True Darkness

Chapter 2 - Troubling Finds

After Sonic's kidnapping, his friends tended to the wounded and began to formulate a plan to rescue him. They surrounded a round wooden table with a map of Dr. Eggman's base. They are planning their rescue.

"We gotta start looking for him now!" Knuckles slammed his fist on the table before him.

Knuckles is now 21 years old and has aged greatly. He has grown out his locks a bit and now wears a cowboy-like hat. Being the guardian of the Master Emerald, he has a large scar on the side of his chest and some bandages on his spines. He also wears a tribal necklace that he found in the ruins of his ancestors. This necklace is an old amulet with a shard of the Master Emerald inside of it. Only bloodlines of the Echidna Tribe can use it to enhance their abilities.

"Knuckles, we can't just blindly charge into the Dr's base, he'll be expecting that." Tails argued.

Tails is now 13 years old. He has grown to have and IQ of 301. He now wears goggles on his head at all times as well as a belt. He created a "bracelet" that can turn into whatever tool he wants: wrench, screw, gun, tracker device, etc. :-

"Miles is correct, we will need a plan." Blaze stated.

Blaze is 19. Although she normally wears her royal robes, she is currently wearing a style to blend in with this world and not be seen as a Queen. She has almost fully mastered her pyrokinesis.

"Plan?! We wouldn't need a plan if Silver hadn't lost Sonic to Metal!" Knuckles shouted accusingly to the white hedgehog. Silver was sitting down slumped in the corner, his face buried within his palms.

Silver is also 19 years old and wears a black scarf with matching gloves, which bore the same symbols as his old ones. He also wears baggy pants.

"It was not his fault, we are all to blame. However, we must not continue arguing like this if we are to save our companion." Espio interrupted.

Espio is now 21, an official adult. He is still a detective along with the rest of the Chaotix, of which their organization has grown very large. His clothing is gray, light-weight pants tucked into his shoes, a long sleeved black shirt with ribbons that wrap around his chest and flow out the back like a scarf.

Everyone went dead silent and hung their heads in shame. Rouge sighed and looked over to see her partner leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He seemed to be in deep thought.

Rouge is 23 years and tends wears her mission gear more often. Her suit is mostly purple and pink with white highlights. Multiple gadgets hang from her belt.

"Shadow, you've been very quiet," Rouge observed, grabbing everyone's attention. The life-form looked up to find that he was now the center of attention. He sighed, then stood up properly, unfolded his arms and walked over to the table. He stared at the map then looked up at Tails.

Shadow is presumed to be around 64 years of age, perhaps older. Three years ago he disbanded from G.U.N because he wanted to see the world like he and Maria always dreamed. He had once come across a hidden village who, after a series of tests, gifted him a magical dagger that syncs with the wielder's mind. He carries the dagger in a sheath attached to the inside of his brown trench coat. He wears pants that are torn at the bottom. His quills are roughed up a bit.

"Before Metal diapered through the portal, he mentioned that the doctor needed Sonic for some sort of experiment," Shadow explained. Amy stepped up.

"But what is the experiment? Did he say?" She asked only to receive a shake of Shadow's head. "Well, he wouldn't have sent that many robots if it weren't important."

Amy is now 17 and has matured greatly over the years. No longer was she painfully obsessed with Sonic. She has returned magic arts and has learned few spells, but nothing too complicated. Her signature hammer has also gotten stronger and she no longer wears her simple red dress. She wears jeans and a sleeveless, modern, magical robe that slightly boosts her magic control. She has an ancient robe that resembles more of a medieval look and uses it when she is either practicing or performing difficult spells. She also grew out her hair.