Chapter 1
Not far from the now bustling city of Robotropolis is the Great forest, a green, lush land that seems to go on for miles in every direction. Many creatures call this place home and a safe haven from Dr.Robotnik and his horde of minions. It is also the location of a small valley that the inhabitants call Knothole. It has gone over a massive change in the last few years since the defeat of the first Dr.Robotnik. From a rebel base, to a home for roboticized outcasts, and now it has grown into a city all it's own. In one of the classrooms of a local school there resides one of Mobius' greatest heroes, who now seems to be flunking physics, Sonic the hedgehog.
Ever since the new government was put into place and the population had expanded past just a crowd of rebel fighters, things have become more mundane. To Sonic and many of the 'old' Freedom Fighters it meant it was time to go to school. The hedgehog in question is now drooping his head between his hands trying to stay awake, then someone behind the hedgehog passed him a note. Sonic opened the folded piece of paper and read.
'Meet me near the Great Oak Slide after school. Come alone.'
'Must be Sal,' Sonic thought to himself, remembering the last time he saw the princess. As most school days go the last period usually goes pretty fast, but like all things it was as slow as ever to Sonic. A spit second before the bell rang for dismissal Sonic had his books in hand and was out of the door, a blur racing ahead of the rest of the regular herd of people. Sonic leaped off the front stairs of the school, grinded on the railing, and landed running on the pavement. Coming to a pond ahead he simply ran over the water spraying anyone on the banks on either side. As the slide came into view Sonic looked around for any booby traps or guards, ever since a few weeks ago when Geoffrey St. John set a trap at the end of the slide Sonic had been wary to go near it. Upon inspecting it he looked around for whoever gave him the note.
"I see you came, blue hedgehog," came a scratchy, low voice. "And I see you came alone."
'That isn't Sally,' Sonic thought to himself. "Show yourself."
"As you wish," the same person said as they walked out from behind a tree. It wasn't any taller than Sonic and hid it's form beneath a dark-colored cloak.
"Who are you?" Sonic asked stepping closer to the stranger.
"The ultimate life-form..."
"Shadow!? Is that you?" Sonic nearly shouted.
"That fake?" The stranger laughed. "He was nothing compared to what I am."
"Who are you to talk about Shadow like that? He saved all of Mobius and probably you too!"
"Ah yes. You must think I give a damn. I don't care what my predecessor did, all I want is HIS bracelet and MY digivice."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic said stepping back.
"Why, I think you know what I'm talking about. The Chaos digivice that 'creature' gave you. Now you can hand it over in a nice and friendly way or..."
"Or?"
"I can take it."
Sonic set down his bag and took out the green shining device. "You want it? Come and get it!" Sonic tucked it into his right glove.
"If that's the way you wanna play it?"
The stranger hopped into the air and flip-kicked off of Sonic's head, leaving him dazed. Sonic got up and span into the air as a ball, headed straight into his enemy's direction. Just as he was a few inches away something engulfed him. He fell to the ground tearing through the stranger's robes. Sonic rose to his feet and looked at his new foe. Apparently it was an orange lizard wearing the same kind of sneakers/jet skates Shadow had and black arm and knee pads. It also sported a machine on it's back that looked like the life support system from the biolizard. From the voice it appeared to be female.
Sonic's eyes zeroed in on the machine on her back and leaped into the air for a track-attack. At the high arc of the jump Sonic propelled forward, straight toward the lizard's back. The lizard twisted around and smacked the blue blur with her tail. Sonic went flying into the air, momentarily stunned ,but as he came down his body is surrounded by an aura of energy.
"Ready..."
'Oh crap,' the lizard thinks as she begins to skate off at top speed.
"GO!" Sonic yells as his body spins into a perpetual ball of energy tracking the lizard.
The lizard picks up speed running toward the village with Sonic performing his light-speed attack not far behind. Sonic kept his speed up by bouncing off of anything he could find. He leaps through the trees with unbelievable agility. By now his body is on auto-pilot, using all of his energy to track one target. Soon enough he stops and runs up beside his opponent.
"You wanna race huh?" Sonic taunts as he flies past.
The dust he leaves in his wake nearly blinds her just as they enter the main living areas in Knothole Sonic begins to slow down so that he can make sure nobody gets hurt. As he comes to a large tree he does a move few can match, he grinds upon one of the roots and runs up the side of the trunk, eventually he is running the circumference of the tree. Even at this speed Sonic can hear his enemy catching up.
"Still back there huh?" Sonic yells over his shoulder.
"You'll never be able to outrun me, hedgehog!" The lizard mouths as she keeps gaining distance.
"Okay, then keep following."
Sonic grabs one of the vines hanging on the tree and swings around to one of the higher platforms settled into the tree. He keeps flying from branch to branch, confident that no one would be able to keep up with him at the speed he's going. As he leaps up to one of the higher branches he concentrates his energy through the digivice in his glove. Suddenly the entire tree begins to shake as Sonic calls forth an upgraded version of his newest attack: Sonic Tornado. The branches whip and swing as a whirlwind surrounds the tree. People on the ground hold on to their belongings as the winds kick up and nearly sweep them off the earth. Sonic feels gratified that that attack could have even swung him off. As he looks around his feet are swept from under him and he plummets to the forest floor.
Halfway down Sonic feels that some extra weight across his chest for a second and then it simply disappears. He slams into the ground and curses at the pain he feels in his chest, also at the fact that the glove on his right hand is gone. He gets up and his white glove floats down from the canopy, he grabs it from the air just as he hears a voice yell," CHAOS CONTROL!!"
A green and white light flashes in front of Sonic and his enemy appears. The lizard's cold face is cracked in a toothy gleeful smile. Sonic doesn't even waste his time attacking, knowing full well that it would seem like he was moving at super slow motion to her.
"Who are you?" Sonic asks clutching his chest.
"Like I said before: I am the Ultimate Life-form," she says. "My name is Hazard. Now that I have my Chaos digivice, where is my bracelet?"
"I don't know and I don't care," Sonic said. "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if...Bunnie now!"
A metal fist shot into Hazard's life-support machine. She collapses to the ground clutching at the wire leading to her chest, praying for it to let her breathe. Sonic moves closer to grab the device from her quivering hand. Just as he touches her skin Sonic falls to the ground screaming in pain. A burning sensation crawls across his body from his hand down to his toes, it only last for a second but it is unbearable.
"Sonic! You alright?" Bunnie asks going to her hurt friend.
"Don't worry about me," Sonic grunts. "Get the device from her before..."
"'Gasp' C-chaos...Cont-control!" Hazrad yells as her lungs refill with air.
Her body disappears in a flash of light and energy, soon enough there is no evidence of her presence or the battle that just took place.
"Y'all okay now sugah-hog?" Bunnie asks nervously, helping Sonic stand up.
"Yeah, all that was hurt was my pride," Sonic grumbled.
"What was that thing?"
"I don't know, but I already know the answers can be found on ARK."
"ARK?"
"I'll fill you in later, but first we have to get the gang together."
Sonic ran off at top speed to find Tails. 'That Hazard thing, whatever it was, is after that bracelet I found when Silver Shadow (not Hyper!) disappeared after we beat the biolizard. Last I saw of it, the thing was with that spy, Rouge the bat. I just hope we find her before that Shadow wannabe does.'
On the space colony ARK the life support systems have come back online. Through the empty halls the sound of labored breathing is heard. Hazard had begun to use her lungs for the first time without the machine connected to her back and each breath or movement became a chore. She looked around the lab until she found the digivice, once in her claws the device began to emit a beeping sound and a soft green glow. Slowly but surely her breathing became normal. As Hazard put the device down the air became thick again. To stop the torment Hazard reconnected her life support system to the implants on her back and chest.
'Dammit!' she thought as she began to breath through the tube again. 'Unless I get more emeralds I'll be forced to wear this-this 'thing' for the rest of my life. Or...'
Feverishly, Hazard removed her life support system and connected the digivice to the power core. As she reconnected the implant it melded to her back and around her arms and legs. It wasn't just a machine now, but a part of her body.
'Maybe now my weak spot won't be so obvious,' Hazard thought as she walked over to the computer console. As she typed at record speed images and text all seemed to blur until she came upon the file she was looking for. A research project on Chaos Emeralds and Project: Lazarus...
Not far from the now bustling city of Robotropolis is the Great forest, a green, lush land that seems to go on for miles in every direction. Many creatures call this place home and a safe haven from Dr.Robotnik and his horde of minions. It is also the location of a small valley that the inhabitants call Knothole. It has gone over a massive change in the last few years since the defeat of the first Dr.Robotnik. From a rebel base, to a home for roboticized outcasts, and now it has grown into a city all it's own. In one of the classrooms of a local school there resides one of Mobius' greatest heroes, who now seems to be flunking physics, Sonic the hedgehog.
Ever since the new government was put into place and the population had expanded past just a crowd of rebel fighters, things have become more mundane. To Sonic and many of the 'old' Freedom Fighters it meant it was time to go to school. The hedgehog in question is now drooping his head between his hands trying to stay awake, then someone behind the hedgehog passed him a note. Sonic opened the folded piece of paper and read.
'Meet me near the Great Oak Slide after school. Come alone.'
'Must be Sal,' Sonic thought to himself, remembering the last time he saw the princess. As most school days go the last period usually goes pretty fast, but like all things it was as slow as ever to Sonic. A spit second before the bell rang for dismissal Sonic had his books in hand and was out of the door, a blur racing ahead of the rest of the regular herd of people. Sonic leaped off the front stairs of the school, grinded on the railing, and landed running on the pavement. Coming to a pond ahead he simply ran over the water spraying anyone on the banks on either side. As the slide came into view Sonic looked around for any booby traps or guards, ever since a few weeks ago when Geoffrey St. John set a trap at the end of the slide Sonic had been wary to go near it. Upon inspecting it he looked around for whoever gave him the note.
"I see you came, blue hedgehog," came a scratchy, low voice. "And I see you came alone."
'That isn't Sally,' Sonic thought to himself. "Show yourself."
"As you wish," the same person said as they walked out from behind a tree. It wasn't any taller than Sonic and hid it's form beneath a dark-colored cloak.
"Who are you?" Sonic asked stepping closer to the stranger.
"The ultimate life-form..."
"Shadow!? Is that you?" Sonic nearly shouted.
"That fake?" The stranger laughed. "He was nothing compared to what I am."
"Who are you to talk about Shadow like that? He saved all of Mobius and probably you too!"
"Ah yes. You must think I give a damn. I don't care what my predecessor did, all I want is HIS bracelet and MY digivice."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic said stepping back.
"Why, I think you know what I'm talking about. The Chaos digivice that 'creature' gave you. Now you can hand it over in a nice and friendly way or..."
"Or?"
"I can take it."
Sonic set down his bag and took out the green shining device. "You want it? Come and get it!" Sonic tucked it into his right glove.
"If that's the way you wanna play it?"
The stranger hopped into the air and flip-kicked off of Sonic's head, leaving him dazed. Sonic got up and span into the air as a ball, headed straight into his enemy's direction. Just as he was a few inches away something engulfed him. He fell to the ground tearing through the stranger's robes. Sonic rose to his feet and looked at his new foe. Apparently it was an orange lizard wearing the same kind of sneakers/jet skates Shadow had and black arm and knee pads. It also sported a machine on it's back that looked like the life support system from the biolizard. From the voice it appeared to be female.
Sonic's eyes zeroed in on the machine on her back and leaped into the air for a track-attack. At the high arc of the jump Sonic propelled forward, straight toward the lizard's back. The lizard twisted around and smacked the blue blur with her tail. Sonic went flying into the air, momentarily stunned ,but as he came down his body is surrounded by an aura of energy.
"Ready..."
'Oh crap,' the lizard thinks as she begins to skate off at top speed.
"GO!" Sonic yells as his body spins into a perpetual ball of energy tracking the lizard.
The lizard picks up speed running toward the village with Sonic performing his light-speed attack not far behind. Sonic kept his speed up by bouncing off of anything he could find. He leaps through the trees with unbelievable agility. By now his body is on auto-pilot, using all of his energy to track one target. Soon enough he stops and runs up beside his opponent.
"You wanna race huh?" Sonic taunts as he flies past.
The dust he leaves in his wake nearly blinds her just as they enter the main living areas in Knothole Sonic begins to slow down so that he can make sure nobody gets hurt. As he comes to a large tree he does a move few can match, he grinds upon one of the roots and runs up the side of the trunk, eventually he is running the circumference of the tree. Even at this speed Sonic can hear his enemy catching up.
"Still back there huh?" Sonic yells over his shoulder.
"You'll never be able to outrun me, hedgehog!" The lizard mouths as she keeps gaining distance.
"Okay, then keep following."
Sonic grabs one of the vines hanging on the tree and swings around to one of the higher platforms settled into the tree. He keeps flying from branch to branch, confident that no one would be able to keep up with him at the speed he's going. As he leaps up to one of the higher branches he concentrates his energy through the digivice in his glove. Suddenly the entire tree begins to shake as Sonic calls forth an upgraded version of his newest attack: Sonic Tornado. The branches whip and swing as a whirlwind surrounds the tree. People on the ground hold on to their belongings as the winds kick up and nearly sweep them off the earth. Sonic feels gratified that that attack could have even swung him off. As he looks around his feet are swept from under him and he plummets to the forest floor.
Halfway down Sonic feels that some extra weight across his chest for a second and then it simply disappears. He slams into the ground and curses at the pain he feels in his chest, also at the fact that the glove on his right hand is gone. He gets up and his white glove floats down from the canopy, he grabs it from the air just as he hears a voice yell," CHAOS CONTROL!!"
A green and white light flashes in front of Sonic and his enemy appears. The lizard's cold face is cracked in a toothy gleeful smile. Sonic doesn't even waste his time attacking, knowing full well that it would seem like he was moving at super slow motion to her.
"Who are you?" Sonic asks clutching his chest.
"Like I said before: I am the Ultimate Life-form," she says. "My name is Hazard. Now that I have my Chaos digivice, where is my bracelet?"
"I don't know and I don't care," Sonic said. "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if...Bunnie now!"
A metal fist shot into Hazard's life-support machine. She collapses to the ground clutching at the wire leading to her chest, praying for it to let her breathe. Sonic moves closer to grab the device from her quivering hand. Just as he touches her skin Sonic falls to the ground screaming in pain. A burning sensation crawls across his body from his hand down to his toes, it only last for a second but it is unbearable.
"Sonic! You alright?" Bunnie asks going to her hurt friend.
"Don't worry about me," Sonic grunts. "Get the device from her before..."
"'Gasp' C-chaos...Cont-control!" Hazrad yells as her lungs refill with air.
Her body disappears in a flash of light and energy, soon enough there is no evidence of her presence or the battle that just took place.
"Y'all okay now sugah-hog?" Bunnie asks nervously, helping Sonic stand up.
"Yeah, all that was hurt was my pride," Sonic grumbled.
"What was that thing?"
"I don't know, but I already know the answers can be found on ARK."
"ARK?"
"I'll fill you in later, but first we have to get the gang together."
Sonic ran off at top speed to find Tails. 'That Hazard thing, whatever it was, is after that bracelet I found when Silver Shadow (not Hyper!) disappeared after we beat the biolizard. Last I saw of it, the thing was with that spy, Rouge the bat. I just hope we find her before that Shadow wannabe does.'
On the space colony ARK the life support systems have come back online. Through the empty halls the sound of labored breathing is heard. Hazard had begun to use her lungs for the first time without the machine connected to her back and each breath or movement became a chore. She looked around the lab until she found the digivice, once in her claws the device began to emit a beeping sound and a soft green glow. Slowly but surely her breathing became normal. As Hazard put the device down the air became thick again. To stop the torment Hazard reconnected her life support system to the implants on her back and chest.
'Dammit!' she thought as she began to breath through the tube again. 'Unless I get more emeralds I'll be forced to wear this-this 'thing' for the rest of my life. Or...'
Feverishly, Hazard removed her life support system and connected the digivice to the power core. As she reconnected the implant it melded to her back and around her arms and legs. It wasn't just a machine now, but a part of her body.
'Maybe now my weak spot won't be so obvious,' Hazard thought as she walked over to the computer console. As she typed at record speed images and text all seemed to blur until she came upon the file she was looking for. A research project on Chaos Emeralds and Project: Lazarus...