Prologue
By Jeremy Cole
One small change can often affect a myriad of things. One common
example is the change from a single butterfly flapping its wings. If
the flap of the offending butterfly didn’t happen to be in the script,
the way that things were meant to be – then one small distance is
created from the normal course of things. That small, small difference
turns out to be just the slightest bit bigger the next time you look,
and only gets bigger as time goes on. The world will never be the same
because of it.
This time around, that seemingly small change does make all the
difference. All the difference in the world. Specifically, one world,
the world of Mobius. It is a relatively small world, and
inconsequential in the big scheme of things. But small, inconsequential
things can often decide all…
The planet was not completely without power, though. What power
it did have was in the process of forming, back in the years just
following creation, deep beneath the earth. That power belongs to what
can only be called the Master Emerald. And it is where the story
begins.
Deep in its cavern, the enormous gem dubbed the Master Emerald
was progressing nicely in its formation. The great power that had
created the gem for its amusement was pleased. The gemstone was
reaching farther and farther into the immense power given to it, and
soaking more of it in as the years went by. The gem had reached half of
its full size in only a few millennia of seeping power through it, and
into it was poured the hopes and dreams of a planet. The power smiled
on the planet. The power decided to give it a name – Mobius. And all
was well.
A few more millennia passed. The power had gone on its way long
ago, having provided all the tools that the gem needed. The gem would
finish the fabulous sculpting on its own. Obligingly, the master
emerald continued to grow, to thrive, and to gain a soul, as only an
object of power can do. An awareness inside the emerald awoke, and set
about retrieving its allotted intelligence. By the seventh year, the
emerald had found its purpose. The awareness then retreated, and began
to store its power, in anticipation of the day that it might act. And
all was well.
Finally, the day had come. The emerald had finally stored the
power needed. That power was enough to move a sun or build a moon, and
yet it was contained in a few feet of space, concentrated to its very
fullest potential. The awareness of the emerald steeled itself for what
was to come. Then the emerald flashed, and pulsed its energy across the
planet. A second, then two, three, and still nothing. But then, a
rumbling shook the planet. Dormant sea volcanoes spewed their long
forgotten contents into the oceans. The poles froze over, forming the
ice caps that protected them. And where once there had been only sea,
there emerged the land, shedding the water from it in great spurts. And
on that land, that had lain hidden for all of these years, where once
it was barren, there was life. Plant life was the first to come,
overgrowing the land, and enriching the atmosphere. But soon animal
life began to form as well. And in that life, for which souls had been
queuing up for centuries, instinct turned to true thought. The growth
of millennia was packed into a minute, and the life of a world was
born. And all was well.
But then, the butterfly flapped. When the rumbling began, a great
crashing of rock was dislodged within the Mobius top crust. As the
world continued to reshape itself, the rock fell for a time, tumbling,
sliding, and losing itself in each and every cavernous crevice as the
vast army of it was reduced. The rocks cracked against each other,
crumbling some to so much dust and pebbles, but still they came. Lava
reached out into the main body of it, taking in to itself much of the
rock. But some slipped by, some slipped around, and still more fell. A
cavern opened up beneath the rockslide, and swallowed up the rocks, and
an instant later crushing them forever within its depths. The cavern
had swallowed all of the rock – all but one, merely a pebble, but
traveling by nature of its incalculable speed. Pure chance had kept the
rock alive for this long, but its speed let little stop it now. The
pebble cracked and crushed against the side, barely skimming through
cracks and yawning caverns that tried to divert it from its course. The
pebble vaulted one hurdle after another, until finally… the pebble
reached open air, and plummeted.
The rumbling of the planet continued, giving the animals that had
sprung up on the surface the first tastes of real fear. Then, suddenly,
it stopped. The master emerald, energy spent, had stopped its massive
working. Satisfied with its work, the awareness turned to go back into
itself, to charge for another time. But suddenly, an errant rock, one
that had somehow tumbled all the way from the top crust, struck the
master emerald with a force unknown to reality. The awareness, still
vulnerable after its great workings on the surface, gave a scream that
every living being on Mobius could feel. The spirit writhed inside the
emerald, wracked with pain, but ultimately fell into darkness. A long
crack appeared on its surface, a badge of the event, to be held for all
time. The shimmer went out of the Master Emerald. The glint of it fell
into itself. And the gem went dark, useless as anything except as an
ornament.
A few thousand years later, life had finally shaped itself into
true society. The hundreds of different species of animals had
intermingled, and moved forward in their evolutionary paths, totally
ignorant of the facts that gave them life. They traded, they bantered,
and above all they fought, but they were separated not by their
species, but by their loyalties. Every species was equal, and every
species prospered. Every species but one, a chosen one, one that had
been destined for greatness by their creating stone, but now drifted
aimlessly about the world. The one species on the planet that was
unmercifully alone. The echidnas.
Out of all the species on the now thriving planet, the echidnas
were the only ones left with a broken destiny. Deprived of their
original intent, with the magic gone from their attempts at technology,
and deprived of the power that had been meant buoy their civilization
up, the echidnas did what their warlike nature and cramped island
homeland demanded. The echidnas became mercenaries, selling their
spears to the highest bidder among the warring nations of the early
days. To begin their bloody occupation, they seized the mysterious gems
of power – the chaos emeralds – from a much wiser wielder of their
power. The chaos emeralds were the symbols of the years of the Master
Emerald’s growth. By virtue of that connection, the stones gained
immense power, and were the very energy that held the planet together.
The echidnas used that mystical energy to lift their island above the
sea, and to direct it to where money could be found. The seven chaos
were the true power behind the echidna’s drifting spear. But all power
comes at a cost. From the day of their seizure on, every echidna born
to the tribe was cursed with bad luck. This luck would not strike
always, and it would be quick in its coming. But the curse was always
there, so that the echidnas would forever know the price of true power.
And then came the day. Far in the future of the world of Mobius,
the deal was made secretly, on a day that happened to be a day of
rejoice over the founders of the land. The deal had been made shadily
with one named Julian, a warlord in the palace of Mobotropolis. Julian
had first formed the plan of attack when he had come into secret
contact with the ambassador of the echidna’s island. The ambassador,
perceiving an opportunity in the fat human, had approached him one day
with a deal on his lips. Julian had instantly taken to the idea,
scrapping his already half formed plans of betrayal, and the two
planned together. The brilliant mind of Julian joined together with the
experienced one of the echidna to plan their treachery in secret.
Finally, the day arrived where the echidnas were to attack, and
Julian was to betray his fellows. The attack was swift and without
error. The animals in rejoice in the main square were completely taken
unawares. The ruthless echidnas killed many and enslaved a few, but
left only the women and children to flee from the main celebration. In
hours the whole of the city was evacuated to the hidden village of
Knothole, and the echidnas were left alone with Julian, victorious.
The echidna chief, satisfied that the job was done, requested
their payment for their service rendered. But Julian, seeing with his
devious mind the best way to profit, demanded that the echidnas go and
destroy the remnants of the fleeing forces. The echidnas didn’t take
kindly to the alteration of terms, and had begun to mass for an attack
on Julian’s meager force when the traitor fled.
As luck would have it, a few fleeing militant animals had come
upon the echidna’s drifting island home, where only a few sentries had
been left behind to keep watch. The animals, seeking revenge on their
tormentors, took up their swords and attacked the sentries, battling
the echidnas in a fairly sizable clash. Meanwhile, Julian had arrived
at that same place. Sneaking past the battle and seizing the
opportunity, Julian entered the sacred shrine of the seven chaos and
took the emeralds from their pedestals. Immediately, the island started
to tremble, and Julian fled. In his haste, Julian discharged the
collective good luck of the echidna tribe by dropping one, the gray
emerald. The disgraced priests of the shrine immediately replaced the
emerald, and stabilized the island for a short while.
Meanwhile, having defeated Julian’s forces and finding him gone,
the echidna chief drew the obvious conclusion and rushed to the aid of
their island. On the way, they encountered the twice-treacherous
Julian, who was thoroughly lost in the woods, holding the chaos
emeralds. A deep, boiling anger stole over the echidna’s chief, and at
once, before his enraged warriors could attack the stricken Julian, he
invoked the power of the chaos emeralds, thinking to destroy the evil
human once and for all. Yet the invocation backfired, and instead of
sending Julian hurtling into a dimension of chaos, it sent the chaos
emeralds scattering out across every dimension in all directions, and
were lost to the echidnas quite thoroughly.
The moment that the echidnas spent struck dumb was long enough
for Julian to escape them totally. Shaken out of their reverie and
about to pursue, the echidnas felt a second set of rumblings, and went
scurrying back to their island, disheartened, and cursing their bad
luck. The echidnas barely had time to cross the border back onto their
land when the island pushed off, unguided and adrift across the sea.
Julian found himself in a city devoid of life, and rich with
resources. The crafty traitor set to building himself an army of robots
with which to crush the rest of the Mobians, and to set up an empire.
He renamed the city Robotropolis, and set to ruling the countryside
with an iron fist, under his new name. The name of Robotnik.
But Robotnik was not totally without resistance. Though most of
the fighting men, even the king of the land, had been killed or
captured in the attack, there were still a few extraordinary youths
that remained free. These youths, formerly a group joined only by
friendship, saw a chance to resist Robotnik to the best of their
ability. The group consisted of a orphaned two-tailed fox, a young
walrus mechanic, a sword-wielding coyote, the squirrel princess of the
land, and a blue hedgehog. These courageous youths are fighting even
today. Though young, the oldest being an early 14 and the youngest
barely 9, these kids have been a considerable stumbling block to
Robotnik. So much so that at every chance, he tries to eliminate them,
with his unmatched cunning and guile. So far he has been unsuccessful,
and the group fights on. This group has come to be known as the freedom
fighters of Knothole. And this is their story.
(
geocities.com/televisioncity/satellite/6616/sonic) (
geocities.com/televisioncity/satellite/6616) (
geocities.com/televisioncity/satellite) (
geocities.com/televisioncity)