The Dark Knight of Mobius: Volume One

Chapter One: Waking Up

Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome back to Throw It All Away! Last chapter kicked things off to an okay start, so I say onward we go! Well, I don't really have anything to talk about for this opening Author's Note, so let's get started!

Chapter One

Waking Up

All was quiet on the hill where Sonic the Hedgehog was buried as a faint hint of sunlight peeked out from behind gray clouds, and a gentle snowfall blanketed the ground and the gravestone. Suddenly, without warning, a bright green flash of light appeared directly over the spot on the hill where the fallen hero of Mobius had been laid to rest, depositing a black and crimson hedgehog and a bright green gemstone with a much too perfect diamond cut upon the ground rather unceremoniously before vanishing altogether.

After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, the jet black and crimson hedgehog began to stir, his eyes struggling to open.

"Maria..." Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform, groaned as his ruby red eyes started opening before they suddenly flew open and Shadow looked wildly around in confusion.

"What the-? Where am I?" Shadow said, before noticing the Chaos Emerald lying nearby and that his Inhibitor Cuffs and Anklets were missing. Reaching into his hammerspace, a sort of personal pocket dimension and a trait unique to races of creature that had undergone an accelerated evolution due to their forebears being exposed to Chaos energy which also gave them remarkable abilities beyond that of mortal men, or so Professor Gerald had once told him and Maria when Shadow saw a picture of a so-called "normal" hedgehog in a book once, Shadow pulled out a set of golden bracelets and anklets, quickly placing them on his wrists and ankles to help keep his immense power in check, before picking up the Chaos Emerald and putting it in his hammerspace.

Okay, Shadow, think back, what was the last thing you remembered doing? Shadow thought to himself. Slowly, Shadow began to remember.

That's right, Shadow thought. That beautiful pink hedgehog helped me to remember Maria's true last wish, to give the people of Earth a chance to be happy. Then me, Sonic, Ivo, that fox kid, Rouge, and that spikey-fisted anteater guy all worked together to stop the Ark from falling, I fought that ultimate lifeform prototype, the Biolizard, it fused itself to the Ark, me and Sonic harnessed the power of the Chaos Emeralds, destroyed it, and then I used my full power combined with the Chaos Emeralds to place the Ark back into orbit, and then... I was here, wherever here is... I should probably figure that out.

Pulling himself up off the ground, Shadow stood up, dusted off the snow that had fallen onto him before something occurred to him... it hadn't been winter when he'd stopped the Ark... so, where'd all this snow come from? As he pondered this, Shadow turned around to immediately find himself face to face with a gravestone.

Well, that's an awkward place to wake up, on top of somebody's grave... thought Shadow before something about the grave compelled him to take a closer look.

What Shadow saw there made his blood run cold, and flooded his mind with several questions.

Here Lies

Sonic Hedgehog

Beloved Savior of Mobius, Brother, Nephew, Freedom Fighter

May His Spirit Run Free As The Wind

What the... Sonic's... dead? thought Shadow in blatant confusion. But, that's impossible, he still had plenty of rings left after I stopped the Ark, he should have been able to make it back inside! And these dates of birth and death... they don't make any sense! Last time I checked, it was the early 2000s, not the 3200s! What the Hell is going on?!