Thunder roared as lightning crashed. Tornadoes, several miles away, swept up trees before dissipating in seconds at a time while water turned to ice not too far from the scene. Unaware to this – upon a large hill in a wide mountainous area, a lone castle ruin sat, unbeknownst to the city that was several miles away. The castle was large, looked like a gothic cathedral, and looked like it had many rooms. It had been alone and undisturbed for many years, leaving it to the mercy of the wildlife. Though being undisturbed for so long, just a few years ago, a small group of people inhabited the building. They're still there, though they do leave the building every now and then, but not without leaving an extremely lethal security system on…

The five inhabitants are known as The Harmonious Republic...

In the living area of the castle an emerald hedgehog was laying on a long couch, his mind was flooded with thoughts, his heart with worry. His ears twitched when the roar of thunder crashed outside. Though with that sudden sound, his mind didn't falter. In all honesty, he actually enjoyed the sound, it reminded him of explosions, which was one of the many things that he loved to utilize against his opponents.

The emerald hedgehog's name was Scourge Duskslayer, though he wouldn't tell you his last name and merely tell you that his name was Scourge the hedgehog.

He wore a black leather jacket that had a picture of flames on the shoulders. He also had on white gloves and black and green shoes. Though besides his jacket, the other most signature thing that Scourge wore was his crimson sunglasses that sat just above his brow. At times those glasses would hide his caring, lapis eyes that would redirect people's attention away from the two long scars on his chest. His fur may be emerald but there were faded stripes that were almost a light teal – due to the fact that they were faded, they merely seemed to be two shades lighter than his normal fur color. Those stripes weren't natural though, they were created with a type of herbal remedy that was able to lightly quell what was plaguing him, the effect is still present and the remedy dyed his fur, but it was worth it. The herbal remedy has may forms and colors, the color teal, is the form for the remedy to quell the voices that plague the mind. This remedy came from a clan that one of his friends was from...

His mind buzzed with thoughts, questions, and morbid images. Why? Because one of his friends was missing…

The missing friend went by the nickname "Angel", because she fell from the heavens and was not only his, but his other friends' saving grace. And one day, she disappeared into a tear of reality. Just sucked into a tear in space. They tried to save her… but she had accepted her fate and told them to let go… and they did, but not without promising her that they'd find her, one way or another.

She has been missing for four years – the thing is, they've tried everything they knew…

Scourge pulled out a small note book out of his jacket pocket. It was one of the two notebooks that he carried with him. He flipped it open and looked at his list.

Search for Angel

-Raid organization hideouts and steal information

-Look through military databases

-Interrogate organization members

-Hack into every possible database to gain info

-Reconnaissance

-Chaos Crystal(s)[out of the question]

-Ask Robotickis for help (maybe?)

Scourge frowned. He shook his head and sighed. He knew that he and his friends wouldn't ever risk going near a Chaos Crystal let alone use one. The only time they would go near a crystal was to hide it from the world. That was one of their goals on their agenda… But right now, finding Angel was more important…. But they couldn't face their fear of what could happen if they were to use a crystal…

Chaos was an energy that can turn the most sane person into a madman – it was the cause of the insane, unpredictable weather that the world now had. Scourge himself was insane – but not as much as some of his friends.

Their sanity was already slipping… they don't need to lose it all at once.

He then looked at their last and final hope…

Robotickis…. One of the Republic's enemies. Though… Robotickis was more of a rival, if anything. Scourge shuddered. He'd rather ask his enemy for help than use a Chaos Crystal, but he is hesitant. Nothing is free. Using chaos is losing morals and sanity in turn. Gaining Robotickis' help is unknown. He doesn't know what would happen if he were to ask the Scottish human for help, but he knew that he wouldn't know unless he asked…

Suddenly the sound of a door opening and closing shook him out of his train of thought. He looked over to where the sound originated to find one of his friends standing in front of the door that lead to the basement, they were wiping blood onto a rag.

That friend was Hallow Winters. Hallow was a fellow hedgehog. His fur was as white as snow. He wore a white doctor's lab coat, and white boots with an orange stripe going down the middle, with purple cuffs. He also had white gloves with purple cuffs and an orange jack-o-lantern face on the back of the gloves. Though he would seem normal, the stitches on his body will tell you otherwise. There were trails of stitches on Hallow's body that would intersect and connect at some point on his body, one of the most noticeable, other than the ones on his face and ears, was on his chest. But if someone did not believe that Hallow wasn't normal, his vivid purple eyes should be the ace in the deck. His eyes were cold and emotionless, which is spot on to his personality.

Scourge calmed himself and went back to looking at his notebook, trying to make his final decision, little did he know, he had caught Hallow's attention. With quiet steps, Hallow walked over to the couch and sat down next to Scourge, then looked at the list. The emerald hedgehog knew that Hallow was there, looking over his shoulder, after having to endure Hallow seemingly popping up out of nowhere, he has begun to gain sensitive ears that could hear the white hedgehog's silent, calculated steps.

"It's practically an obvious choice, isn't it?" said Scourge with a sigh, "None of us are crazy enough to even attempt to use the crystals…"

Hallow nodded and in his usual blunt drawl, he said "We've never worked with Robotickis before, but it's the better choice."

"Every database, every gang, organization, military base, and we've found nothing," Scourge huffed, "If anyone can get answers its Drex, but nothing is free…. We might as well swallow our pride and ask him for help…"

Hallow got up and said "I'll get Terios and Chuckles."

Scourge nodded, "I'll call Nygus."

As Hallow walked away, Scourge let out his held breath. Hallow had always added an air of discomfort for him. He didn't know why but it was just always there looming around the white hedgehog like a shadow. He had known Hallow for many years, but that feeling has never changed.

Scourge reached back into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie and tuned the radio a bit then pressed a button and began to speak into the radio.

"Arsonist to Sniper, do you read?" Scourge said clearly.

"Sniper here! What's hanging?" a cocky voice came through.

Scourge recognized the voice immediately, it was Nygus. "Sniper, we need you back at base, come back immediately."

A groan could be heard from the other end, "But-"

"But nothing! Get back here immediately!" Scourge ordered.

"Fine…."

Scourge shook his head, if there was one thing that he knew about Nygus Zmora is that the chameleon was greedy. Nygus wanted all the good things in life. Due to the chameleon's flirtatious and greedy nature several times Scourge was tempted to kick Nygus out of the Republic, but due to his skill, Scourge decided to put up with his perverted and thieving ways.

The sound of metal on tile echoed throughout the room. Scourge turned and saw that it was Hallow's teammate, Terios Willow. Terios was the last hedgehog in the group, but the most dangerous one other than Hallow. Terios was indestructible due to being a lab-rat for mad scientist. His fur was black with red stripes. He wore maroon knee-high boots that were also cleats; white gloves, gold bracelets, and a very tattered brown jacket. The one thing that showed that he was experimented on was his eyes. His sclera was black whilst his eyes were blood red. The one other things about him that showed his past was his saliva, which was neon green and able to glow.

Terios looked at Scourge with cold eyes, the black hedgehog hadn't been the same since Angel disappeared, and Scourge didn't blame him, he himself was depressed about her disappearance… everyone was.

"I know Hallow doesn't lie, but I want to hear it from you." Terios said in dull voice, "Are we really going to ask Drex for help?"

Scourge nodded, "Yeah, we are…"

"I thought so," said a voice from across the room.

The two hedgehogs looked to where the voice came from and saw that it was from Scourge's second teammate, Chuckles Gothaysis. Chuckles was a red echidna with piercing lime green eyes. Much like Scourge, his fur was stripped which came from the same source and similar reasons – his stripes were also faded and went on near orange spectrum. The stripes were originally gold but they faded with time. He wore a light blue shirt that had text that said "I can feel the insanity" with the anarchy symbol, he also had light blue knee-high boots that had several slightly darker blue stripes that crisscrossed on them. The echidna had two scars on his mouth, one on either side of his mouth, making it look like he was smiling which coincidentally matched with a small problem that he had which the stripes in his fur were meant to quell – the problem being that from time to time his disorder would catch up with him for about a week or so, the disorder being Bipolar Disorder. Thankfully he has been having a streak of a normal mood.

Next to Chuckles was Hallow.

"So, when are we leaving?" Hallow asked.

"When Nygus gets here…" Scourge stated.

It didn't take very long. Soon enough there was the sound of a the front door opening then being slammed shut, along with someone muttering to themselves. The group watched as the owner of the muttering came into view.

That person was Nygus Zmora, a black chameleon with silver spines that trailed from his head to the near tip of his tail. He had a neon green stripe that lined the trail of spines and golden eyes. He wore a dark brown jacket and had a whip that wrapped around his waist like a belt. He had several bandages that were on several parts of his body. The most iconic thing about him was the fact that he didn't wear shoes, along with the fact that he always wore his signature violet scarf that hid a scar on his neck.

Nygus crossed his arms and said "Tell me why you so rudely pulled me away from stealing every diamond, pearl, ruby, emerald, and sapphire in the jewel store in Scintel?"

Scourge shook his head then smiled and sarcastically said, "Well then, I guess if that is so important to you, I guess the rest of us will have to go to our last recourse – Drex – to see if he can help us find Angel. Since, your jewels are more important than the one person who possibly the only key that we had to finding a way to bring the world to its former glory, we'll have to go see him without you."

Instantly Nygus' tone shifted. He scratched the back of his head and looked at Scourge in embarrassment. "Oh…. Why didn't you just -"

"Listen Nygus," Scourge said sternly as he got up and walked over to the chameleon, "You need to quit this greedy act of yours. Like the rest of us, you miss Angel, and you want the world to get back to normal, but you just can't seem to put your priorities ahead of your lecherous greed, either you start getting your act straight, or risk being kicked from the Republic."

Before Nygus could argue, Chuckles said, "Yeah, you certainly have an interesting way of helping us look for her – yet when she was around you acted like you were head over heels for her…. You wonder why Terios and I blame you for her disappearance…."

Nygus glared and yelled, "I did not cause her disappearance! I'm trying to get over it! We all know that she isn't coming back! I doubt that Drex has the answer! Even if he does, who doesn't say that she might be -"

Before he was able to finish his sentence Terios grabbed him by his scarf covered neck and held him against a wall. In a shaky, anger filled voice, he said, "Shut up! Angel is not dead! She can't be!"

"We all saw her get sucked into a vortex!" Nygus said, "How she can still be alive after that?!"

Terios glared at the chameleon then threw him across the room. With that he sighed and muttered, "You've given up hope for so long that something like this is hopeless…. It's ironic 'cause you still find enough hope to not be caught by the people you steal from…. Talk about a contradiction…"

Nygus got up and dusted himself off as Hallow asked, "Are you going to help us or not?"

The chameleon sighed, "Sure, but if I'm right, don't say that I told ya so."

Scourge rolled his eyes, "Alright, lets get going, it's a long way to Drex's hideout, and who knows what we'll encounter on the way…"

They left their hide out and began to make their way out of their territory and to the city, which didn't take that long due to their speed. They and just about almost every sentient creature could run in the speed of sound, the only acceptance were humans and those who lived in the sea. When they made it to the town of Oroboros, they slowed their pace down and leisurely made their way through town so that way they couldn't be caught off guard or ambushed in any way.

They walked through the town, its dead silence echoing in a hypnotic wave throughout the area. The web-like streets crisscrossed through Oroboros, making it maze-like, but the Republic knew the area very well. Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots, it caused them to pause and analyze the sound, finding that it was far away from them. They continued walking, but staying on edge, knowing that the shooter could be aiming for them next…

Unfortunately it seems that god just wants to set them up to bleed.

Scourge jumped back in time to dodge a rouge bullet. He looked to where the bullet came from and saw someone whom he didn't want to run into. Lech Hart. Lech was a white rabbit with a bad case of bipolar disorder – far worse than Chuckles' case. It seems that unlike the Echidna, Lech was in a state of pure mania, meaning that his gang, Wonderland, was in his control – instead of being in Ali the Shih-Tzu's leadership.

Lech wore a scarlet vest, white shoes with the court symbols of playing cards (Red Hearts and Diamonds, and black Clubs and Spades), and had a large clock tied to a thick golden chain that hung around his neck – its fooled many into thinking that it was his downfall. He was a master at speed and that clock and chain held him back from going to his full potential. He could break the sound barrier far easier than any Morbidian could. The calculations were uncanny. Not even Hallow could catch Lech when he doesn't have that clock around his throat. The guy had an uncanny obsession with time – he believed that if there was enough chaos the world would forever be in a state of limbo and everyone would be immortal and the world would become the wonderland of his dreams with him being the red king.

The rabbit laughed, "Whats wrong prince? I thought you liked bullets!"

Scourge growled, not liking the situation at all, "I thought you learned your lesson the last time we fought! You know that this is the Republic's territory!"

"I know..." Lech smirked, "But I want it. I wanna paint the the town red!"

Suddenly they were surrounded. Some the members of Lech's gang were there. The members wore a jacket that had one of the playing card courts. They were all armed with a variety of weapons.

Chuckles sighed and muttered, "We don't have the time for this."

"I know," Scourge muttered, "Look! We don't have time for this, Hart! Call off your forces!"

Thunder roared whilst the rabbit raised a curious eyebrow. "Why?"

A storm was coming, he needed to do the one thing that he knew would get them off of his back.

Scourge sighed, "You're wasting your time! You've fought us many times, Hart. You have yet to beat us – do you really want to us to kill you because you want to try to claim a territory you'll never have? We currently don't have the time for this, and right now you're wasting time when you can get a better target with time for something like this. The clock is ticking, Hart. And if you continue to waste our time, we'll give you a one-way ticket to hell."

The rabbit's smile disappeared as he began to think.

"Boss, what do we do?" asked one of the members.

"Withdraw. We've had our fun, but The Ashen Forest is now our target. It was a mistake coming here." Lech said.

The members began to retreat, but Lech stayed and watched his team leave.

"Hart." Scourge said, "My offer still stands. We don't need to be at each other's throats forever..."

With that said, the Republic began to leave, while the rabbit walked off.

Not too far from the town, there was a large facility on the edge of a beach, where storms and water tornadoes were visible. There in that facility a human boy sat in a room on the top floor of the building. His desk chair was facing the wrong way so that he could rest his arms on the back rest. The light coming from the large computer screen reflected on his glasses – making the illusion that they were glowing.

The boy was Dr. Drex Ray Robotickis.

Drex was a tall, thin boy with bright orange, almost red hair. He was very pale and looked as though he hadn't slept in days. He wore a long sleeved black shirt that had several patches on it that covered over the holes that were on his shirt; he also had dark blue pants that had two tears on them, one just several inches above his foot, whilst on the other leg had a tear above the knee. He wore black knee high boots, and a tattered lab coat that had one sleeve, along with purple gloves. He also had large glasses, the left lens being cracked unlike the goggles that were sitting just above his forehead. The goggles' lenses were swirled with purple and green, its right lens was cracked, on the strap that held them together was a pin that had Drex's emblem – a golden Celtic trinity knot in front of a green and purple swirl.

Drex glared at the computer screen in utter frustration. The screen had a map of a part of the universe and several windows that showed graphs, numbers, and an analysis of someone's DNA. On the map of the universe there was a small blinking red dot on one side in a galaxy, but on another galaxy there was a green dot that was also blinking. Though all of it together seemed to make no sense at all, it must've made sense to Drex because he got up and kicked the machine, cursing.

"You blasted computer – do ye take me fer a bloody fool?!" Drex shouted, his Scottish accent showing his heritage. "Do ye expect me to believe this load of crap?! How can someone get to another universe in just a few years?!"

He glared at the screen then looked over to the only other light source in the room, the glint on his glasses disappearing, showing his emerald green eyes. He was looking at something that was in a container connected to a machine. The item in the container was a Chaos Crystal. The crystal was rugged and roughly cut and glowing violet. As beautiful it was, it was filled with horrific power that was as evil as it was fascinating. He walked up to the container and stared at the crystal.

"What are you hiding?..." he asked.

Suddenly sirens began going off. He swiftly turned around and went to the computer, seeing that all of the windows that were open only moments go were replaced with footage being captured in the moment. It was showing the Harmonious Republic – Drex's rivals – getting within his territory. He grit his teeth and began typing in several commands. Weapons appeared in front of the Republic, causing them to stop in their tracks.

Scourge looked at the fortress that Drex was in, and shouted, "Drex, we're not here to fight, we're here to talk!"

Drex raised an eyebrow. Talk? Were they joking? He sighed and said, "Oh ha – ha! Do ye take me for a fool? Look at the world we live in – do you really think I'm going to let you waltz in here just because you say that ye want to 'talk'?"

Scourge crossed his arms and thought about the young scientist said. "You have a point – but we're serious – all we want to do is talk. It's about Angel."

Angel? Thinking back to when she was around Drex remembered that she had befriended him behind the Republic's back just because of both her kind nature and the fact that she felt that he needed a friend because he looked lonely – which was dead accurate.

But why seek him out? Did they think that he caused the vortex that took her away? He'd never do such a thing! But they didn't know that…

He sighed, "Yer here to talk about Angel?... Why are you seekin' me out?"

To his surprise the answer wasn't the one he was expecting.

"We need your help,"

Drex was shocked, "Why?"

"We've tried almost everything but using the Chaos Crystals – but we're not crazy enough to do such a thing." Scourge said with disappointment, obviously because he was disappointed that he hasn't found anything about his friend.

Drex felt a sinking feeling in his chest – which was a feeling that he hadn't had for a long time: sorrow. This was hard to feel for the world was cruel and harsh now – far more than it has ever been – such things as sorrow and remorse was stupid and something that should be forgotten. Drex has killed several – even hundreds of people without regret or remorse – but he has never gone through something that would make him feel this… useless emotion. He has felt rage and frustration which has saved his life several times, but something like sorrow was useless…

But maybe not… if he gives them mercy and helps them, he'll get Angel back and everything will go back to normal! ... Well if everything goes as planned. If it doesn't – there'll probably be a lot of bloodshed…. This was a risk that he was willing to take.

"Well… I can't argue with that. Come in…" he said, pressing a button causing all of the weapons to retract.

Scourge gave a light smile and signaled his friends to fallow him into the building which they did rather quickly because there was a tornado forming fairly close to their area. Drex's hideout was like most blades now a-days – rusted. Due to the chaotic weather good metal is almost as rare as diamonds. The young genius met the Republic at the main hall and began to lead them to his computer room, which was where his research was.

"The reason why I let you all in here is because I must confess – I too have been looking fer your friend." Drex stated, surprising the lot.

"Y – you have?" Nygus asked.

Drex nodded as they made a turn in the hall and led them into the computer room. "Yes, I have. I've been using the one item that you all refused to even think of using,"

"A Chaos Crystal…" Hallow stated.

"That is correct," Drex said. They all glanced to the corner of the room that held the contraption that enclosed the item that they were talking about. "I've been usin' that machine to harness the energy directly from the crystal, that way the wavelength won't affect me or anyone around the area."

"Did you find anything?" Terios asked.

Drex grit his teeth, "In a way yes – and in a way no…" The human simply pressed one button and the screen flashed and showed all of the windows that were open previously. "You see – I've been studying DNA almost all my life. So as a way to keep myself busy and from going mad, I began studying all of your DNA – including Angel's. But as you can see – the data doesn't add up."

The group analyzed the information.

"It says that she's in an entire different galaxy." Hallow stated.

"More specifically in the galaxy of Zoniuous." Drex said, "But it doesn't make any sense – how could one go to another galaxy like that?"

"Wormhole?" Chuckles suggested.

"A wormhole is the same size as an actual worm – thus the reason why it has the name." Drex stated, "It would've killed her if it even got her in."

"Oh." The echidna said sheepishly.

"It doesn't add up," Scourge said, "the vortex we saw looked like a… weird version of a Black Hole – but it was concentrated enough to only suck in Angel – and this data says that she's in the Zoniusus Galaxy. How is any of this supposed to make sense?..."

Suddenly the screen flashed red and the windows closed and opened several others. Drex immediately became panicked and began trying to type several things but a familiar feeling rushed over the Republic.

They all looked behind them and saw a familiar black swirling vortex appeared sucking in all the air and trying consume them.

"I guess what they say is true!" Drex said, "Speak of the devil and he shall come!"

"It looks like its ether we jump in willingly or get sucked by force!" Scourge said.

"I guess we have no choice." Nygus muttered.

"Well, if all of ye are going into that vortex, so am I!" Drex said.

"Why?" Scourge asked.

"Because you asked for my help," Drex stated, "And because this has been the only contact with all of you in four years! Its gets pretty boring without all of you."

"We really owe you one!" Terios said.

"On the count of three we'll jump into the vortex!" Scourge said.

"Right!" everyone said.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The group jumped into the black mass, not knowing where it would take them….