New World Saga

Chapter 1 Chaos Control Freaks
Supersonic Hero Appears!

Big the Cat and Froggy asleep under a tree, fishing by a lake. He is suddenly roused by the sound of an alarm coming from Dr. Eggman's base, which is not too far away.

Outside Eggman's base the tower's floodlights switch was on, and several E-30 Laser Tanks make moves to protect the base from Shadow, was dashing their way. The treaded robots moved outside the gates, which closed. As soon as he came into range, the Laser Tanks opened fire. As he nimbly outran the lasers, several turrets fired a hail of rockets at him. The rockets exploded on the ground behind Shadow, who used the Laser Tanks as leverage to leap inside the perimeter of Eggman's base, evading their laser fire as he ran. Several E-12 Behemoth robots activated themselves and, leaping up, cut him off, forcing him to break left. One Behemoth began to chase him.

The Behemoth chased him down a tunnel. There was another Behemoth further down the tunnel, but he ran to the left, causing the two Behemoths to run into each other and explode. On his way out, he accidentally stepped on a spring pad, which bounced him into the air. His body was met with the fist of a Behemoth sending him flying. Tails and Amy were seated in the Tornado 2, witnessing this.

"Shadow!" Tails said.

The Tornado swooped down, but took a few hits by the turrets. Amy cringed at the hits, but then was horrified to see that the it was on fire.

"Tails, the plane's on fire! What are we gonna do?!" she said.

"We're gonna save Shadow!" he said and pulled a lever next to him.

The Tornado launched a rocket. It sped toward the falling Shadow, and its tip broke off, revealing a Power Ring. It fell in the same area that Shadow was falling. A moment later, there was a bright flash, and Shadow barreled back toward the base. He spun right into the Laser Tanks, destroying them on the spot. Then he sliced through two Behemoths like butter. A third Behemoth tried to pin the hedgehog down, but was uppercut when Shadow flew up from underneath it. He broke through one of the tower's lights and entered the base. Meanwhile, Tails prepared for a crash landing.

"Hang on, Amy!"

The Tornado bounced a few times. Amy's eyes widened in horror, as there was a massive rock in their path.

"We're gonna crash!" she said.

"I know!"

Suddenly a spiked fist punched through the rock, shattering it completely. The plane safely skid to a stop. Tails looked up to see who saved them and gasped.

"Knuckles!"

"What's the matter with him?" Amy asked.

Knuckles' gaze was fixed on Eggman's base. Smoke rose from the robots that Shadow had destroyed.

"Overkill, just like always." he said.

Inside Eggman's base the base was undergoing lock down. All of the interior doors were closing.

In the control room Dr. Eggman's hench-bots Decoe and Bocoe were looking at a radar. Then Decoe turned toward his him.

"Dr. Eggman, the facility is on 100% lock down." he said.

"Why does that cursed Shadow always get in my way?" Eggman asked.

Cream was trapped inside a glass sphere with her Chao friend Cheese.

"He doesn't get in your way, Dr. Eggman. Shadow just tries to stop you from doing all the bad things you like to do." she said.

"Chao chao..." Cheese said.

"Oh, is that so?" Eggman asked and held up a red Chaos Emerald. "Well, it's too late to stop me this time. Once I insert the last Chaos Emerald, my energy amplifier will be invincible."

"But you can't do that!" she said.

"Chao chao chao!"

Rouge was perched on an overhead ledge, taking in the scene.

"That's right! Shadow won't let you get away with this!" Cream said.

"Hahahahaha! You're wrong, Creamy-dreamy! Hahahahaha! He can't stop- Gah!" he said.

Then Shadow broke through the wall, startling him.

"Shadow!" Cream said.

"Shadow..." Eggman said and his look of surprise changed to an evil grin.

Then he put the Chaos Emerald in a slot in the machine, closed the hatch and pressed a few buttons. Then he held up an activation button.

"You'll never stop me now, Shadow. Hahaha! All I have to do is to push this little button. Hahahaha!"

"Yeah. If you can push it before I grab it." Shadow said.

Eggman cringed, then smiled as an E-13 Guardbot appeared behind Shadow.

"Eh... Why don't you give it a try?" he said.

The Guardbot fired at Shadow, who escaped its lasers with ease.

"Heheheh!" Shadow said laughing.

"Don't let him get away!" Eggman said while Rouge cringed as stray lasers hit near her hiding spot. "Stop him no matter what!"

But Shadow landed right in front of Eggman just as Guardbot was turning towards them.

"Whaaa! No! Hold your fire!" Eggman said.

Shadow leapt out of the way just as Guardbot began firing smirking, forcing Eggman to duck. When the torrent of firepower ended, he stood up and reached for the switch.

"Ha! Here we go!" he said and pressed the button, but was surprised to see that the machine was crackling and riddled with laser holes. "Whaa? What have you done?!"

Everyone looked on as a strange energy build inside the machine. Then suddenly, a field of light spawned from the machine and pulsated outward, enveloping everything and everyone in its brightness. It escaped the base and kept growing outward. Even Tails, Amy, and Knuckles noticed it.

"What... is that?" Amy said.

"It used to be Chaos Control." Knuckles said.

The light continued to move outward, enveloping the three onlookers and even Big the Cat.

Shadow woke up at somewhere in complete darkness. Then he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Man, I must have passed out or something..." he said.

Suddenly he saw two bright lights heading right toward him.

"Whoa!" he said and fled just as the lights are about to collide with him.

The notices another pair of lights coming his way. Then he realizes his surroundings. There is a car right in front of him, complete with a surprised driver. Shadow gapes as he realizes he is surrounded by vehicles in the center of a four-way intersection. Then he realizes he in the midst of a city.

"Where am I?" he said and noticed the people can't help but stare. "What are they all starin' at?"

The drivers began to get impatient.

"What is this, Halloween?!" a truck driver asked.

Two police officers begin approaching Shadow.

"So they can talk..."

"What is that thing?" police officer 1 asked.

"Looks like a big hedgehog!" police officer 2 said.

"A blue hedgehog?"

"Well, whatever it is, we'd better get it out of here." officer 2 said and bent down to Shadow's level. "Hey, buddy, want a ride with us down to the station?"

"Should I call for backup?"

"I have three kitty cats at home. I think I can handle this little fella." officer 2 said and began coaxing Shadow.

"See that? That thing's got an attitude. A bad one!"

"Yeah? Well he won't get away from me!" officer 1 said seriously then tried to pounce on Shadow, but he quickly sidestepped. "Wha? Huh?"

"Why you little-" officer 1 said and reached for his billy club.

"Take it easy. I tink we can handle this without gettin' rough." officer 3 said stopping him.

"Yes, but sir-"

"Duffy, get behind him."

"Right, Sarge!" a officer said.

Shadow found himself surrounded by police officers.

"Okay, now when I say de word, we're all gonna jump him at once. All right, den, is everybody ready? ... Let's do it!" officer 3 said.

All the officers pounced on Shadow's location.

"Okay, Sarge, I think I got his leg!" officer 2 said.

"I got him around the neck, Sarge!" another officer said.

"All right, let's pull him out at the count of three. One, two, three!" officer 3 said.

All the officers pulled on each other, sending them into a spin, making them dizzy. Shadow was sitting on top of a car watching them.

Then he shrugged but a net was plopped over his head.

"Don't worry, Sarge, I got him!" an officer said.

Shadow took off running, dragging the officer with him.

All the officers grabbed the net, and were also dragged. Pedestrians and drivers stared in shock. Then a police car drove up.

The police car screeched to a halt as Shadow leapt over it, freeing himself of the net. With nowhere else to go, the officers grabbing the net were slammed and squeezed into the car. Officer 3 picked up a radio.

"Attention all units! Attention all units! A blue hedgehog is headed north on Central Street. Shut down all throughfares leading into and out of Station Square, and set up a roadblock just before the onramp to 101!" he said while Shadow sped off down the road.

Elsewhere a different police car was driving down the highway.

"I've never seen a blue hedgehog before, have you?" the driver asked.

"Heheheh! It must have been one of them fancy new sports cars from overseas. Hey, if we catch it, maybe the captain will let us drive it!" an officer said.

"I bet it has one of those cute little hood ornaments that looks liike a hedgehog."

Their attention was diverted to something on their car's hood. Shadow was standing on the hood of their car, hands on hips.

"I don't know how I got here, but I gotta find a way to get out." he said and leapt off the hood and tears off down the road ahead of the car." he said.

The officers were stunned.

"Hey... did you see... what I just saw?" the officer said.

"I think I did, but I wish I didn't." the driver said.

Even a police helicopter was on the move.

"They were in hot pursuit and it got away? Can't those clowns even catch a hedgehog?!" the helicopter pilot said.

"There he is." the co-pilot said.

The helicopter's searchlight shined on Shadow, who was still running on the highway.

"Visual contact. Subject's headed north on the Central Street extension about a mile and a half from the entrance to 101." the pilot said.

At the police station.

"Roger, Delta 1. Unit 3, subject is headed your way. Repeat, subject is headed your way." the police dispatcher said.

At the highway a roadblock was set up on the highway, consisting of several barriers, police cars, front loaders and a large truck.

"Don't you worry. This hedgehog can't get under us, around us, or through us. We'll stop him." an officer said.

Shadow wasn't fooled. He saw the roadblock and easily cleared it with a high jump.

"Well, he didn't get under us or around us or through us, heheheh..." the officer said.

There was a different police helicopter.

"Ah, they're gonna love this down at headquarters..." the pilot said.

At the police station.

"Uh, Delta 1 to base. I'm afraid that roadblock didn't work." the pilot said over the radio.

"No! Don't tell me it got through!" the dispatcher said over the radio.

"Okay." the pilot said over the radio.

The Police Dispatcher turned to Sam Speed, who is seated behind him.

"Bad news!" he said.

"Hahahaha. Don't worry. I think we got what it takes to round up our furry little friend. Speed Team, get ready to roll!" Sam said.

A screen with lights displaying the status of the S-Team changed its display from "Stand By" to "Called Out". The five members of the S-Team, led by Sam, calmly, and yet dramatically, walk to their vehicles. As the vehicles were being prepared, Sam walked to one of his mechanics.

"What's the temperature of the road surface tonight?" he asked.

"It's about 70 degrees and dry as a bone." the mechanic said.

"Light breeze from the west?"

"Almost nothing."

"Road. Pitted or smooth?"

"Nice and smooth!"

Then Sam slipped on his racing mask.

"Then let's see... Give me the five groove medium soft." he said.

"Here you go!"

New tires were installed on Sam's car, while he put on his racing suit and helmet.

Sam climbed inside his car, buckled his seatbelt, a new steering wheel was installed, and he went through the safety check.

"I programmed gears 5 and 6 to freeway speed." Hector said.

"Great." Sam said.

"Oh, and I filled that secret fuel tank on your car just like you asked me to."

"Good work!"

A new engine was installed, and Sam's vehicle roared to life. After lowering the door, he lowered his visor.

"Chief, they last spotted the subject on Mile 79 on 101 north." an officer said over the radio.

"Roger." Sam said. "All right, team, let's move out!" he said to his team.

Then he turned on his vehicle's lights, and the S-Team pulled out of the garage. A neon sign with three red lights was up ahead. Its lights began changing to green. Soon, all three lights are green.

The S-Team roared out of the starting lane and into the night. They tore down the highway in search of the mysterious blue hedgehog.

Meanwhile Shadow was sitting on top of a street light, looking up at the moon.

"The sky looks the same... So do the stars and the moon." he said and had a flashback of the Chaos Control burst.

Then he looked down and frowned.

"I guess Chaos Control must have sent me here. I traveled through space, and I traveled through time, too. Am I the only one here? Are all the others... gone?" he said and closed his eyes in depression before standing up.

"Well, guess I'll find out soon enough!"

He jumped down onto the road. The S-Team came into view and stopped in front of him. Sam raised the door and climbed out of his vehicle.

"Hi there. You're a hard hog to keep up with." he said and Shadow turned to leave, but was stopped by Sam's voice. "Hey, hold on!"

Then he removed his helmet and mask.

"We don't get such fast company very often. In fact, I'm glad you showed up. This place is way too peaceful. Over the last twelve months, I've only made one arrest. Some joker got it into his head that he was a hotshot driver. Had his own Formula One car and everything. I guess he thought he'd give me a run for my money. But it was all over in a minute. Took me longer than that to suit up."

Shadow smirked.

"He never had a chance. Of course, it's our own fault. This town's dull mainly because of us. You see, we're the high speed pursuit unit - the S-Team. And I'm the leader of the team. They call me the Highway Star! So even if you think you're the fastest thing around... think again."

Shadow gasped and took off. The rest of the S-Team followed except for Sam, who picked up his helmet.

"Run fast, hedgehog. I want to be the one to catch you." he said to himself as if speaking to Shadow.

The chase was on. Shadow was just able to stay one step ahead of the S-Team.

"Heh. The S-Team, eh? The "S" must stand for "slow motion!" Ha ha!" he said and began running laps around one of the cars.

"It's accelerating. Boost your rear wind angle to 20 degrees!" S-Team member 1 said.

"Roger!" another S-Team member said then increased his speed and was soon driving next to Shadow.

"Well, well, well! It's startin' to look like the rush hour!"

The other S-Team vehicles drove up, and soon had Shadow boxed in.

"Oh, no! How will I ever escape! Ha ha!" he said and leapt out from among the cars.

"Where is he? Did I run him over?" S-Team member 2 asked then Shadow appeared next to him and knocked on the door. "Huh?"

Shadow dashed off and leapt on top of Hector's car, peeking in.

"Hey, you! This is dangerous! It's irresponsible! What happens if kids start trying this?!" he said.

Shadow turned to face.

"Kids, don't use Formula One racecars to chase hedgehogs!" he said and leapt off the car and took off down the road.

"You're not gonna treat the S-Team like chumps! We'll teach you a lesson! Boost all wings .5 degrees and let's get this guy!"

"Roger!" an S-Team member said.

The wings on each car adjusted, allowing the cars to drive faster.

"Full throttle!" Hector said then his eyes widened at the next thing he saw. "Wha...?"

He was running backward in front of him.

"What the?! How can... It's playing with us!"

"Where'd this thing come from?!" another S-Team member said.

"Chief! You gotta do something!" Hector said but Sam was already on the way.

"Playtime is now officially over. Attention all units! Open the center line! " he said.

The S-Team members moved to either side of the highway to allow him to drive through.

"I didn't think I'd have to do this, but I have no choice. I will not have anybody faster than me on my highway!" He said and pressed the corresponding button, his car teared past the rest of the S-Team.

He even passed a surprised Shadow, who began running forward again.

"Hahaha! The only way you can beat me now if he goes supersonic! Hahaha!" Sam said.

As if on cue, Shadow ran right up to his car and tore off at the speed of sound, creating a Shadow boom in the process.

"A Shadow boom?!" he said. "He's moving faster than the speed of sound!"

"Chief! You're running out of road!" S-Team member said.

Sam blinked in surprise then deployed parachutes to slow him down, and slammed on the brakes. Shadow saw the end of the road as well, but it was too late. He zoomed off the edge of the cliff. He flew by a wind farm, making the turbines spin wildly, making the city glow more brightly than usual. he took in the sight.

"Maybe this place isn't so bad. At least I know somebody I can have fun with." Shadow said.

Sam was standing at the edge of the cliff.

Suddenly Shadow realized where he was about to land.

"A... A pool?!" he said.

"Uh... oh..." he said grinning sheepishly then tried to run in midair to land elsewhere, but couldn't. " See ya!" he said then landed in the water with a splash, waking a boy inside the house.

Then he tried to leap out of the water, but couldn't. He spotted a ladder on the pool's wall. He tried to run to it, but found it impossible.

The boy turned on the light and looked out the window. Then he raced out of his room, down the hall, down the stairs, and out the door en route to the pool.

Shadow was still running, but finally gave up. Suddenly, the figure of the boy broke through the surface and stretched out his hand. Then he took his hand and pulled him to the surface. He coughed violently.

"That was close! Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Thanks a lot." Shadow said.

The boy blinked in surprise.

"I didn't think you could talk."

"I can do a lot of things."

"Wow, that's awesome! Uh, that you can talk, I mean. My name's Christopher. Do you have a name?"

"Yeah, I have a name. My name is Shadow the Hedgehog!"