What changed?

Chapter 1

It seemed like just another normal day in Central City. The sun was shining, the birds were flying, and the people of the city both human and mobian were going about their usual routines of either work or play.

Pretty much every day was normal since the evil Doctor Eggman had mysteriously disappeared six years ago. No one knew what had happened to him though there have been many rumors and theories as to what caused his disappearance.

Some claim that he died in the middle of one of his latest experiments while others claim he had given up his evil ways and retired to an unknown part of the world to live out the remainder of his life in peace.

Regardless of how or why he disappeared humans and mobians everywhere were grateful for the six years of relative peace.  Although some feared that Eggman would return when they least expect it but they weren't too worried.

For most people knew that as long as Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends lived and breathed they would always be there to put a stop to Eggman and his world dominating plans just as they have many times before.

The blue hedgehog himself was taking a leisurely stroll through town. He felt like doing something different outside of his usual routine of adventure, thrill seeking and just running around the world at insanely high speeds.

One of the reasons he felt like doing something different was because he was getting older and felt like he needed to slow down so that he could better understand and appreciate the world that he was constantly running around.

However, the other reason was so that he could reflect on everything that's happened in the last six years. Not only to himself but to his friends. Some things had changed for Sonic and his friends, but some stayed the same.

Appearance wise Sonic looked somewhat different. Not only was he taller and his quills were longer he also started wearing more than just his usual gloves and shoes.

His usual attire consists of a white t-shirt with a blue vest, blue jeans and a simple blue wristwatch on his left wrist. In his own personal opinion Sonic thought it worked for him.

Personality wise his usual attitude of brash overconfidence, impatience and egotism coupled with a short temper had toned down with age but nevertheless retained his positive attitude and caring nature that only closest his friends have witnessed firsthand.

Speaking of Sonic's friends there was one in particular who has been on his mind more often than usual as of late. A friend whom he thought he would never miss as much as he did now. A friend whom he thought would never have as big an impact as he would soon find out.

"Sonic?"

Sonic having been brought out of his thoughts turned around only to be surprised that the source of the voice was the very person he was constantly thinking about lately.