Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or any of the characters, they are owned by Sega and Sonic Team.
October 8th 2004.
Sonic walked to the studio that Fall morning, the cold and fog reminding him of home around this time of year.
"I should head back there soon." Sonic thought.
As Sonic walked through the gates, his mind went back to focusing on questioning why they had called and told him to come in, that morning.
"Hopefully it's good news." Sonic thought.
Sonic made his way to the boardroom, immediately noticing that almost everyone had shown up.
"Hey, what's going on?" Sonic asked.
"They called us in to get our opinions, they mentioned something about the franchise going forward." Tails said.
Sonic nodded, understanding the situation completely.
"Things have been getting a little out of hand." Sonic thought.
As Sonic took his seat and sat down, Bunnie walked in.
"Good morning, everyone." Bunnie said.
Some replied with a cheerful response, while others simply grumbled, clearly having gone without their morning coffee.
"Alright, I'll cut right to the chase." Bunnie said.
"We have two major releases set for next year as well as other projects in development, however, it has become clear that the franchise has become… complicated, to say the least." Bunnie said.
"Which is why I have called you all here, in order to discuss and create new ideas for the series." Bunnie said.
"Why did you call us in?" Knuckles asked.
"These ideas need to be solid, which means everyone's input is important." Bunnie explained.
"If anyone has any ideas they've always wanted to pitch, we're all willing to listen, because in all honesty, we're not sure on what to do." Bunnie told them.
Sonic was shocked by her bluntness.
He knew that the writing team and creative forces behind the series were starting to run out of fuel, but he had been sure that it was only a slump and that new ideas would come in time.
On the one hand, it seemed desperate, but on the other, it was a chance to throw stuff out there and see what stuck with the public's favor.
Hours passed on, Sonic almost falling asleep from boredom, as no one had pitched something that had caught his interest, at least not entirely.
Tails had been wanting to take the series in a more science fiction type direction, pitching a script involving aliens and a different tone for the series that was much brighter.
"Maybe in a few years." Sonic thought.
One employee pitched two racing projects, one for the big screen and the other for television.
All Sonic had noticed was the fact that they mentioned hover boards, which actually sounded cool.
Some ideas had landed, others had just seemed ridiculous.
Sonic sighed loudly, catching everyone's attention.
"What is it, Sonic?" Rouge asked.
"Do you ever think about just taking a break?" Sonic asked.
"What?" Shadow asked, in surprise.
"I mean, I remember when I was out of the business for a little while, maybe we all need a break from the complications." Sonic said.
Everyone looked at one another, waiting for someone to answer.
To their surprise, someone responded.
"Maybe we just need to get rid of the complications." Someone said.
Everyone turned to look towards the door, seeing a lone polar bear standing there with a smile on his face.
"Bark!" Everyone shouted, in surprise.
"It's good to see you all again." Bark said.
"It's good to see you too, buddy." Sonic said.
"Yeah, how long has it been?" Knuckles asked.
"Eight years or so." Bark replied.
"Bark, as wonderful as it is to see you again, we are still having a discussion." Bunnie said.
"I'm aware, which is why I'm here." Bark said.
"I thought you retired." Knuckles pointed out.
"As an actor, I did, but I took some inspiration from Ray and started working behind the scenes." Bark told them.
"Alright, so what did you mean by getting rid of the complications?" Shadow asked.
"I'm talking about letting the past go and leaving behind the current mess you're dealing with." Bark said.
"Which means?" Sonic asked.
"I'm talking about doing a reboot." Bark said.
October 9th 2004.
Bark's reboot idea seemed ideal, on paper at least.
A brand new start for the series as a whole and everyone would be a part of it.
A new, more realistic setting and design, combined with a darker tone.
It wouldn't be Shadow levels of over the top angst, but it would be different and distinct enough to create an identity of its own.
He presented the idea of a time travel plot as well as a devastating event on the levels of Chaos from Sonic Adventure.
He also would add in a new character for the series, in order to bring even more fans in.
Another hedgehog, who would rival Sonic and Shadow.
Everyone agreed it seemed like a good plan, however both Shadow's solo film and Rush were far into production and would have to be released in order to gain back the loss from their budgets.
Bark agreed to hold off on filming for a few months until after Shadow's movie would be announced in March of next year.
Things were set and the reboot as well as a few projects that would be outside of the continuity of the main series, were picked up.
Bark, wanting to put everyone more at ease as well as prove himself as a competent director and writer, offered to film some test footage that would basically be a prototype for what he wanted to create with this new reboot.
Bunnie agreed and allowed him to use one of their new, high definition cameras.
This was going to be more mainstream, more modern and on a higher scale than anything they had filmed before.
"In honor of the franchise's fifteenth anniversary, this new movie will be for viewers old and new and I guarantee it will be memorable." Bark exclaimed.
Well… it would be memorable.