Chapter 49- Speed

The rush of the wind as it blew by you, the blur of colors from all the objects passed like they were nothing more than some non-tangible entity, the adrenaline pumping through your body as your legs ached and screamed in protest.

That was speed.

At least it was for Sonic the Hedgehog.

However, to him, it also meant freedom, a blank mind. For a mind with no worries, with nothing on it, was a peaceful mind. This was what running did to the blue blur and why he first became insinuated with it.

It was like magic in the works, a strange and unique art shrouded in mystery. To him, there was nothing more magical or breath-taking than the sheer pleasure received when running with ones' own two feet hitting the ground in steady rhythm.

Most of the time, he simply ran because he wanted to, because he felt like receiving the rush. But there were other times when the blue hedgehog ran simply to clear his mind of things. This was one of those times.

He was depressed, saddened, worried, and hurt.

They had met Shadow the Hedgehog, lone betrayer of him and all that he stood for again after two long years of grueling solitary training just to achieve the purpose of bringing him back, by violence if necessary.

But from the second that Sonic's cyan-green eyes met Shadow's ruby-red ones, he froze. The hero never froze, under any circumstances. He was all about getting the job done as fast as possible, all about speed. But it was different that time.

For a few moments, they just stared at each other. Then they conversed and it was at that moment that Sonic realized that the Shadow he used to know was gone and dead, buried under the weight of this new, cold, and indifferent ultimate life form.

Then they had fought. The odds were even, so he had thought at the beginning. Even though he was reluctant at first to fight Shadow, he eventually charged in head-first with his Shining Lance, but the midnight-colored hedgehog avoided it like it was mere child's play.

Then he had nearly rammed through Amy and Rouge with his Chaos Spear, without so much as even blinking. If it had not been for the quick reactions of the two, he would have surely killed them. And if it had not been for Silver and Blaze, Shadow would have killed him as well.

Tikal was absolutely right when she had said that the dark hedgehog would not be the same but Sonic didn't quite understand this until it was already too late. He was unprepared, unfocused, and unmoving when it came to fighting the black and red hedgehog clad in ivory.

Even after two long years, nothing had changed. The outcome was the same as the last time he attempted to rescue the ultimate life form. So, after the fight, he had decided to take a run around Angel Island to keep himself from falling into depression.

Sonic's train of thought came to an abrupt wreck when he spotted something out of the corner of his left eye. Feeling the rush of speed dying down, the blue hero came to a stop on a small grassy hill just to the right of the airborne Angel Island.

A small smile curled its way onto his lips for the first time in days.

It was the Tornado.

'Tails.'


With a loud hum, a small blue plane touched onto the grassy surface of Angel Island. The force of air pressure that it created blew leaves and stray blades of grass high into the air before the engine died away.

A few moments later, a golden fox adorned with twin tails jumped out of the aircraft, now at the age of thirteen. He had grown slightly taller and one could see that his body was slowly crafting itself small muscles on his arms and legs but other than that, he remained identical to the Tails he was two years ago. One key difference to his appearance was the small, slim pouch strapped to his upper right leg and a bag strapped to his back.

The vulpine smiled when his ocean-blue eyes landed on his group of friends huddled together by the steps of the Master Emerald shrine. Squinting his eyes, he was able to make out the forms of Rouge, Knuckles, Amy, and Chaos. But no Sonic or Tikal.

Tails sighed, and jogged up to his friends. "What's up guys?"

Knuckles blinked. "Hey Tails, long time no see. Been improving the Tornado, huh?"

The ivory-furred bat next to him smiled at the fox, running her black, finger-less gloved hand through her hair. "What's up kid?"

Tails frowned slightly. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Don't mind her," Amy reassured him with a wave of her hand. "We're all just upset right now."

The fox's frown deepened considerably. "Yeah, I heard about Shadow."

Rouge scoffed in her mind. 'Just upset' was an outrageous understatement. It took all the self control in her possession not to break down in tears right now. They had just met Shadow after two long years of training to rescue him and what does he do? He tries to tear through them with his Chaos Spear.

There was a sudden rumble, which caught everyone's attention. The stairs below the Master Emerald shrine shifted before revealing another staircase that led down. Out of the inky darkness came Tikal, Blaze, and then Silver.

"But really," the ivory-furred hedgehog said to his female companion. "I was sure you would be the fire incarnation!"

The purple feline huffed and turned her head away from her naïve friend. "Stop making such useless stereotypes, the echidna is the fire incarnation."

Tikal turned around and smiled at them both once they exited the staircase, letting it shift back to its original position and once again hiding the secret entrance to the goblet chamber. "To have such unprecedented luck. Without even looking for, you came to us, Wyvern."

Silver rubbed the back of his head shyly. "It's Silver, Miss Tikal. Even though I'm this fourth incarnation, which would explain a couple of things..., I don't want to give up my name."

The echidna princess' smile brightened. "No need to be so formal, Silver. You may call me Tikal."

The white hedgehog nodded slightly before his eyes shifted and caught sight of Tails. Silver blinked his brilliant golden eyes once before his lips cracked into a smile. "Well, if it isn't Tails! Man, you've sure grown!"

The yellow fox ruffled the back of his head out of slight embarrassment. "It's good to see you too Silver, and Blaze of course."

"It's unfortunate that you came at a time like this, young one," Tikal broke in, ending the pleasant reunion. "Dark times lie ahead."

Tails nodded, his blue eyes scanning over the group once more. What Tikal said was completely true. They all seemed worn out, hurt, and sad. He knew about everything. How Shadow had left them all to kill his brother and how they had gone out to bring him back after two years of training.

"So Tails," Knuckles began, crossing his arms and closing his eyes lightly. "Did you find anything new about this Eclipse guy?"

The two-tailed kitsune frowned slightly, his cerulean eyes traveling to the ground. "No, all of his records have been completely erased and deleted. I even managed to hack into G.U.N.'s main intelligence records and haven't found anything. It's as if this guy never existed."

"That's exactly what they wanted," Rouge cut in.

"But I don't get it!" Tails cried out, his highly developed mind not being able to comprehend coming across a problem that he could not solve. "Why would all of his records be simply deleted?"

"There is only one good explanation," Blaze replied. "They fear him."

"Fear him?" Tails scoffed. "They're the most powerful military force on the planet, why would they fear him?"

Knuckles opened his eyes. "For the same reason they feared Shadow; what he was capable of doing."


As the air flew by his body in even currents, the burned and ripped white bandages around his arm came loose, slithering off its owners arm and sailing into the sapphire blue sky. Green eyes followed the fine white clothe for a moment before Sonic decided that it was irreverent whether or not his arm was exposed.

The bandages, after all, were to help heal and injury he had sustained during training to create the Titan Lance. Eying his left arm, he knew for sure now that it was completely healed and he no longer needed the white bandages.

Sonic the Hedgehog landed on the soft, grassy ground of Angel Island with a loud thud, coming to rest in a crouched position with one arm draped lazily over his knee. Smiling, the thought of reuniting with one of his closest friends that didn't actually have the intent of killing him brightened his day ever so slightly.

'Let's see how big you've gotten, little bro.'

Then there was a puff of air, a swirl of dirt, a dance of grass before Sonic sped off towards the center of Angel Island, revisiting his roots amongst all this fighting and struggle for power: speed.


Tails blinked his bright sapphire eyes once as a strong gust of wind rustled his golden fur. The eerie feeling of knowing someone was standing right behind you washed over him and the young fox immediately snapped around to come face-to-face with a royal blue hedgehog with bright green eyes.

"Man, you've gotten really tall, little bro."

The kitsune felt tears well up in his thirteen-year old eyes at the familiar look and voice of what could only be his adopted big brother: Sonic. Not knowing what else to do, the fox leaped onto the blue hedgehog, earning him a startled cry from the hero, and surrounding him in a bone-crushing hug.

Sonic's green eyes were wide at first but they soon regained their regular shape as he lifted one of his hands to pat his young companion softly on the head, ruffling Tails' bangs slightly. "I've missed you too, Tails."

"I hate to interrupt this heart-warming reunion," Blaze interrupted. "But we have higher priorities at the moment, such as figuring out a couple of things."

Sonic released the two-tailed fox caught in his bear-hug, his gaze hardening. "Yeah, things just don't make sense."

Tikal nodded. "Correct. For example: how was the demon of time able to survive when you were so sure that you destroyed him?"

The sea-blue hedgehog's line of sight shifted to the left, as if he was ashamed of the fact that Mephiles had slipped through his grip once again. "I have no clue. That damn demon always finds a way to outsmart us."

"Also," Tikal continued, "When we met those two robed figures right before confronting the dark one, who were they? The power of the one who fought the guardian was incredible."

Sonic snickered. "Yeah, I heard about Knuckles' ass-kicking session."

"Coming from the guy who can drown in a kiddy pool," the echidna shot back.

"Don't hate Knuckles," the speed demon taunted. "Try 'sippin on some of that appreci-ade."

The Master Emerald guardian lowered his eyelids. "And now you're talking like a thirteen-year old poser."

The Chimera-wielder turned away, flipping his red echidna friend the bird. "Talk to the finger."

Amy rolled her eyes at the childish antics of the two. "Anyway, someone have any clues or ideas as to why Mephiles survived or why we met those two fashion-disasters?"

The replies came in whispered murmurs and shrugs. The rosette hedgehog sighed heavily, rolling her shoulders, and sat back down on the steps of the Master Emerald shrine. There was a shot of silence among the group during which no one moved or spoke.

"We shall wait, then."

Heads turned towards the origin of the sudden voice, which was loud and commanding. It seemed otherworldly and far too masculine to belong to anyone on this planet.

There stood Chaos, the god of destruction. He had spoken for the first time in days. But every time the lord of chaos decided to add in his two cents, everyone quieted down and listened immediately. This was no exception.

"Are you certain?" Tikal asked, skepticism lacing her angelic voice. "How do you know that someone will come after the Master Emerald again?"

Chaos' jewel-like eyes fell upon the princess of echidnas. She gasped when she saw them narrow slightly. "You of all mortals should know better than to question my judgment, princess."

"I'm with her!" Knuckles cut in, taking a strong step towards the god. "I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald and this island and you expect me to just sit here and wait for someone to try and steal it?"

The liquidly creature's green eyes landed on the crimson guardian. Knuckles could clearly see his own defiant reflection within those mirror-like eyes but he made no move to step down or back off. Chaos had been acting like this since he had brought Sonic back after he had fought Shadow two years ago, and the echidna was fed up!

"Do not worry about the stone of universal power, guardian," Chaos replied almost apathetically. "The one that will arrive here in one day's time will not be after the Master Emerald. His eyes are set on more valuable items."

Sonic raised one eyebrow, his attention snagged by the god. "Such as?"

The god of destruction turned towards the sea-blue hedgehog, his eyes landing square on the hero. "Items of much greater importance than the Master Emerald."


The most cheerful eyes in the world also hold the most pain. Check back tomorrowfor Chapter 50!