Sonic Adventure 2 This is an alternate version of Sonic Adventure 2, which I did as a writing exercise. The plot differs extremely from the established storyline, but it did for the STC Sonic Adventure as well (I haven't played the game, so the characters may not all be in character.) Most characters are © Sega.

Prologue: Trouble Brewing

The warm air scattered dust and dirt into Knuckles' face. He screwed his eyes against the sand, looking down onto the sprawling desert below; shifting sand dunes highlighted every shade of yellow and orange in the new morning. He wriggled, trying to get comfortable. Perky, his pteranodon cooed faintly, beating her large khaki leather wings and snapped her beak, much more at home in the dusty climate then Knuckles. The red Echidna's dreadlocks whirled out behind him, whipping his head annoyingly. He gripped Perky's shoulders, scanning the sandpit for any glint of green in the orange. Why had he been so stupid?
Knuckles was the only remaining of the ancient Echidna race. He had been appointed, he wasn't sure how, Guardian of the Floating Island, and had kept that status uneventfully for six years, until he had met Robotnik and Sonic the Hedgehog. Then his job had become much more hectic, and the Master Emerald, the aged power source of the Floating Island, had been lost repeatedly. Since being attacked by the water demon Chaos, the Floating Island had sunk under the sea. Knuckles had spent weeks restoring his and Perky's home. He had managed to pull the Island nearly out of the water, but if it was ever going to fly again, it needed the Master Emerald. Now, thanks to Sonic, the Emerald was God knows where.
After Chaos had been defeated, Sonic's friend Porker had tried to do some experiments into how Chaos had fused with the Emerald. The resulting accident had fired the Master Emerald into the sky, where it could have ended up anywhere on Mobius.
A flash of green flickered on the sand. "Bingo!" yelled Knuckles, elated. Somehow, he had known to check the desert first. It was a weird feeling, one that Sonic talked about occasionally. "Good girl, Perky." Knuckles congratulated his friend. "Go back home for some food." The tired pteranodon winged away and Knuckles jumped out into the air, nearly fifty foot from the ground.

The sandy wind tainted her pure white fur, trickling into her sensitive ears. Rouge the Bat shook the grains out of her bottle green eyes and turned away from the breeze. What the heck was she doing here anyway? She made a silent vow never to get into this situation again. She glanced over the wasteland, seeing nothing but rock and dust. Rats. She had a long way to walk.
Then she saw a sparkle of green.

Rouge could not believe her luck. She gazed in wonderment at the miraculous gem. She had thought the rubies she'd lifted from the Eldorado Zone were impressive, each one the size of her hand. This thing was half the size of her. She just couldn't believe it. The colossal jewel caught the dawn's sun, twinkling and shimmering inside itself mysteriously. The watery jade light poured over her yearning expression. She pulled herself away from it, and scanned the cerulean sky. Just in time to see something plummeting towards her.
Rouge flinched in shock. What the heck was it? It picked up speed, eclipsing the sun. Rouge looked away, her eyes searing with the sun's fire. The comet grew nearer, and Rouge peered past the luminous stripes surging about her vision. It was an animal. He was unlike any Mobian she'd ever seen before, with a stunning red pelt and long ropey dreadlocks soaring around his head.
Six feet from the ground, the creature spread his arms and legs, and glided up again, drifting higher, and then performed a flip in mid-air, landing perfectly on his feet.
"What was that all about?" The stranger jumped, obviously having missed her. She must be more sandy then she thought, reflected Rouge.
"Just having fun." The stranger recovered from his surprise. "Um, that's my emerald, by the way."
Rouge was mute with astonishment. Finally: "No way. I found it first." There was no way she was giving up this prize. They both glared at each other, sizing each other up.
He was powerfully built, his crimson fur concealing brawny strength. His long dreadlocks coming half way down his back, swaying gently in the wind. He wore gloves and metal shoes. From under each glove protruded two sharp spurs. Dangerous. His red coat was discoloured with sand, but his violet eyes were bright, depthless, and filled with determination. He had a boyish air of naive. What a nuisance.
"No, it's mine." He insisted. "And I'd like it back, please."
"Get stuffed." Snapped Rouge. "What would you be doing with a jewel like this? Who are you, anyway?"
"I am Knuckles, Guardian of the Master Emerald." He scowled. "And I protect it from thieves like you."
"You can't protect gems from me, pal. I'm Rouge the Bat, best thief on Mobius."
"I've beaten tougher types then you for that thing, bat." He probably had, she thought. His fists appeared strong enough to rip rock. He continued: "You don't want that thing, anyway. It has magic you can't understand." As she was about to jeer at that, a shadow materialized over them both.

Knuckles turned to glare at the newcomer. Silhouetted against the sun, a monstrous shape threatened. Knuckles couldn't see clearly, with the sand and the sun, but he recognised the voice with an unpleasant jolt.
"Good morning. May I be of assistance? I can settle this dispute quite simply." Robotnik.
"Lard gut! What are you doing out of jail?" Knuckles shifted to a better position, so he could see clearly.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. No jail can hold a genius." The mutated tyrant gloated from his machine. His ginger moustache covered his entire flabby face, leaving only a generous nose and two eyes, each cold as a vacuum. He was plainly thinner from his stint in jail, his red and white coat creased into folds around his body, which was almost spherical despite the weight loss. His machine consisted of a large metal pod, egg shaped to suit its occupant. It had many boxy contraptions around the side, each secreting some weapon or device. On the bottom of the pod were more, heavier mechanisms, including two hefty jet cylinders. The machine hovered, its antigravity units whirring. It was originally designed to be colourful, but the reds and blues were dulled into black by the oil and scorch marks that leaked down the clunky vehicle.
Knuckles curled his fists, ready for action. Behind him, Rouge tensed too. They both glowered at Robotnik. "But didn't you go mad?" asked Knuckles.
"Mad? Me?" enquired Robotnik. "Of course I did. But I am resilient. I soon regained my sanity, and built my fabulous Egg Walker right under my captors' noses. What a triumph it is, my friend! With this one machine, I can do all manner of things. Watch!" He pressed a button on his console. A compartment near the back cracked open, exposing a glass sphere. Hatches opened on two more boxes, near the nose of the craft. Knuckles saw the Master Emerald hurtle by in a flash of jade. It stuck against the glass ball, and crackles of electricity boiled around both. "Soon, this Emeralds energy will be transferred to my machine. Then it will be even better!" The computer spoke in a smooth, synthesised voice. Data analysed. Transfer beginning in 3 seconds.
Knuckles yelled in outrage. "Robotnik, you leave that alone, or I'll bury your head in your engines!" Robotnik laughed. Rouge flew at him, but a force shield crackle alive to meet her, flinging her away into the sand. Knuckles winced, and leaped at the fat man. 2 seconds until transfer. The shield caught him, pushing pain through his nerves, but something kept him going. The strange sensation he had felt before he found the emerald filled him again, but more powerfully, bashing back the agony. He pushed forward, his body burning with strange power.

Rouge gazed in amazement as the Echidna punched through the shields. She pushed herself giddily onto unsteady feet, gasping from the force field's assault. The boy had now got to the Emerald. 1 second until transfer. With an alien roar, Knuckles raised his fist. She could see his violet eyes livid with new energy. He brought his fist into the emerald.

Robotnik heard a deafening, echoing boom, and chaos broke loose. His computer blanked out, luminous green lightning played over his perfect machine. He looked around frantically, as storms of jade light erupted in a tumult. The olive force vaporised in time for him to see a shard of Emerald spinning into the distance. Curses! His machine flickered back to life. He checked the readings. Energy transfer unit destroyed, minimal damage to main craft. Oh well, there was no reason to stay out here. He checked his compass, powered up his engines and sped off, in pursuit of his original mission.

Rouge ran up to the Echidna, who was lying on the ground. She was shocked into numbness. He got slowly to his knees, staring at his hands as the weird force evaporated off them, clearly as dumbfounded as she was. They stared at each other. Then reality returned.
"What did you do to my jewel? You idiot!"
"It's mine, bat." Knuckles gasped, pulling himself to his feet.
"You fool! I mean, each piece would still be twice as big as any other on this planet." The same conclusion struck them both.
"And I'm gonna find them before you." Knuckles was running of into the desert. Rouge watched him for a minute, then turn to fly in the opposite direction. No Echidna could beat her.

The piercing mid day sunlight pounded the walls of the base, making the flawless silver metal burn pure white into Shortfuse's eyes. He increased the filters in his helmet, and shifted so he could see the compound more easily. The numerous lifts and portals to the underground buildings sprouted up around the camp, all blinding in the sun. Small metallic mushrooms emerged around them, and around the barbed wire fence enclosing the base, warding off thick green jungles. Pop rivets and AUTHOURISED PERSONNEL ONLY signs outlined everything, humanoid robots with harsh blue armour marching and guarding to precise schedules. It had to go.
Shortfuse the Squirrel fiddled with his laser gun settings, humming Blaze of Glory and watching as he waited. The cool breeze whispered around the dull emerald leaves of the bush he was hiding in, unheeded by his steel coating. The tropical sun obstinately bounced off the metal, dazzling him despite his electronic filters. He cursed and turned their settings up. It was nearly time; the guard was being changed soon. He'd teach these miserable humans to pot shot him, with their embarrassingly pathetic guns. This wasn't even their planet.
The humans had kept quiet during the years of Robotnik's rule. Some Koala kid had found their city, in the middle of a mountain range, struggling for survival. They had joined the rest of Mobius discreetly, using their advanced robots to combat Robotnik without drawing attention to themselves during his years of hiding. Now, though, they were making themselves known to the rest of the planet, and the G.U.N. bases that had been so successful at keeping Robotnik's Badniks at bay were sprouting up everywhere. However, in his new suit of armour, Shortfuse was regularly attacked by G.U.N.'s forces and had had it with the people. He also shared, with many other Mobians, a xenophobia towards the humans, who let Mobius live through years of war before deigning to intervene.
He looked up, to see the Guardbots leaving for their next duty. With a surge of white/blue flame, his jet pack powered him forward, off his feet, incinerating his cover. A scarlet comet erupted from his palm, dissolving the fence with a pleasing ball of fire. The two Guardbots looked up, in time to have themselves scattered over the rubble of the fence. Shorty smashed their heads in with a particular satisfaction; he despised other robots. With yet another blast, Shorty eradicated the door to the lift. Then he was in, the alarm klaxons smashing chaos over the world five seconds too late.
Shorty fired through the building in a furious sphere of anger and gunfire. He grinned broadly under his helmet. His designer friend Tekno had really worked hard on this suit. It was worth it; this base was one of the most important, secret ones. With it gone, all the others would be in disarray. That'd teach them to mow him down every time he stopped for breath. Another Guardbot crossed his path, and fell, sans head. Shorty flicked the useless motor at a new Guardbot, where it smashed, red hot, through the chest leaving the Guardbot to topple over, buffeted by the squirrel's slipstream. One more Guardbot appeared, blocking a top security door. This time Shorty merely cannoned through both, littering debris everywhere. He pulled a circuit board out of his eyes before it melted, just in time to see the wall approaching in a hurry.
There was a tremendous CLANGGG! and Shorty picked himself up, his metal coat steaming.
"A bit overenthusiastic, I think." Shorty looked around. He was in a small room, filled with computer terminals. The wide white strip-lights overhead flickered and quavered, many shattered from Shorty's dramatic entry. In the corner stood Robotnik.
"You!" Shorty growled, "What are you doing here?" He raised his arms to a fighting stance, gun aimed at Robotnik's head. The ginger moustache wriggled as he spoke. It was certainly big enough to have a life of it's own.
"Please, don't embarrass me with that. I will not tell you my plan, defect."
Shorty snarled. "I'll give you defect! Eat this, Egg brain!" Shorty's crimson bolt was eaten away a meter from the madman. Shorty turned the light filters down, and saw that Robotnik was seated in a heavy metal pod on legs. From a compartment at the front of the pod, a wicked pair of barrels pointed at Shorty. The blue energy shield dissipated, and in the glittering light, Shorty made out an electronic arm plugged into one of the intact computers. Shorty evaporated the terminal in a cloud of red. "Hah! I bet that was important!"
"I already have what I need. And now, I'll go. Say 'hi' to the soldiers for me." Robotnik powered up his machine and was out through the wrecked door. Four weighty laser blasts pounded the entrance full of melted rubble, leaving the mechanised squirrel trapped. Shortfuse could already hear the G.U.N.'s elite troops approaching.

Robotnik giggled as he activated the lift. The robots would pay him no heed, partly because they were all about to annihilate the squirrel, but also because he had programmed them not to recognise him. Ha! The fools at G.U.N. would never match his genius.
He looked on, impressed, at the carnage of Shorty's strike. Robots lay everywhere, tangled in their own molten engines. Several doors had been smashed to bits, and the terminals and holo-maps grafted into the wall had all been cremated by the animal's jet boots. It all smelt sharply of burning and oil. The only light came weakly from three doors away, where it had somehow escaped destruction, letting shadows dominate.
The first Heavy Assault Trooper jogged by. It was not unlike Robotnik's own Egg Walker, with a bigger entrance and more vibrant colours. Although the machine was twice as tall as his, Robotnik bet that it didn't have half the power of his brilliant Walker. He did not test this, as the machine past him blindly. Oh yes, he was great! Now for the rest of his perfect plan.
This time he would rule. There would be no Sonic the Hedgehog this time. He seethed at the blue Mobian, whose super fast skills had brought him down time after time. He would enjoy torturing Sonic with. whatever he found. He knew what he was searching for would be worth all the effort.
Robotnik clambered his machine out of the remains of the lift, and immediately stepped out into the camouflage of the trees. It did not do to take chances. He operated the computer on his multi-functional vehicle. He brought up a map of the base, and pinpointed the building he wanted, right on the other side of the compound. That cursed Shortfuse! The animal had destroyed the terminal before he had finished. The data on what he wanted was lost, but the location remained. He would just have to figure out what "Project Shadow" was himself.

He jacked into the PC outside the building, swiftly disabling all external alarms. Stupid people! If they were going to run an automated camp, they'd need to do better than this. They were probably sitting, now, in the main office, reading info on Shortfuse's capture on their screens. When he ruled the planet, he would not make that mistake.
He took the lift to the very bottom floor, bypassing security with a quick data file. There was a feeling of falling, then the ground pushing against his robot's feet, and the lift exit cracked open, slowly and thickly. He stepped out, being rocked as the Walker lumbered on. He would have to perfect his walking mechanism.
He continued through the corridor, lit up by the dull blue lights that had sat unused for nearly fifty years. He passed weapons, illegal drugs, and computer terminals containing forbidden information. Safes of gold and riches stood unopened, and secret, dangerous inventions lurked in the shade of the numerous dark rooms hanging off the hall. Childs play. He'd designed better weapons himself.
He reached his destination. The room was full of objects. There were many computers, strange boxy containers, and old implements on an ancient operating theatre. In the centre of the room was a cylindrical cryogenics chamber, radiating icy air and giving the room an unwelcoming atmosphere.
Perfect. Project Shadow waited. It had to be in one of these containers.
He plodded forward. Blip-Ouioiuoiuoiuoiu! A hellish screaming cracked his ears, and the sudden light punched his eyes out. Drat! The alarms still worked!
He blinked, the constant whine boring through his sinus, and shot out a few of the lights. The bulbs were obliterated, letting the room sink back into a flickering murky blackness. The remaining lights dimmed through lack of power. He turned, and calmly shot the mechanical bell.
The silence was louder then the roaring. Robotnik stood still, ceased breathing, trying to blend in with the silence. He carefully looked around.
"Intruder destruction program-Initiated." The harsh rasping voice echoed off the walls, floor and ceiling. Robotnik spun his machine 180 degrees to see his attacker. The robot looked like an egg on legs. It was painted red and white, dulled in the gloom, and looked very powerful. It aimed a pistol at him.
E-1000 Bots. Robotnik had read about them and been amazed, they were so like his own Egg Robos. However, he knew they were easily ten times as strong.
Robotnik laughed. Egg man versus Egg bot. The robot opened hostilities, flashing a bolt of power straight into the Egg Walker. It exploded on contact with Robotnik's shields. Robotnik gasped at his computer readings. 40% off shields. He spat out two ruby flares, but they went wide in his panic. His machine identified the attacker as E-1004 (, and gave him a list of stats. He shot twice more, and scored a hit. E- 1004 staggered, the blast spreading white energy out of its chest. It quickly regained its stance, and stabbed another direct hit at Robotnik. Robotnik panicked. Shield down to 20% read the screen. He fired blindly, hitting three times. E-1004, this time prepared, shrugged of the damage. It shot again, but Robotnik dodged. It got in a glancing blow, nearly knocking the Egg Walker over as it ran. Robotnik checked his screen. Shields 3%. The robot attacked again, missing by an inch. Robotnik felt helpless. His beautiful machine was losing. His machine tried to move, and tripped. Robotnik yelped as the vibrations of the floor bit into him. Sharp pain crackled up his fingers as he gasped for breath, his mountain stomach pressing him into his seat. The robot aimed, one final time.
The Eggbot was smashed into the wall, screeching discordantly. Its attacker easily dodged the white shots, moving in a rush of black air, fighting with unmatched speed and power. Robotnik tried to make him out, but just managed to get an impression of a sharp breeze. The fight continued. With a razor-like zephyr, E-1004 cracked like an egg. Its gear encrusted yolk sprayed out in a mass of components.
The attacker stood, statue still. Faintly making out its silhouette in the ghostly illumination, Robotnik saw a Mobian hedgehog, its long curved spikes hanging stiffly from its head. Its small nose pointed out, accusingly. Its large hands and feet were poised and ready for action. It radiated a quiet dominance. Him! Sonic the Hedgehog had found him again!
"You! What are you doing here? Why did you save me?" Robotnik tried to snarl, but trapped in his inoperative Egg Walker, could only splutter.
The hedgehog turned its head. "I don't know you." The voice carried quiet command, stabbing directly into Robotnik more effectively then the laser bolts he had just faced.
"Who-your not Sonic, are you?"
"No." the stranger waited. After a while: "What are you doing here?"
Robotnik hesitated, then realised that this stranger might help him. He certainly did not want him as an enemy. "My name is Robotnik. I-" he gasped for breath, "I'm looking for something called Project Shadow." The stranger flinched, and became wary.
"Where did you learn about that?" he stood, primed for anything.
"I-cough- I found records from my grandfather. He was a s-scientist, working on something called Project-gasp- Shadow."
The hedgehog helped Robotnik out of his machine. The madman stood for a second, wheezing.
"How did you find them?"
"The humans have just come back, as you know." The stranger's manner shouted that he didn't know. Robotnik was puzzled. How out of date was this stranger? Robotnik continued, rather nervously. "Well, they have, and they've got lots of old records. I hacked into one of their mainframes, and found out about my grandfather. He was an exceptionally good scientist, and was working on something important. I came here to find some more information, and found out that Project Shadow was hidden in this very room. I want to find it."
"Yet you don't know what it is?"
"Not as yet, no." Robotnik conceded.
"I do." Robotnik gasped again.
"How?" he demanded, regaining his nerve.
"That is not important. But you say you want it. Why?" Robotnik was stuck for an answer. 'To rule the world' wouldn't get him very far. The hedgehog continued: "It could give you enough power to rule the world. If that is what you want, then I will join you. I can show you where it is."
"Deal." Said Robotnik, quickly. He couldn't believe his luck, yet he did not trust this strange animal.
Robotnik and his ally talked. The hedgehog asked him about his life, the state of the planet, and mainly about the reappearance of the humans. Robotnik was surprised. The hedgehog knew nothing about the days of Robotnik's rule, or the existence of Sonic the Hedgehog. How long had he been in hiding?
Every time Robotnik asked a question, the hedgehog would avoid it. Eventually, he could only get one answer from him: "You never told me your name."
The stranger paused. "Ironically, it is Shadow."