I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!


Entry 2

Showdown At Eden

''I can feel your every rage, step aside, I'll turn the page. Breaking through your crazy maze, like a laser beam, my eyes on you.''

Sonic Heroes by Sonic Heroes

xXxXxXx

''Here we are!''

The pink-furred anthropomorphic hedgehog stepped in front of the entrance to the Eden Botanical Garden. She had light green eyes and peach skin covering her muzzle, inner ears, and arms, a small black nose, triangular ears on top of her head, and five short head quills point downwards, somewhat resembling a bob cut, and a short pointy tail. She was wearing a white and rose dress-like tank top; rose sweatpants with a white stripe on each side; white wrist-length gloves that possessed visible lining along with red wristbands with a single yellow stripe; and red sport shoes with white stripes, white shoelaces caught on yellow triangular-hooked eyelets, and gray soles. On the top of her head was a red headband and red sunglasses with clear lenses.

''Uh, Amy? Are you sure that we are supposed to be at Eden?''

Amy Rose turned to her partner, a 15-year-old teenager with mid-length brown hair and brown eyes, dressed in a white T-shirt and a sleeveless zip-up pink hoodie, a light blue plated skirt, white stockings reaching to her tights and red and white tennis shoes. On the top of her head were red sunglasses with pink lenses.

Amy put a finger on her lips, thinking about it. ''Well, my tarot cards told me that there is something of great importance at a place with a lot of greenery, and that there is a shadow looming over it. My first thought was Eden, but it is also possible that the prediction meant Infinity Forest.''

''We could check both. If there isn't anything at Eden, then we go to Infinity Forest,'' her partner, Minami Kusakabe, suggested. Amy nodded in agreement and followed Minami into the huge greenhouse building. Admittedly, both were aware that Amy's tarot reading was something she liked doing for fun, something that should've been treated as a harmless hobby. However, her past experience made her realize that they should not take any of the predictions lightly.

Amy felt a shiver down her spine as a memory flashed in her mind. She could see other humans and ARNavs, all furious and accusing her of cursing them, despite the fact she had no such powers. She couldn't make whatever she foretold come true. All she would do is to read their fortune and, unfortunately, some had really bad luck.

''Only because I said that doesn't mean that it's true. The future can change depending on your actions. Nothing is set in stone.''

Unfortunately, no one had listened to her. Instead, they would claim how she was just going back on her word or making fun of them. They took her word for granted and abandoned her, telling anyone how she would bring them bad luck or curse them if she attempted to read their fortune. Amy was left wandering, wanting a place where she would be accept, and eventually came across Minami, who actually listened to her and even offered Amy to read her fortune. Amy had been reluctant, but agreed. She felt a sense of dread when she told Minami that she would have a bad day, but Minami shrugged it off. The next day, almost everything that could go wrong went wrong, but shockingly, Minami took it in stride.

''I'm so sorry, I never should've done that fortune telling,'' Amy apologized to her. ''Everything I say comes true, one way or another.''

''You don't have to worry,'' Minami replied casually, water dripping down from her clothes after someone turned on their hose to water their garden, only to accidentally spray water all over her. ''It's fine.''

Amy remained anxious, even though Minami continued to smile, assuring her that she was fine. It took a while for Amy to accept that Minami wouldn't abandon her just because her predictions would come true. Instead, Minami would note that her predictions could be interpreted in many ways and if a prediction was particularly intriguing, they would try to figure out what it meant. This is why there were here now, wanting to know what this shadow that was looming over them was.

xXx

''I had no idea that there is plant life this resilient.''

The light gray anthropomorphic hedgehog with white fur on his chest surrounding his neck with gold eyes and peach skin held up a fallen ginkgo leaf, looking absolutely fascinated. He had a black nose on his muzzle, two large spines at the back of his head, while on the front of his forehead there were five distinct spines flared up and back, the two final ones covering up most of his small, triangular ears. He also has a short, pointy tail. He wore white gloves with cyan circles with lines sticking out of the bottom leading to his golden bracelets accented in cyan. The tops of his boots were of a similar fashion with a red gem set in gold. The rest of his boots were navy blue with a white stripe down the center, cyan toes, and gray soles. He also had a cyan goggles with clear lenses around his neck.

''The Ginkgo biloba can survive in almost any kind of environment. Its ancestors date even to the age of dinosaurs,'' his partner, Makoto Ryle, explained. He was a 15-year-old teenager with light brown hair and light brown eyes, wearing a cyan T-shirt with white sleeves, a dark blue tracksuit jacket tied around his waist, brown trousers and blue high top sneakers. On his head was a pair of turquoise sunglasses with light blue lenses.

''Fascinating!'' Silver the Hedgehog said in awe, placing the fallen leaf into a nearby basket filled with other raked leaves, leaving this area in the greenhouse clean. Makoto then picked up the rake, handing it over to Silver and then grabbed the basket. His mother had been the owner of the Eden Botanical Garden, with Makoto helping out whenever he could.

As for Silver, Makoto had found him a few days ago, lying on the ground and breathing heavily, looking completely traumatized. He approached the ARNav carefully, wondering what caused such panicked reaction, and called out for the hedgehog, only to find himself suddenly floating in the air, unable to move at all.

''Where am I? Who are you?'' Silver asked, breathing heavily. Patches of his fur were covered in ashes and blood. He looked like he was ready to fight anyone who approached him.

''Ma-Makoto Ryle… I'm not here to hurt you,'' Makoto replied, trying to keep himself calm and hoping that the hedgehog too would calm down once he sees that Makoto isn't a threat. ''You're in Eden Botanical Garden in Neos City, Starpoint Area.''

''A… botanical garden?'' Silver was surprised, finally taking a proper look around. He appeared to be shocked by seeing so much plant life around him. He gave Makoto a confused look. ''What year is it?''

''What?''

Makoto was quite shocked when he learned that Silver was an Irregular from an apocalyptic future, where everything had burned down, and was sent to the present to prevent the bad future from happening. Unfortunately, he couldn't return to his own future as the device used for the time travel was broken. In the end, he decided to remain with Makoto and work hard to fulfill his task.

''Could we visit the rose garden next?'' Silver asked Makoto as they walked through the greenhouse, passing by other visitors, both humans and ARNavs. There was a faint shimmer, indicating that the AR Field inside the greenhouse was active and covering the surface, the digital layer being almost completely invisible. Makoto's AR Visor was on, allowing him to see the ARNavs residing purely inside the AR Field. Had he turned it off, the greenhouse would turn back to normal and he would only see the humans and whatever ARNavs decided to exit the AR Field.

''Sure, why not?'' Makoto replied. ''Once we return this, we can see how whether the new rosebushes are finally blooming.''

Silver smiled as he looked up at Makoto in excitement. Most of the flowers was already in bloom, except for the roses, as they had been planted around two weeks ago. When Silver had seen them for the first time, he wondered whether something was wrong with the rosebuds, feeling worried that the plant was damaged in some way. Makoto assured him that the roses would eventually bloom and that they just needed to keep an eye on them. He had even shown Silver pictures of roses in full bloom, with the hedgehog being excited to see them in real life.

Ever since he had arrived, he would carefully tend to the roses, awaiting the day when the buds would finally open up. Makoto would sometimes find him late in the evening, checking on the rosebushes, staring at them and hoping they would bloom right in front of him. However, he understood the hedgehog's fascination with the plants, as he had hadn't seen any in his time, having told Makoto that the land had been scorched. Makoto felt sorry for him and for what had happened to him, but Silver was confident that things would take a turn for the better.

''Leave this to me,'' Silver said as they arrived at the garden shed, using his psychokinesis to put the rake inside and the dropping the basket of leaves into the compost bin, then looked up at Makoto, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. ''Can we go now?''

''Sure- uh, hey, wait for me!'' Makoto said, only for Silver, in his excitement, to use his psychic powers to lift himself up and fly towards where the rosebushes were, with Makoto running after him. However, Silver didn't manage to get far until he flew into two familiar people.

''Makoto, Silver!'' Minami and Amy waved at them, with Silver landing in front of them and Makoto skidding to a halt.

''Hey, guys! What brings you here?'' Makoto asked.

''We've been trying to figure out what Amy's prediction meant,'' Minami explained.

''There is something of great importance at a place with a lot of greenery, but a shadow is looming over it,'' Amy added. ''Have you guys seen anything weird here?''

''No, we haven't,'' Silver replied. Minami and Amy exchanged glances, looking slightly disappointed.

''Maybe we are at the wrong place,'' Minami said.

''Or the prediction hadn't come true yet,'' Amy replied. ''Or we interpreted it wrong.''

''Perhaps we could help you with figuring out what your prediction meant,'' Makoto suggested. Amy clasped her hands together.

''That would be great!''

''Do you want to join us checking on the rosebushes? We wanted to see whether they're finally blooming,'' Silver asked.

''Sure, we would love to see them,'' Minami replied, her and Amy following Makoto and Silver.

xXx

''Okay, so we lost the Irregular, but we have a vague idea of what the general direction they took was. Any suggestions?'' Sonic asked as he and his friends walked through the park.

''I suggest a tactical approach. We should split up and search for the Irregular. That way we can cover a larger area,'' Knuckles said.

''While that isn't a bad idea, we would have a lot to cover, especially in comparison to a small park,'' Tails said, looking down at the screen of his device. ''If I could just pick up a BioEnergy signal, we would be able to narrow the Irregular's location down.''

''Maybe we should think of locations where an Irregular would remain undetected,'' Warren suggested.

''Unfortunately for us, there is plenty of them. Neos City is huge and I doubt we will ever be able to check all of them,'' Lily noted.

''We need a new plan, or at least a hint to where to go next,'' Lucas concluded. Fortunately for them, they did get the hint they needed, albeit in the form of a laser beam hitting the ground before them, exploding and creating a small crater. Everyone jumped back, stunned by what had happened, then looked up, seeing a robotic hedgehog hovering above them. Admittedly, while robot-like ARNavs weren't too common, they weren't a rarity either. The actual feeling of surprise came from from the fact that the ARNav resembled Sonic, at least in the case of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Lucas, Warren and Lily, however, already had an idea who this ARNav was.

Sonic broke the silence by taking a step towards his robotic counterpart, raising an eyebrow. ''Hey, Metal Me! What's the big idea of attacking us?''

Metal Sonic didn't respond, doing just a beckoning motion, as if mocking him and then flew away. Frowning, Sonic ran after him, with Tails and Knuckles exchanging glances with each other. Despite the questions they had, they followed Sonic with grim determination; Lucas, Warren and Lily being right behind them. While Knuckles was able to keep up on foot with him and Tails flew after him, Lucas, Warren and Lily followed the ARNavs via their hoverboards. Most people and ARNavs ignored them, figuring they were involved at some kind of race – with one sole exception.

A 16-year-old teenager was sitting on a platform on a building, observing the streets below. She had long dark brown hair and brown eyes with a reddish tint to them, and was wearing a black T-shirt with a white upside-down triangle with red lines on the front, as well as red triangles surrounding it making it look like a digital hazard symbol, as well as a red logo that looked like a spiral with spikes coming out of it; dark red jeans shorts and short black leggings underneath, and black, red and white high top tennis shoes. On the top of her head was a pair of goggles with black frames and light red lenses.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw Sonic and his friends chasing after Metal Sonic, who was flying in the direction of the Eden Botanical Garden. She was actually quite familiar with the group, even if she had only exchanged a few words with them, primarily Lucas. Admittedly, she had a mission of her own, and she certainly wouldn't waste her time with a group of strangers, but they had piqued her interest. It also helped that she was curious about why they were chasing what appeared to be a metal version of Sonic for some reason.

Grabbing her own hoverboard, she stepped on it, figuring that she should be present to witness whatever was going on. However, before she could do anything, she felt a sharp pain in her back, her arms and legs paralyzed. Her heart started to race as the world around her turned pitch-black for a moment, with a dim red light illuminating it. She feel on her knees, clutching her chest as a sense of dread washed over her. It only lasted for a moment, the daylight and city noise returning. She shuddered, getting on the hoverboard and quickly following the group, not wanting to lose them.

Why is this happening to me? They feel like memories, but they're so disconnected from reality. It's more like a dream… or a nightmare.

xXx

''They're so pretty!'' Amy exclaimed upon seeing the rosebushes. There were five rosebushes, each of a different colour, surrounding a lake outside the greenhouse. Silver excitedly examined each of the rosebuds, making sure the bushes were in full bloom. Minami and Makoto were trailing behind the two, with Minami looking just as amazed by the rosebushes as Amy. Silver eventually stopped running from one rosebush to another and returned to Makoto, looking slightly disappointed.

''Not all of them are in full bloom,'' he said.

''Really?'' Makoto said, giving his partner an assuring smile. ''I'm sure it's just not their time yet. All of them should bloom eventually, as long as the plant isn't sick or damaged.''

''I didn't see any signs of damage,'' Silver reported. ''They also look very healthy to me, but you should also take a look at them, just in case.''

Makoto nodded, while Minami joined Amy as she looked at the flowers. ''So far, it appears that there is nothing really connected to the prediction.''

''You're right, but still, I don't regret coming here,'' Amy said, her and Minami's eyes widening in awe as they spotted a couple of butterflies in the bushes. ''Amazing!''

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from the greenhouse and the four could see people and ARNavs running in panic. There was a sound of a window shattering and a lizard with a long tails and sharp claws, wearing khaki pants and a baggy shirt with tears in it, leapt out of it, hissing and snarling. His eyes were glowing and he emitted a sickly green aura.

''An Irregular!'' Minami gasped.

Makoto and Silver joined her and Amy, with Silver and Amy stepping in front of them. They both knew that the Irregular would attack Minami and Makoto and they needed to protect them. Amy held up her arm, an orb of red and pink data appearing above her before converting into a red and golden double-faced sledgehammer, the Piko Piko Hammer. The lines on Silver's gloves started to glow cyan and he was enveloped in a cyan aura. The lizard Irregular saw them, snarling and charging at them. A cyan barrier appeared right before them, with the lizard slamming its claw into it. At first, it seemed like it couldn't pass through it, but the Irregular charged the stolen BioEnergy into his next attack, creating a crack in the barrier, much to Silver's shock. The barrier broke down, with Amy charging towards the Irregular, brandishing the Piko Piko Hammer.

''Take this!''

She leapt and swung the hammer, but the lizard Irregular was faster, the aura crackling around it. It dodged Amy's attack, turning on its heel and swinging its tail, knocking her away. Amy hit the ground hard, the hammer flying out of her hands, and her body twitching as it got covered in green sparks.

''Amy!'' Minami screamed and ran towards her, worried for her partner. She ignored Makoto and Silver screaming after her, being relieved when she saw Amy moving, if only barely. However, that move was also a mistake, as she now made herself a target for the lizard Irregular.

''Watch out!''

However, just as the lizard Irregular leapt at the two, jaws wide open, a blue blur hit it, causing it to crash in one of the rosebushes.

''Sonic!'' Minami was happy to see the blue hedgehog, who just turned to her, smiling and giving a thumbs up. Her eyes then went wide. ''Behind you!''

Sonic turned around, tensing as he saw the lizard tearing through the rosebush and leaping at him. A cyan barrier suddenly appeared before Sonic, temporarily stopping the Irregular. However, just as it attempted to attack Sonic again, Silver appeared, floating right next to Sonic with a scowl on his expression.

''This is for hurting Amy!'' Silver enveloped the lizard Irregular into cyan energy, lifting it up and then slamming it on the ground. ''And this is for destroying the roses!''

''Nice job, Silv,'' Sonic complimented him, with Silver smiling in response. However, the lizard Irregular wasn't out for the count yet, as it got up again, snarling at them. The toxic green energy started sparking up as the Irregular readied itself for another attack, only to get hit in the head by a yellow-orange boomerang. It turned its head to the one responsible, only to get clocked straight in the face by Knuckles. However, the moment he did, Knuckles felt sparks flying and rushing through his body. His limbs went numb and he fell on his knees, as if paralyzed.

''Wh-What is this?'' Knuckles couldn't move at all. Just as the lizard Irregular attempted to take a bite of him, Tails managed to swoop in and carry him away before the Irregular could get to him. ''Fox, my own body won't obey me!''

''It may be the effect the Irregular's attacks have on you,'' Tails said, struggling a little due to Knuckles' weight.

''The lizard shall pay for this!'' Knuckles responded, him and Tails landing next to Lucas, Warren and Lily as they got on the battleground. Tails turned to Warren.

''We need to stay away from the Irregular's aura. It appears to paralyze anyone who touches it,'' Tails informed them. While Sonic and Silver confronted the lizard Irregular, Makoto helped Minami bring the paralyzed Amy over to the rest of the group. Fortunately, Amy had managed to open her eyes.

''Ugh, my head…'' she moaned.

''Can you move?'' Minami asked.

''A little,'' Amy responded. Makoto meanwhile turned to the rest of the group.

''The Irregular had absorbed the BioEnergy of the Eden visitors. We need to make sure it doesn't hurt more,'' he said.

''That won't be easy,'' Lily commented. ''The Irregular looks like it's on steroids.''

''That's just the BioEnergy. If it runs out of it, it'll stop,'' Lucas said. ''We should keep it occupied as long as possible.''

''You guys should get away. If the Irregular gets close to you, you're done for,'' Amy noted.

''Hey, we're not leaving you guys behind,'' Lucas told her, turning to where Sonic and Silver were, dodging the lizard's attacks. Both had seen what happened to Amy and Knuckles and didn't want to get any closer to the Irregular. Fortunately, Sonic was much faster than the lizard, while Silver would rise a barrier whenever he could. He tried to envelop the lizard Irregular in a cyan aura once again, but the lizard's aura broke through it, the lizard using the absorbed BioEnergy to break through Silver's psychokinesis.

''Hey, Silv!'' Silver turned to Sonic, who smirked. ''How about tag-teaming this guy?''

''Sure!'' Silver's pointed his hands at Sonic, who curled up into a ball. A protective cyan aura appeared around the latter, with Sonic spin-dashing into the lizard, knocking him away. Sonic leapt back, landing next to Silver, with the two power-bumping. This time, the lizard appeared to be winded, with Sonic stepping up.

''Hey, buddy, why are you attacking everyone and absorbing the humans' BioEnergy?'' he asked. The lizard snarled, glaring at Sonic.

''Stop getting in my way, hedgehog!'' he growled. ''This power is mine!''

''I don't think there is a way to talk through this one, Sonic,'' Silver said, the cyan aura manifesting in his hands. However, Sonic took another step forward.

''Why do you need the BioEnergy? Is it really that important that you need to endanger other people?'' he asked.

Instead of answering, the lizard snarled, leaping at Sonic, but Sonic managed to dodge his attack using his super speed, appearing right behind the lizard. The lizard turned around, about to attack him, when he got suddenly hit Tails' boomerang. The boomerang flew back, Tails catching it and landing next to Silver.

''If you want to continue your battle with Sonic, then you will have to fight all of us as well,'' Tails said, pointing at himself, Silver, and even Amy and Knuckles, who had recovered from the paralysis, joining their friends. Amy had summoned the Piko Piko Hammer once again, while Knuckles banged his spiked knuckles against each other, ready to get his revenge. The lizard snarled, glaring at the group.

''We are a package deal, whether you like it or not,'' Sonic told him, crossing his arms, a confident smile on his expression. The group surrounded the lizard Irregular, determined to stop him.

Meanwhile, Minami turned back to Lucas, Warren and Lily as they realized something. ''Hey, how did you guys even know that we have a situation here?''

''We were led here by a metal version of Sonic after he attacked us,'' Lucas explained. Minami and Makoto gave the them a surprised look.

''Wait a minute, do you guys mean… that metal version of Sonic?'' Minami asked.

Lucas simply nodded, glancing at their partners. ''I guess there will be some stuff to explain afterwards. Although, knowing Sonic, he wouldn't care about it that much and just move on to the next thing.''

''Okay, so, where is he now?'' Makoto asked. The group realized that they lost sight of Metal Sonic after being forced to focus on the more immediate threat of the lizard Irregular.

''Up there!'' Warren spotted Metal Sonic hovering above the battleground. He was focused solely on Sonic, who was currently taunting the lizard Irregular.

Unknown to either the humans or ARNavs, another familiar figure had joined them, jumping of her hoverboard, hiding behind the foliage and observing what was going on. This should be interesting.

The lizard Irregular snarled once again, about to attack Sonic, but before he could do that, Sonic got tackled by Metal Sonic, knocking him away from the lizard. Sonic landed on his back, but quickly got up, glaring at Metal Sonic.

''Metal Me? Why are you…?'' Sonic trailed off, realizing that Metal Sonic didn't lead them here to find the Irregular. He was here to fight Sonic. ''I see…'' Sonic clenched his fist, observing Metal Sonic, who glared at him.

''Sonic!'' Tails called out for his friend, worried. Sonic just smiled in response.

''I trust you guys to take down the troublemaker,'' he said, nodding towards the lizard Irregular, then turned towards Metal Sonic. ''I'll deal with Metal Me.''