Sonic the Hedgehog: The New Age

The Arrival, Act 1

It was a long trip back, and I was starting to feel the calm breezes of the island push against my quills. The island had fallen again, so I could easily run there, instead of flying. From what Knuckles had sent me, the condition of the island was in bad shape, and I headed over there immediately.

Gosh, I hope everything's ok with Knuckles, I thought. It had been over 2 years since I'd seen anyone, and 5 since I've seen my parents. Ah, what'm I supposed to expect? That Knuckle head's always getting into trouble someway or another, I told myself. I could see the island from here, and it was in worse condition than I thought. The whole island had changed from a lush, vibrant green, to a deep brown. The Sky Sanctuary had collapsed into the volcano, and the Marble Gardens had corroded. I rushed quickly to the island forests to find Knuckles. I found him pacing back and forth, looking more worried than ever.

"Sonic!" He shouted. "It's terrible, the island is-" he paused. "Dude-is that really you? My appearance had somewhat changed the last time I'd seen him. He looked different, too. He had a scar over his right eye, partially blinding it, and sported a torn scarf.

"Long time, no see, pal," I said. "What happened? Egghead steal the Emerald again?" I was only joking, but I was kinda serious, too. I don't want to go back to space for a while.

"Kidding aside, no, the Emerald is fine. It's Amy that I'm worried about." That immediately got my attention.

"Amy?! W-what happened to her?" I was honestly starting to worry. I hadn't spoken to her for a bit, after an incident that happened a while back. "Is she alright? What's wrong? Is she hurt?" This was really starting to bother me.

"Chill, man. She's in medical care in the Carnival Night Zone. We'll head there later, the doctors need their time to care for her. She's only been in there for a few days," he told me. I asked him what happened. He told me that Eggman had recently gone back into business, taking animals and turning them into robots. Eggman summoned Metal Sonic to attack the island and the Emerald as a warning shot. Amy tried to protect the emerald, but with little success. She managed to knock a chunk off of Metal, before Eggman attacked her with some weird laser. It hit her and the Emerald, causing some chain reaction, and reversing the Emerald's power. The Emerald started to tear the island's natural beauty apart, and the island pummeled into the ocean.

"Wow," I said. "She's as brave as I remembered her." She really was too. There was no other girl I knew who could risk so much for something. "Well, at least now I know what's happened," I said. "I'll make sure I put Eggman back in his place." We sat down under some big mushrooms, and kicked back. "So," I asked, "how'd you get the scar?"

"I found it in the back somewhere. I thought it looked cool."

"The scar?" I said back to him.

"Oh, that. That happened not too long after you left. Had a nasty little fight with Shadow. Something about the A.R.K., I don't remember what though."

"Have you heard from Miles at all?" I asked. "Last I saw him, he was with you in the Green Hills Zone (Sonic 2 GG)."

"Uh..." He said. "I've been meaning to write to you. Miles is-" we were interrupted by a communicator Knuckles had under his glove. "Hello?" He said. The communicator mumbled something. "Ok, I'll be right there," he said. "Come with me. We're going to the Carnival Night Zone."