Project ART

Mobius, hundreds of feet above the Great Mobocean...

On Mobius, the planet used to be sectioned off into areas, called 'Zones' by the Royal Acorn government. Zones were generally all open to the public, with the exception of Industrial Zones like the Chemical Plant Zone and the Oil Ocean Zone. However, the Sky Chase Zone was almost unique as it was one of two natural Zones located in the sky. The other, the Sky Storm Zone, was a constant torrential downpour, located over the southern edge of the Great Mobocean. The Sky Chase Zone was located just northwest of Mount Mobius. During the time before Robotnik's takeover, airplanes were forbidden from going through them on penalty of banishment. Nobody knew why, nor did the Royal Acorn family tell anybody, but they followed it nonetheless.

"To think." Miles said as he piloted the Tornado-X through the Sky Chase Zone. "Just being in this airspace and I could never go back to Northamer."

"It's best not to think of what life could have been like." said Blaze the Cat, who was calmly standing on the wing of the biplane. "You should think of life will be when we take Robotnik down."

"I just want to think of ways to take Eggface down." said Amy Rose, sitting impatiently in the Co-pilot seat of the Tornado. "I don't understand why you had to bring me along though, why not bring along Rotor, or maybe even Gamma?"

"Because they're having issues with the new recruits." Jet said, standing on the other wing. "Hopefully they will have it all sorted out by the time we get back."

"Who knows?" said Zero the Fox, who was sitting relaxed in the passenger seat of the plane, rolling a small ball of fire along his fingers like a coin. "We might have a new, better base to bring everybody to when we get back!"

"That's a nice thought Zero," said Miles, "But even if the myths were correct and the Guardian doesn't immediately blow us out of the sky, I doubt he'll let us make a base on his Island."

"You mean if there is a Guardian." Jet spat. "Until I see this 'Angel Island', this is still a hunch."

"Well, you're not going to have to wait very long." said Amy, who was frantically looking over the radars and scanners in front of her. "'Cause there's something coming up on our scanners, 1000 kilometers straight ahead!"

"There's nothing there." said Jet bitterly. "Are you sure the Tornado's not picking up an underwater fortress? I think one of the newbies said that Robotnik built one somewhere."

Jet winced as a burning-hot cinder was flicked onto the back of his head. "She said, and I quote, 'straight ahead' smart one." Zero said. "Besides, I have a hunch of my own."

Miles turned to Zero. "And that would be?"

"For such a smart fox, you're missing the obvious." Zero said. "Look ahead of us, there's nothing there."

"I can see that smart one." Jet said.

"But that's just it!" Zero said. "There's nothing there! Absolutely nothing is there but the ocean beneath us. The seas are the only part of Mobius Buttnik was never able to master! And yet, there's no clouds, no birds, no winds."

Miles thought about that. "Zero!" he said after a few seconds. "You're a genius!"

Blaze, Jet and Amy looked at Miles with a confounded expression. "He is?" they asked in unison.

Miles nodded enthusiastically. "He's right! It was so obvious! This is the reason why Robotnik couldn't find Angel Island! Because the EMP field surrounding..." the air around the plane and passengers seemed to shimmer as they passed through a wall of energy. Now, where there used to nothing was a massive floating island, beautiful clear waterfalls falling off the edge. "... is also a cloaking field."

"Wow." said Blaze, completely awestruck.

"There it is!" said Jet. "Angel Island!"

"NO" said a booming voice, seemingly emanating from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "This place is not deserving of the name 'Angel Island.' Not anymore."

"Who is this?" asked Amy, grabbing her trusty Piko-Piko hammer from nowhere.

"As of the current time, you are in no position to demand anything, Amy Rose." said the voice. "But you may refer to me as Enerjak; the Guardian of the Master Emerald."

"Guardian!" Miles called out. "My name is Miles Prower, and my friends and I come representing the Freedom Fighters of Mobius, and we seek your help in our fight against Dr. Robotnik."

"Eggman?" asked Enerjak. There was a pause after that, but after a few seconds, there was a response. "There is an entrance to a cave system on the top of the west mountain, one of my companions will meet you and escort you to the my whereabouts."

"Then we will see you soon, Guardian." said Blaze.

When no reply came, Jet looked to Miles. "I get the feeling we just bit off more than we could chew."

Dr. Robotnik's HQ, Robotropolis...

Dr. Eggman's headquarters was in chaos, robots scrambling around the room to the different monitors and sensors.

"I DON'T CARE THAT THERE'S NO POSSIBLE EXPLAINATION!" yelled Eggman to one of his minions. "MAKE ONE UP AND FIND METAL SONIC!"

"Sir," said Orbot, who was one of the only Robots not freaking out. "Even without Hyper Metal Sonic, there is only a 25% drop in our chances of victory. That still leaves us with 75% in our favor."

"I'm not worried about our odds, Orbot." Eggman hissed. "I'm worried that the Freedom Fighters managed to capture Metal Sonic and turn him against me."

"Oh," said Orbot. "That does make sense."

"Dr. Eggman, sir!" said a stout, silver humanoid robot.

"What is it Bocoe?" asked Eggman impatiently.

"Decoe and I saw a Biplane take off from the Marble Zone." Bocoe said. "Should we send someone after them?"

Eggman waved the idea off. "We can't spare any of our larger regiments." He said. "Send in EL1T3, he'll handle it."

Bocoe saluted. "Yes sir!" he said, running out the door and back to his station."

Orbot watched Bocoe exit the chaotic room. "He's an odd fellow." he thought to himself. "I wonder where Miles is going?"

Onyx Island, above the Great Mobocean...

"Can you see the entrance?" asked Miles as he circled the mountain for the seventh time.

"No, not yet." said Jet, zooming into the mountains with his binoculars. "Wait!" he pointed near the top of the mountain. "Right there. About 2 miles from the top. There's also a landing platform and somebody waiting to greet us."

"Alright, going in for a landing." Miles said. "Jet, Blaze; hold on. We don't have an emergency shutoff anymore."

Miles' warning ended up being ignored, rightly so; as the landing was a smooth one, coming to a rest on the middle of the conveniently placed foothold. Immediately after landing, they were greeted by a Mobian monkey, clad in a fashionable; but battle-worn, vest, wearing a headband of gold, holding a staff. "Hello." he said with a bow. "My name is Monkey Khan, cyborg simian, Guardian of physical Onyx Island and servant of the true Guardian."

"Greetings." Blaze said. "I am Blaze the Cat, ambassador and Princess of the Sol Dimension."

"Hi." Zero said. "I'm Zero the Fox, loyal soldier and supporter of the Freedom Fighter cause."

"Hello." said Amy. "I am Amy Rose, that is all the information I am willing to divulge."

"Hi." said Miles. "I'm Miles Prower, founder, leader and general tech-head of the Freedom Fighters. The green bird who won't talk to you over there is Jet the Hawk. I wouldn't worry too much about him."

"Well, I'm Guardian Enerjak's right-hand man." Khan said. He pondered on that for a moment. "Or monkey, as the case would be."

"Do you know where we are supposed to meet your boss?" Zero asked.

"Well..." Khan said. "I'm supposed to lead you through the Lava Reef Zone, then another colleague of mine is supposed to take three of you through the Hidden Palace Zone and to the Emerald Shrine."

"Why are we splitting up?" Amy asked.

"I'm not really sure." admitted Khan. He gestured to Jet, Blaze and Miles. "All I know is that I'm supposed to hand you three over to the Doc once we reach the Hidden Palace."

"The Doc?" asked Jet suspiciously. "As in 'Doctor? You wouldn't mean Dr. EGGMAN would you?"

Khan laughed aloud. "No, I mean Doctor Finitevus. While I'm the guardian of the physical Onyx Island, Dr. Finitevus is the co-guardian of the Master Emerald. Like Enerjak himself, Finitevus is an Echidna, and has skills creating powerful illusions, which is why Dr. Stunk Cabbage hasn't taken seen or detected Onyx Island. He created the EMP and cloaking field surrounding us."

"Wow." Blaze said. "What is very impressive."

"Well, you'll be able to tell him yourself soon." Khan said. "We should get going. Lava Reef is pretty big, and we've wasted enough time out here anyway."

Dr. Robotnik's HQ, Robotropolis...

Dr. Eggman sat on his throne, having grown tired of the chaos in the control room. Pressing a button on the arm-rest, the window overlooking Robotropolis switched turned into a screen, an image of Cubot ordering robots around.

"Cubot." Eggman said. "Progress report?"

"Aye." Cubot said. "The crew seems to have found somthin' radiating off a' Metal's hanger."

"Cubot, switch your voice chip off 'Scalawag' please." Eggman said impatiently, his palm covering his eyes.

"But Captn'..." Cubot whined. "The landlubbers don't take me normal voice seriously!"

"No Buts." Eggman said. "Now, what were you saying?"

"Well," Cubot said. "According to the scanner droids you gave me, there's an energy signature radiating off Metal Sonic's hanger."

Eggman sat upright upon hearing this. "An energy signature?" he asked. "Does it match any known teleporter? Or anything the resistance might have?"

Cubot turned and whispered something to a scanner droid, who whispered back whilst shaking it's head. "No, sorry boss." Cubot said. "There's nothing I have access to that matches the reading."

"But..." Eggman pressed on. "This sounds like a 'but' statement."

"But there is a match in the restricted cloud, the one that robots like Metal Sonic and his squad have full access to." Orbot said, who hovered over to his comrade. "I, being one of your top minions, have limited access to the restricted cloud; so I was able to perform a surface scan."

Eggman thought on this. After little while of silence, Eggman looked back to the screen. "Send me the frequency." he said. "I'll see to Metal's location myself. In the mean time, send the rest of the E-100 Squad under leadership from Metal Jawsome and E. M. SH to the Marble Zone. Leave the other E. M. units alone."

Orbot and Cubot saluted. "Yes sir." they said in unison.

Onyx Island, Lava Reef - Hidden Palace junction...

Doctor Finitevus was waiting patiently at the crossroad built between the Lava Reef Zone and the Hidden Palace Zone. Enerjak had woken him up, telling him they had some 'old friends' visiting. He was ordered to wait at the crossroad between the Lava Reef Zone and the Hidden Palace Zone, then take the three Mobians Monkey Khan gave him to the shrine.

As one could probably imagine, after living alone with a hot-headed Echidna and an annoying cyborg monkey for twenty years, the mere concept of having visitors on the secluded island was fascinating. What was curious, however; was what Enerjak had referred to their visitors as 'Old Friends'. As far as Finitevus was aware, his master had not left Onyx Island since the day he was born. So how could these complete strangers be 'old friends'?

Finitevus frowned. He hated when Enerjak was cryptic about things like this. It had started when he had originally tapped into the Master Emerald's power. He always seemed to be hiding something from him. He never allowed him to be anywhere near the gem, always panicking when he appeared at the shrine.

His thoughts, however, were cut short when a familiar voice echoed through the tunnel. "YO!" yelled Monkey Khan. "Doc! You there?"

"I'm at the Hidden Palace entrance." Finitevus said.

Soon after, Khan emerged from the entrance to the Lava Reef Zone, five unfamiliar Mobians in tow. "Hey doc." Khan said.

"Khan." Dr. Finitevus said simply. "Which of these am I supposed to take?"

Khan motioned and a two-tailed, yellow fox; a purple cat in an exquisite dress and a green hawk in skateboarder's gear moved up. "This is Miles Prower, Blaze the Cat and Jet the Hawk." Khan said. "Enerjak specifically told me to give these three to you."

Finitevus looked at the other two; a pink hedgehog and a green fox. "And the others?" he asked.

"They're to come with me on a tour of the island." Khan said. "I'm really looking forward to showing the Hydro City."

Finitevus nodded. "Very well." He said. He looked at Miles, Blaze and Jet. "If would please follow me."

Onyx Island, the Hidden Palace Zone ~ 20 minutes later...

The walk through the Hidden Palace Zone was quiet. Miles had gathered that this 'Doctor Finitevus' was not the talkative type, so he decided to keep quiet.

Blaze, however; seemed to have had enough of the silence. "So, Dr. Finitevus." She said. "I couldn't help but notice your illusion field casted around the Island. Very impressive."

"Thank you." Finitevus said. "I take pride in my control over the Chaos forces, even if I have only indirect access to the Emerald's power."

"Wait a minute." Jet said. "'Chaos'? As in, the Chaos Emeralds?"

"No." Said Finitevus. "My master and I control the Master Emerald's power. The Chaos Emeralds and their counterparts, the Flame Emeralds, disappeared many years ago."

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" Miles asked. "The Chaos Emeralds of legend wouldn't just vanish without a reason."

"While I do not have a proper answer," Finitevus explained. "There is a prophecy written on the walls of the shrine. A prophecy that shows a changing of the times when Sisters Harmony and Brothers Chaos unite to defeat a powerful tyrant."

"Sisters Harmony and Brothers Chaos..." Miles repeated, deep in thought.

"Once again," Finitevus said, snapping Miles out of his trance. "While I may not have an answer, my master Enerjak might; as he has nearly complete control over the Master Emerald's power."

"I can't wait to meet him." Jet said sarcastically.

"Then wait no longer." Finitevus said. Looking forward, the four Mobian saw a massive pyramid, a green glow emanating from the top. "We have arrived."

"Whoa." Jet said, completely awestruck.

"Master Enerjak!" Finitevus called. "Your guests have arrived."

OK, start playing Unknown to M.E. from Sonic Adventure

With that, a figure started descending the steps of the pyramid, silhouetted by the glow. "Greetings, Freedom Fighters." The figure said. "May I be the first to properly welcome you to Onyx Island." The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing an Echidna, his red dreadlocks the only part of him showing from underneath the black cloth and golden armor. One of his eyes was hidden, blocked by the shadows of his helmet, the other; a single glowing dot glowing an eerie red. One his hands were black gloves matching his bodysuit, a golden wrist-guard and knuckles adorning his fist and wrist.

Miles kneeled. "Greetings, Guardian Enerjak." He said. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Enerjak chuckled. He took off his helmet, revealing a he smiling face of a red Echidna with some type of device attached to his right eye.. "There's no need for formalities." He said. "They are not needed among old friends. You can call me Knuckles."

"Old friends?" Blaze repeated. "I'm not sure I understand. We've never met you until now."

Stop the music now.

Knuckles nodded. "Than it is as I feared." He said. He lifted his hand, and a shimmering screen of energy projected from the palm. On the screen, an image of a large green gemstone, with fourteen smaller, multicolored gems orbiting around it. "This is the Master Emerald." Explained Knuckles, pointing to the large gem. "And these," he pointed to the orbiting gems, "are the seven Chaos and Flame Emeralds."

"20 years ago, long before Dr. Finitevus joined me," Knuckles continued. "The Chaos and Flame Emeralds vanished, leaving nothing in their wake."

"Yes, so we've heard." Miles said.

"At that point, I was still young." Knuckles said. "But still I knew something wasn't right. I was heir to the position of Emerald Guardian; as was my son to be, and so on. I asked my father, who was just barely hanging onto his life. He told me that if the Fourteen Emeralds were missing, then the world was in danger. When my father died, I took over the position, and I finally got to touch the Master Emerald."

"When I touched the Emerald; I saw images and visions." Knuckles continued. "People and places that I didn't know, things I was doing, but had never done before. Thanks to the information you have just given me, my suspicions are proven correct. I now know these visions were memories, memories of a past life that never came to be. Memories of a life before time was rewritten."

"How is possible?" asked Miles. "Time travel is still just a theory, and a shaky one at that."

"But it would explain a lot." Blaze said. "Until he started attacking, there was no records of Dr. Robotnik even existing, no blueprints for his machines."

"You are on the right track." Knuckles said. "If you would, call upon any knowledge you have of the ancient Acorn Government. Keeping that information in mind, Dr. Robotnik is actually a version of Julian Kintobor from 20 years in the future. Had Robotnik not taken over, Kintobor would have betrayed the Acorn Kingdom, to be stopped multiple times by our friend. I believe Eggman did something to prevent said friend from stopping him."

"I'm still not buying it." Said Miles.

"Fine." Enerjak said. "Have you ever had any weird dreams? Dreams of seeing a Mobius without Robotnik?"

"Yeah." Miles said. "Wait..." he thought for a second, quickly shushing anybody that talked. Finally he looked up at Knuckles. "You were there! So was Amy, Sally, Blaze, Rotor and some of the other Freedom Fighters!"

"That is because these are fragmented memories that did not leave your mind." Knuckles said. "You are remembering things that never came, of a better life that now will never happen."

"But... how?... what?" Miles stuttered, trying to comprehend the information.

"And now, with you here," Knuckles said. "I am giving you the chance for these memories to be restored. To be able to remember everything as clearly as I do."

Miles nodded. "I would like that." He said.

"As would I." said Blaze.

"Me too." Jet said.

"And I." said Doctor Finitevus, whom everybody had forgotten had not been dismissed.

"That wait here as I prepare the Emerald." Knuckles said before climbing the stairs of the shrine. There was a moment of silence as everybody processed this information. Soon, Knuckles came running down the stairs, visibly panicking.

"Master." Finitevus said. "What is the matter?"

"Summon Monkey Khan and the other Freedom Fighters." Knuckles said, rising and moving to where he put his helmet.

"What's wrong?" asked Miles.

Enerjak placed the helmet on his head and turned to them, the glowing red iris staring into their souls. "The Freedom Fighters' Headquarters in under attack."