Sonic the Hedgehog: The Classic Saga (Prologue)

12:01 P.M.

South Island, Mobius

"Clear skies? Check. Minimal wind? All buttons and systems functional? Check. Yep, the Tornado is ready for takeoff!", confidently stated a confident, light-pitched, young male voice.

An elderly, masculine voice replied to the youth with, "I can hardly believe it… my nephew is finally going off on his first solo flight! It feels like only yesterday that I had to change your diaper or give you a bath or wipe the chili from the side of your mouth or-!"

"Jeez, unc! Any more corniness from you and we're gonna need a popcorn machine!"

The elder simply chuckled and stated, "Yes, I understand I'm being a bit sentimental, but I just can't help it. You're my only living relative and I cherish these moments with you. I know that you always say that I worry too much…"

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true!", said the youth with a grin on his face.

"Yes, and I have every right to be! We both know what happens when you get too reckless, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Yes, you heard that right! The main protagonist of our story is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog! Born as the fastest living thing in all of Mobius, there's nothing that the blue hedgehog loves more than adventure. Living on a small island just southeast of South Island, he's seen everything there is to see around his home a million times over and he craves new excitement. Even though he just turned twelve earlier in the month, Sonic is raring to go out in the world for the first time ever. Currently, he's sitting in the cockpit of the Tornado and wearing a red aviator jacket that has a white-furred collar and a golden ring design on the back that says "Hedgehog" in the middle of it. Along with that, he has aviator goggles on and his signature red and white shoes.

Sonic simply rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, Uncle Chuck… Ya know, it amazes me everyday how much time has mellowed out a guy who used to be known as a high-flying, daredevil pilot in his youth."

"Don't forget being a mechanical engineer as well!", Chuck reminded his nephew, gently stroking his bushy, grey mustache with his right hand.

Charles the Hedgehog, also known as "Chuck or "Uncle Chuck", is a fifty-year-old Mobian hedgehog who has a lot of lifelong wisdom and many skills at his disposal. He looks quite like Sonic except that his quill color is more of a faded blue due to age, the quills themselves being less sharp too. He also sports a bushy, grey mustache and wears brown, leathery gloves and boots. As Sonic said, Chuck used to be a world-famous pilot and engineer back in the day and still holds the title for the fastest pilot ever. He was also a thrill-seeker and did multiple flights around the world, going to places that no sane individual would go in his trusty biplane: the Tornado. As all things do, Chuck's professional flying career had to come to an end thirteen years ago because he took up a full-time job as Sonic's guardian. With a child in his care, Chuck grew to be slower and more cautious about things, not wanting his speedy nephew to hurt himself in any way. Nevertheless, Chuck still tinkers with machines in his spare time as well as taking care of the Tornado. He even taught Sonic how to fly the plane once he was old enough.

"Well then, you better be prepared to put those skills to good use when I come back from my adventure! Who knows what the Tornado and I will get into?", Sonic replied.

Chuck immediately balled his hands up and shouted, "Don't you dare, Sonic! The Tornado is a vintage! You can't just break it like it's a toy! Make sure to keep it in working condition!"

Sonic chuckled at his uncle's frustration and replied, "Relax, Uncle Chuck, I'm just joking! I'll make sure to bring the Tornado back without a scratch! Also, I won't do anything too reckless. I'm a hedgehog of my word!"

Chuck simply sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. He added, "That's all I ask of you, Sonic. Now then, don't let me keep you waiting. Go out there and see the world, nephew!"

"You got it! Let's go!", Sonic declared confidently with a check-like grin on his face. He proceeded to start the engine of the biplane and slowly prepared for takeoff.

With the engine muttering and the front fan spinning fast, Sonic allowed the Tornado to gain some momentum across the grassy runway. He then pulled the control stick towards him, and the plane soared into the sky, the nice breeze hitting the fun-loving hedgehog right in the face. Living right on the edge, Sonic successfully did a barrel roll in the sky once he had enough altitude for it.

"WAY PAST COOL!", Sonic shouted at the top of his lungs, excited to be finally starting his grand adventure.

Left behind is his Uncle Chuck who couldn't help but shed a few tears from seeing his nephew finally leave the nest.

"That's my nephew…", He murmured softly under his breath.

12:15 P.M.

Green Hill Zone

Marked by the dances of its luscious, green grass as it sways in the wind as well as the droopy palm trees and the various wildlife that inhabits it, Green Hill is one of the many special areas on South Island and by far the most peaceful as well. Although the layout of this area closely resembles that of an obstacle course with its loop-de-loops, tunnels, and multiple pathways, Green Hill presents no harm to the animals that live here nor any visitors who would want to come and explore the island. However, all of this is about to change due to the arrival of one particular person…

Loud, mechanical noises collided with the ground below as they moved forward through Green Hill, their presence alone contrasting the nature around them. These heavy footprints and buzzing noises belonged to a small and mysterious robot army. These robots all seemed to have a theme of being designed around animals. On the ground are machines that resemble ladybugs and in the sky are ones that look like wasps. Leading these automatons in the front is a bald, heavily overweight man with a thick, brown mustache and a pink, bulbous nose riding in a personally designed hover car. Wearing a crimson red flight suit with triangular, yellow stripes on each shoulder and black pants to match, a wide and sinister grin appeared on his face as he saw a bunch of small critters just up ahead in view.

"Perfect! My plan is going off without a hitch! Once I enslave all these pathetic creatures and turn them into my personal Badniks, I'll have them scour the entirety of this island and find the legendary Chaos Emeralds! Rumor has it that if all seven are collected, then it can grant the user unlimited power! I'll use them to create the most powerful army in existence and reform the world in my own image! As the smartest man alive, Mobius will be far greater under my rule and the people shall bow down before the intellectual might of Dr. Ivo Robotnik! GYA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Like he so boldly declared, this is Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He is a middle-aged scientist and mechanical engineer with an I.Q. of 300, making him one of the smartest people on the planet. Despite being far more advanced than any college, Ivo studied at both Empire City University and Spagonia University three decades ago, meeting other brilliant minds such as Chuck Thorndyke and Professor Pickle. He always viewed himself as better than his peers and was infuriated that none of them shared the ideas he could formulate in his head. Ivo earned the nickname "Eggman" from other students because of his body shape. His biggest hypothesis is that he believes human advancement wasn't moving fast enough and part of it was because they share an entire planet with anthropomorphic animals. He thinks that if the governments of the human nations forcefully took over the islands that the animals inhabit, drained their resources, and built technological metropolitans on them, then Mobius would be ushered into a great era of advancement. This idea of his was widely unpopular as it basically constituted a genocide. However, Ivo found them all to be fools and shut himself off into this own personal work. After obtaining his Ph.D, unable to find anyone to support his ideas, Ivo spent the following years honing his craft and building more advanced robots. It was until about a year ago where he discovered the forgotten rumor of the Chaos Emeralds in history books. With the thought of power beyond his imagination fueling him, Dr. Robotnik pinpointed the location of the mystical gems at South Island and made preparations to go there and enact his life-long plan.

"Badniks, find every fuzzy little animal that you can and stuff them inside my special capsule devices! Once we have enough, then they'll be roboticized! Do you understand me?!", Robotnik ordered sternly.

The Badniks nodded their head in obedience and began rushing around in every direction, all hoping to capture as many critters as they can. Once again, Eggman smiled evilly from seeing his plan come into fruition.

"Soon… Those Chaos Emeralds will be mine!"

Meanwhile, back with Sonic…

Flying about 40 feet (12. 2 meters) above sea level, the blue hedgehog kept a big smile on his face, excited as for what's to come.

"Finally, I'm out on my own! I wonder where I should head first? Maybe, I should check out one of the other nearby islands or maybe I could head straight for one of the big continents where the humans live! Man, the possibilities are endless!", Sonic said to himself.

Still having South Island in his peripheral view, Sonic's emerald-green eyes suddenly caught a view of something strange happening. For the first time ever, he saw a large, black smoke coming from the island and polluting the blue sky above.

Sonic turned his head to the left and said, "That's weird… Why is there so much smoke coming from South Island?"

He then followed up with, "I got a bad feeling about this… Sorry, Uncle Chuck, it looks like I'm already breaking the don't be reckless rule. My gut is telling me to head over there."

And with that, Sonic pulled the control stick of the plane to his left and turned the plane in the direction of South Island, kickstarting his fantastic journey. What kind of adventures will the hypersonic hedgehog encounter once he lands on South Island? What will happen when Sonic finally meets Dr. Robotnik? Just what are the seven Chaos Emeralds? Find out the answers in this exciting saga of Sonic the Hedgehog!