The sounds of drilling invaded the peaceful morning of the forest. Dr Eggman, in his Eggmobile, was with his Drill-Bot in a small clearing in the forest, digging deeper and deeper with every second they stay there. In the shadows was a pair of bright, large emerald eyes; staring, spying on the mad scientist. With them was a pair of small blue eyes, doing the same thing.
"Sonic, what are we going to do about him?" The owner of those bright blue eyes asked, peeking over at the emerald eyes' owner.
"We take him down, of course!" The emerald eyes' owner answered, giving a thumbs up and a wink. "Besides, it's hurting my ears." Sensitive hearing issues, again.
The blue eyes merely rolled themselves and the owner of the emerald ones jumped out from the shadows of the bush. The owner revealed himself as a hedgehog no older than eighteen; he had a beautiful blue hue for his fur and spikes and bright red sneakers. And his name was Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Good morning, Eggman!" Sonic yelled out over the top of the loud drilling. The doctor turned around at the sudden calling of his name.
"Oh, Sonic! I didn't know you'd be here this morning!" Eggman yelled back as the drill went deeper. Sonic was too smart for this trick.
"Eggman, I just heard that you looking for something. Mind telling me?"
The doctor chuckled. He knew the blue hedgehog's tricks just as good as well.
"You think I'll just tell you? Fat chance!"
"Oh? 'Cause I think that chance would be better off with you, considering you are already very fat."
Rage boiled through Eggman's veins. His face went from a regular peachy colour to a dark angered red. Sonic definitely made him mad, but that's what he does best.
"That does it! Robots, attack!"

Motobugs came in from all sides and proceeded to surround Sonic, but the blue hero had backup. The owner of the blue eyes leapt out, revealing a young, yellow, twin-tailed fox. And his name was Miles Prower, but his friends call him "Tails". The young fox lands himself back-to-back with his best friend.
"Ready, Tails?"
"Ready when you are, Sonic!"
The two best friends battled the swarming robots; Sonic spin-dashing into them as Tails used his trusty clamp which he always carried around. Robot parts were flying in all directions and it wasn't long before the last one blew up. Sonic, having his huge ego, looked up and winked at the maddened doctor. Eggman was bound to press the self destruct button for all his robots so he could blow the blue hero to the skies, but he was sent flying away by a spin-dash before he even had the chance.
"This isn't over, Sonic!"
"See ya next time, Eggman!" Sonic called out, giving the departing doctor an informal salute. Once he was certain that the doctor was far, he gave Tails their deserved fist bump for the morning.

A bright blue glow caught the attention of the cobalt hero. Turning around, he saw very clearly what was going on. The bright glow was coming from under the rubble of the now destroyed Drill-Bot. Sonic quickly rushed over to see for himself what it was; maybe it's the blue Chaos Emerald, but who knows?
Digging through piles of scrap metal and dirt, Sonic finally saw what it was: a blue pendant in the shape of a lightning bolt. Taking it into his hands, Sonic felt a rush of power passing through his body, but it was nothing like the Chaos Emeralds which he once had used. No, this was something else entirely. A flash of blue zapped through his emerald pupils as he stared into the blue metal bolt of lightning.

A muffled voice called out to the blue hero, bringing him back into reality.
"Sonic?" Tails' voice called out, snapping Sonic awake from his trance. The cobalt hedgehog looked down at the pendant in his hands once more, feeling it slowly dragging him away from the real world once more.
"Sonic, you're spacing out again." Tails said, tapping his friend on the shoulder. "Look at me."

Sonic shook his head, shaking away the effects the pendant had on him. After shaking it all away, he turned his attention to Tails.
"Know what this is, buddy?" He asked, showing the young fox the strange piece of jewellery. Tails merely shrugged.
"Beats me," he said, "but I can take it back to the workshop to figure it out."
Sonic nodded and handed his best friend the lightning-shaped pendant. As soon as the metal jewellery fell into the young fox's hands, he went into a trance; his eyes went into a slit, like a hunting feline. This worried the blue hero, who waved his hand in front of his little buddy in hopes of catching his attention. Tails came back into reality when he broke eye-contact with the jewellery.
"Hey, buddy. What was that?" Sonic asked.
"I...don't know..." Tails answered, confused and hesitantly. They both went into a trance, but why? What was this thing?
"I'll need a lot of time, Sonic." Tails finally spoke, heading out of the forest and back to his workshop, leaving Sonic to his thoughts.

~•~

"Have you figured something out?" Sonic asked, opening the door to his best friend's workshop. As soon as the door swung open, a smell of burnt metal and wood flooded his senses. Same as ever, this old workshop.
"I think I did." Tails answered, coming out from the back of the shop. "You see, I did some research online, in the local library as well, and I think I have an answer to what this is."
Now Tails has gotten Sonic's attention. The blue hedgehog nodded, his curiosity getting the best of him, not that it's a bad thing.
"This is one of the four 'Pendants of Chaos', an ancient relic from almost four thousand years ago; created by the said creature for his four protectors."
"You mean, from that legend?"
"Yes, precisely! The Protectors of Chaos, each wielding a pendant containing one of each of Chaos' powers."

As a kid, Sonic had always believed that the legend of the water creature that goes by the name of Chaos was real, that the creature was awaiting for its new protectors. This pendant just proves his childhood beliefs.
"So...you're saying that the legend is true?" He asked, breathless, pointing at the small piece of jewellery.
"I guess so." The young fox replied, handing him the blue pendant. Once again, Sonic went back into a trance, but this time it felt somewhat right. It felt as if he was connected with the pendant, somehow. Not to mention how much power he could feel surging through him. If this artefact falls into the wrong hands, it would mean devastation.

"Tails," said Sonic, handing his little buddy the pendant, "I'm gonna need you to keep it safe for now. It feels too dangerous for anyone to hold."
Tails blinked in what Sonic could only describe as confusion, but he could've sworn he saw a hint of evil in those blue eyes of his.
"Alrighty then," he answered, "I'll keep it safe."
As Tails disappeared into the back of his workshop, a devilish smirk spread across his face; his once cheerful and virtuous eyes now went into a single slit, just like what you would see in the eyes of an insane fox.
"You're mine now...all mine..." He said in barely a whisper, his voice raspy and dark. He was now under the control of the pendant, and this is just the beginning.

~•~

The moon was high in the black night sky, casting its silver light over the peaceful village. Sonic was in deep sleep, all curled up warmly under his soft blanket, not even noticing a tiny creak from his bedroom window. Tails slipped in through the window, holding the pendant in one hand and the other; a knife. Slowly he made his way to Sonic, not daring to make a sound so the cobalt hero wouldn't wake. Sonic didn't have any ideas of what was happening, he was too deep in the dream realm to wake. But if he didn't soon, he would never open his eyes again. Tails held the knife high, ready to bring it down and spill blood. But luckily the moonlight shone brighter into the room which caused the sleeping hedgehog to wake. Seeing the reflected light from the steel weapon, Sonic instantly knocked his attacker aside, only to be shocked by who it was.

"Tails?" He asked, getting out of bed. "What are you doing?"
"Anyone who tries to take the pendant away from me...will die!" Tails answered, his voice rasped as he held his weapon tighter. Sonic instantly went flat on the floor when his fox friend threw the knife at him. Lucky for him, it wedged into the wall instead. Tails hissed, preparing himself for a fistfight.
"Tails, buddy!" Sonic shouted. "Snap out of it!"
"You're going to try and take the pendant from me, it won't work! I'll destroy you first!"
"Tails! Listen to yourself!"
The young fox threw a fist at Sonic, who leapt out of the way just in time. As much as he hated this, Sonic roundhouse kicked his little buddy midair. Tails lost his footing, but he did not fall, he swung right back and kicked Sonic in the chest, kicking him down.
"Man, that backfired." Sonic groaned, pushing himself up.

The two best friends faced each other, eyeing each other; though Sonic wasn't as insane as Tails. The young fox had gone completely berserk, this wasn't like him at all. Then it hit him; the pendant. Tails raised his head back and gave a mighty howl, which rattled Sonic to the bone. He held his ears shut as his friend carried on. Due to his sensitive hearing that he was diagnosed with a few years back, Tails' howling was a huge impact on his systems. Even though his mind was slowly shutting down, Sonic pulled himself up and shoved Tails hardly onto the windowsill. The young fox dropped the pendant, dropping it out the window as a mere night-bird carried it away on its back. He had finally come back to his senses.
"Sonic?" Tails asked, completely confused. Sonic had realised the change of tone in his friend's voice, so he let him off the windowsill.
"What happened to you?" Our cobalt hero inquired, gently placing his hand upon his fox friend's shoulder.
"I don't know, but I think it has to do with this." Tails answered, holding up his hand which had held the pendant. When he realised that nothing was there, he began to panic. "Where's the pendant?!"
"Buddy, calm down."
Tails closed his eyes, took in deep breathes, and then he started to explain.

"The pendant, it can mind control people."
"How?"
"I'm not sure. But I do know when I held it, it felt like nothing I've ever felt. Not even like a Chaos Emerald!"
"Same here."
"Yes, that's what it's trying to do! Manipulate us into fighting for it. And now it's out there, waiting to start a new fight."
Sonic looked out the window, up towards the moon, hoping that cursed piece of jewellery wasn't anywhere near his village.

As the moonlight shone over the sleeping village, a blue lightning-shaped pendant dropped into town centre.

To be continued...