*If you are a Sonic The Hedgehog fan (or if you just want to challenge yourself), skip this whole part and go to the "Prologue!" If not, continue below...
_______________________________

This is the Reader's Manual! Yes, I appropriately named it so, as this a video game-influenced book, I decided to put a pun on the "Gamer's Manual" that comes with every video game!

I'm well aware that the Sonic fanbase isn't as prominent here on Wattpad as it is in other parts of the Internet, so in order to stay in touch with what's going on, I'm gonna give you a few pointers to remember while reading. Here's what you need to know before getting into this book- or even the prologue!

1. What's on the cover? Those are known as Chaos Emeralds. Seven mystical gems that will be playing as an important motif throughout the book. There is also a Master Emerald, a much larger gem used to counteract the power of the Chaos Emeralds (if necessary). It resides on a floating island, known as Angel Island. It is guarded by the last existing Guardian of his clan: Knuckles the Echidna.

~Go ahead, you know want to fist bump him. 😆

And here are all of these beauties together:

2. Fighting Techniques:

Many people (especially non-fans) know Sonic as "that blue thing that runs really fast." Well, you're right, but running isn't the only thing he can do! I've scavenged the Internet to find videos that will properly display what this 3'3" character can do! However, everything I found was either really good, but could spoil my book (sorta), or was good, but created using sprites (those things 👇):

And that can be uneasy for you and not very descriptive...I know it is for me sometimes, and I've been seeing these things for years! You see what HD does to ya? 😂 

Anyway, here are the common moves that you'll read about:

-Spin Dash: Sonic balls up and spins forward on the ground to hit people with.

-Homing Attack: A move that I believe defies physics! Think of that Spin Dash, and imagine it going through the air. As the name implies, rather than the Spin Dash, the Homing Attack has a set target- and Sonic will not unball until his target has been hit (so he follows you)...

Basically, Sonic's pure speed allows him to literally "roll through the air?"

Some things are better to think about without the science 😂.

In fact, most Sonic characters can do Spin Dashes and Homing Attacks. But Sonic was the one who created and perfected it. Everyone else just added them to their arsenal, as many other characters do have their own tricks and techniques that make them unique! Take our "lovely" friend Shadow here, prefers to get his hands dirty:

Uh-huh. I can already see who's gonna be your favorite character 😂.

Sonic however, is clearly speed based.
In combination with his little tricks, Sonic also is capable of regular hand-to-hand combat, and because of his natural flexibility (derived from his breakdancing skills):

Mmhm, you just saw that! And because of this, it'll usually seem like he's a martial artist (by practice, he most certainly isn't).

Now, you already saw one combat video, but really, Sonic's typical combat is actually much more fast paced than that! Exhibit A and B:

Again, I'd really rather provide that full video, but it contains a spoiler...
Did you catch all that though? Haha.

Or, in better definition, how about...:

https://youtu.be/yNK-zBscUUk

Alright, from this "manual" or better say, guide, that's all you really need to know for the start! Enjoy the ride!