Chapter 1 – Lost Past

Long ago, centuries into Mobius's past there was an event that changed the shape of the planet. The year was 2739 and the of Crescent House was in trouble. In that time most of Mobius was ruled by one of the four great houses. There was Scythe, Malston, Soonith and Crescent. They all ruled a certain area of Mobius and everything was peaceful.

In House Crescent, the ruler, Lord Anathon, was ill. He had not been seen in public for months and the prognosis was not good. He was dying. On the 9th day of the 7th month Lord Anathon died. The whole of house Crescent went into mourning. Luckily a son had been born a year earlier. He was called Sarath. Like his father, he was a grey fox but had streaks of red in his tail and head fur.

Over the following years House Crescent, because it was without a leader, was slowly reduced to a lowly house with little land. The other houses had taken the opportunity to expand there empires and now House Crescent was not even a tenth of its former size. By now Sarath was ten and was nearly ready to take over as Lord of Crescent. He had been putting himself through a hard training regime and was now very fit and smart. He was also highly skilled in sword work and was so far unbeaten in competition. The years continue to pass and soon it was Sarath's sixteenth birthday. He was appointed Lord of House Crescent in a massive celebration. At the appointment, Sarath revealed his plans for the future. He would not allow House Crescent to fall any further. He pledged to take back what had been taken from them. The whole population of Crescent suddenly became focussed on the task ahead. The Crescent army increased in size 3 fold over the next 2 months. Finally Sarath was satisfied and gave the order. Crescent's army rolled out of the Capital and quickly retook the surrounding land.

Over the course of the next year, House Crescent fought many battles against the three other houses. Their army was slowly reduced to nothing and the surrounding houses, furious at the action of House Crescent, began to close in. Sarath was at a lose end, he couldn't stop what was happening and something snapped inside him. He became cold and more determined than ever. He gathered his remaining army near the capital for a final stand. Then to the surprise of his generals he sent nearly the whole force away. As the armies of the three houses closed in for the final strike they received shocking news. Crescents forces had launched a three pronged attack on all of their capital cities, completely levelling them. The three houses forces became completely demoralised by this surprise attack and faltered. The remaining section of Crescent army fired and completely decimated them.

The Crescent Empire rejoiced. Not only had they taken back there land and more they had eliminated the leaders of the other three houses. Sarath was most pleased. He quickly rebuilt his army and set about conquering all of Mobius. Many years passed and soon Mobius was completely ruled by House Crescent and Sarath. Sarath had been ruthless in this goal. The close few who had known him throughout his childhood were scared of him now. Before the change he had been friendly, kind and always ready to help people out. Now he was cruel, hard and to some extent evil. Sarath had become restless though. He wanted more. More land, more control. Over the course of many years he researched the books and data crystals in the archives. Finally he compiled enough data to try his experiment. On his twenty fifth birthday he finally announced his plans in style. He used his gathered knowledge to open an inter dimensional portal. After several successful attempts at sending probes into the vortex, Sarath was finally ready. He gathered his military forces and entered the portal. As the giant battleships entered the vortex, something happened. The vortex started to become unstable because of the enormous amount of material it had to transport. Sarath was unable to do anything as the portal collapsed behind him.

On Mobius the whole planet erupted into cheers. Sarath the evil lord was finally gone. After seven years of rule, Mobius was finally free. The planet celebrated for many weeks until the burn happened. As Sarath had had no son, numerous people across Mobius declared themselves the new lord. The inevitable happened and the planet erupted into full scale war. The cities were destroyed, the forests were burnt to the ground and the population was reduced to living in fear.

Then out of the chaos and the gloom a figure emerged. Rallying people to his side he eventually retook all of Mobius. He rebuilt the cities, replanted the forests and gave the frightened people of Mobius new hope. The year was 2765 and his name was Harold Acorn.

-----------------------------------------

Sonic raised his hands and pushed open the door. It flew open and he strode out into the Palace Gardens. The smell of flowers and fruit filled his nose as he breathed deeply. He looked up into the sky. Another fine day in Mobotropolis. He slowly walked down the path. Rose bushes grew overhead and created a dappled shade from the sun. Sonic walked a little further and eventually came to stop near a bench. He sat down and looked at the garden. He stretched. Had it really been five years? Sonic thought back to the event of the past. Five years ago Sonic had finally accepted his appointment to the throne and had married Sally soon afterwards. Sonic smiled as he remembered her face when he had proposed to her in front of everyone. A year later there first child had been born. A girl squirrel like Sally. They had named her Alicia after Sally. The next year there second child was born. A male hedgehog they had named Miles. That had also been the year that King Acorn had stepped down and Sonic and Sally had been made king and queen. And now he was twenty three and been had ruling for three years.

Sonic got up and walked on a bit more. Today was going to be fun. Knuckles was coming to see him and he had planned a little fishing trip for a few days. He continued walking lost in thought.

-----------------------------------------

"MOM!"

Sally rolled her eyes.

"What is it Alicia?"

"Miles shocked me." cried Alicia running in through the door.

"What did he do?"

"He jumped out of my bedroom cupboard as I was walking past."

Sally let out a small sigh.

"Well I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"He did!" said Alicia stubbornly.

Sally groaned. Alicia was a lovely child but was really stubborn. Miles was a lot like Sonic. He was always playing around and having fun.

"Oh come on!" said Sally.

Alicia just rose her nose in the air and hmmfed. Sally groaned. She hated it when she did that.

"I'll go and talk to him." Sally sighed finally.

Alicia beamed at her and walked off. Sally went to find Miles. She walked down the long palace corridors and finally came to the children's room. Inside she found Miles. He was lying on his stomach on the bed reading. Sally went up to him.

"Miles."

"Oh hi mom." said Miles cheerfully.

"Miles, how many time do I have to tell you. Don't shock your sister."

Miles slid off the bed and looked at his feet.

"Sorry mom."

"It's ok. Just don't do it. She doesn't like it."

"But she's so funny. You should have seen her. I jumped out and she just screamed and ran. I couldn't stop laughing."

"Miiiiiiiles." said Sally slightly irritated.

"Ok mom. I won't do it again."

"There a good boy. Now why don't you go and have some fun outside."

"Ok."

Sally watched Miles run off. He was such an energetic thing. Reminded her of Sonic when he was young. Ah the joy of youth.

"Mind you I am only twenty three!" Sally laughed looking down at herself.

She wore a large flowing pale green dress with a golden pattern embroidered on the front and a small golden tiara one her head. She got up and left the room. As she walked along the corridor she noticed that several guards' eyes following her as she past. She smiled as she turned a corner.

"Still got it Sally girl." she said to herself.

-----------------------------------------

"Tails? TAILS?! How long are you going to be in there?" screamed Amy.

There was a sliding of metal and a clunk. The door swung open to reveal Tails. He was wearing a pair of thick welding gloves and was covered from head to toes in engine oil. Amy peered around him. Behind him in his workshop was a mass of various parts and tools, all equally covered in oil as he was.

"Tails. What are you doing?"

"Tinkering."

"I can see that. WHAT are you tinkering?"

"The Whirlwind got a little damaged after last time. She needed a bit of fixing."

"Not again! Can't you keep her in one piece?"

"Err well it is an aggressive sport."

Amy knew too well. Anti-gravity racing. It had been introduced a few years back and Tails had been one of the first to sign up.

"So what wrong this time?"

"Well Max hit my port stabiliser during the last race. Completely shattered the engine. I still won though!" said Tails smugly.

"Hmm…yeah. You never seem to loose. Max…..he uses a Swallow design doesn't he?"

"Yes, he uses wings to gain more straight line speed. I prefer the Serpent design. I like to have better control in the corners."

"Yeah, besides your racer is the fastest Serpent around."

"Sure is!" said Tails beaming.

"Well just to let you know. Dinner is almost ready. Get yourself cleaned up."

Amy turned and walked off. Tails turned back into his workshop and removed his gloves. He looked at the pieces scattered across the floor. The Whirlwind's twin booster engines lay on the floor.

"Hmm…this could do with a little tweak." said Tails to himself picking up the injector points.

He picked up a spanner and adjusted a small screw.

"That should do it."

He put the point down and headed to the back of the workshop. He opened a door and entered a small bathroom. He walked to the far wall and removed his shoes. He turned on the shower and stepped in. He spent a few minutes cleaning the oil out of his fur. He stepped out and grabbed a towel, drying himself. He put his shoes back on and looked in the mirror.

"Stupid hair!" complained Tails as he tried to make the three strands of fur on his head stand up again.

After a minute he gave up and simply brushed it to one side. He walked out of the bathroom and back into the workshop. He picked up his blue gillet and put it on followed by his black cap. He put it on backwards and pushed his damp hair through the gap at the back. His ears poked through the top. He looked over at the Whirlwind. She was a real beauty. She was about twenty five foot long and had two upward facing fins on the back. Her engines normally ran along the bottom of the craft on either side of the anti-grav pads. The cockpit was mounted on the nose. Tails was almost tempted to start works again but a loud call made him think other wise. He turned and headed out.

-----------------------------------------

"TAILS!" yelled Amy out of the door.

Where was that fox? In the five years they had been living together on Little Planet he had spent at least four and a half in that stupid workshop. She knew he liked making things but that was a bit rich. She looked over at his workshop and saw him coming out. She pushed her hand through her head quills. She had let them grow long again in recent years. They were now as long as Sonic. The centre ones stood up slightly and the side ones had been jelled so that stuck out to the sides. She had also changed her style. She wore a white ankle length dress. I had been split up the side, up to her hips and was held together by a couple of blue ties. The dress also had a blue pattern on the front. Since she had found out she was an Acolyte for some reason it had seemed right. She didn't know why though. Tails approached her.

"I told you it was nearly ready."

"Sorry. Must have spent too long in the shower." smiled the fox.

"Come her you." said Amy as she kissed him.

She loved Tails. He was so good to her. It was hard to imagine that the mature seventeen year old in front of her had once been that playful ten year old in Knothole.

"So what we having?" asked Tails, his nose twitching.

"Come and see." said Amy leading Tails inside.

-----------------------------------------

"This place gets more boring by the day!" complained Knuckles.

"Oh stop complaining!" grumbled Espio, "Think yourself lucky your getting a break!"

"Yeah I suppose so."

Knuckles and Espio walked slowly through the jungle on the Floating Island towards the palace. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Nothing had happened to the Floating Island since Snively had been defeated seven years ago. Espio could tell Knuckles itched for a bit of adventure. Quite honestly so did he. Nothing exciting had happened for ages. Ever since the rest of the Chaotix had been killed the island had been quiet. Espio missed to gangs get togethers. He sighed.

"What's up Espio?" asked Knuckles.

"Huh? Oh nothing. Just bored like you."

"Yeah. Well as you said, I've got a break coming."

"Yeah and it's just typical it coincides with the next grav race!"

Knuckles smiled. The next race was the hardest of the season. It was sure to be a corking good race. Knuckles had never really taken much interest but Espio was a keen fan.

"I'll tell you what happened." hje said.

"It not the same though." complained Espio as they approached the palace.

"Will YOU stop complaining." teased Knuckles.

Espio laughed.

"Sorry. Shouldn't you be going now?"

"Probably. I'll catch you in a week or so."

"Sure thing. Have a good time."

Knuckles turned and headed for the Angel Island zone and the edge of the island. He shook his head. Espio hadn't changed since he had met him. He had though, well slightly. He shook his head again. His red dreadlocks now had black tips to them. He reached up and pulled his sunglasses on, blasted sun.

After a while he reached the edge of the island. He looked over the edge and shuddered. As strange as it seemed, he couldn't stand looking over the edge of the island, even though his most common form of transport was gliding. Oh well. He spread his arms and leaped off the edge. His dreadlocks caught the wind and he started to glide.

-----------------------------------------

Sonic strode into the throne room in the royal palace. His purple cape swinging behind him. The guards stood to attention as he walked past.

"Oh chill out will you!" he said.

The guards relaxed and smiled slightly. Sonic liked being king but all this "your royalness" stuff bugged him at times. He walked up to the thrones he and Sally had.

"Sal? You here?" he asked.

"Right here Sonic." said Sally stepping out of a small room to the side.

"Ah good. I just wanted to tell you something. Knuckles should be arriving here soon and when he does we're going on a fishing trip for a day or so."

"Oh that's nice. I bet it's a break from being stuck on that island."

"Yeah, he kinda jumped at the chance. Do you know tha….."

Just then there was a loud bang and several shouts. Sonic smiled.

"He's here." he said.

Just then Knuckles burst through the far door closely followed by several guards. Sonic walked up to him and high fived him before they gave each other a small hug.

"Glad to see you again Knuckles, but do you have to burst in like that every time?"

Knuckles grinned.

"I just love watching your guards trying to stop me."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Some things never changed.

"So when do we go?" asked Knuckles.

"Err whenever you're ready." replied Sonic.

"Right lets go."

Sonic watched as Knuckles walked out of the room. He blinked.

"And I thought I was king!"

He followed Knuckles out of the room.

-----------------------------------------

A large black object hung in mid air. Inside all was a bustle.

"Are we ready yet?!" said a cold voice.

"Almost sir. We just need to stabilise the output." said another voice.

"Excellent. Inform me when we are ready to proceed." said the first voice again.

The figure the voice belonged to turned and walked away his grey tail swishing behind him.

"Soon Mobius. Soon you will be mine again!"