Title: Sonic the Hedgehog 2014

Universe: Game

Genre: Adventure/Friendship

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Multiple

Summary: In the year of 2014, Sonic and his friends will come together to face their strongest enemy yet.

Description: This story is set eight years after the Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 game. It's a little bit about adventure, a little bit about friendship, a little bit about love, but mostly it's about the characters. I suppose you could call it a character study of many of the in-game Sonic the Hedgehog characters. As far as plotline the story is still pretty sketchy, but this fiction will be mostly character-driven. There will be an enemy, and yes, I will do my best to make him/her/it as epic as possible. Just know that as of 11/5/2010 at 1 in the morning, there is not even a design for an enemy. But please, read this story. I will try my best to keep everyone in character, but I'm not perfect-I will need feedback to help me do this. I believe this story is enjoyable, so even if no one else on this planet reads and reviews it I'll know it's good. Still, a little positive criticism can help anyone improve their style. And with that I will leave you to decide what to do with this story. I will try to have a new chapter up at least every week. College life is busy.

Disclaimer: Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. In other words, I own nothing but the storyline and any original characters.

Chapter One: Ambience

The sky was a neverending blackness broken only by the gazillions of winking stars, some yellow, some blue, all much too far away to travel to. Dark chunks of rock roamed the skies aimlessly, looking for a planet to rest on and finding none of the ones in this galaxy worthy. One such rock approximately the size of a school bus floated past the tiny spaceship's front, seemingly challenging him with its girth.

"My God," Sonic the Hedgehog breathed, watching the huge boulder glide away from his ship, his heart pounding in his ears. He realized his forehead was dotted with sweat and absently wiped at it with the back of his gloved hand. If he'd collided with that rock, his ship would have been totaled. Not only that, but if he would have survived the crash he'd be stuck in deep space with no communicator. He'd die up here, and no one would know. The thought terrified him while at the same time the proximity with danger excited him. It had been a long time since he'd had to save the world, and he supposed his recent adventures in space were meant to supplement the lack of life or death situations.

"If only you had seen that shit, Tails."

It was another week before Sonic was able to make it back to Mobius, and by the time he landed the spaceship on the runway in front of Tails' Mystic Ruins shop he was ready to run. When he first hopped out of the cockpit he stumbled slightly; sitting around in deep space had a weakening effect on the muscles, and even though he'd constantly worked out in space it hadn't helped his muscle degeneration much. After stretching and doing a series of warm ups, Sonic began his favorite pastime. He sped down the ramp from Tails' workshop and sprinted toward the waterfall. Increasing his speed, he was able to run along the surface of the water and back up the side of the mountain.

Finally, he thought gleefully, enjoying the actively pumping sensation of his legs, the dull ache in his thighs, and the rapid beat of his heart. This was what he'd been made for, his life's ambition. He raced toward the railroad, where a train was beginning its journey back to Station Square. Grinning, he ignored the protests of the station supervisor and hopped onto the tracks, easily matching the train's speed as it puffed through the long dark mountain tunnel. When he got tired of waiting for the train to speed up he quickened his pace and promptly left the train in his dust.

He reached the train station half an hour before the train would. Launching himself off the tracks he skidded to a stop in the center of the crowd waiting for the train. The people, initially startled by his sudden appearance promptly erupted into cheers.

This was Sonic the Hedgehog, after all. The savior of the world, a national hero.

Fans of every shape and size converged on him, holding out books and video games and notebook paper, all wanting his autograph. One woman even offered her forearm, eagerly holding a permanent marker in his direction. He signed about seven autographs before his right leg began to trounce, signaling that his body's never ending appetite for movement was calling. He tried to politely push through the crowd at first, but when he realized they had no intention of letting him go he leapt easily over their heads, sliding on the stair guardrail down to the lower level of the station. The people groaned but then broke out into cheers when he turned back and waved to them. He strode out of the station and down the front steps with a huge grin on his face, soaking up the applause like a sponge. Being in outer space for four months really made a guy miss the limelight.

He zipped across the city to Tails' apartment, located right next to the police station. Arriving at the yellow door, Sonic knocked twice and rang the doorbell three times, his leg shouting his impatience with its constant bouncing. After another bout of pushing the doorbell Sonic tried the doorknob and realized with a grin that it was unlocked. While his conscience noted quietly that what he was doing was technically illegal, Sonic advanced into the small apartment, kicking the door shut behind him. "Hey, Tails! You home?"

From the kitchen came the sound of glass shattering and a high-pitched squeal, and Sonic winced as he realized he'd probably get a lecture for just walking in. Scratching the back of his head as he walked through the front hall toward the kitchen, Sonic called, "Sorry about that, Tails. I just got back and I wasn't sure if you were here or not, so I—"

"Hello?"

Sonic's head snapped up as a voice that was distinctly not-Tails addressed him. Standing in the doorway between the hall and the kitchen was someone who he hadn't seen in nearly ten years. Certain major things had changed about her—she wasn't as short as she had been, and her hair had grown as well as—Sonic gulped at this—her breasts, but the bright green eyes that stared back at him were exactly the same as he'd remembered.

"Amy?"

Sonic stiffened as he prepared himself for the inevitable; Amy Rose would squeal his name and launch herself at him, hugging him to her with her incredibly strong arms and spouting something random about her love returning to her. At any other time he would try to dodge her grip but he decided he'd let her hug him as long as she wanted to today. After all, they hadn't heard anything from her since she'd ridden the train out of their lives eight years ago. One hug every eight years was good enough for him.

Except Amy didn't do any of those things. She simply stood in the entryway to the kitchen, staring at him with an expression that looked unfamiliar on her face. It was halfway between a wide-eyed look of confusion and a glare, her head cocked slightly to the right. After a few seconds of their staring match Sonic got uncomfortable and looked up at the ceiling, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look," he began, unsure of what to say. What did you say when you're self-proclaimed girlfriend gives you a 'look'? "I don't know why you're looking at me like that. You're the one who ran off all those years ago, so if anyone has a right to wear an expression like that it's me. God, Amy, it's not like you've never seen me before."

Something clicked in his brain, and Sonic's head snapped back down as he inhaled sharply. His neck was beginning to ache from all this snapping, but he didn't notice as his mind put two and two together. Amy's expression wasn't one of anger or sadness or even disgust—it was one of pure ignorance. She was looking at him like she'd never seen him before. Which meant—

"Sonic!"

Tails emerged from the bedroom and hurried up the hallway toward them, a grave look on his face as he glanced back and forth between his best friend and Amy. Sonic's heart beat painfully in his chest as he stared at Tails, hoping it was just a mistake. He supposed he had changed a little over the eight years Amy had been gone—his quills definitely were longer, he was taller and he swore his cobalt blue fur had darkened a few shades over time—and maybe she just hadn't recognized him. Now that Tails had said his name maybe she would suddenly realize how foolish she'd been and turn back to him, her old smile on her face as she greeted him warmly.

Yet she was still looking at Sonic with that distrustful expression, and for the first time Sonic felt anger flare up inside him. If she hadn't decided to go travel the world to "find herself" this wouldn't have happened. What the hell kind of friend disappears for eight years and never calls home to tell the people she loves that she's alright?

A friend who doesn't remember the people she loves.

With that last thought Sonic tore his gaze away from Amy's hurtful expression and glared at Tails. "Tell me this isn't true, Tails," he begged, angry at himself for sounding so desperate.

Tails glanced at Amy, the heartache Sonic was feeling evident on his own face. "I don't know when it happened. She doesn't have any prominent lacerations on her skull, which means that either it wasn't hard enough to break the skin or it happened quite a long time ago. Several years." His voice broke on the last word, and he bit his lip and lowered his head shamefully.

The silence in the apartment was deafening. Breathing hard, Sonic looked everywhichway, avoiding Tails' downcast face and Amy's ugly alien expression. He wanted to run and knew it was impossible; he wasn't sixteen anymore. He couldn't escape his problems like he used to. With no other way to vent his emotions he cried out and punched the wall with his left fist, leaving a dent in the yellow wallpaper. All of a sudden the emotional escape the spaceship provided seemed extremely attractive to Sonic.

Something's coming.

He didn't know how it was coming or when it would arrive or where it was coming from. The only thing the ebony hedgehog knew for sure was that something was headed for Mobius, and it wasn't friendly. His crimson eyes bore into the inky blackness of the space sky, searching the depths of the galaxy outside the space station's bay window for some kind of hint. Of course, his efforts went unrewarded and he sighed, bearing the wait with a practiced patience. When you were immortal you either had to be patient or run around like a fool. Like the Faker.

Shadow the Hedgehog smirked at the thought of his idiotic rival. He would never be able to endure immortality. He'd go stir crazy after a week. The Faker enjoyed change too much, and when you had eternity to look forward to you couldn't really notice the small changes. In two thousand years he figured he'd be able to notice a few things, like how Death Mountain had gotten taller or how the barren ground on which the decimated Central City used to stand was finally growing healthy grass.

Shadow sighed again. He would stand tall against anything that threatened Mobius or her people and would protect the planet until it died of natural causes. Until then, he was doomed to a life of solitude and inertia.

"Shadow! What are you doing? I've been calling you for ten minutes! I've got your supplies."

The black hedgehog turned. Behind him stood Rouge, haughtily glaring at him with one eyebrow arched, her left boot tapping out a monotonous beat on the cool metal floor. Her cool green eyes assessed him impassively and Shadow felt a rare spark of amusement alight inside him. He allowed the feeling to show on his face, a lopsided grin that was so unlike him and walked toward her. "If you really wanted me you know where to find me. I'm always here."

Rouge huffed, flapping her indigo wings impatiently as she glared at him. "And YOU know that it's rude to keep a lady waiting! Besides, I brought you your miracle medicine ingredients. Don't you think that's worth at least a measly 'thank you'?"

Shadow stared at her for a moment longer before striding past her. Before he left the control room he muttered "yeah, thanks" in her direction. Rouge, hearing the sarcasm in his voice, rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird even though he was out of the room. A short bark of laughter from the corridor told her he knew what she'd done, and she laughed under her breath before following him out of the lab. While Shadow was by nature a creature of negativity and brooding, he figured a little humor here and there would help him survive his unnaturally long life, and Rouge was the one person he felt most comfortable showing his emotional side to.

"You're crap is in the biolab," Rouge called down the corridor after him, and he stopped when he realized that she wasn't following him. He turned to see her wave once, a dry grin on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she understood this as a question. "I can't hang out today, sorry. Got a top secret mission later on."

"What, do you have to search for Knuckles' dirty laundry, or something?"

Shadow bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Rouge's suddenly pink face. She gave him another death glare, the second one in five minutes, and folded her arms across her ample chest. "Screw you, Shadow. Knuckles does his own laundry. For God's sake, I'm not a housewife. I've got a top secret mission for GUN today, stupid."

Shadow shrugged and turned away from her, raising a hand in farewell. "Whatever. I'll see you."

Rouge huffed and turned on a heel. She stormed to the space station's ship bay, acting used and underappreciated and overly dramatic because she knew that Shadow was monitoring her via his telepathic abilities and she knew he'd be amused by her actions. In reality she was extremely grateful for the bond she had with Shadow. He'd been her trusted partner for over ten years, and along with Omega they had made the best team this side of the universe. Big Blue, Fluffy and Knucklehead couldn't even compare. Aside from that, he'd been the only one she'd told about her secret relationship with said Knucklehead, and if she hadn't had him to talk to she probably would have gone crazy. And if there was one thing she could say about Shadow, it was that he was a terrific listener.

As Rouge was checking her ship for anything that would make going back to Mobius dangerous the small violet cellphone on her hip began to vibrate. Without checking the Caller ID she flipped the phone open and stuck it to her ear. "This is Rouge, at your service."

She listened to the frantic voice on the other side of the phone for a moment, her heart slowly dropping into her stomach. She stopped checking her ship for leaks and simply leaned against it, her attention completely focused on the voice. Vaguely she noticed that Shadow had suddenly appeared beside her and was staring at her and the phone with a startlingly fierce expression. She ignored him until the call ended, and the second she closed her phone Shadow asked, "What happened?"

Rouge stared at him for a moment, wondering how he would take the news. He and the annoying pink hedgehog had gotten along strangely well considering that personality-wise they were polar opposites. As soon as Amy's image came to her mind Shadow's eyes flashed dangerously, and Rouge sighed wearily.

"I think you need to come back to Mobius with me, Shadow. It's Amy."

A/N: Despite what it sounds like, I assure you this story isn't entirely about Amy. As I mentioned before, it's a little bit about all the in-game characters of the Sonic Universe.