SONIC RESURGENCE

Chapter 3

Castle Acorn, Royal Hills, New Mobotropolis

Within the royal throne room of King Maximillian Acorn, both Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails'' Prower were looking at an older-looking hedgehog that had blue fur that was a few shades lighter than Sonic, baby blue eyes, silver-colored eyebrows, and matching a mustache. He wore a brown coat over a green turtleneck sweater, brown gloves, brown, laced-up boots, and glasses.

He waved at Sonic, saying, "It's been a long time. Hasn't it, eh Sonny-boy?"

"Woah..." Tails gasped, staring at Sir Charles, then back at Sonic, then to Charles again. "You look like an older Sonic!"

Sir Charles walked up to Tails, ruffling his tuft of hair with a warm smile, saying, "And you look like a pair of ol' friends of mine."

The elder blue hedgehog brought his sights back to Sonic, who remained stiff as the teenager's thoughts began racing as fast as his average running speed.

Charles approached Sonic carefully, softly saying, " Don't you remember who I am, Sonny? It's me, Uncle Chuck."

"...Uncle...Chuck?" Sonic repeated in a questioning manner, with a hint of familiarity to his tone.

Sir Charles' eyes darted to the gray ring that was converted into a necklace that Sonic wore around his neck. He took it off of Sonic and placed the gray ring within Sonic's right hand and with his hand on top of it.

"This ring here," Sir Charles said with a smile. "Do you know why you were given this ring when you were little?"

Sonic breathed, as he answered, "I-I remember somebody tellin' me that it was a good luck charm and that I only use it when I was in trouble."

The older hedgehog smiled sadly, explaining, "This ring, Oliver, was one of the first two prototypes of one of my greatest inventions. This is a Warp Ring, or a Proto-Warp Ring to be exact. When you turned four years old, your father asked me to create a contingency plan that involved escaping with you if anything were to happen. Being inspired by naturally occurring rifts in space-time, I approached King Max on the matter with my idea. He then led me to a secret chamber deep within the castle where I could begin my work. I was given the honor and privilege to craft the prototypes with the blessings of the king. So, on the week after your fourth birthday, I placed that very ring in your hand. And do you know what I told you, Sonny-boy?"

Sonic's voice began to shake while he answered with familiarity, "T-To hold onto it for you..."

Charles smiled at his nephew, recognizing that Sonic remembered him. The older man brought his nephew into a hug, which Sonic reciprocated, which Tails smiled at the sight.

"It's good to have you back, son," Charles said before breaking off the hug with a pat on the right shoulder. "You've grown lot these past years. You look just like your father."

"Hehehe... Thanks. It's good to see you too...Uncle." Sonic responded in the same manner before turning back to the king. "What happened to that wizard?"

"He started a coup that nearly wiped out Acornia." King Max replied.

"Wait," Tails interjected, albeit without the intention of being rude. "But Old Mobotropolis was enormous, and Acornia is one of the largest nations in the world. How could one wizard overtake the capital just like that?"

Sir Charles' face turned grim while saying in a tired sigh, "...With the energy of the Artificial Power Rings."

"Artificial?" Sonic and Tails echoed.

"Yes. Power Rings are mystical golden rings spawned from the Source of All. These natural rings are slowly spawned from lakes that contain concentrated varied amounts of mystical energy. Power Rings usually emerge from these lakes in singles at a time, as one holds tremendous power. What makes ours artificial is that we take used leftover authentic rings, then craft lesser copies for mass production." King Max explained.