Prologue: Before the Genesis
This is the story of a hero...
He hadn't always been a hero, of course. Once, in the days before fighting robots and zone running, before saving people and winning the hearts of the masses, there was a childhood. It was a childhood spent in a small village on the beaches of South Island, where there were few other children, and most adults were too busy to notice him very much. Here, he spent his days happily running across the endless checkered pathways, racing through loop-de-loops at top speed, and enjoying the fresh air and warm sunshine. It was a childhood of freedom, spent mostly doing whatever made him happy. And it would be that freedom, for both himself and others, that he would come to cherish more than anything else in this life.
There was a time before this childhood, so the ones that had raised the little blue hedgehog had told him. Years ago, he had been born on faraway Christmas Island as Sonic Parlouzer, one of three triplets born to a pair of happy hedgehog parents. His father had been Paulie Parlouzer, a rough-and-tumble pilot of cargo planes, and the mother was Queen Aleena Parlouzer, ruler of the small islander population of Christmas Island. Both were very, very happy they had given birth to their children; Sonic and his siblings, Sonia and Manic. But that happiness was not to last, as Aleena and Paulie were lost in a plane crash during a terrible storm. With no one able to care for the three babies together, the children were separated. Baby Sonic was sent to live with his uncle, Dr. Charles Parlouzer, an archeologist and scholar. Uncle Chuck was Paulie's brother who had left Christmas island long ago, and was happy to receive his infant nephew.
Here on South Island, Uncle Chuck had raised Sonic, educating him in the basics such as reading and writing. Most of this went straight over the speedy little hedgehog's head, though Uncle Chuck did instill a love of reading adventure stories in the boy, like the Arabian knights, or the tales of King Arthur. The village also had a protector; Longclaw the owl, last of a clan of warriors defended the world from evil. Longclaw saw Sonic's incredible speed, and with Chuck's blessing, began to train young sonic in how to use his power to fight and defend himself. The blue hedgehog learned how to curl into a ball and spin dash, how to roll and smash into an enemy, and how to leap great distances from surface to surface. For Sonic, it was all just fun and games, and Uncle Chuck and Longclaw were the only parents he had ever known.
There were many things Sonic learned from them, things about who they were, and their place was in the world. Uncle Chuck told Sonic that they were Islanders, a race of animal folk that lived on earth's islands, while humans lived on the great continents. Uncle Chuck said long ago, there had only been humans living on the world. But ten thousand years ago, dark Gaia and light Gaia woke from their eternal slumber to do battle. Although light Gaia had won and sealed the dark one away, the light and dark energy from their battle washed over the islands, slowly mutating the humans who lived there into short, anthropomorphic animal-like folk over the generations. Thus, the race of islanders was born, while those on the continents, untouched by the Gaia energy, remained human.
Longclaw agreed with this, and also told Sonic of the Chaos Emeralds- a set of seven mystical gems that draw upon the power of chaos magic, and turned peoples thoughts into power. Whoever possessed one of the chaos emeralds could perform wonders, and if anyone possessed them all, they would become an invincible being. Longclaw believed Sonic was a champion chosen by the chaos emeralds, and one of the emeralds had empowered him with his incredible speed. That is why the wise old owl sought to train young Sonic as her apprentice, and wanted him to become a protector of the innocent after she was gone. The speedy blue hedgehog did not know if any of this was true, but went along with the fun training to make Longclaw and Uncle Chuck happy.
But shortly after Sonic's tenth birthday, the Angel Island clan of Echidnas descended from the skies on hang gliders, and attacked the village. Uncle chuck and Longclaw thought they were after Sonic's power, and hid the Boy away, as Longclaw went out to face the invaders. The brave owl warrior fought valiantly, actually managing to slay all of the Echidna invaders, but soon perished from her own wounds, as well. Sonic was stricken with grief, and Uncle Chuck did his best to console the boy. But then and there, Sonic decided that being too tied to anything- a person or place- caused too much pain, because sooner or later that person would go away, or you would have to leave that place. And so, Sonic decided he would travel the world, free as the wind. Going from place to place and seeking all the thrills he could find. Running.. running was the one thing he was good at, and he would run as far and as fast away from the pain and loneliness, so they would never hurt him again.
Then one day, when Sonic was in his early teenage years, a madman came to South Island. This vile villain, a mad scientist by trade, started capturing the small animals of south island, and using them to power his robots. He had come searching for the fabled chaos emeralds, and was capturing and torturing the small animals Sonic had been friends with since the early days of his childhood. And so, with uncle Chuck's blessing, Sonic went out to face the madman. And thus began one of the most exciting and adventure-filled chapters of his young life.
...
This is the tale of a sidekick
This is the story of a two-tailed fox, who came from Westside island. He was named Miles Prower, and was the son of Kilo Prower, a famous scientist. Miles's mother had died when he was just an infant, and so Kilo tried to raise the boy with all the love and affection he could. While Kilo had taught Miles all about science, nature had gifted him with the ability to fly with his two tails. The rest of the village saw his two tails as an oddity, and treated the poor little fox as an oddity. Miles's uncle, Merlin Prower, was a wizard- a manipulator of Chaos energy though sorcery, who only barely got along with his brother, Kilo. Merlin tried to comfort the boy, telling him he had been born with two tails because he was a champion chosen by the chaos emeralds. Merlin believed the little boy was destined for greatness, though Kilo told his son to ignore uncle Merlin's crazy talk, and to concentrate only on his studies.
But the bullying and teasing from the other kids did not stop, and every time little Miles tried to build something, the bullies in his village would wreck it. But one day, Kilo Prower took his son to Coca island, to research some mysterious energy readings there. But tragically, the Battle Bird armada had built a secret base there, using the islands as a staging grounds to look for their tribe's legendary lost home, the Babylon garden. And when Kilo and his Miles accidentally stumbled across the battle bird forces during a training exercise, they were taken before the Great Battle Kuku, the leader of the bird forces. The battle Kuku was furious they had found his men, and had Kilo executed before his son's eyes. This would come to backfire on the birds, however, as the child prodigy proceeded to not only escape from the armada's clutches, but then used his technical skills to take down the entire battle bird armada with his bare hands, forcing the birds into retreat.
Poor little Miles then returned from Coca island, where Uncle Merlin then took him in. But the teasing still did not stop, and even only seemed to get worse. Although he had fought fiercely against the battle birds while enraged at his father's death, he could not bring himself to stand up to the bullies in his home village that had been tormenting him. Then one day, the evil Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, the villain who had been driven off of South island only a few months before, invaded Westside Island in his mad chaos emerald search. But tails was too busy being bullied by his fellow villagers to even notice.. until a mysterious blue stranger whizzed by, knocking the bullies dizzy, and impressing young Miles with his 'coolness'. Miles soon made friends with this mysterious blue hero, calling himself Sonic the Hedgehog, and was soon helping him is his battles against Dr. Eggman. Sonic soon began to treat the flying fox almost like a little brother, giving him the nickname Tails. Sonic was impressed with Miles'stechnical skills, and even let him work on and pilot the tornado, an old biplane that Sonic had inherited from the father he never knew.
It was here, with the blessings of Uncle Merlin, that Tails had found his place in the world.
...
This is the story of a heroine.
This is the tale of a pink hedgehog, named Rosie. She was from a small town on Northside Island, and grew up with all the love and affection a child could ask for from her community. Rosie's father was the town blacksmith, forging whatever metal supplies or parts the town needed with his great hammer. Her mother, named Amanda, was the town mystic. She used her deck of cards to foresee the future, and warn the villagers of impending danger. Little Rosie inherited the talents of both parents, learning how to swing a hammer with great force, as well as how to read the cards for mystical insight. Having been raised in such a loving environment, little Rosie had so much love to give, but not everyone was willing to receive that love and kindness. The only other hedgehog in town, a little girl named Breezie, seemed to rebuff every one of Rosie's attempts to make friends with her. She only bullied the other hedgehog girl, and treated her with contempt. Rosie never understood why the girl hated her, nor did she understand why Breezie left the village when she was twelve years old.
Rosie had a knack for getting herself into trouble, earning her the nickname 'Rosie the Rascal' from her fellow townsfolk. It was this penchant for getting into trouble that led her to break her people's greatest taboo. There was a location on Northside Island called Never Lake- a sacred place, where the people of the village were forbidden to go during a certain night of the year, when the fabled little planet was supposed to appear over the lake. Rosie the Rascal proceeded to ignore this taboo, and went to the shore of Never Lake, after getting a card reading that she would meet the love of her life there. Sure enough, the little planet appeared, and Rosie the Rascal met Sonic the Hedgehog, the hero who had saved both Westside and South Island from Doctor Eggman. Rosie was smitten with Sonic, and became convinced he was her knight in shining armor the cards spoke of. She followed Sonic up to the little planet, where the mad scientist was waiting for the hero. Rosy the Rascal then got herself kidnapped by a metal version of Sonic, and the blue blur had to save her.
Sonic defeated Eggman and metal, and returned Rosie to the surface of the earth as the little planet vanished. But when she returned to her home town, her friends and family were not happy with her. Rosy the Rascal's mother warned that the sacred time stones, the objects on the forbidden planet that protected the time stream, had been violated. And as a result, the demon known as the time eater would awaken in a few years, and threaten all of reality. Blaming Rosie for this, the town elders exiled her from her home forever, despite her mother's harsh objections, and pleas for mercy. This forced the sobbing little girl to pack her things, and leave behind the only home she had ever known. Her mother was willing to follow her little girl into exile, but her father, shamed at his daughter's actions, forbade it, leaving poor Rosie to fend for herself in a big and dangerous world.
Having nothing else to with her life as an exile, Rosie -now taking the name Amy Rose, in honor of the mother who had stood up for her- followed Sonic on his many adventures. Acting like a lovesick fangirl at first, Sonic was initially repulsed by her early advances. But as the years passed, many battles with Eggman and other foes tempered the excited little fangirl into a brave young woman. Amy Rose became a heroine in her own right, easily capable of taking care of herself, and forming a strong bond with Sonic. Now, a childhood crush on her hero has turned to adult love... a feeling Sonic now shares for her as well, even if he will not admit it, even to himself.
...
This is the story of a Guardian.
Knuckles the echidna...a brave warrior, last of the Angel Island Echidna clan, and Guardian of the master emerald. When Knuckles was born, his tribe was already a people in decline. Less than a hundred warriors remained, and Knuckles was the only child of his generation that did not die by either disease or accident. Knuckle's father, Pakal, was the tribe's guardian of the master emerald, and had been training his son to take up that duty some day. Pakal trained Knuckles how to fight, how to glide, how to read the ancient echidna texts, and how to treasure hunt. Knuckles always took his bloodline's duty seriously, and fully planned to live up to his duty to both his ancestors, and his tribe.
Knuckles was only a little boy, when the tribe learned the location of Longclaw, last of the owl warriors. Following the advice of their hot hothead leader, Chief Uxmal,the entire tribe foolishly decided to try and capture Longclaw to learn what secrets she knew of the master emerald. Knuckles, eager to share in the glory of battle, rushed to get his spear. But Pakal stopped his son, telling him his time to honor their tribe would come, but for now he should stay safe on the island. Pakal promised he and the other members of the tribe would return with the owl warrior in chains, and together they would have a great victory feast. And so, Knuckles watched the last members of his tribe descend to the surface by glider, and went back to his hut to wait for their return in triumph...
...Knuckles never saw his people again.
Knuckles spent the next several years growing up nearly alone, the animals of the island his only companions. The young echidna warrior, the last of the Angel Island tribe, learned to hunt and feed himself, strengthening his muscles and reflexes to the point he could break large boulders with a single punch. The island was like a large playground to him, and he freely explored the wild wilderness, as well as the many ruins that dotted the island. Knuckles would often visit the hidden palace zone, where he would meet with the only person on the island he could talk to, his great grandfather, Athair. Robed, wearing spectacles and carrying a trident-like staff, the old echidna would often lecture Knuckles about his duty, or share his wisdom and advice on echidna lore. It was Athiar who told Knuckles the fate of his father and the rest of the tribe, and the old man tried to comfort the young guardian in his hours of sorrow. Never seeing Athair outside of the hidden palace, Knuckles was not sure if this venerable ancestor was alive, a spirit, or somewhere in between. But he was grateful to have somebody to talk to, to keep from going mad from loneliness.
The last echidna of Angel island's solitude continued. Until the day a large, moon-shaped object crashed onto the floating island, sending it hurtling to the ground. This massive vessel was the death egg, and from it emerged a human scientist named Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The scientist then spun fantastic lies about the evil Sonic the Hedgehog, apprentice to the owl warrior Longclaw, who was coming to steal the master emerald. Knuckles was eager to believe him, blinded by thoughts of revenge, and agreed to join forces with the doctor. What would follow would lead to the super-strong echidna warrior changing sides, and forming a friendship with the hedgehog that would see them through many adventures. These adventures would also lead to the lonely echidna making many more friends and enemies, including a rivalry with a thieving bat girl, who would try constantly try to steal the master emerald. But she would only manage to steal the echidna's heart, just as he had stolen hers. From treasure hunting to fighting to help save the world, Knuckles the echidna has found a new family, as near and dear to him as the one he had lost.
...
This is the tale of a little lady.
Her name was cream the Rabbit, and she was a well- mannered little lady. Born the daughter islander bunnies Johnny Lightfoot and Vanilla Rabeau-Lightfoot, Cream the Rabbit grew up in Floral Forest village, an islander town located on a small island just off the coast of the united federation. Losing her father to illness at an early age, Cream was raised by Vanilla to be extremely polite and lady-like. Proper manners, proper etiquette, and proper grooming and dress were emphasized in the little girl's education. Vanilla thought of her younger rebellious sister, Scarlett Rabeau -nicknamed 'Bunnie'- who had run off to be the hairdresser and lady-in-waiting for some princess on Sabato island. No, Cream would be raised to be the toast of polite society, just as Uncle Beauregard and Aunt Lulumae had raised Vanilla to be. The mother and daughter also lived near a chao garden, from which Cream adopted her beloved little pet, cheese the those early years, Vanilla did everything she could to shelter and shield Cream from the cruelty and harshness of the outside world...
...but that could not last forever.
The day came, when Cream was still a little girl, that Dr. Eggman kidnapped her and her mother. Sonic managed to rescue cream and cheese, who them helped Sonic on his mission to rescue their mother. Afterward, Vanilla sadly realized she could not protect her daughter forever, and occasionally permitted Cream to join Sonic and his friends on their less dangerous adventures. During this time, Vanilla and Cream adopted a former Eggman robot named Gemerl, who turned on the doctor, and afterward became part of Vanilla and Cream's family. During these years, Cream grew closer to the young mechanical genius, Tails, and the two became the greatest of friends. Cream became something of a sidekick to Amy, a female counterpoint to Sonic and Tails's relationship. The little rabbit girl friendliness and kindness was the glue that held Sonic's crew together, even enabling Cream to befriend a fiery feline princess from another dimension. It was these years, and these adventures, that would lead cream from being the happy and polite little girl she was, into the beautiful and elegant young lady she has become now.
...Now, if only a certain two-tailed fox would notice her...
...
The years have come, and the years have gone for our brave heroes. They have faced Robotniks and badniks, Chaos and metal overlords, time eaters and Iblis triggers, so many foes and challenges. Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles have just arrived at adulthood, and Tails and Cream have come to their teens. Our Heroes can look back upon their long and heroic careers, and remember adventures beyond counting..