Nimbus' Destined

Reunion

The next thing Sonic knew, he was in a garden.
They'd stopped for a rest, and immediately Sonic found himself dreaming. He was in a massive garden, flourishing with flowers and plant life, and the sweet smells swirled together and made Sonic sneeze.

He got up and wandered for a bit, finding roses, irises and even a patch of mushrooms growing harmoniously. Where was this? It seemed so familiar...

"Sonic..."

Sonic looked around, seeing a hedgehog woman wandering the garden too, but she didn't appear to be able to see him. Her features were blurred in light, making it impossible to identify her. Was that...?

"Sonic, where are you?" She called. "Please don't hide from me... Sonic?"

Suddenly there was a rustling, and a little version of Sonic, no bigger than three dashed out of the bushes and into her arms. "Mama!"

Sonic watched as his mother held him close, laughing and wiping dirt from his younger self's face. "There you are! You had me worried!"

"Nah! Nothing worries you, Mama!" Little Sonic replied. "You're always happy!"

The queen smiled, "Oh, if only it were true, my little troublemaker...!" She grinned as she tickled Sonic, and his older self smiled at the memory.

Suddenly the image changed, to a dark nursery where the queen held Sonic close. "Sonic, darling, you must leave for a little while..."

Little Sonic reached for his mother's cheek. "Why, mommy? Why are you so sad?"

The queen smiled sadly. "You must always believe in joy, my son... never let sadness or fear take away your smile...alright?"

As little Sonic nodded the image faded, and Sonic awoke to find Shadow and Rouge on the ground in front of him, panting hard. "Shadow!"

"D-Don't touch me, Sonic!" Shadow warned, and Sonic saw the fur on his wrists and ankles were singed in rings, where his inhibitor rings should be. "I'm not...not safe right now...!"

"He's right." Chaos replied, "He's been irradiated in synthetic Chaos Energy."

"Can we help him?" Silver asked, gripping Blaze's hands.

"Yes...Rouge, take this." He handed Rouge a towel, which was dripping in a blue substance.

"What, do I wash him with it?" Rouge asked.

"Wipe him off, yes. Especially around the face. I can't or else I'll be effected too, same with Sonic and Silver."

Shadow hissed, "As long as Sonic's not doing it...!" He stiffened as Rouge took the towel and started wiping off his body with it, but quickly he began to relax. "What do Sonic, Silver and Blaze have to do with this, Chaos?"

"Those soldiers are after the four princes of Nimbus, and their allies...you, me and Sonic are three of the four."

"If it weren't for the fact that you've never lied to me before, I wouldn't believe you..." he paused as Rouge started on his face. "Ugh...who's the fourth?"

"I am..."
Sonic looked up, seeing a hedgehog who looked nearly identical to Silver, except for blue eyes, orange chest fur and his clearly Eurishian accent. He only carried a backpack, but that was more than the others had. "Hi, I'm Venice."

"You look almost identical to me...!" Silver murmured.

Venice smiled, "I know; it's because we're twins! You and I were the second set of twins born to our parents."
He set his bag down, smiling at Sonic. "Hi, Sonic! I've heard more about you, between the news and LG's chattering about you."

"LG?"

"SONIC!" Sonic was suddenly glomped by a familiar face, which was currently covered in chocolate. "It's so good to see you!"

"Chip!"

Venice giggled, "Looks like we have a story to tell, right Chaos?"

"Right." Chaos sat down and they all settled down to listen. "It all started about 24 years ago..."