Sonic smiled gently as he laid in a hammock, his eyes closed with nature around him. This was his favorite place to be, nothing else compares. Years come and go by, people he aquatints die, but this will always be here. He could always lay in this handmade hammock and listen to what he has created. That was the whole reason he decided to hide in Earth, wasn't it?

"Sonic!" His ears twitched as a shout rang through the forest.

"Tails?" Instantly, Sonic was up and running. Was something wrong? Sure, he knew that he shouldn't get attached to mortals but Tails.... He instantly bonded with the two tailed fox, nothing more he could do about that. In fact, he was starting to get attached to all of these people he's met and became friends with. That wasn't good; they'd all die at some point, save for Shadow, who was created to be immortal and maybe even Knuckles because of the Master Emerald.

"Sonic!? Where are you!?" Sonic sighed in relief. Tails wasn't in immediate danger, just looking for him. His pace slowed a bit as he came up to his mortal friend.

"Is everything alright, buddy?"

"Well, sort of..." Tails was about to elaborate when the sound of a certain echidna interrupted.

"Eggman is doing something suspicious." His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed, in his usual Knuckles stance.

Sonic looked towards him with a smile. "Leave it to you to get to the point. So, where is the ole Egghead?"

"By my calculations, he's on a remote island in the middle of the ocean." Tails informed. "I already have my plane ready to go."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Sonic grinned as he took off to Tails and his place, where the plane was.

"Honestly, what are we going to do with him?" Knuckles rolled his eyes and followed after him, Tails right beside him.

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"Haha, what took you guys so long?" Sonic chuckled as his friends approached.

"Not everyone is like you, Sonic." Knuckles said as he climbed on the other wing of Tails's plane.

Sonic just laughed as Tails got into the driver's seat. He loved being with these two. They always seemed to cheer him up when his thoughts drifted to things like his family or... Farah...

He closed his eyes as the plane took off, the love of his life consuming all thoughts. Oh, how he missed her. Why did she have to fight him... He warned her, and she went anyway. Now look at him: heartbroken and living among the mortal world, hiding from his family. Not that living on the mortal world was bad, it just wasn't what he intended. He wanted to live here with his sweet Farah. It was too late for that though...

'Oh, my dear Farah. They say that you'll resurrect, but when? How long must I wait?'

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"We're here!" Tails shouted as he went to land on a small island.

Sonic immediately snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes open as he went to stand on the wing. Tails brought the plane down slowly, landing in a clearing. Sonic and Knuckles jumped off their respective wing, Tails turning off his plane and getting out too.

"You guys ready to see what egghead is up to?" Sonic grinned as he grabbed his friends' arms and ran towards where Tails calculated Eggman was.

As he ran, he noticed that none of Eggman's robots were to be found, end as they reached the base. What was he planning? Was this a trap? Nonetheless, he broke through the door, friends in tow.

"Ah, yes. Hello, Sonic." Eggman was standing, alone, in front of them, nothing but a black box in his hands.

Sonic stood guard though. "What're you up to?"

Eggman just grinned. "I've been doing some research, Sonic, and I've found something very interesting. Knuckles, you may know this."

"Just get on with it!" Knuckles growled.

The large man's grin widened as he opened the box. A dark mist snuck out, it rising and forming to reveal a human-like deity. Sonic's eyes widened, suddenly filled with fear and anger, for he knew who this was. Knuckles seemed to know too as his eyes were wide open in disbelief.

"I would like you to meet Heolstor."

"The ancient spirit of darkness..." Knuckles breathed out.

Sonic glanced between his friends and the newcomer. It didn't seem that he was recognized by the dark spirit, and that was a good thing. But the anger boiling inside him was hard to hold back. The fear, however, was evident on his face. This was the one that gave his creations dark intentions. He had sealed this entity away for a good reason. With Farah gone and him unsealed, the mortals would turn darker. That is not something he wanted.

The dark entity named Heolstor grinned as he stalked close to the group of heroes. Sonic stood on front of his friends protectively, emerald eyes set in a glare. Heolstor stopped and spoke, his voice deep and threatening.

"Heh, a hedgehog with the same emerald eyes as my adversary." He then looked up. "Is this some kind of joke, Mahkah? Well, we'll see you laugh when I find Farah for myself!"

Sonic suddenly felt dizzy. Has Farah already been resurrected? Or is Heolstor tricking him? Everything was just too much...

The dark entity turned back to the heroes. "Hm... Perhaps you could be of use to me. I'm looking for a hedgehog that looks like this..." Slowly his body morphed into a hedgehog that looked very much like Shadow, but with no color... and no mouth.

"What do you want with him?" Tails questioned.

Heolstor chuckled darkly. "That is none of your business, mortal."

Sonic growled and clenched his fists together. "We aren't telling you where he is."

The deity turned hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "Ah, protective are we? Oh well, I presume I'll find the hedgehog somewhere. As for now..." A dark, strong wind started to blow towards the three, causing them to be pushed out of the building. Eggman was cackling in the background.

The wind didn't stop when they were out, though a strong storm was starting to brew. They were pushed further away, towards the ocean. Sonic acted quickly, grabbing a vine and Tails's arm. Tails grabbed Knuckles's arm and they tried their best to not loosen their grip. Sonic looked towards where Heolstor was, emerald eyes seeming to glow in the darkness of the wind. Heolstor glared at him in suspicion before turning away and disappearing in the shadows. The wind blew stronger, and Sonic couldn't hold on. He closed his eyes and held on to Tails's arm tighter as his grip loosened on the vine.

The storm picked up as they were all sent into the ocean, and Sonic immediately started to sink. He couldn't swim. Never tried. He tried his best to stay afloat though, and he could see his friends struggling to do the same. He couldn't die from drowning, but he made a wish to his brother. 'Please, Buziba... Bring my mortal friends to safety...'

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"Do not worry, Mahkah. I'll teach you!"

"B-But the water just seems so scary!"

"Haha, come on, little brother. You cannot die, so why don't you just try?"

"I like the ground better. You are not slowed down so much."

"Alright, suit yourself, but one day you'll wish you had learned."

"Oh please. I am not going to have to swim. It's not like I'll ever be in a situation where I need to anyways."

"What if you fall in?"

"I am much too careful to do that, Buziba!"

"Haha, alright. We'll see."

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He was such a stupid little deity...

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[Lava]

Haha, I'm on a roll with these chapters!!

We have now met the new villain. Yes, his mortal form now looks like Mephiles.

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Heolstor: From England meaning "darkness"

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Yeah, I did a lot of name researching...