This story combines elements from the comics (Archie, IDW, and Fleetway), games, and TV shows (Satam and Underground).

NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.

It has been two years since the Metal Overlord took over Mobius and roboticized nearly half the population. Many attempted to overthrow the dictator in an act of war, but all failed. Those who pledged their loyalty to him were put under his employ in the Metal Empire.

Many ruling monarchs have been dethroned, but a few evaded capture, including Queen Aleena of Emera, Guardian of the seven Chaos Emeralds. She was forced to leave her kingdom as the enemy continued to advance and escaped with her family. She knew that if the Overlord were to possess the Emeralds, he would become unstoppable. So she scattered them across the globe and entrusted them in the care of allies.

She and her three infant children lived in hiding for a year, until at last, the enemy found her whereabouts. In a final act of love, Aleena gave her babies to three separate foster families to protect them from the Overlord's wrath. Though the royal siblings would grow up miles apart, they would one day reuinite and fulfill their destiny to defeat the evil that plagues our planet.

...

Green Hill

Down in his garage, a fox in his mid-thirties was repairing an airplane when he heard the front door ring. "Honey!" he shouted to his wife upstairs. "Could you get that?"

Neil Prower was once a fighter pilot and he fought bravely against Dr. Robotnik's forces, but he quickly learned that he was no match for the deadly machines and barely escaped with his life. After the war, he went into retirement and decided to start a family with wife Vix, another Mobian fox. Unfortunately, they had recently learned from the doctor that Vix could be infertile. The news broke both of their hearts, but they gradually healed together and moved on with their lives.

A few minutes later, he heard her coming down the steps. "Who was it, Vix?"

"Neil," she said softly, "look."

He rolled out from under the plane with his face smeared in soot and looked up at her. He was shocked to see her holding a baby blue hedgehog, who was sucking his thumb and looking around curiously his big green eyes. "Vix, what...?"

"I found him on our doorstep," Vix said. "The poor thing was in a basket." She handed her husband a note. "He came with this."

He took the note and read it out loud, "'Please take care of him. His name is Sonic.' Huh. 'Sonic'? That's an odd name." He looked back at his wife. "Well...what do you think, hon?"

Vix gently tapped Sonic on the nose, making him giggle. She was already in love with the little hedgehog. "Well, I don't want to leave him in an orphanage. Who knows what could happen to him?"

Neil stood up and gently touched her shoulder. "Believe me, I feel the same way, but these are dangerous times, Vix. One of these days, Robotnik might find us and we'll be roboticized."

"Please, Neil," Vix softly begged, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "What if I never have a baby? You heard what the doctor said. This could be the answer to our prayers."

With a heavy sigh, he looked down at the infant in his wife's arms. Sonic stared back up at him and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile as he cooed. With his tiny hands, he reached out to the veteran fox. A warm feeling filled Neil's heart as he let the baby hedgehog squeeze one of his fingers.

He gently took Sonic in his arms and stroked his top quill. "Welcome home, Sonic."

...

Apotos

A white Mobian cat in an elegant dress sat at a long table in the dining room alone as she ate her meal, the rain pounding against her huge windows.

Lady Grimalkin was an aristocrat who had recently lost her husband and was now a lonely widow with no heir to her estate. Because she had so much wealth, Robotnik let her live in peace so long as she contributed to his cause at least once a year. After the war, aristocrats became the source of Robotnik's money and were spared from the roboticizer. Grimalkin personally couldn't stomach the obese tyrant, but she did what she had to survive.

Suddenly her doorbell rang and she heard one of her servants answer the door. A couple of minutes later, her butler, a Mobian stag named Adonis, walked into the dining room, holding a large basket.

"Who was it, Adonis?" Grimalkin asked him.

"There was no one there, ma'am," he said as he set the basket down. "But they left this on the doorstep." He reached into the basket and picked up a baby hedgehog with magenta fur, fuchsia quills and blue eyes. She whimpered and squirmed in his arms.

Grimalkin gasped and dropped her silverware. "Oh, you poor thing!" She took the baby from the stag and held her in her arms. "Shhh," she gently shushed and rocked her. "It's all right. Don't cry." She turned to her butler. "They just left her out there?"

"A note came with the basket, ma'am," Adonis handed her a small piece of paper.

She read it out loud, "'Please take care of her. Her name is Sonia.'" She smiled down at the now sleeping baby in her arms. "Well, I certainly will take care of you, dear Sonia."

...

Casino Park

A purple weasel wearing a brown stetson hat stood against a wall in an alley as he impatiently tapped his foot.

He was the notorious outlaw Fang the Sniper, although his real name was Nack. They called him "Fang" because of his unsually large left fang. He was waiting for one of his partners to bring a large sum of stolen money and leave it for him to pick in a specific area.

And that night, when he saw a hooded figure gently set a basket down on the front doorstep of a small building and leave hastily, he assumed that it was his accomplice and stepped out of the shadows to grab it.

When he arrived at his place, he set the basket down on a table and rubbed his hands as he grinned. "Oh, boy, I can't wait to get my hands on all that green!" he chuckled. He removed the blanket that covered the basket's contents, but what he found inside wasn't the kind of a green he was expecting.

A green baby hedgehog with wild hair looked up at him with purple eyes and cooed curiously.

Fang's jaw dropped and his blue eyes went big. "What the...?" He lifted the baby and looked for any hidden cash, but there was none. Just a note that said, Please take care of him. His name is Manic.

The weasel groaned in frustration as he put the baby back in the basket. "I've been gypped! When I get my hands on that backstabbing rat...! He's gonna pay for this!" He stomped toward the door when the baby suddenly began to cry and reach out to him.

"What?" Fang gruffed. "What do you want?" He walked back to the basket and picked the baby up. "Look, kid, I ain't running a daycare here. So don't expect me to-" The little hedgehog grabbed his big nose with his tiny hands and giggled. "Hey, quit trying to be cute!" he snapped. "That ain't gonna work on me!"

The baby then pressed his little black nose against Fang's larger one. "Okay, that's kinda adorable," Fang muttered.

Finally, the hedgehog rubbed his face in the weasel's white chest before falling asleep in his arms.

Fang sighed in defeat. "Fine. You win..." He glanced back at the note that had the hedgehog's name on it. "...Manic."

Six years later...

Fang whistled a merry tune as he walked down the sidewalk. Ahead of him sitting on a bench was the now seven-year-old Manic, and Fang seemingly ignored him as he passed on by. But a few seconds later, the weasel stopped to check one of the small bags on his belt.

"Oh, no!" he said dramatically. "I can't find my wallet!" Then he turned to Manic with a grin.

The green hedgehog smiled back as he held out Fang's wallet.

Fang decided to keep the infant hedgehog and raise him as his son, teaching him how to pickpocket and swipe valuables without getting caught, and Manic was a fast learner. The weasel knew that the kid would come in handy someday.

"Great job, kid!" Fang chuckled. "You're getting better every day!" He playfully scuffled Manic's wild hair. "By the way, today's your birthday, right?"

Manic nodded. "Uh-huh. I'm seven now."

"Seven. Wow. Has it really been that long? Well, I got a little present for ya." He reached into another bag on his belt. "Huh. Coulda sworn I had 'em in there..."

"You mean these?" Manic pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "They're really for me?"

Fang laughed. "Yep! Bought 'em this morning! Well, actually, I didn't buy 'em...oof!" He grunted as Manic grabbed him in a big hug.

"I love them, Fang," Manic said. "They're totally rad."

"'Totally rad'?" Fang raised an eye ridge. "No one really says that anymore, but I'm glad you like 'em." His ears lifted when he heard heavy mechanical footsteps coming up from behind them. He quickly turned around and saw an Egg Gunner approacing them. Gunners patroled the city and were designed to arrest criminals, and Fang was on the list of Most Wanted so he knew he had to bail out.

"Time to skidaddle, kiddo!" He picked up Manic and carried him under his arm as he sprinted away from the robot, which, thankfully, never noticed them.

...

"Sonia!"

The seven-year-old Sonia was playing on a swing in a garden when she heard her adoptive mother calling for her. She jumped off the seat and ran to the patio where Lady Grimalkin was waiting for her.

"It's time for dinner, dear," the cat told her with a smile. "Go wash up."

"Okay, Mama!" Sonia ran straight into the kitchen to wash her hands.

Sonia lived a comfortable, sheltered life with the wealthy Lady Grimalkin. The aristocrat loved her as if she were her actual daughter and did everything she could to make her happy. She kept the fact that Sonia was adopted a secret from the young hedgehog as well everyone else since under Robotnik's law, only blood relatives could inherit an aristocrat's estate and therefore afford protection from roboticization.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Adonis went to answer it. "Yes, can I help...?" His eyes went big when he saw Robotnik, himself, standing at their front door with two armed Egg Pawns. "M-Ma-Master Robotnik!"

Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the dictator of Mobius, was a bald heavy-set human (the only human on Mobius, in fact) with a long red mustache, black eyes with red irises, and a mechanical left arm. He was dressed in a sleeveless red jumpsuit with wide shoulder pads a yellow cape and wore grey boots. The humorous codename Freedom Fighters would use for Robotnik was "Eggman" due to his round figure.

He grinned maliciously at Adonis, which sent chills up the stag's spine. "Good evening. Is your mistress home?"

"Uh, y-yes, sir," Adonis did a quick bow and stepped aside to let Robotnik and his guards in. He rushed to the dining room where Grimalkin and Sonia were. "My ladies, Dr. Robotnik is here," he urgently said.

Grimalkin gasped. "Here? Now? On such short notice?" She turned to her adopted daughter. "Sonia, go to your room. Quickly, dear."

Sonia didn't argue and ran upstairs. She had always been afraid of Robotnik and for good reason. Robotnik was without a doubt the scariest person on Mobius.

Robotnik marched into the dining room seconds later. "Lady Grimalkin," he spoke cooly.

Grimalkin greeted him a tense nod. "Master Robotnik."

"Forgive my unannounced arrival, but I just happened to be in the neighborhood and well..." He rubbed his thumb against his index finger. "...you're due for your payment."

"I see." She turned to her butler. "Adonis."

Adonis nodded and walked out of the room.

"So Lady Grimalkin," Robotnik took a seat at the table next Grimalkin, "I presume you heard about what happened to the House of Roses in Mercia?"

"Yes, sir, I have," Grimalkin said softly as she looked down at her plate.

"Those foolish nobles should've kept their wealth instead giving away to the so-called 'resistance'. Did they really think they would get away with this act of treason?" He took Grimalkin's glass and gulped down her wine. "Let's hope your daughter won't make the same mistake in the future."

"No, of course not, sir. The Grimalkin House is and always will be loyal to you."

"Good. I'd hate to roboticize another Mobian. No. I take that back. I'd love to!" He laughed cruelly, his fat bell bobbing up and down.

Grimalkin felt sick to her stomach.

At that moment, Adonis returned with a bag full of coins and handed it to Robotnik.

"Ah, yes," Robotnik took the payment and weighed it in his hand. "Well, now that I have what I came for, I'll take my leave." He stood up and walked out of the room with the Pawns following after him. "Have a pleasant night, Lady Grimalkin."

Once they were sure that he had left the house, both the aristocrat and her butler sighed in relief.

"What a horrid man," she mumbled. "For him to walk into my house announced, and on Sonia's birthday, no less."

...

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Sonic, Happy Birthday to you

Neil and Vix sang "Happy Birthday" to Sonic, who fidgeted in his chair, eager to eat the big cake in front of him on the table. Once thet finished, he blew out the seven candles and grabbed the knife to cut a piece.

"Sonic, wait!" Vix stopped him and took the knife. "Let me do it, honey."

"Aww, come on, Mom!" Sonic groaned. "I won't cut myself!"

Neil chuckled. "You know your Mom, Sonic: such the worrywart."

A loud squeal caught their attention and they all turned to the baby fox in the highchair.

"You'll get a piece, too, Miles," Vix giggled.

Despite the doctor's doubts, Vix gave birth to a healthy boy a year ago, but he was born with an abnormal feature: an extra tail. Because of this, Sonic called his new brother "Tails" (and he also thought that "Miles" was a lame name).

"So, Dad," Sonic turned to Neil as he wolfed down his piece, "tell me again how you became a Freedom Fighter."

Neil smiled. He must've told the story a thousand times to Sonic, but the young hedgehog loved to hear it and the fox couldn't deny his adopted son anything on his special day. "Well, Sonic, for years our family served in the royal Air Force for the Kingdom of Acorn. My father taught me how to fly a plane from the time I was a boy and before I knew it, I was training to be a fighter pilot in the Force. After Robotnik-"

"Robuttnik," Sonic corrected him.

"Right," Neil chuckled. "After Robuttnik captured our king and took over our land, a small group of us escaped and decided to fight back. Since I was an experienced pilot, I was tasked with taking on the Egg Hawks in the sky."

"Weren't you scared?"

"Oh, yeah. Scared out of my mind. But I couldn't just stand by and let Robuttnik ruin more kingdoms. So with my fellow pilots, I faced over ten Egg Hawks. I managed to take down just one, but soon I was the only fighter left and there were just too many of them, so I had no choice but to retreat. I did manage to rescue a few of the wounded and bring them to Knothole, where I met the most beautiful fox in the world." He smirked at Vix, who blushed and smiled back.

Sonic stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Bleugh! Can we skip the gross kissy part?"

"Sure. After I met your mother, I decided to go into retirement and start a new life here. And a few years later, you came into our lives."

Sonic suddenly became a bit somber. "Why do you think my parents left me?"

"Oh, honey," Vix wrapped her arms around the hedgehog. "I'm sure they didn't want to leave you. They probably couldn't take care of you. A lot of parents have had to give up their children lately because of Robotnik."

"But whatever the reason, we're glad that they left you here with us," Neil told him. "You give us happiness."

Vix kissed the top of Sonic's head. "And we love you very much."

Tails squeaked again as if in agreement, his face covered in icing.

Sonic's frown lifted into a smile again. He felt so lucky to have such a cool family.

...

"...nic! Sonic! Wake up!"

"Wa-huh?" The little blue hedgehog fluttered his eyes open and Neil was standing next to his bed. "Dad?" he yawned.

"Get up, son," Neil said urgently as he pulled the covers off. "We need to go now."

Sonic blinked. "Go? Go where?"

But Neil only picked him up and carried him downtairs. Vix was waiting for them in the living room with in her arms. They all went outside and it was still dark, the crickets and cicadas singing loudly.

Neil put Sonic down and looked straight into his eyes. "Sonic, listen to me," he said sternly, "run as fast as you can to Rosie's."

"Rosie's?" Sonic tilted his head. "That's in Knothole, right?"

"Right. Don't stop for anything, and don't look back."

Vix suddenly placed Tails in Sonic's arms. "Take Miles with you, Sonic, and be careful with him."

Now Sonic was even more confused and a little scared. "W-What about you? Aren't you coming with us?"

Neither Neil nor Vix said anything for a moment before the former hugged the hedgehog. "Don't worry about us, Sonic," he said softly. "We'll be right behind you. Take care of your brother until we get there, okay?"

"O-Okay," Sonic said, though he wasn't sure if his adoptive father was telling the truth.

Vix kissed Sonic on the head and hugged him for the last time, tears flowing down her face. "We love you boys so much," she sobbed.

There was suddenly a loud boom in the distance behind them and birds flew from out of the trees in panic.

"Go, Sonic!" Neil yelled. "GO!"

With tears in his eyes, Sonic ran as fast as his could, taking Tails with him. The Prowers watched as their children disappeared into the woods, and Neil held his wife as she wept.

Just then a few Egg Gunners appeared behind them and pointed their weapons at the couple. Neil Prower, one of them spoke, you are under arrest for treason.

Without turning around to face them, Neil held Vix closer and nodded. "I know."

...

Within minutes, Sonic arrived in Knothole and stopped in front of Rosie Woodchuck's house. Rosie was a good friend of the Prowers and would take in orphans and adolescent refugees. Sonic knocked on her door and about a minute later she answered, still in her nightgown and her grey hair messy.

Needless to say, she was surprised to see Sonic and baby Tails at her door. "Oh, my goodness. Sonic, what are you doing here so late? And where are your parents?"

"Dad told me to come here," Sonic told her.

"He did? Oh, dear." She took Tails from Sonic and gently rocked him. "Is he alright?"

Sonic looked back in the direction of his home. "I don't know," he said in a quiet voice.

...

For the next few days, Sonic waited for the Prowers to come and take him and his brother back home. But the days turned into weeks, and they never came. Finally out of patience, he decided to go back to Green Hill without telling Rosie, and what he found crushed him.

The house had been burnt to the ground and the Prowers were nowhere to be seen. He searched frantically through the debris, but all he found was a framed family photo. Clutching it close to his chest, he sat down in the pile and cried for himself and for his lost parents.

He swore on that day that Robotnik would pay for this.