A young girl with brown hair stood in the midst of the crowd, peering over their heads excitedly. This was the evening of the Festival of Flames, and she was one of the guests attending Princess Elises's ceremony, the moment she was waiting for.

Fireworks illuminated the sky, making the lake below shimmer. Wanting a closer look, Penny pushed her way through the crowds until she got to the front, just in time to see Princess Elise's boat make it to the center of the town's river. There was Princess Eliese, on the edge of the boat, waving to her people. When the boat stopped, she and a few servants and ladies-in-waiting walked to the front, preparing for the ceremony.

Elise walked over to the priest, and one of her ladies-in-waiting handed her the torch. She glanced at its flickering flames, and for a moment, the princess went stiff, and her eyes widened. Penny leaned forward curiously...it looked like her friend was experiencing a vision. Of what, though?

"Miss Elise."

Her lady-in-waiting glanced at the princess worriedly, and Elise smiled softly at her in reassurance before turning her attention back to the task at hand. She bowed to the priest and the servant, who bowed in return. When the bows were done, she glanced at the flames and presented her speech. "We give thanks for the blessed Flames. May we always continue to have peace. Sun of Soleanna, guide and watch over us with your eternal light..."

The princess walked over and placed the flames in the cauldron in front of her, and a second later, the rails all around them lit up with the flames, creating a beautiful display. Fireworks danced in the air as the Princess happily waved to her subjects.

An explosion suddenly rocked the ship, knocking Elise off her feet. Startled, Penny regained her balance and glanced up just in time to see Eggman's ships attacking. Why now, out of all events?!

Penny yelped as buildings exploded all around her. People began fleeing in panic, and the human girl barely managed to get out of the crowds before she got trampled. A noise filled the area, and she glanced up to see Eggman's robots jump down from the ship, surrounding the Princess and her accompanists. Elise glanced up to see Eggman landing in front of her with a bow. "A pleasure to meet you at last, Princess of Solenna. I am Dr. Eggman. I've come here to obtain the secret of the Flames of Disaster from you. And to take the gems that are the key to its secrets...the Chaos Emerald!" He pointed to the gem that Elise suddenly gripped tighter, trying to protect it as it glowed bright blue. Penny, noticing Elise's fear, narrowed her eyes and ran over to try to help the older princess.

"Now, Princess," Eggman continued, raising his hand towards her. "This way, please."

Elise shook her head, taking a step back.

Suddenly, a swirling blue swirl surrounded the people, and Elise glanced up to see a blue hedgehog smirking down at them. "My...that's a pretty snazzy performance there!"

Elise gasped, recognizing the resemblance of another hedgehog this one carried. Except this one was blue, and his quills were shorter. "You...it can't be!"

Sonic smirked down at her.

Penny glanced ahead and saw the robots readying their weapons, and narrowed her eyes. "SONIC, LOOK OUT!"

Hearing her warning, Sonic took off right as the robots exploded, and the blue hedgehog jumped around speedily, destroying robots while he ran, smashing them to bits. With one touch of his foot, the final robot toppled over the edge, crashing to the ground below. When he was done, he zoomed over to Princess Elise with a smile. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" He swooped over to the girl and picked her up in his arms.

"NOT THAT IRRITATING HEDGEHOG AGAIN!" Eggman roared, clutching his fists in frustration. "ATTACK!"

The robots began firing missiles, following them as they made their escape. Penny, in the meantime, dodged into a safe place, awaiting for the robots to head out before tailing after Sonic herself. This, she knew, was one adventure she didn't want to miss out on, no matter how dangerous it could get.

Watching from a nearby rooftop, Silver glanced down, clutching his fists. "I've finally found him...the Iblis Trigger!"

While they ran, Elise glanced at Sonic curiously. "Uh...why are you helping me?"

Sonic shrugged. "No special reason."

Elise glanced ahead and yelped at the sight of robots blocking their path. "Sonic!"

Sonic placed Elise on the ground and began smashing the robots. At that time, Penny managed to catch up, and she grabbed Elise's hand. "Elise, this way!"

"Penny!" Elise gasped in surprise. She glanced up and yelped as a robotic claw snatched her. Penny's eyes widened as the robot pushed her to the ground. "ELISE!"

Sonic hurried over to the girl's side, sharing the same look of horror. Eggman glanced down at the two, and Sonic pulled Penny behind him protectively as Eggman sneered down at them. "I'm afraid our little game ends now."

Elise squirmed before pulling something out of her chest, tossing it to the two. "Sonic, Penny, take this!"

Penny caught the jewel in her hands, and Sonic nodded up at her. "We've got it, don't worry, we'll rescue you!"

"I know..." Elise clasped her hands. "And please, take care of my friend."

Sonic nodded, taking Penny's hand in his. "I will."

"It's only a matter of time before it's mine." Eggman pointed out, nodding towards the Chaos Emerald. "Until then, you can hold onto it for me!"

He took Elise up in his ship and flew off.

"Elise..." Penny muttered, clutching the gem. Sonic patted her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll get her."

A little while away, Silver had seen everything. He'd watch the two witness Elise's capture, but he was more worried about destroying the blue hedgehog who he was told destroyed his future. Silver narrowed his eyes. "I've finally found him...the Iblis Trigger!"

Silver hopped to the ground and was about to run after the blue hedgehog when someone caught him in his arms. "Now I've got you, Sonic!"

Silver yelped, squirming in her tight grasp. "HEY!"

She hugged him tightly, smiling. "It's about time I finally caught you again!"

She finally snapped out of it and pushed away, blushing at her mistake. "You're not Sonic!"

Silver stumbled for a bit but caught his balance. He took a look at her...she was a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress and matching headbands and boots. She had her face buried in her hands, looking seriously embarrassed for her childish actions and misunderstanding.

Silver stuttered awkwardly. "Uh...I'm..."

He glanced down and narrowed his eyes at the spot where the Iblis Trigger was supposed to be. "Hey, where'd he go?!" He groaned. "He must've run off!"

The pink hedgehog slowly walked up to him, her green eyes showing sympathy. "I'm sorry, did you lose someone because of me?"

Silver shook his head, waving it off. "Ah...it's okay. I'm sure the guy I'm looking for is still on the island. I'm sure I can still find him." He held out his hand, and she took it with her two hands happily. "Well, then I'll help you!"

Silver glanced at her in surprise. "What?"

"Two heads are better than one when looking for someone!" She pointed out.

"Hey, just wait a second!"

"What's YOUR name?"

Silver glanced down shyly. "Silver..."

She smiled. "That's a nice name. I'm Amy Rose, it's nice to meet you!"

She dragged him off, ignoring his protests.