Rain sleets down in a heavy downpour. Thunder roars and lightning arcs across the sky, crackling with energy. The leaves of the trees swirl and thrash with the harsh howling wind in contrast with the immobile mountain in their midst. Though the mountain seems solid, it conceals a large network of caves from the storm. In one of such caves, a short creature stands in a window, watching the storm. The silhouette shows only thin arms and legs, a trim body, and a distinguishingly large head with five points radiating out like a bent star. Two gentle blue eyes gleam into the darkness.

A flash of lightning illuminates the shadow's face, revealing it to be a kind, motherly one. The woman is a hedgehog, and her eyes show concern. She pushes the curtains together, turning back around to her frightened children. Three pairs of wide eyes blink up at her, each one wondering what she'll say.

For a moment all the mother can do is stare. Her three beautiful children huddle together, the two younger ones nestling in the embrace of the eldest one, the third in the middle. On the leftmost side is little Black, a runt of a hedgehog, with fur that always appears as though he stuck his finger in a socket. In the fire-lit room, he looks like a patch of the night sky fell from its lofty perch to live on Earth. Even his wide irises are solid black. He trembles as he clings to his older brother-being only four, fierce storms both frighten and amaze him.

On the far right is Black's polar opposite, his twin sister White, with hair that seems to defy gravity. White stripes--her namesake--are woven together into her black fur in one large mass curving upward from her head. Her irises are white, with a slight grayish tint to them. Despite her fear, she smiles as if defying the storm's terror.

In the middle, with a serious expression on his face, sits Shadow. Despite being only five, nothing frightens him save for storms. His piercing, fiery red eyes are unreadable and calm, full of depth and power. He has six stripes on his head and six spines to match. The stripes all run along the top of his spines, and the topmost spine's stripe runs from his forehead to the very tip of the spine. There are two triangular markings that run from the top of his eyes to the base of his ears. His head is very large, as are his eyes. He has unusually sharp canines (for a hedgehog), and a long nose. Shadow is a very pristine little hedgehog, with a brilliantly bright white plume of 'chest fuzz' (as he calls it) marking a pure soul in his black body. From his neck, and in the middle of his chest fuzz, dangles a pendant bearing five wolves-a blue one, a red one, a black one, a white one, and one with a pelt of stars.

The woman shakes her head, clearing her thoughts. "Don't worry," she sweeps her children into her arms, hugging them to her yellow tank top, "the storm will pass soon. Then the sun will come out and we'll get to see a rainbow, 'kay?"

"Okay, Momma." Shadow lifts his head, staring his mother in the eye. "I'll keep everyone safe for you, Momma." He smiles sweetly at her.

Touched by her child's dependable nature yet again, the mother smiles, "I know you will." She picks up White and Black, putting them into their bed. Turning back to Shadow, she says sternly, "Now, you make sure they go to sleep and stay asleep, Shadow."

Shadow stands, a determined look on his face. "You can count on me, Momma!" He salutes.

Chuckling, she walks to the room's doorway, pausing to snuff out the fire with a well-aimed blast of water from her palm. "I know, Shadow...I know I can." She closes the door, and her footsteps fade as she walks down the hall.

Another hedgehog sits in a chair in a much larger room, reading a newspaper. His spines look as though they defy gravity. Their tips have little winking fires that sparkle and dance cheerfully. Their colors echo his stripes. Every single member of the family has stripes that run along their spines, and the colors of the stripes match the eyes of the hedgehogs.

The mother steps softly into the large room. "Hey." She murmurs.

The fire-haired hedgehog starts, turning. "Hello. Are they going to sleep?"

She sighs. "Not sure. Shadow's not afraid of the storm, but White and Black sure are."

"Do not worry--Shadow will help them feel safer. How are you?" He folds the newspaper and places it in the seat as he stands.

She sighs again. "Worried as ever. Do you honestly think that...that maybe one of them is...?" The mother swallows.

The firey hedgehog hugs her. "The prophecy states exactly what the warning signs are. You know as well as I do that Shadow shows all of those signs so therefore he must be-"

She pushes him away. "No," she takes a shaky breath, "don't say that, just don't!" She swallows her tears, "I don't want to hear it! My little boy will not be what could make or break the universe. He j-just can't!"

"Soul'Silver..." the flame hedgehog uses her full name, "you know as well as I do that when the time comes he'll be ready."

"But will we be the ones who prepared him, Heart'Gold?" Soul counters with his name.

Heart sighs. "I don't know, Silver. I don't know."

The two stand locked in embrace as thunder fractures the silence of the night.

----------------

I lift my ears from the door. "Coast clear!" I whisper to my younger siblings. The two grin at me, though Black still seems frightened by the storm. Lightning illuminates the room, with an accompanying roar of thunder. Black yips and pulls his sister White close. She yelps, surprised.

"Lemme go!" She whines, wiggling to get out of his grip.

"But I'm scared!" Black cries.

Alarm shoots through me. At this rate, Momma and Daddy will rush in and bust us! "SHHHHH, guys! Do you want to bring them running? SHHHHHHHHHH!" I rush over, leaping onto their bed nimbly. I clap my hands across their mouths--they can't be trusted to be quiet.

White squirms out of Black's grasp and my restraining hand. "Don't touch me!" She hisses, scowling meanly at Black. Black whimpers and a tear rolls down his cheek.
I sigh. "Stop it, both of you--if we wanna stay up we gotta be quiet!" I grumble, pulling out a book and a flashlight.

Black claps quietly. "Story time!" He whispers joyfully.

"Story time." I say keenly, glancing at my two siblings and smirking. Great, I've got their full attention now! I click the flashlight on with a single flip of my thumb and turn to the first page of our book--The Lion King.

Just as I was finishing the first page, a loud thump echoes through the caves. All three of us stop, staring at the door. Lightning tears the room apart and thunder shatters the evening.

"What...what was th-that...?" White now hugs Black close to her.

I step off the bed, putting the book away, and turn the flashlight to the door. My other hand unconsciously runs its fingers across the pendant at my neck.

White and Black glance at each other as I open the door, and when I step silently out into the corridor they slowly ease off the bed. Tiptoeing down the hall, the three of us were forced to muster our courage for every step. We move as one, slinking down the hall. More thumps and crashes, joined by voices now, echo through the caves. Fear creeps into my heart. What's going on...?

I tilt my head and stop for a moment. The voices are really familiar. Squinting, straining, I concentrate. If I could just pick out the voices...
"Wh..do....y..re...!" No...a little more effort...focus on one sound..."You w...et y...hurt...child!" One sound. Just that one voice. "I'll never let you hurt my child! KIAI!"
"Momma!" I drop the flashlight, sprinting toward the voices. White and Black race along behind me.

Rounding a corner in the hallway, I skid to a stop. A terrible scene is unfolding in the living room. Eight unknown beings, the entirety of my family, furniture flying... Terror freezes my legs. Momma is wrestling with the largest of the eight. It has her pinned, and its hands reach for her throat. I stand still, dead to the world, not understanding what is going on. Who--what--are these eight monsters? Why are they here? What's going on?! Flames and water and leaves and all the elements of the world swirl in the air, and one of the monsters falls from the blows. The entirety of my family fights, screeching and shouting. Each sends controlled bursts of power into the great brutes, yet none fall after that first one.

Daddy leaps in front of my view, launching fireballs at the thing that has Momma pinned. He turns to look to his side and spots me. "Shadow, go! Hide!" He cries to me, flinging himself at the nearest beast and roaring a fiery inferno upon his foes.
I continue to stand frozen. White and Black both grab my arms, tugging me back to the bedroom. Dazed, I stumble along, my brain fogged. The two drag me back into our bedroom, and dive under their bed, taking me with them. We huddle together under the bed, trembling with terror.

All I can remember is the look in Daddy's eyes. Brave, and yet, fearful. As if he'd been dreading this day. As if he knew what they were there for...

Footsteps. Heavy footsteps, coming down the hall. Coming to the bedroom...

The door flings open with a mighty thud. Big, loud, booming footsteps that rattle the bed against the stone floor--I grab the pendant around my neck to keep it from clacking against the ground. The footfalls stop in front of the bed, and I stop breathing. White and Black's hearts are both beating fast--I can feel their pulse beside me. A slight creak in the bedspread above me... a slight crunch from another piece of the wood...
As the bed is ripped up into the sky, a scream flies from my lips. The beast snarls in triumph, and as it flings the bed into the sky its huge hands close around me, pressing my favored little ornament into my chest. I screech again, and this time my siblings join.

Terror nearly stops my heart. I begin to scream, a desperate plea for help. "MOMMA!" I scream, "MOMMA HELP ME! MOMMA! MOMMA WHERE ARE YOU?!" The creature, heedless to my cries, carries me out of the room. Frozen, Black and White can do nothing but stare in horror as the monstrous fiend carries me away.

My cries reach Soul'Silver's ears. She turns, her eyes stricken with horror. "Shadow!" Beginning to run towards the noise, she spies the brute holding her eldest child like a cardboard box. "Oh, no, you don't!" Silver screeches, summoning a torrential wave of ocean water. She slams the tsunami into the being, howling with a rage that only comes from a mother in fear for her child's life. The monster staggers, dropping me into the water. I scream, thrashing and struggling to the surface of the wave. The pendant is heavy, pulling my neck down. Just as my head falls below the water, a strong hand grabs my wrist and hauls my little body to the surface. I cough up salty sea water and turn my face to my rescuer; Crystal, eldest of my family, pulls me into his strong, scarred arms, smiling at me. His one cloudy blind eye blinks down at me blankly, and his torn ear flicks playfully.

"Having fun, Scamp?" He says cheerfully as he lifts one hand. Gemstones erupt from the ground underneath another creature's feet, stopping it in its tracks. Smirking, Crystal puts me onto his shoulders and I grab onto his wavy spines.

"Crystal, what's going on?!" I shout over the din of the battle. I am frightened, but being in his company makes me feel a little safer.

"Some people have no sense of privacy--or honor! These beasts have attacked us in the middle of the night, just as we were going to bed. For what reason, I am unsure." Crystal wades through the water, flinging jewels at an enemy in pursuit, and puts me into a little crevice in the rock wall. "Stay here, Shadow. You will be safe here." He turns and sprints back to the battle.

As I sit, terrified out of my wits, with chaos all around me, I cling to his comforting voice echoing in my ears and finger my little pendant. You will be safe here... While the battle rages on, fire and water and bullets flying willy-nilly, a lithe figure slinks through the turmoil. Light feet slip across the stone floor as the stealthy woman ducks to avoid a slash of wind and razor-sharp leaves. She makes for the crevice in the stone where two little red terrified eyes gleam out. Snickering and praising her good luck, she steps up to the niche but another figure leaps into her path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Another woman snarls. Her spines resemble a bent star, the arms of the star curving upwards, and they seem wet. Soul'Silver lifts her hand and a blast of water hammers the stealthy woman upside the head, knocking her a decent few yards backwards.

The stealthy woman picks herself up just in time to get a driving blow from Soulsilver's foot. The sneak flies even farther away with a yelp. Dragging herself from the ground once more, the woman finally responds to Silver's question. "I'm going to kill you all." She snarls, leaping for her opponent.

Soul'Silver dodges nimbly. "I seriously doubt that." She punches the woman in the face so hard that the woman is knocked headfirst into the wall near where I am hiding.
I blink as I get a good look at the lady. She's not a monster at all, but she's nothing I've ever seen before. She has the markings of a raccoon, but her color and ears are foxlike. She has a long tail that is striped like a tiger's, but it's fluffier than that of a tiger. Her eyes are an icy green, and she wears large baggy blue pants that look as though they have seen far better days. Her belt is a rope, and for a shirt she has some sort of strapless bathing suit top. I have never, ever, ever seen anything like her.

She groans and scratches her head, sitting up. My mother towers above her, preparing another downpour of ocean water. The fox-raccoon creature sneers wickedly and her foot lashes out, slamming into Silver's stomach, who yips as she is flung high into the air, flying far away from me. The fox-raccoon lady snarls, "That's what happens when you try to fight Lightpaws and her crew."

She whirls around, her eyes searching for me in the darkness of the cranny. I shrink farther away from her, squeezing my eyes shut and holding my breath. Please don't find me, please don't find me! I pray, but to no avail. Powerful hands close around me, one holding a wad of cloth to my face. I cannot scream around the cloth, and the woman pulls me into her arms. Her smile frightens me; it's cold and unfeeling, devoid of emotion and fake. Terror pulses in my heartbeat. To my horror, the lady takes a deep sniff and cackles. "Scared, little one?"

I whimper and try to struggle out of her grasp, but it's no use. She laughs like a hyena and, with me in her arms, begins to sprint away from the chaos. As she passes the other monsters they cease fighting and run with her. The entirety of my family follows them, screaming my name. I manage to pull my face away from the handkerchief and I scream back.

"MOMMA! MOMMA HELP!" I cry, over and over. Looking back over the evil woman's shoulder, I spot my mother at the front of the group.

"Shadow! Shadow!" She screeches.

"MOMMA!" I shriek as the raccoon-fox lady leaps out of the front entrance, through an opening in an awaiting plane. She stuffs me into a clear tube with a door of mesh grating, locking it behind me.

Turning back to her comrades, who seemed to be waiting further instructions, she barks, "Fly this ship back to base. You--FallowFang-" She points to a cat made entirely of shiny metal plates with luminescent green eyes, "make the kid shut up."

I cower, instinctively pulling away from the metal beast, and begin to scream again. "MOMMA! MOMMA WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sobbing now, so terrified that I felt I might puke, I burst into hysterics.

To my surprise, FallowFang says nothing to me, and merely sits like a sphinx at the mesh end of my cage. Something about FallowFang tells me that she's uneasy, but I'm too torn up by everything that had happened. Dazed, in shock, I try to convince myself that this was but a nightmare, holding my treasured pendant in a vice-like grip, hiding it from view. I punch myself until my skin turns red and yet I can't wake up from this horrid dream. As the ship shakes beneath me, ascending into the sky, I weep and cry for my mother, yet she does not come...

----------------

"Do you have him?" A scratchy voice bellows over the radio.

"Yes, Master. The mission was successful. We only lost two of our own." The raccoon-fox's brown paws fiddle with the speaker-box as she speaks.

"You only lost two?! You consider this good news to my ears, Lightpaws?!" The harsh voice cries, astonished. "That's two of my best that will not be teaching him!"

"I know, Master. Nothing could be done. To be honest, Master, I was pleased because I had anticipated more casualties, not less."

"So, you mean to say that our midnight surprise-attack strategy worked? And worked well?" The voice seems surprised.

"Naturally, Master. Such a brilliant mind as yours no doubt comes up with most brilliant plans--why would anyone doubt this one?" Lightpaws switches the ship to Autopilot.

"Good. Make sure to leave a detailed report on my desk--I need the appearances of all the members as well as their powers. Robotnik out." With a crackle of static, the transmission ended.

Lightpaws turns around, addressing her gathered troops (all four of them). "You hear that, fellas? Details. Remember that the boss loves his details."

A robotic bird with razorblades for wings steps forward, its foot-long talons scraping the floor. Glowing blue eyes flashing, it crows, "I'll make sure to use plenty of descriptive words."

Another robot, a lithe being with a sharp mask and a spear, snorts and mumbles to FallowFang, "Brown-nose," just loud enough for all to hear. The bird whirls around, snarling, as FallowFang suppresses a snicker.

Lightpaws, sensing a fight, leaps between the two. "N.O. No fighting onboard. Do you want to fall out of the sky? I hope not. Now, FallowFang, why is the little brat still wailing?" She sticks her face up against the glass, examining the little hedgehog within.

Tears and snot stream down my face. I stare at Lightpaws with abject terror, fearing what she plans to do to me. Trembling uncontrollably, I shrink back, whimpering. Lightpaws sniffs the air again, and a cruel grin spreads across her face. Though I know it to be impossible, I can't help but think that she smells my fear.

Lightpaws snickers, "Oh that was far too easy. Like taking candy," she leers at me, "from a baby. Your parents never stood a chance. Never will," she pauses, pressing her lips to the grate,

"And it'll be twice as easy when we go back to finish the job." Her voice switches to a sickly-sweet tone. "Your parents will be dead by the weekend, darling Shadow." Giggling wickedly, Lightpaws steps back, watching me, gauging my reaction.

Though young, I know better than to give her one. The way that she says my name makes me feel like biting her until she bled, but though rage grips my heart, I give Lightpaws naught but a stony stare. I force myself to swallow my pride, my emotions, and they feel like a black, icy knife wedging its way into my soul.

----------------

Silver stares after the disappearing aircraft, her heart torn in two. Shadow, poor Shadow...he was so...so, so young... She can see his sweet face now, smiling up at her. Her five-year-old son, her eldest, her pride and joy and the light of her life...gone.

No, not gone. Sky can find him. Sky will get him. She clings to the thought that her relative Sky, a perpetually windblown-looking little hedgehog, will fly to the ship and rescue her son. As soon as word is sent back from Sky, Heart'Gold will come and tell me that we have him, and bring my little boy back into my arms.

Soul'Silver takes a deep breath, then another and another until she feels a bit more sane. Though her head is still reeling, her heart pounding and her vision blurry she forces herself to be calm. You must stay strong to find him. You could always rely on him, now he must rely on you. Another deep shaky breath. And another. Just breathe. Breathe. You have to be there for Black and for White. Keep it together!

A gentle, warm hand rests on her shoulder. She turns, looking into the flaming orange eyes of her husband, Heart'Gold. His normally cheerful eyes are filled with sadness. Rain has extinguished his fires and slicked his fur down to his head. She knows from his eyes that his news is not what she needs right now.

Tears fill her eyes as HeartGold speaks. "Sky...was shot down. They'll be fine but that means...that means..." HeartGold couldn't bring himself to say it.

Soul'Silver's bottom lip trembles. "Oh, God..." she says in a quivering voice, "oh, God, Heart what's gonna happen to our little boy?" Trembling and light-headed, she wails tearfully as Heart puts his arms around her.

Crystal steps up, gently pulling Soul away from Heart. His face is serious, and his voice flinty. Only his eyes betray the intense emotions within. "We must stay strong," Crystal swallows, mustering his strength, and continues, "and...though we have to believe that we'll find him...we also need to face the fact that we may not."

Salty tears flow from Soul's eyes. "I'm not ready to accept that. Not yet. We have to keep looking until we find him," she pauses, turning to the rest of the family, "even if it takes forever."

Yellow, with all of his electrified spines sticking out at all angles, walks out of the crowd. "I know how it feels to lose a child. I say to you with all my heart: you have my powers at your service." He lifts a hand, and electricity sparks from every fiber of his being. Several different other members of the family stride forward, offering their service, with their own elements swirling around them.

Indigo, another prestigious member of their family, marches to SoulSilver's side. "It takes a village to raise a child... Now, we shall discover how many it takes to find a child." Cries of assent and purpose rise into the stormy sky. Lightning flashes, and nineteen voices mingle in a single howl, a scream promising revenge, tearing across the sky into Lightpaw's ears.

Her ears flick; gently twisting her head for better clarity, a wicked grin spreads across her face. "Well, well, well... the hunt is on, eh?" Turning to the small masked robot next to her, she barks, "Fleetfoot! Cloak, now!"

The little machine nods, twirling around and leaping across the ship. It kicks a button on the wall and the lights in the ship turn cool blue. The normal roar of the engine dulls to a rattling murmur as the ship slows. I gasp, glancing around, baffled by this sudden change.

FallowFang turns an armored head towards me. "Cloaking mechanism." She explains gently, "By slowing down our ship, we can create an illusion of our surroundings and make our ship invisible." Clearly not expecting a response, she turns back to the wall.

The ship barrels on through the sky, leaving twin trails of fire and smoke behind it. The six passengers remain silent, five thinking of promotions and rewards, and one fearing what the future held for him...

----------------

That moment...that moment was the moment when my life changed forever. Some say for the worse. But I...? I say for the better. I would never be who I am today if this hadn't happened. I might be happier...but I would not be the same. My life from that day, it is a sad tale. However, it is not a tale that I regret. Much has happened--much to be proud of, much to remember...yet much to mourn.

Do not despair. This is not the end of my story--not yet.

We are just getting started.