Chapter 1: Journey Begins

Nite walked over to the window of his small apartment. He had moved in after leaving the newly formed Chaotix Dynamites, they were fun to hang out with but he missed his old team. He missed being one of the Hunters, he missed their old office and hunting down some of the most dangerous criminals on the world.

"Too bad the guys are enjoying their new jobs…"

Nack was quickly becoming one of the detective agency's top members and Spike was having a great time as an archaeologist. Nite didn't want to bother them or put his new friends in danger with his wandering mind.

"But ever since that day…"

He shivered slightly at the thought of Streak and how helpless he felt when all he could do was watch Sonic fight and ultimately give his own life for everyone. But it wasn't that that kept his mind occupied, it was his dreams and newly awakened urge to know more about his past.

He didn't know much about himself other than that he was an amazing shot with his weapons and his name was Nite. He could remember his awakening as if it was yesterday, close to twenty or so years ago now and he hadn't aged a day since. He still looked like he was 15.

He had awoken deep within Pumpkin Hill by the light of the full moon, his magnums and bazooka lying next to him. He had no recollection of how he got there or what he had been doing and for several years searched for some clues to his past, he had found none.

Then he met with Nack and shortly after that, with Spike as well. They formed the Hunters and a strong friendship, which helped him forget about the mystery of what he was and concentrate more on what he is.

But now that his nightmares had started again, his urge to know more about himself was even stronger than before.

"Now Gerald's in my dreams…which means he has something to do with my past…"

He remembered the mad scientist's base well from his trip through it with the Hunters as well as Sonic and friends, they had cleared out most of the dangerous robots so the place should be pretty calm. His mind now made up, he grabbed his coat and Magnums before leaving the apartment. He was going to get to the bottom of his past.

OOO

Amy Rose was still distraught at the loss of her beloved Sonic but something inside her told her to be strong, that maybe, just maybe he was still alive. She had heard news of Nite the Wolf leaving the Chaotix to try something on his own and if word served right, he had never failed to find who he was looking for.

She was going to hire the Chaotix, but they'd probably end up causing more trouble than they were worth, so she was currently on her way to where the group had said Nite lived. She was surprised to see the bounty hunter leaving his apartment, especially as it was so early.

"Nite! Hey wait up!"

She ran towards the wolf as he slowly turned and smiled to her, the two had quickly become friends after everything that had happened. There was something about Nite that was very familiar to her but she guessed he just had one of those personalities.

"Hiya Amy, what you doing here at this time?"

She stopped and blushed slightly, looking away to avoid eye contact.

"Well…um…I wanted to hire you…to find someone…"

He looked a little surprised at this.

"Well I'm a little busy at the moment…"

He paused as he saw that she seemed rather desperate and smiled.

"But nothing I wouldn't put off for a friend. So who do you want me to find?"

"Thanks!" she beamed at him before blushing and looking away again "It's um…Sonic…"

The wolf was very perplexed at this, but Amy pushed on as she went to hand him some money.

"I know it's not much…and that you probably think he's de…"

Nite raised his hand to stop her from giving him the money.

"I'll do it for free Amy and I won't stop till I find him"

With that he smiled, and the young hedgehog girl couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks Nite…"

"No prob, I was on my way to Gerald's base anyways I might find some clues to where the blue boy is there"

It was Amy's turn to be surprised this time.

"Why were you heading there?"

"Well…" Nite's tone suddenly went a little more serious as he looked away from the girl "Its…personal…"

Amy nodded and then just watched as the usually rather hyper wolf walked off quietly. There was something up, but she was still glad that he was willing to help…

Maybe I should tell Spike and Nack…they might know what's up with Nite…

OOO

Nack couldn't sleep; Vector's snoring was just way too loud for the purple weasel so he had decided to go out for a little walk. He may find some inspiration for a new invention. Or he could go visit Nite; he only lived round the corner or maybe catch a train to Capital City and see Spike.

"It's been a while since I seen the old gang"

He smiled as he remembered all of their adventures together. From Nite's infectious need for adventure and seemingly boundless energy to Spike's more calm approach. He had to admit he missed the Hunters, there wasn't one mission they'd failed and they always had fun.

He thought back to Nite leaving their new team and frowned slightly. The wolf was uncharacteristically silent and hadn't really given a reason to why he was leaving. He had just smiled and said: Just feel like some time to my self.

Just then Nack recognised a familiar pink hedgehog heading his way; she must have been heading back home from Nite's after all she had said she was going there.

"Hiya Sheila!"

He called with his usual cheerful demeanour.

"How's ol' Nitey boy"

He raised an eyebrow as he noticed her rather serious expression.

"Somethin' wrong?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing…Nack…have you noticed anything strange about Nite lately?"

He took a moment to think.

"Well come to think of it, my old mate's been pretty quiet lately not like him at all. Why do ya ask?"

"Well I um…hired him to find someone…and he mentioned that he was already heading to Gerald's old base…"

Nack's eyes widened in fear, even though it was abandoned it was still a dangerous place and he didn't want anything to happen to Nite.

"I gotta go find him! That place is dangerous!"

He was about to run off when Amy grabbed him by the wrist.

"He can take care of himself Nack…but if it is still dangerous don't you think he'll need more than just you?"

"You're right!" he all but yelled at her before calming down a bit "I'll go get Spike…" he smiled at the girl slightly, the thought of a Hunters reunion under any circumstance was still reason to be happy.

It seemed as though Amy saw this in his eyes as well and smiled.

"I bet he'd love to see you guys again"

"Yeah…by the way Sheila, just what did you pay him to go find this person anyways?"

"Oh he said he'd do it for free" was Amy's rather offhanded reply to the question.

Nack's voice could be heard throughout Station Square as he registered what Amy had told him.

"WHAT!"