This fiction is a parody/cross over of both Sonic the Hedgehog (property of Sega, using Archie Comic's universe) and Gungrave (property of Red Entertainment). I make no profit from it, and it is purely for the enjoyment of the fans, as well as developing my own writing technique.

Responses:

DarkFusion: Thanks for the reviews! Yes, Shadow, Amy, Rouge, and a few more characters from the Sonic Adventure series have made their way into the comics. I don't plan on using Rouge, but I do have plans to involve Amy in the story. As for the malcontent Hedgehog, I'm undecided on how large his involvement will be… Still, seeing as Grave and Shadow's color schemes are undeniably similar… Hm. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Episode 03 – Wolf's prerogative / Shield

Some distance from Knothole village, watching the robotic troops move with little enthusiasm, the giant of a man called Fangoram shifted listlessly.

"Graaavve….

His voice gurgled as the mask over his jaw and mouth jostled slightly, eyes sharpening as he stared down at the village. Yes, he knew where the traitor was hiding. This time however, the time and place would be of his choosing, not of someone else's. This time Grave would die, for there is no mercy when dealing with a traitor. Black hat and coat wavering in the wind, his eyes focused in on the wolf. He stood with a female Rabbit, and there was also a Pink Hedgehog in the vicinity as well… Memories of his past encounters with the Wolf nicknamed 'Death' brought new ideas to mind. Dastardly ones that could break Grave's soul, but he would first need to confirm his suspicions. Just who was that wolf protecting now? That would decide who died…

Night had overcome the day once more. As the last burning embers of the dying sun sank into the horizon, Bunnie slipped into her bed and felt sleep overcoming her. She idly mused about Grave, his refusal to eat, and his involvement in the fight against Robotnik. Grave was incredibly strong, but what could that do against an army of mechanical soldiers? Because of the rules, he could never use his guns to defend her or anyone else. How could he protect them? Why was he so insistent on protecting them?

"Just who are you… Grave?"

With no answers, she drifted peacefully into dreamland.

' … What is my name? ... Who am I…?'

Grave too was confronting his own questions. Sitting in a chair outside of Bunnies home, he stared into the distance. He did not need to sleep, he did not need to eat, and he did not need to drink. He remembered feeling the need for these things sometime in the past, but they were no longer necessary.

'But why…?' Memories played through his mind, biting into his consciousness as they passed before his eyes. Memories of a group of young punks in a town called Station Square. One in particular stood out, a wolf in a ragged white suit. 'Harry… Harry McDowell…' Another, older dog in a black suit and red tie also came to mind, far different from the others. Yes, he remembered this person's name. 'Big Daddy… and…' The image changed into a picture of that wolf, standing happily with a pink Hedgehog in a scenic background. 'Maria…' Memories of a pink hedgehog with long quills, almost as long as the blue hedgehog named Sonic, began to surface in his mind. It was snowing…

"Brandon, did you get in another fight?"

"Maria…" His hair was black, no longer the deep grey that it had been. A snowy park and… Maria. She hugged him, so warm against his chest. He knelt down in the snow, holding her close… until it all changed. A garage, several chairs and a lantern surrounded them. The girl, still in his arms, but her face was replaced with that of a younger hedgehog, this one with shorter quills that had grey tips.

"Mika…" He breathed the word, remembering her face once more.

Tears streaming down her face, Mika pulled herself tight against him. She was shaking, scared for a reason he couldn't see. "… So please, don't go anywhere! I really love you! I… love you!"

'She… is crying? Did I go somewhere? No… She went where I belong… Mika…'

"Bye Ash! Bye Mina! See you tomorrow!" Waving one last time to her friends, Amy Rose began running home. The vision faded to nothing as Grave looked at her, seeing the faces and bodies of Maria and Mika pass over her.

'What is this … Am I having a dream? A dream… No. This is real. She isn't Mika… She is someone else…'

He smiled as the pink hedgehog passed, and she waved happily to him in return. He would have waved back, but she had already passed the house before he could. He sighed and returned his attention to the nothingness of the forest. Grave let himself drift, taking in the scents, sights, and sounds of the land around him. Quietly, the sun finally disappeared into the horizon completely, giving way to another moonlit night.

A ghoulish howl shook Bunnie out of her sleep. Opening her eyes, she slipped out of bed and into a robe she kept handy for times like these. Stepping outside, she found Grave in a defensive stance.

"Grave… It's past midnight, what are ya doing!"

His only answer was a sudden tackle, sending both of them back into her residence. The sudden movement knocked the wind out of her, head spinning as several dull thuds echoed in the small house. Craning her head, Bunnie spotted two metal rings stuck in the wall. Before she could question the massive wolf who was still on top of her, Grave rolled to the side of the doorway and pulled her along. Several more rings slammed into the floor, making small indents where they struck.

'Knock Out rounds…' Grave nodded sagely, looking for anything that he could use as a weapon. His ears were working overtime, trying to count the footsteps throughout the village. '…Four here, dozens more all around…'

Bunnie's breathing quickened. A thousand thoughts poured through her mind, trying to figure out what was going on and how to warn the others. "Grave, who is it? What's goin' on?"

He grabbed her hand, gently pulling Bunnie to her feet before rushing through the doorway and taking two of the rings in the chest. To the Swat Bot's misfortune, they had no effect other than making him angry. With a heavy roar, Grave leapt into the air and landed on one of the tin soldiers, crushing its head and part of the chest as well. Rolling as the defeated robot crashed to the ground, he grabbed its arm and violently swung it toward another enemy, the two exploding on impact. He turned, saw, moved as the other two Swat Bot's fired their own weapons. Rolling and running toward the mecha with an untamed rage, Grave bared his teeth as he drop kicked the nearer of the two, twisting the shock rifle out of the downed robot's hand and firing it into the other's face. The red visor that decorated its face shattered, the machine falling on its back before having a fist planted firmly in its chest. The wolf stood, breathing only slightly faster than he normally would. Grave turned, ears searching for the next group of opponents. Far off, he heard the familiar sound of a spin dash attack and knew that Sonic had been roused from his slumber. Even so, there were far too many enemies spread around the village. Someone would be taken if they didn't act quickly. He ran, deep breaths feeding his muscles and fueling his speed. There was work to be done…

Panic had swept through Knothole when the first screams were heard. Sonic hand immediately put himself to use, speeding around the village and spreading word before going on the offensive against Robotnik's minions. Tails too was helping as he could, along with a few other mobians who chose to stand up to the infernal machines. Unfortunately, several groups had been cut off from the center of the village, where everyone was gathering. Some escaped into the forest, others hiding in their houses or their neighbors and hoping that the robots would just pass them by. One group, however, was trying to break through. Three youths who normally would have been carefree had settled into a far more serious state of mind. Ash peered out the window, keeping low to avoid detection. Several squads of Swat Bots had already passed their location, but Ash had a sneaking suspicion that they couldn't remain hidden long.

Mina slid along the wall, stopping next to him. "Ash, what's going on?" she whispered, voice filled with fear.

"I'm not sure. We need to get out of here, fast! After the next group passes, I'll make a run for it and try to distract any that see me. You two follow after its safe, okay?"

"But Ash, what if they catch you? I…"

"Don't worry Mina. I won't get caught. You two just make sure you get to safety. Just don't stop!" And with that, the boy ran to the door and began running, attracting as much attention as possible. It only took a few seconds for a team of Swat Bots to notice him. All he could do was run, trying to avoid their fire…

"Mina, they're gone! Come on!"

Mina, however, wasn't moving. She gripped the door, on the verge of opening it and running but refusing to. "What about Ash? He can't outrun them forever!"

"He knew that when he went out there! Do you want to waste the chance he gave us!" Amy was shoving her, trying to move her out the door, but the lavender haired girl refused.

"I just… I can't--!"

Unfortunately, they hadn't bothered to keep their voices down. A canister broke the window, flooding the room with tear gas. Jarred out of their argument, they foolishly ran out the front door and were hit with several stun rounds before they could escape. Cold hands grabbed them, taking them to the retrieval unit. Ash would soon fall to the same fate…

Another head was crushed in Grave's mighty fist. Thirty of the machines had easily fallen to his strength, but he knew there were more. Why they were pulling back now was still a mystery, but that would be solved soon enough. Walking through the paths of Knothole Village, he soon found a group of Swat Bots retreating out of the town. Going into a 'hunting mode' of sorts, Grave followed them unnoticed even by their advanced sensors. It didn't take a genius to know that they were headed for the edge of the forest, and the Wolf's sensitive ears easily picked up the sound of an aircraft beyond the trees.

'…They want to capture them, and… do what?' Whatever it was, Grave didn't want to find out. He closed in, preparing to strike when a scent drifted into the air from upwind. He had smelled it before, and time after time it seemed to haunt him. Turning, he looked into the trees. Saw nothing. But it was still enough. Something or someone had been injected with Seed… But that didn't matter. He already had business to attend to. Ignoring the scent, he pressed on even as the sound of rapid gunfire echoed throughout the forest...

Laughing as he held the trigger button down, madman extraordinaire Dr. Robotnik watched through the mechanical eyes of his personal Air Transport Vehicle, which he hand codenamed "The Hawk", as it mowed down a good patch of trees for a landing zone. Though not an avid pilot himself, the doctor did enjoy any recreation he could get, which normally involved destroying or researching something.

"Nothing like a good bit of target practice in the middle of the night!"

He continued his insane cackling and hideous one-liners as the forest below the craft was quickly shredded by the cannon mounted on it's underside. Thankfully, he stopped when the area that had been sanitized was large enough to land the craft. Robotnik let out an aggravated sigh as he punched the landing coordinates into his console, easing away from the controls and relaxing a bit. Not even a minute had passed before the three subjects were loaded onboard … and only a few seconds later until the Swat Bots retreating from the surprise attack reported that they were being damaged.

"Humph. That blue idiot is getting in the way again… Let's see if this doesn't shake him up a bit!"

A finger slammed down on the self destruct button for a particular squad of Swat Bots…

…and just as Grave smashed one of the robots to the ground with a large branch, the group he had been attacking stopped. He stared at them as their visors began blinking rapidly. A surge of instinct and adrenaline overcame him as he realized what was happening, diving away from the Swat Bots as they exploded in unison. Several fragments of metal impacted him, but the suicide attack as a whole didn't faze him. Carelessly, he tossed the limb to the ground and began the chase anew. Heavy footsteps, their noise drowned out by the sound of the aircraft's engine, rapidly approached the clearing that Robotnik had created…"How? How did that Hedgehog survive! Bah… It doesn't matter. I've already obtained one sample… I doubt we'll load the other two in time. Alright! Lift-off!"

He activated the pre-programmed liftoff sequence before typing in another one, laying out a plan to destroy the other two captured rodents with the four Swat Bots that were holding them.

Unfortunately for the mad doctor's schemes, Grave smashed his boots into the shoulders of two Swat Bots, causing them to act like dominos and knock over their twins in the process of falling over. He moved swiftly, gathering the two girls from where they had fallen before the machinations could recover from the blow. He lifted them, one in each arm, and began walking away. It wasn't until Grave heard the aircraft behind him lifting off that he took heed of it, and luckily he still had time enough to dodge the volley of plasma fire that lanced from its cannon. Having no weapons to use against the machine and carrying the burden of the two adolescent Freedom Fighters left little choice in what the wolf would do next. He ran, even though his heart screamed at him to remain and destroy. Grinding his teeth, Grave ran all the way back to Knothole. The sun began to rise.

A meeting had been called after the attack finally ceased. A large oak table, finely polished and highly decorated for its sacred duty, was currently being used as a conference table. Almost everyone had coffee or tea to soothe their nerves, and more was being prepared as the core group of Freedom Fighters found their seats. Sally, of course, took the head seat, Antoine to her left, and Sonic to her right. Rotor, Bunnie, Tails and a few others were also present. No one was eager to talk.

"………"

"So…" Sonic frowned, trying to create words in his mind but failing to communicate what he felt.

Sally understood however, even with the unfinished sentence. "…Do we know what happened?"

Antoine sighed. "Yes and no. Ze Zwat Botz appeared in the midst of the night, taking us off guard and easily breaking our defensez. Zanks to Bunnie and Sonic's quick reaction, however, we are only mizzing three persons. Zeveral injuries were reported, but zat is to be expected."

"Actually," Bunnie looked toward the door, avoiding Antoine's gaze, "Grave was the one who woke me up… And he also distracted the Bots while Ah got away, and rescued Mina and Amy. But…"

Tails nodded. "No one has seen him since. He just dropped them off and walked into the forest without a word."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to worry about Grave." Rotor nodded to Bunnie, frowning. "I'm sure he has his own plan, but we need one of our own. We know Robotnik captured at least one of the missing persons, so we've got to form a rescue plan. Any ideas?"

"Well, we've done it before, right?" Sonic grinned, confident. "We've just got to figure out a new way to do it, since that stupid Robotnik probably sealed up all of our previous entries. And if he didn't, he's probably set a trap there."

"Right. We've got to find a way in." Sally nodded, smiling for a moment before becoming serious once more. "But there's no way we can try a direct approach. I'm sure Dr. Robotnik has something waiting for us if we try that… "

Sally trailed off as she saw something huge standing in the doorway. The single lens of his glasses flared as Beyond the Grave stepped into the room, dressed in a western themed outfit that was dominated by crosses. Hanging hard across his back was the coffin that he had left behind, the chain wrapped around leather patches on his upper arm. Strangely, four eerie lights on the skull side of the coffin had turned on, burning an ominous orange in the silent room.

"…G-grave?"

He nodded, smiling softly. "I'm going. I will finish this." He turned. Walked out. Bunnie gave chase, as did Sonic. The others stood, as if waiting for a sign. None came.

Episode 03 – Wolf's prerogative / Shield fin

Episode 04 – Maul / Seed is next. "Gunshots are the sound. Defeat is the result. Will he continue his murderous path? This is a wolf's decision."

Author's note: Something just didn't feel right about this chapter, but… I'm still going to put it up. Send your responses if you feel up to it.