It was a long and merciless war. The Metarex were destroying everything in their way without any compassion or mercy. Their armada had become a force to be feared by all who crossed them, as there were little to no survivors when they attacked. Planets would die in their wake, as the Planet Eggs that sustained the life on those planets were removed and used for many nefarious purposes. They quested to obtain the legendary Chaos Emeralds to achieve their ultimate goal. Their goal was to cleanse the galaxy of all animal life in the, only to replace it with plant life. If not for the acts of a few brave heroes, this would have become a reality.

Sonic the Hedgehog and his small band of friends journeyed into the depths of space to stop them. Despite the odds, they fought valiantly, never surrendering or losing faith. There were casualties, but their sacrifices have not been forgotten. Thanks to their bravery and self-sacrifice, the crew of the Blue Typhoon lived to fight another day. Ever since returning home, the lives of Sonic and his friends have been quieter. Their old enemy, known as Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, had gone into hiding and mad no appearance in months. Things were peaceful now. However, like most moments of quiet, it's only the calm before the storm.

Sonic the Hedgehog knew this as he ran all around the wide open spaces of Mobius; his home planet where the native life forms were anthropomorphic animals of various species, ranging from hedgehogs to foxes to bats. The cool clean air rushed past Sonic's blue fur as he ran, leaving a blue streak behind him wherever he went. To Sonic, this calm was only temporary until someone decides to break it with the promise of adventure, something that Sonic loved all too much. But with no such event occurring, he spent most of his free time running or chatting with his many friends.

It was morning and the day was a very special day for Sonic. Princess Sally from the Kingdom of Acorn, one of the most powerful and well respected nations on the face of Mobius, wanted to publicly honor the heroes who saved Mobius from the same fate of death that had befallen so many other worlds that the Metarex attacked. Even though formal events were not Sonic's usual idea of fun, he sure didn't mind being recognized for his and his friends' efforts. The first thing he wanted to do before going was to check on his buddy, Tails. If Sonic was to attend this honor, he wanted his right-hand man to be there as well.

Sonic ran up to Tails's workshop he had set up in the Emerald Hills that was also set up as a self-sustaining home. Tails had no doubt already received an invitation, but Sonic just wanted to be sure. Tails was not only Sonic's best friend, but also a genius inventor that was always coming up with new machines and gizmos that would humble many older scientific minds. In no time at all, Sonic was at the door, eager to see what his best friend had invented this time. A young two-tailed fox with bright yellow fur answered the door with a huge smile spread across his face.

"How you doin' Tails?"

Tails stepped aside and let Sonic in as he answered his question gleefully. "I've been great, Sonic. There sure has been a lot more time to work on projects with everything being quiet."

Sonic shrugged. "Eh…I'd prefer to be doing something exciting. It's been getting boring here lately."

Tails couldn't help but chuckle at Sonic's remark. "Do you consider this ceremony from Queen Sally to be exciting?"

"Not as much fun as kicking Eggman's fat butt all over the place, but it'll do for now."

In a way, Tails agreed. Events like these didn't interest Tails either because he didn't have a strong desire to be recognized as a hero. It didn't bother him either, and in his mind, it would be rude to not show up. "Nice distraction from the regular daily routine though, right?"

"I suppose. What about the others. Amy, Cream, Knuckles?"

"Are you kidding? Amy's probably already there, along with Cream. I uh…think she wanted to meet you there?"

Sonic sighed at the remark. "Same old Amy; always chasing that which she can't catch."

"You have to admire her persistence though. How long has she been chasing after you, Sonic?"

"Too long. So, what about Knuckles?"

"I haven't heard from him. Still up there on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald I guess. I…don't think we can count on his appearance."

"Eh. Well I won't force him. He was always a party pooper anyway. Remember back on the Blue Typhoon when he wrecked the Chaotix for," Sonic stopped mid-sentence to chuckle at the old story. "-Hehe, painting his face with a marker."

"Heh. Yeah. That time. It was also the time I almost…" Tails couldn't finish the sentence, as it reminded him of a friend they lost in the war.

Sonic caught on and decided that it would be best to change the subject. "Uh, right. Anyway…shall we get going?"

"Yeah. Let's take the Tornado." Tails lead Sonic out of the main house and into the workshop that was accessible from the house through a code-locked door. The inside of the workshop was spacious, well lit, and filled with crates, tools, and workbenches. In the center of the large workshop was Tails's pride and joy, the X-Tornado. Modeled into an advanced fighter jet from a basic biplane back on Earth, the X-Tornado was a powerful, fast, and agile flying machine that Tails often used as his personal transportation method. Climbing into the plane, Sonic and Tails got ready to head out toward the Kingdom of Acorn.

"I wonder how often we'll be called to attend events like this," Tails wondered.

Sonic tried not to think about that. One formal gathering was enough for his adventurous spirit. Sonic remarked to himself, "This is the only one I plan to attend. That is mostly because Princess Sally and I…go back."

"What? Did you say something, Sonic?"

"Uh, never mind. Just thinking aloud. Let's go."

With that said, Tails fired up the engines. After a final system check, he pulled back on the throttle and cleared the hanger. It was now a straight shot to the queen's castle. Little did they know that their entire encounter was watched by something; something mechanical.

Two indigenous life forms documented; Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails. Conversational data indicates a significant level of prestige, power, and skill. Targets selected for future observation to assess potential threat to primary energy gathering endeavors

"The Master Emerald has been restored and my duties have resumed; guarding the Master Emerald from any who would threaten it," Knuckles remarked to himself as he stood vigilant atop the temple on the floating Angel Island. This island was Knuckles's home floating high in the sky and the same place that housed his most prized possession, the Master Emerald. Being a gem of limitless power, enough so that it allows Angel Island to be permanently suspended high within the clouds of Mobius, it has and still does stand as a potential magnet for evil-doers everywhere. By now, someone would have already stolen it and used it for any number of things. Of course, none have yet. In order to claim such a prize, they would have to go through its stalwart guardian, Knuckles the Echidna.

A creature of habit, honor, and obligation, Knuckles is the eternal guardian of the Master Emerald. Even though he doesn't know why he does it, he knows it is his duty to keep the massive green gem safe from any who would seek to harm or steal it. With so many people in the past wanting it for their own greedy reasons, Knuckles grew to distrust many newcomers, sometimes to the point of violence. This also allowed him to hone is combat and fighting skills. Despite this rough side of him, Knuckles was not without a soft side. He can count Sonic as a friend after all.

Knuckles was well aware of the invitation to the Kingdom of Acorn, but he didn't care. With Knuckles, it was always duty first. And his first and foremost duty is to serve as the Master Emerald's guardian. Mobius was still not a safe place for the emerald, with the villainous Doctor Eggman still at large and the thieving Rouge flying about somewhere. Knuckles would not shirk his duty so that he could go to this social event. Deep down however, he did wish he could, which only added to his frustration.

"But I must stay and protect the emerald…and my newest charge." Knuckles reached into his fur within his dreadlocks and pulled out a glowing gem that was similar in shape to the Master Emerald, but was smaller and colored red; a Chaos Emerald. "Ever since we decided to divide the emeralds among each of us after we returned from space, my job has become all the more important. Not only must I keep the Master Emerald safe, but this Chaos Emerald as well. Still don't know why we agreed to let that scoundrel Rouge have one."

"Because I guard mine as jealously as you guard your two," a familiar feminine voice from behind spoke. Knuckles spun around and dashed to the other side of the Master Emerald to behold a sight he never took pleasure in seeing, especially not around his emerald. Standing there was a white-furred bat with tan skin, wearing almost knee high high-heeled boots, long white gloves, and a black jumpsuit with a pink heart on the chest. Knuckles would recognize Rouge the Bat anywhere. "And seriously, do you always talk to yourself up here?"

Brushing her question aside, Knuckles stared at her with a scowl on his face. "Well? What are you doing here, Rouge?" Knuckles asked coldly.

"Aww, what? No 'hello' or 'how have you been'? I thought you'd be at least a little pleased to see…well anyone since you got back." One thing that Rouge never got tired of was teasing Knuckles. This visit was no different.

Knuckles knew her ploy and chose to ignore her comment, though he was already irritated by her mere presence. "I only exchange pleasantries to those I trust. No one else gets such, especially not to known jewel thieves."

"We all have our hobbies, Big Red. Some are just more…exciting than others. Besides, I didn't steal this emerald," she said as she pulled the purple Chaos Emerald from a hidden pocket in her outfit. "I was allowed to have ownership of it until the time was needed to use them again."

Knuckles was starting to get agitated with her snobby attitude. "Well we'll just see how good your word is on that part of the deal. But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Straight to business it is then? No recreational time at all? Gonna pass up the opportunity to be admired by all of your fans to guard this shiny rock? Don't get me wrong, it is a very pretty shiny rock." She seemed to eye the Master Emerald with a little more longing in her eyes than what made Knuckles comfortable as she said that.

"Do you think I'm stupid? It's your affinity for this 'shiny rock' that keeps me here to guard my charge. So if you're trying to get me to leave my post so that you can get away with my emerald, you've got another thing coming."

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear? Craving a life free from this duty and obligation?"

While Knuckles did harbor such thoughts, he wasn't about to let what he wanted get in the way of his responsibility. "No. This is where I belong, protecting the Master Emerald from the likes of you."

Rouge chuckled at his remark. "You big dolt, how can I steal it while I'm getting lots of praise at the royal palace?"

Now she got the red echidna's attention. "Wait. You're going to this event? Why?"

"What can I say? I'm a firm believer in getting recognized for a job well done. And since I did help save the galaxy, I figure some of that fame is mine as well. Who knows, I might even get a few shiny presents. Don't you think you deserve such praise too?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, turned his back, and looked at the Master Emerald. "I don't need praise. I did what needed to be done, and that is enough for me."

Rouge could only deal with his stubbornness for so long before realizing that reasoning with him was nearly impossible. "Okay then. I suppose we all have our ambitions. Well you have fun up here…by yourself…with your jewels. I'm going to the palace." With that, Rouge flapped her wings and took to the air, flying up into the air and away from the island, leaving Knuckles atop the Master Emerald Temple.

Knuckles watched her leave, thinking to himself. I've got better things to do than go to some party, let alone listen to that bat.

Meanwhile, as Rouge put distance between herself and Angel Island, she was unaware of a silent observer watching her. Her follower was less interested in her, instead more interested in the gem she carried with her.

Powerful energy source detected; small in size, but energy readings indicate that power is suitable for conversion, but won't suffice as an indefinite source. I will continue to monitor the situation to see if such a power source will be profitable in the end

Outside the castle walls of Castle Acorn, the pink hedgehog named Amy Rose and her young rabbit friend named Cream, along with Cream's small Chao friend Cheese, were sitting on a bench amongst the beautiful flowers and gentle-flowing fountains. Standing in front of them was a brown furred squirrel-chipmunk girl. Wearing a royal purple blue gown garbed in gold trim, she stood in front of the other two girls, carrying out a friendly conversation.

"It's so nice to be here, Princess Sally," Cream thanked sincerely as she bowed her head. "Your castle is so beautiful. Thanks for having us over."

"It's my pleasure, Cream. I would have invited all of you much earlier than this, but there were matters to attend to."

"I've actually never been to the Acorn Kingdom before. Come to think of it, I don't know if Sonic has either."

The princess's ears perked up at the mention of that name. "Sonic the Hedgehog? Yeah, he's been here. He saved the most beautiful section of this Kingdom, the Starlight Road, from the clutches of Dr. Robotnik years ago."

Amy was amazed to hear this. Sonic rarely spoke to her about his adventures or about anything for that matter. "Really!? He's never mentioned you before though. And…Doctor Robotnik?"

"Well, Sonic and I never actually spoke personally. I only saw him from a distance as he battled Robotnik and his robot armies, single-handedly driving the main force out along with Robotnik himself."

"That's amazing. I knew he was such a hero. That's my Sonic." Amy closed her eyes in a dreamy state as she spoke about her long-time crush, provoking a small giggle from both Cream and Sally. She quickly snapped back to reality when she heard them. "What?"

Sally quickly retorted, "Nothing, Amy. It's just…cute how much you like him."

Amy didn't like the princess's tone, and got defensive. "Hey! He's my Sonic! Even if…he doesn't return my feelings…But I will keep at it! So don't get any ideas, princess!"

"Amy, please," Cream pleaded. "Not now. I'm sure she has no intention of dating him. We should be polite to our host."

"No offense taken, Amy. Just…don't try too hard, ya hear?" Sally smiled encouragingly and winked at the pink hedgehog. Amy relaxed and smiled back, feeling sorry for what she had just said.

"So when are the others going to get here?" Cream asked.

Sally's expression went from encouragement to concern. "I'm not sure. Invitations were sent out, and all the local citizens that wish to see you heroes are gathered in the main assembly area. I do wish they will get here soon though. Some are getting…restless. They are eager to see you."

Cream's face lit up a bit with that statement. "Are we really that famous? All we did was the right thing. Those mean Metarex had to be stopped."

"I agree with that. But regardless of your reasons, many see you all as heroes. Thus, they want to see you. But where-," Before Sally could finish her statement, the sound of roaring engines was heard up in the sky. Looking up, the three saw the shape of the X-Tornado coming in.

Finding a flat patch of grass just outside the castle Tails touched down in a nearby flat grassy field. Sonic and Tails stepped out and took in a deep of fresh air, taking in the surroundings. The castle walls were quite high, but the castle inside was even bigger. Many towers, concourses, and conjoined structures formed the massive superstructure. Both of them stared up in awe as the towers seemed to extend toward the sky. Their trance was broken when Sonic heard a high pitched and excited squeal from Amy.

"Sonic! You made it!" Amy yelled as she ran toward him with Cream and Sally jogging slowly behind her, less excited and more amused. Sonic froze as Amy rushed him. Unable to move mostly out of shock, Sonic just stood there as Amy jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you after all this time!"

Sonic looked at Tails, who only smiled sympathetically and shrugged. Sonic then said to Amy, "Uh, yeah…sure. Now, would you please let go?" Upon releasing him, still dreamy eyed, Cream and Sally arrived on the scene. "Hi princess," Sonic greeted as the two shook hands.

"Been a while, Sonic. Still saving the planet, I see."

"That and more, such as saving the whole galaxy," Sonic boasted.

"So who else are we waiting on?" Tails asked.

"Still waiting on Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix Detective Agency," Sally answered.

Off behind them coming from the main road, they heard three different voices. Turning around, they quickly recognized them as Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and their leader Vector the Crocodile. They were arguing with each other too. "I didn't need directions, Espio," Vector exclaimed. "I just got turned around, that's all."

Espio scoffed. "Turned around is the same as lost, Vector."

"Well I didn't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas!"

"That's because you wouldn't let me get a word in edge wise about the situation."

Charmy then interjected. "He did ask you if you knew the way, Espio."

"To which I said 'no'. Then he proceeded to claim that he knew the way anyway."

"Well we're here now, aren't we?" Vector asked. "Judging by the gathering outside that fox boy's plane, I'd say we didn't miss anything."

"Don't worry gentlemen, your timing is fine," Sally reassured as she could hear that last comment clearly.

"Your highness," Vector greeted as he knelt on one knee and bowed his head in respect, soon followed by Espio doing the same thing. Charmy was confused, and just proceeded to hover in the air.

Sally chuckled at the gesture. While it was flattering, she reassured them by saying, "Gentlemen, please. Such notions are appreciated, but hardly necessary. This is your day after all."

"Thank you, your highness," Vector said as he and Espio both rose to their feet.

Sally nodded and then remarked, "Now we need to wait for Knuckles and Rouge."

"Sorry hon, but Knuckie won't be joining us." It was the voice of Rouge speaking, prompting the others to look up as she flew down and gracefully landed among the group.

Sally asked with concern in her voice, "What? Why will he not be joining us? I thought he'd want to be among friends."

"Sorry, princess. That echidna would rather be among his precious Master Emerald, guarding it as he says."

"I see," Sally said with disappointment. "That is unfortunate. I was hoping that all of you would attend."

"We can go get him." Vector volunteered.

Sally just shook her head, "No. As much as I would like that, I know that by now the many citizens are probably getting eager to see you. If he won't show…then the proceedings will go on without him. Come. Let us go."

The group turned and walked toward the castle, with Sally leading the way. Everyone had something to think about, with many questions and concerns abound.

I wonder how many will be there.

I hope I don't get hounded for autographs.

They'd better not crowd my Sonic.

I hope nothing goes wrong.

Everything seemed peaceful. But that thought at the back of Sonic's mind was to become a reality. For the entire kingdom was being watched by not so friendly eyes.

Survey of the area is complete. Citizens are all flesh creatures that resemble Earth animals, but with more humanoid shapes; likely easy to dispose of. Defenses are primitive and not a significant threat to our forces. Military forces are few, signifying more of a security force than anything else

High above the atmosphere of Mobius, a space ship floated in orbit. This ship bore a strong resemblance to an Earth space shuttle. The color scheme was of a purple and dark grey rather than the usual white, however. Despite the appearance however, the shuttle had no astronauts or pilots to speak of. They were not needed. It was listening to the recordings of its passenger's mechanical spies; its passenger being a microcassette player that is more than meets the eye.

A booming robotic voice then came from the shuttle itself, "Have your little pets finished their work yet, Soundwave? I need to return for refueling here soon."

A monotone synthesized robotic voice then answered the shuttle's question. "Analysis of this planet's potential is complete, Astrotrain." The entity identified as Soundwave then transformed into a giant robot. His body was rectangular in most places, including his rather large and bulky rectangular torso. His head had a red visor where eyes would have been, and any mouth he might have had was covered by a face plate. Soundwave then began speaking again, but this time to the spies on Mobius. "Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Laserbeak; rendezvous at designated location. We will collect you there. We must return this information to Megatron."