Disclaimer: ©1990-2005 Sega Corporation. All rights reserved. Sonic The Hedgehog and their respective logos are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Sega of America in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Sega of America expressly disclaims any obligation, responsibility, and/or liability with respect to any content or accuracy of information contained in this story.

HA! Sega's official disclaimer! Beat that!

IMPORTANT NOTE:This story was removed once for grammar errors which, upon rereading (and re-spellchecking) the story, I found were nonexistant. The closest thing I found was when MS Word's spellchecker got mad at me for using 'Knuckles' with a singular verb; Word contended that I should use a plural verb, since 'Knuckles' is, under normal circumstances, a plural noun. Despite this, it's a proper name in this context, and so deserves a singular verb.

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Twist

Sonic and friends are having a fun day relaxing at the beach when an odd thought crossed Sonic's mind.

"You know," Sonic began, "we haven't seen much of that Egghead in a while."

"It is strange, now that you mention it," Tails added.

Knuckles was less worried. "I'm sure he won't be back in a while."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sonic answered.

Meanwhile, in an underground base, Eggman was called into a dark chamber by a shadowy figure.

"Yes, Master?" Eggman asked.

"Ivo, you have been a disappointment to me lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I saw you, you were teaming up with that hedgehog! That's sickening!"

"If I hadn't partnered up with Sonic, the world may have been destroyed!"

"Do you think that is of any consequence to me? And besides, whose fault is it but yours that your creation backfired and threatened your safety?"

"Do you want me to come up with a new plan?"

"I think I've had enough of your plans. Come here, E-123."

Omega, now returned to his evil roots, entered the room. "Yes, Master?"

"Dispose of this failure."

Eggman protested. "What? What do you think you're doing? I'm you're grandson!"

The shadowy master walked out of the darkness, revealing his identity to be that of Professor Gerald Robotnik. "That is of no consequence to me either. My own granddaughter failed me and allowed that hedgehog to become weak, so I arranged for her death. I hoped my greatest creation would avenge her failure, but he became soft at her memory and failed me as well, so I cut him off from the Chaos Emeralds to teach him a lesson. What makes you any different?"

"I SAVED YOUR LIFE! I was the one responsible for creating the robotic double of you, I was the one responsible for smuggling you out of prison, and I was the one responsible for creating the life-support system that keeps you alive to this day! I should mean more to you than that cruel hedgehog effigy or Maria ever did!"

"DON'T MENTION HER NAME AROUND ME! OMEGA, DISPOSE OF HIM IMMEDIATELY!"

Eggman could only grin as he put his hand into his pocket and pressed a button on a concealed remote control. Omega's red eyes turned blue and he stopped in his tracks.

"OMEGA, PROCEED!" Gerald yelled, still furious.

"It won't work. Omega will only listen to me now, and if you're wise, you will as well."

"NEVER!"

"Then die. Omega, do me a favor and purge my grandfather from this room."

Omega turned towards Gerald, then towards the life-support unit in the corner of the room, walked to it, and shut it down. Without support, Gerald collapsed to the floor, dead.

"Well, it's about time I got started on a new plan to ravage this world and build my empire in its place. But those Chaos Emeralds have constantly been my downfall. I think I'll make a nuclear device. That should cause sufficient destruction."

And so the ultimate plot for world domination began…