up " she said biting her lip.

Behind her out from the bog stepped a figure. It was drenched in the slime and its features hidden by its hanging robes. It was about eight feet tall as it was hunched over like an old man clutching an old lantern. Black Smoke emitted from the bottom of its robes. It moved like a shadow as it swayed from side to side on the path. Sally backed up against the wall shaking but eager to see what it wants. It stopped three feet away from her.

" To escape a riddle three you must answer, now " it spoke through its hissing teeth.

" A riddle? " Sally asked curiously.

" Answer a riddle three right to pass through the wall you must " raising its lantern high, its gnarled treeish fingers wrapped tightly around it.

" What happens if I get one wrong? " she asked shakily.

The thing did not speak but merely pointed to the bog and bowed its head nodding at her. " Begin we shall! " it said, with a hint of eagerness to begin the game.

Sally nodded and gulped ready. She was always good at solving riddles so how hard could it be?

" I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will,
And yet I am the confidence of all
To live and breathe on this Earth.
What am I? "

Sally paused for a moment. She had never heard this one before. She felt a tremor shake the ground.

" What was that? "

The creature moved aside and she saw the yellow brick road behind her sink into the swamp. Her mind raced with fear as she struggled to focus.

" Answer the riddle you shall before the time runs out or sink into the abyss you will. "

Sally looked on at the horizon and saw the path disappear as he said it would. The bright golden bricks were disappearing quickly.

' Calm down ' she thought. ' You know this, just let it come! '

As soon as she did, taking deep breaths to let her mind go at ease the answer came to grinned at the creature.

" The answer...is tomorrow. "

It's eyes bulged and it stepped back. " Correct. Next riddle it is... "

" Waitaminute...I thought you said only one riddle?! " she said, outraged.

" A riddle -three- you must answer " it replied.

" Oh no... "

" The next riddle...prepare thyself.
My life can be measured in hours;
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick; fat, I am slow.
Wind is my foe.
What am I? "

This one was even tougher. She thought his words over and over again. The path crumbled faster and within a minute or two it neared them. As it approached the creature from behind it stepped off the path floating in the air as it went for her. But then she opened up her eyes and shouted out the answer.

" A candle! "

The bricks stopped and the creature hissed. " Riddle two nobody has ever beaten. Prepare for the last and hardest of riddles. You have thirty seconds till the bog claims you! "

" Alright " she said feeling confident. She had come this far.

" To unravel me
You need a key.
No key that was made by lock smith's hand,
But a key that only I will understand.
What am I? "

She only had thirty seconds to get this one. The lovely bricks fell faster into the gray foul muck towards her. Her mind raced and sweat trickled down the side of her head. Twenty seconds passed. Then five. Right when the creature was about to tell her time was up she called out:

" A cipher! "

It stopped with her standing on one last brick with her back pressed against the wall. The creature groaned and floated over to her and planted his hand on the wall. It parted outwards revealing a path leading out of the bog.

" Passed you have the trial of the Great Forest. Goodbye and do not return. "

As it went to go back down into the swamp Sally turned to leave she had an a idea. What would happen if it lost a game.

" I have a riddle for you! "

It halted and glared at her intrigued yet insulted at the same time. " A riddle for thy own self? Tell. "

She smiled daringly. "I come from a mine and get surrounded by wood always.
Everyone uses me.
What am I?

The hooded creature cocked its head to the side, pondering. Then it sneered.

"An answer I have. Coal from a mine transported in a wooden box. A simple riddle, if disappointing. "

Sally shook her head and folded her arms feeling triumphant.

" Sorry, but you flunk. The answer is...pencil lead " she replied, holding one finger up.

It howled in fury and lunged at her. Sally stood her ground with a flash of light from inside itself exploded. Its lantern it had fell to her feet and all that was left was its torn robes that got carried off by a small breeze. She took the lantern and went down the path leading her to an adventure.