Connor wheeled into the hospital room with a bouquet of flowers sitting on his lap. The mayor lay on his bed, looking a lot better than he did in the destruction zone. Elise was sitting on a chair next to the bed, also looking better, but distraught. When Connor came into the room, she immediately leapt out of her chair and gave him a big hug, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I-I tried calling you," she said, "but you never answered!"

"I…I, uh, was… busy?" he tried to explain. "I… I got these flowers-"

Elise got off of him and hugged the flowers close to her. "You got these for me?"

"Uh… S-sort of. They're really for your dad, but-"

Elise's father's raspy voice spoke. "It's alright, Elise. You can—egh!—keep them."

Elise sat back down in her chair and stared at her motionless dad. "Thanks, Daddy."

"What happened?" Connor asked, almost a little too forward.

"I was attacked," the mayor said. "Someone tried to kill me! I was in the middle of my speech—ack!—when someone brought down half a building on the—kaff!—press conference. But Sonic The Hedgehog was there… He saved me—kaff!—and Elise."

"Then he ran away," Elise added.

"He had done his job, Elise," said the mayor. "Th…the paramedics took care of the rest."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Connor. "Sonic was actually there? In daylight? I thought he only came out at night. Like a bat. Or an owl."

"He shouldn't come out at all," Elise said.

Both Connor and the mayor gave her stern looks. She looked at both of them and said, "What?"

Just then, something it Connor like a bullet. It came instantaneously. Powerful, excruciating pain throbbed through his head, giving him a headache that only Miles' annoying classical music could give him—only this headache was fifty times worse. He let out a long, drawn-out moan of pain and fell of the seat of his wheelchair. He could hear Elise and her father calling his name. He could fell Elise's hands on him and trying to steady him. He soon stopped hearing their voice and only heard a loud ringing instead. His vision was going blank. Everything was becoming blurry.

What's going on? he thought. Someone help me!

He could barely make out Elise's face. She looked… panicked. He could feel himself leaving his body. Was he dying? No… No, that couldn't be possible! What about Miles? What about the mayor? What about Grandma Wilma? What about his parents? What about… Elise. He tried reaching out to her. All he wanted was to touch her before he had to go. Oh how he loved her. He was glad that he was able to be her boyfriend. After years and years of trying, he had made it possible.

Death was knocking. He was going to be able to see his mom and dad! He hadn't seen them in so long. Now, he was going to be able to be with them, just like all those years ago.

And that was it. He brushed his fingertips along Elise's cheek, then let go.

Connor woke up with a start. He was lying on his stomach on tall, very green grass. He could hear birds chirping all around him and the wind breezing past him. He rolled onto his back and looked up. A vast forest surrounded him. All he could see were trees and sunshine. He used his gloved hand to block the sunlight from his face. Wait… He was wearing his white gloves… He sat up and saw his blue, bare, toeless feet. He was in his Sonic form. Sonic stood up and looked around some more.

"Hello, Sonic," said a deep voice. "Are do you prefer being called Connor?"

That voice… Where was it? Sonic's eyes zoned through the area around him, but he didn't see anyone. "Where are you?" he demanded. "Show yourself!"

"I am behind you," said the voice.

Sonic turned around to see a watery, cyan-colored humanoid being standing there. He could see through its body. It had yellow eyes and a pink stone-like object in its head area. The eyes never blinked. "Who are you?" asked Sonic.

"My name," said the being, "is Chaos."

Sonic began pacing around "Chaos." "Am I dead? Where am I?"

Chaos slithered away from Sonic like a snake. "You are not dead, Connor. I am… in your head. You are alive, but unconscious, lost in this world I have created to show you."

"Sh-show me for what? I wanna go home!"

"You sound like a mindless child," Chaos said coldly. "You are home. You are simply unconscious so that I may be able to deliver you this message…"

"What 'message?'"

"I am coming to your city, Connor. When I arrive, I expect you to be there, waiting for me, so that I may extract the last shard of the Master Emerald from your body."

Sonic started backing away, feeling something dangerous from Chaos. "What do you know about the Master Emerald?" he asked slowly.

"It is the essence of life on this island. I must restore the Emerald before the island dies."

"Wait, I'm on Christmas Island?"

Chaos was silent for a moment. This silence was the only thing more terrifying than its voice. "'Christmas Island' is just a simple name the humans gave this place. The island's real name is… Emerald Island.

"A young, new civilization flourished here years ago. A new genus in the classification of organisms: the Mobians. They were mammals. Emerald Island was their home." Chaos raised his arms. "See for yourself."

What Sonic heard next sound like a giant group of horses galloping through a field—only it was coming from the trees. He watched in amazement as hundreds of thousands of creatures that looked just like him swung made their way through the trees like monkeys. Some were big, Some were small. Some were red. Others were green. Some were yellow or orange or blue or purple or pink or brown. Watching these Mobians was truly breathtaking.

But then they disappeared. "Nineteen years ago," said Chaos's chilling voice. "a terrible monster attacked our island." Chaos's fist grew three times bigger and slammed onto the ground, causing the earth to split. A giant serpentine monster crawled out of the large hole. The sky quickly became dark and cloudy. Lightning flashed behind the enormous monster. A violet light shined in its mouth. Its tiny eyes shone the same light. Its long, skinny arms unraveled at the sides of its body, and it issued a thunderous roar. Sonic planted his feet on the ground on fought against the force of the monster's cry.

Chaos however did not move. "This creature is known as Dark Gaia. It rose from Earth's surface and rained hell on this island, destroying all life. Only two Mobians escaped. The rest were killed."

"So, what happened next?" Sonic asked. "Did 'dark guy-uh' get tired and go back to sleep?"

Chaos looked at Sonic with a cold stare. "No. Dark Gaia does not rest until everything is consumed. Before the monster had reached its grasp toward the rest of Earth, the two Mobians returned to Emerald Island with an ally: Light Gaia. Together, the tree of them defeated Dark Gaia and sealed it back inside Earth's core. But even so, Dark Gaia will rise again. This time, with a vengeance."

"So, is that what this message is for?" Sonic asked. "You want me to go find him and make sure he's… behaving?"

"No. Though you will play a part in saving this island if you cooperate."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Give me the last piece of the Master Emerald your body hosts. With it, the Emerald and the island will be safe."

Dark Gaia was reduced to a mist, and everything started going back to normal. Sonic started hearing the murmurs of the Mobians.

"I am the Emerald's guardian," Chaos said. "I have been since the beginning of time. I have crossed an ocean to find the last piece."

Sonic nodded slowly, thinking. Being Sonic was the only way to be a hero like Grandpa Gene. He was able to do everything as Sonic… and more. He could stand. He could walk. But most importantly, he could run. Would he really give that all up for a giant gem and an island?

"What are you planning to do with the Master Emerald?"

"I will destroy Dark Gaia once and for all," replied Chaos.

"Oh. Cool. And how do you plan on doing that?"

"…By annihilating the planet that which the monster sleeps: Earth."

Sonic's eyes bulged out of his head. "What?!"

Chaos grabbed the hedgehog with a giant fist. "This planet harbors some nasty specimens, Connor. The ones that are innocent are not innocent at all. When Dark Gaia returns, it will make this planet die slowly, painfully. But I… I will make Earth's death quick. Faster than the blink of an eye, all with the Master Emerald. So I ask of you, Sonic… Give me the lost shard of the Emerald!"

Sonic struggled to fight off the grip of Chaos's fist. "N-no! This is crazy! You can't destroy an entire planet!"

"Watch me," Chaos hissed. "You will burn with all life on this planet, Connor. I know who you are. I have seen your memories. I know of the people you love. Elise… Miles… Wilma… They will all die with your if you do not give me the shard!"

The fist slammed Sonic to the ground. All he could do was cry out an pain and say, "No! I won't let you! You're insane!"

"Maybe so," said Chaos. "But the universe will thank me. A few billion deaths will mean the salvation of hundreds of trillions of lives, because once Dark Gaia consumes Earth, it will move to another planet that harbors life. I will save the universe, Connor!"

"Nooo!" Everything went black. Then next thing he knew, he was back in the mayor's hospital room touching Elise's cheek with a human hand. He gasped as his senses returned to him. He wasn't Sonic. He was Connor now. His human form. And, he wasn't dead. He was alive! He let Elise hug him and kiss him all over his face. His still took awhile for his hearing to come back, but once it did, all he could hear was Elise's gleeful squeals.

The President was a hard-working man. He didn't just believe in one country; he believed in a whole continent—a whole world. He believed in unity. That was his slogan for his campaign. "Unity." This didn't go over so well at first. But then one day, he gave a powerful speech about the word "unity" in the country's name, the United States of America. His American spirit was second to none. His positive attitude, amazing work ethic, and skilled way of thinking made him popular with the voters.

But that was then. This was now. Since the destruction of Westopolis, everything was quiet. But now, something else had appeared. Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic was like Shadow, but with far less collateral damage, a kind spirit, and the essence of a hero.

The President stood in his bedroom, pondering what he should do. The public needed to hear his thought about these hedgehog-like creatures. But the thing was… what were his thoughts about them? He straight-up disapproved of Shadow, but with Sonic… He had mixed feelings about Sonic.

The President turned and was surprised to see Sonic himself standing in the windowsill. He dived to his drawer and pulled out his gun. Sonic stepped into the room with his hands above his head. "Hey… P-please don't shoot. I… I come in peace. Please."

The President switched on the light, letting him see the blue hedgehog, and also letting Sonic see the President. He was fairly young-looking. His brown hair was gelled back, and he wore a navy blue presidential suit. "What do you want?" he said through clenched teeth.

"People need to know what you think of me," Sonic said. "Tomorrow, I want you to hold a press conference."

"You can't tell me what to do!" the President snapped.

"I'm not," Sonic said calmly. "This is only a suggestion."

"So what? You want me to endorse you or something? What if I don't?"

Sonic shrugged. "I won't do anything. It's your choice what you want to tell them. It's just that I'd really appreciate it if you, y'know, said something good?"

"How'd you even get in here?" asked the President. "How'd you get past the guards?"

Sonic shrugged again. "Er, I don't know. I just… ran in here." He looked around the room. "So this is where the President sleeps… Pretty cool."

The President slowly lowered his gun. "Fine. But no matter what I say, if you come after me, I will get my guys to kill you. Understand?"

Sonic jumped back onto the windowsill. "Understood. You won't even hear from me. Have a good day, Mr. Pres."

And with that, Sonic was gone with a blue blur. The P)resident put his gun back and put his hands on his hips, smiling to himself.