Chapter One

Long, long ago in the peaceful kingdom of Mobotropolis, there lived a young king and queen and their only son, Sonic the Hedgehog. While the name of this hero is quite known across the lands nowadays, there was one thing that neither he himself nor his most avid fans knew, and that was the true extent of his past. He knew very well that he was a prince and that much was clear to him. However, being royalty had never been his thing. Sitting all gentlemanly-like in a castle? Going through boring meetings? All those politics involved? Nah, being a hero was definitely more his thing! However, he couldn't help but wonder how things changed so drastically. Whenever he thought of his parents everything just seemed to be a blur, almost as if there was a great empty space in his memory. The only thing he seemed to really recall were his parents' faces overlooking him in his crib, hugging each other close as they smiled lovingly down upon him. In truth, no one really knew what happened to their beloved queen and king. It was almost as if that part of history had never happened at all. There was no newspaper articles about it, no odd reports, and even in their history books, there wasn't much upon the queen and king other than that they lived happily and perished too soon. After their deaths, the kingdom changed to democracy like much of the kingdoms surrounding it. The old ways were slowly coming to an end, and as the kingdom changed, so did its people. The tales of great kings, knights, and dragons were all but stories of fantasy to bore kids in school.

Even Sonic, now seventeen years of age, had never given much thought of his parents. Of course when he was a bit younger, he'd pause and think about them, but what more was there to the story? Other than their untimely death? Thinking about it too much would always make his head ache.

"Hey Sonic! Can you sign my shirt?"

"Sign my poster first!"

"Hey! You cut in line!" A light, aqua green hedgehog glared as a silver cat pushed her way in front of her and Sonic gave a light natured laugh.

"I have plenty of time, ladies," He replied, giving them a flirtatious grin and causing them to swoon a little bit, "I'm sure I can stick around a bit longer and sign anything." More flashes of the camera flicked as he resumed with signing different personal belongings. He never really intended for his heroism to turn to the extreme of people actually making t-shirts with his face upon it, and he certainly didn't expect life-sized posters of him to be manufactured either. That didn't, however, mean that he didn't like the attention. While his heroics were genuine and of a good heart, Sonic did have another weakness other than water. He would always allow his ego to be stroked on multiple occasions, especially during times when his fans crowded around him such as today.

He was so busy with all the questions and autographs that he didn't notice a familiar, orange fox materialize beside him. Nearly jumping out of his skin when he turned and saw Tails, he gave his best friend a playful scowl. "Tails! When did you get here?"

The younger fox simply rolled his eyes, trying not to smile in return. "I've been standing here for the past five minutes, Sonic. You promised you'd be done by now. We need to start planning your party!"

Oh yeah, my birthday. It is tomorrow, isn't it? He murmured to himself.

He'd always been a great lover of parties and birthday parties especially, but when it came to his own birthdays, he never really cared for anything too big. His friends always wanted to go all out, but he was just happy with some cake and chili dogs alongside all his pals. There was no need for anything else. "Sorry everyone," He heard Tails say, "I'm cutting this autographing short." Following his words, there was a collective groan of disappointment from the crowd, and Tails simply rolled his eyes once more, muttering something that oddly sounded like "vultures" as he dragged Sonic away by the arm.

A teasing glint lit in Sonic's emerald colored eyes. "Jealous?"

"Hardly!" Tails exclaimed, sounding half amused in his exasperation, " May I remind you that last time Amy saw you in the middle of a crowd of fans like that, she nearly sent two poor girls to the hospital with that hammer of hers."

"Awh, cut her some slack, Tails," Sonic chuckled, "I guess she did almost send them both in with concussions, but uh, she has gotten a bit better after volunteering at that daycare place up town."

Tails tried to not allow a smile to twitch across his muzzle. "That almost sounded like you were defending her, Sonic."

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "I wasn't defending her I was just stating the tru-" The rest of his sentence was cut short as a pink blur rushed up to him, nearly knocking him off his feet as it attached itself to him.

"Sonic! I'm so glad to see you! I thought we'd come across each other day." Amy hugged him happily, her eyes sparkling.

Attempting to squirm out of the pink hedgehog's grasp, Sonic replied, "Hey...Ames.." he managed to gasp out. "Could ya let go? I can't breathe."

Almost instantly, Amy let him go. "Oh! Sorry. I'm just so excited~ I can't way until your birthday," she squealed happily, "I have so much planned for it~!"

Nervously laughing, Sonic scratched his head. "You don't have to go too overboard. It's just a birthday. Just some cake and chili dogs would be awesome."

"Don't be silly!" Amy shook her head, her dreamy look changing into one of determination, "it's going to be your eighteenth birthday! It has to be special."

There was no arguing with her once she got her mind set on something. Sonic gave a sigh, trying not to sound too annoyed. There was one thing that had him wondering, though. "Is ole Knucklehead coming down from his island to come celebrate with us?"

Tails gave a light shrug. "I invited him, but I got no reply. You know how he is sometimes, though. He's probably trying to debate if it's safe to leave the island or not."

"Pff," Sonic grumbled, "the Master Emerald will be fine. The guy needs to loosen up a bit."

Tails tried not to smirk. "The last time you said that, the Master Emerald was stolen and it almost gave him a heart attack."

Sonic spread out his hands in a defensive manner. "That was back then. This is now. Besides, didn't ya help him out a bit with creating a new security system for the Emerald?"

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it'll keep mostly everyone out, but," The young fox rubbed his head, seeming a bit sheepish as he smiled, "I'm not sure it'll keep someone like Rouge out. She's always finding new ways to break into things. She's been after his Emerald for ages, you'd think she'd given up by now."

The two of them glanced over to Amy when she butted into the conversation, a playful grin upon her face. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if she does it more to just bug him now. I mean, she's had several chances to steal the Emerald, but the past few times seem a bit more half-hearted than when she first started out. I like she likes him~"

"Knuckles?" Sonic asked, seeming genuinely stunned, "what would she like about him? I mean, he's not bad or anything-he is a great guardian and all-but he's not that... I don't know," He struggled for a moment, unsure of what to say, "...charming I guess? He's really uptight."

Amy gave a shrug. "He's not all that bad. Maybe Rouge just likes his dedication. The first time she had been able to get her hands on that Emerald he almost hunted her down across the world for it."

"Huh, maybe," Sonic mused, seeming thoughtful for a moment, "now that I think about it more, it does always seem that he's a bit flustered when he's around her. But I always thought he was just annoyed with her to be honest." Truthfully, he wasn't really the master of telling if someone liked another person, so perhaps taking Amy's word on it was the best way to go for now until she was proved otherwise. "But, anyway, knowing Knuckles he'll want a bunch of food there, so I guess you guys can make a bit more food other than cake and chili dogs. Just don't go too overboard with streamers and all that."

"Relax, Sonic," Tails laughed, giving his friend a pat on a back, "it's your birthday, not a funeral. Let's just have fun while it lasts. Besides, the day will go fast and before you know it you'll have a full year until your next one."

"Yeah, yeah," The blue hedgehog yawned, "I know, I'll stop worrying about it. I just don't want it to turn out like last time when you all basically invited the whole town into my backyard. Which is why I decided to be in charge of the invite list this year. Did you send out all the invitations I gave you?"

Tails gave him a nod as the trio walked down the street. Up ahead, Sonic's blue house came into view. The day had gone so quickly, and already the sky was slowly darkening as the evening settled in. "What about Team Vector? I'm sure Charmy and Vector would enjoy cake. I'm not sure about Espio, but usually he tags along with them if they go places anyway."

"Eh… just as long as Charmy doesn't trash my place. I was cleaning up after him for days during that last time Team Vector showed up."

A snicker came from Tails. "Your place is already really messy. I'm surprised that you're able to find anything in there."

"Hey, my place is perfect. I know where everything is even if it is messy." Sonic paused in front of his front door, giving them both a grin, "I'll catch you both tomorrow. I'm pretty tired so I think I'll crash early tonight."

Amy gave him another crushing hug before she left, "I hope you have pleasant dreams, Sonic!" She blew him a kiss before she skipped of in the direction of her own home. After saying goodnight to Tails, Sonic sighed shutting the door behind him as he kicked off his shoes.

There was something about tonight that felt a bit off to him. He wasn't really sure what it was, maybe it was just him being tired or maybe there was just too many flashes of the camera today. Whatever it was, the pull of his bed was almost irresistible as he faceplanted into his pillow. It was certainly strange how tired he was, especially at this hour. It was only seven at night and usually he was more of a night person. I guess it wouldn't hurt getting some shut eye earlier. Trying not to yawn once more, he settled more comfortably under his blanket, and almost instantly sleep consumed him.