Author's note: This is a remake of the original, "I Want My Big Brother, Sonic." This story is being revised purely due to the fact that it wasn't going in the right direction. Not only that but the grammar, sentence structure, and the general look of the story was not that good. Just as the original, this story is a continuation of "When You Have to Protect a Little Brother."

Me: As always, I hope you guys enjoy this story and leave behind a lot of reviews on what you think about the outlook of the new story! Now, que the story!

SB Prologue: A Plan is Set in Motion

"Sitting there on his throne, Dark Oak tried to figure out a way in order to end this war between him and the animals. Lest he found himself in the midst of another long, hard war."

A large steel door slid upwards in an unoccupied room, unveiling the menacing figure standing firmly in the dimly-lit hallway. The form took a step forward into the fluorescent room, and the bright lights bounced off of a shiny body exposing the lanky frame of the Metreax leader, Dark Oak. He strode confidently into his command center, his armored feet tapping loudly against the metallic floor below. The large door behind him softly slid shut as he headed towards his throne-like chair, the twin capes on his shoulders billowing out behind him. He planted himself firmly in his vast chair and powered on the gigantic monitors that hung above him. He waited for the screen to turn on, one hand situated above his hi-tech keyboard while the other rested on his chin.

As he bided his time, Dark Oak took a moment to inspect the glossy surface of his sharp, thin claws, eyeing his own armored reflection peering up at him. He continued his small examination until his gaze fell upon a large blotch of red that stained its usual silver exterior.

It was an unfortunate leftover residue from his encounter with the hedgehog.

Dark Oak examined his other claw, unsurprised to find it in a similar condition.

It was always rare for him to get his hands dirty.

Despite being the leader of a vast army, Dark Oak liked to work in the shadows, letting his commanders take over small sections of his soldiers, and only butting in when he saw fit. For the most part, he likened himself to that of a puppeteer; pulling the strings of his little puppets in whatever direction he wanted. After all, most of his soldiers were expendable; extremely easy to replace with another obedient, empty-minded soldier, so why get involved?

But, this time, he saw his involvement as a necessity.

His pawns were mindless and easy to control, yet they were also very impulsive. The same goes for his commanders, who liked to do things their own way and twist his orders. What he needed was someone who could follow his orders accurately, and who could do it quietly. Unfortunately, that meant that it was up to him.

It was supposed to be a simple plan.

Dark Oak had come up with the idea after several battles with the animals. One pattern he always noticed that the hedgehog and his friends liked to follow was that of friendship. If one of the animals were hurt in any sort of way - may it be physical or emotional - the other animals would respond accordingly. So, he decided to test the limits of this particular pattern by choosing a victim he could easily utilize. Who could he take out, and still succeed in throwing off the balance of the animals' little team?

He immediately settled upon the two-tailed fox.

He was the perfect target; he was the captain of their little ragtag team, and he helped to come up with most of their strategies. If Dark Oak targeted him and managed to at least put him out of commission, then the animals would slowly unwind from the inside. Then, he would move in with the rest of the Metarex when they were picking up the pieces.

Especially that hedgehog.

By taking down the one that the naive blue hedgehog viewed as a brother, Dark Oak knew he could easily push the hedgehog off the edge. Overwrought with grief and anger, the hedgehog would then become reckless. From his viewings of the recorded tapes of the hedgehog's encounter with one of his most observant and clever commanders - although that wasn't saying much - Dark Narcissus, he could easily see how quickly the hedgehog's joking tune changed once he saw his friends in trouble; how quick he was to lose all semblance of control. If Dark Oak achieved his goal, then Sonic would be the first to go blind with rage, inadvertently tugging his friends down with him.

Well, that was the original plan, anyway.

Dark Oak sighed in annoyance, placing his chin delicately in his palm. His eyes fell upon the faint red spots on his claws once again, and he silently flexed them. The color refused to vanish from his hands no matter how much he cleaned them; he assumed they would eventually fade away on their own.

He injured the hedgehog.

It wasn't intentional; he was aiming for the two-tailed fox. Somehow, the hedgehog managed to find a way to wiggle himself in between them at the absolute last second, and instead of the fox's blood being spilled, he struck the hedgehog. He doubted the injury would truly inhibit the hedgehog in any way, though. He'd seen the hedgehog fall from outer space and onto the surface of his pathetic planet after their first initial battle, and yet, here the hedgehog was still being a constant pain in his side. There was no question on whether he'd see the hedgehog very soon.

Dark Oak stared up at the loading bar on the screen overhead, noting that it was half full. He tapped a clawed finger against his control panel, impatient.

The small operation on the animals had been his only shot.

By now, the hedgehog and his friends would most likely have discovered the weakness in the integrity of their ship. They'd easily find whatever small crack in their security system that he'd managed to take advantage of, and it wouldn't be long before they fixed it and improved it. To make matters worse, the animals would also be on their guard, making it near impossible for Dark Oak to make another attempt on the fox's life.

He needed another plan.

The animals were annoyingly resilient; no matter what Dark Oak threw at them, they continued to bounce back. Most would cower under the might and ferocity of the Metarex, as the humans they had spent years fighting did in order to save their pathetic hinds. But, these creatures were unrelenting, and each battle against them barely ended with a narrow victory for his army. If he didn't come up with another plan to destroy the animals, then he feared he would end up in another stalemate; one that would take several years to end.

Something had to be done.

The computer pinged loudly in the silence of the room, and Dark Oak immediately straightened up in his chair in response to the sound. His long hands stretched out to the keyboard, and he was pleased to find that his computer had finally booted up. He swiftly typed in his personal password and, once the computer accepted it, he clicked on his files.

And maybe, he'd found something that could help.

Dark Oak scoured alongside the control panel with his right hand until he found a small compartment. He dug his fingers in, and he pulled out the end of a thin USB cord. Dark Oak leaned his head to the side and plugged it into the slot in his head, the USB easily sliding in. Instantly, his memory banks appeared onto the monitor, and Dark Oak wasted no time searching through them. Quickly, he came upon what he was searching for.

It was a video file.

Dark Oak clicked on the file, and the computer processed the request. Soon, the video popped up on the monitor and started up after a few seconds. The video was recorded from his perspective - through his literal eyes - and Dark Oak leaned back in his seat to watch it

He slipped into the area where they kept their few ships, the large maw of their bay door closing behind him. The lights in this part of the ship were currently off, shrouding everything in darkness, but he simply rectified the problem by engaging his built-in night vision. His vision immediately lit up in varying degrees of green, and he looked for the way out of the room -

Dark Oak's finger pressed firmly against a button on his keyboard and the video paused, the vision of his past self focused on the doorway heading out of the ship bay. He already knew how he got onto the ship, and how he managed to draw out the fox from whatever hole he slept in.

But, that wasn't what he was looking for.

He scrubbed through the contents of the video, searching for that particular scene that stuck out to him. Blurred images flashed before his eyes, a mixture of different muddled colors until the two-tailed fox materialized onto the screen. At this instance, Dark Oak slowed his examination to a snail's pace before he settled upon what he assumed to be the perfect frame.

The orange-colored two-tailed fox hung stiffly in the air, his body pressed against the gray metallic wall behind him. His bright blue eyes were wide with something akin to fear, and his small hands worked feverishly to try and separate the hand at his throat. Dark Oak kept his fingers tightly fastened around the fox's thin, scrawny neck, ignoring the fox's weak attempts at escaping. The fox's mouth opened in a soundless gasp-

Dark Oak quickly muted the audio, cutting off whatever slipped through the fox's trembling lips. He had no intention of listening to his small conversation with the two-tailed child. From what he could recall, there were no particular words that were exchanged between them that Dark Oak found to be of interest.

- and his blue eyes seemed to grow ever wider. A black shadow appeared over the fox's terrified face, and Dark Oak's claws loomed dangerously close. His sharp claws flew towards the trembling fox still locked in his grip, and the fox closed his eyes in preparation for the final strike. Mere seconds before his hand collided with the fox's body, a familiar blue blur appeared between them. Dark Oak's hand descended upon the blur before he could stop himself, and suddenly bright red blood was flying through the air. The blue blur materialized and solidified into a visible shape, then, before Dark Oak knew it, Sonic stood firmly before him. The hedgehog's arms were open wide, shielding the horrified fox behind him. Five angry, red claw marks were slashed across Sonic's chest, and blood dripped down onto the floor below. Despite this, the hedgehog glared up at Dark Oak, his pupils non-existent and his eyes glowing a brilliant white. Then, all-too-quickly, Sonic collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

The video came to an abrupt halt with another well-timed push of a button, the blue hedgehog's unconscious, bleeding body, and the orange fox's terrified expression frozen on the screen. Dark Oak silently reclined into his large throne, a clawed hand lightly caressing the edge of his chin. With his other hand, he rewound the contents of the video, watching the hedgehog's limp body seemingly raise itself from the ground like that of a zombie, and back into the firm stance before Dark Oak. Then, he stopped, staring at the hedgehog's features.

There.

Sonic's eyes glowed a blinding shade of white as he glared fiercely at Dark Oak, his normal green irises nowhere in sight. His fur seemed to have been dyed a navy blue color, making his usual blue-and-peach color combo practically non-existent, and a dark aura clung closely to Sonic's body.

He'd - he'd seen something like this before.

Dark Oak shoved the image of Sonic's sudden transformation - if he could truly call it that - to the adjoining monitor on the right, and he began his frantic search. He closed out of his internal memory banks, and he looked through the computer's database for his personal video feeds of his ship. He then scrolled through each of the videos, relieved that he had the foresight to label each of the videos.

When the ship was first built, Dark Oak installed several security cameras in and around the vessel. He wanted to ensure that no one would be able to do anything without him knowing about it. Whether it be feeble enemies that thought they could sneak up on the ship, or the various activities of his minions, specifically his commanders.

He finally settled upon a video feed from a few months ago, and he clicked on it. The video stretched across the entirety of the screen, and Dark Oak waited for the video to load. Eventually, he found himself glowering at the tall form of his most strategic commander, Black Narcissus. The Metarex commander lounged in an elegant throne - one that Dark Oak was displeased to find reminded him of his own - peering heavily down at a familiar blue hedgehog.

Black Narcissus had taken matters into his very own hands, and he invited the hedgehog and two of his oblivious little friends onto the ship. The commander had been fascinated with the hedgehog's abilities - specifically his unusual speed and its origins - and he concocted a detailed plan in order to draw the hedgehog in long enough to test him. It involved tricking one of the hedgehog's friends - the plant girl, Dark Oak noted, distastefully - into coming onto the ship of their own free will and keeping them hostage until the hedgehog arrived to save them. Black Narcissus never really conveyed the plan to Dark Oak himself; he only expressed his extreme interest in finding what made the hedgehog tick. But, then again, Dark Oak assumed that Black Narcissus knew that he'd been watching his every move. So, he watched as the hedgehog surpassed Black Narcissus's expectations and nearly destroyed the commander himself before Dr. Eggman stopped him.

Dark Oak had already watched the video all the way through several times, absorbing each and every single bit of information that the video offered. He'd used Black Narcissus's definite failure as a way to learn more about the hedgehog. He focused intently on the general mannerism of the hedgehog. But, there wasn't much that Dark Oak didn't already know about the hedgehog.

He was annoyingly confident; he spoke and acted with complete confidence, and he never allowed an ounce of negative emotion show on his face.

Black Narcissus eyed the hedgehog standing several feet away, his long fingers tapping against the metal handle of his throne. "You're not at all what I expected. I didn't think you'd be so scrawny. It's hard to believe that you're a great fighter."

Sonic scoffed, a smirk pulling at the edge of his lips. "Well, maybe later I can prove to you how tough I am-"

His friends were his strongest weakness; he would very well sacrifice his own body in order to ensure their safety.

The plant girl cried from within her impenetrable dome-like prison, tears beading at the corner of her eyes. In her small arms, she clung to an unconscious young human boy dressed in an orange spacesuit. "Sonic! Save yourself!"

Sonic's eyes widened, and he rushed forward towards the dome. He slid to his knees and placed his hands against the glass, concern written on his face. "Cosmo! Chris!"

Then, all too suddenly, the platform that the dome was located on began to lower, and Cosmo's frightened expression and Chris's unresponsive body soon disappeared from view. Sonic's hands remained on the dome until it disappeared and, then, he was left crouching on the floor.

Then, something changed.

Sonic remained kneeling on the ground, his fists clenched tightly. "I've never seen Cosmo look so scared..." He muttered, his voice shaking with hidden rage.

"She should be," Black Narcissus stated, nonchalantly, pressing a button upon his throne.

Unbeknownst to the Metarex commander, the hedgehog seemed to curl into himself more at his words, and the fur on Sonic's back soon began to turn a darker shade of blue. "Chris... was passed out..." Sonic's body trembled. "What did you do to him?"

Black Narcissus gave a short laugh. "He attempted to escape, and was taught a painful lesson."

Suddenly, two Metarex burst into the room, standing in between Sonic and Black Narcissus. One Metarex was a brilliant shade of gold, and the other was a shiny silver color.

"It is time for the experiment. These two Metarex were designed by me especially for this occasion." The Metarex commander boasted, gesturing towards the two obedient Metarex. "Gold will test your strength, and Silver your speed. I've based my Metarex designs on data that was collected during previous battles against you. I'm eager to see if they're powerful enough to defeat you."

Sonic finally lifted his head, and he stared at Black Narcissus. A wicked smile decorated his features, and his eyes - usually a dark shade of green - were pale, as if the color had been leeched from it. "Alright, then." He chuckled, darkly, his voice deeper. "Let's test 'em out them out!"

Then, he disappeared.

The Metarex, Silver, suddenly stumbles to the side, several dents appearing on his armored body. An unseen blow to Silver's torso caves his chest in, and he falls to the ground in dozens of unfixable pieces. Gold stumbled back from the sight of his demolished companion, searching the surrounding area for the culprit.

However, his efforts were in vain.

Just like Silver, large indentations appeared upon his golden body, throwing him side-to-side. One last hit - this time, directed to the Metarex's forehead - tore his body in half like a piece of paper. Mini explosions littered the area from the Metarex's fallen bodies, creating a thick screen of grey smoke. Through the film of smoke, Sonic stood victorious, his arms in glory. His body seemed to be swallowed up by darkness; his fur was black like tar and his eyes - which lacked his green irises - were a blinding white.

Sonic grinned, widely, a mirthful laugh slipping out from between his lips. "Looks like you'll have to go back to the drawing board!"

Dark Oak quickly stopped the video here, and he leaned back into his throne to consider the two images on the main monitors. Both showed pictures of the hedgehog changing - transforming - into something. What that specific something was, well, Dark Oak was still uncertain.

But, he did know that the hedgehog seemed unaware of his transformation.

In each video, the hedgehog's body slowly shifted and altered itself, his negative emotions swelling and enveloping into something that he's unable to control. Then, during the hedgehog's confrontation with Black Narcissus, the hedgehog nearly unleashed whatever power he uncovered until Dr. Eggman rushed in and reined him in. Dark Oak remembered the look of horror, shock, shame that crossed the hedgehog's face, melting the anger and the rest of the transformation away. Then, the hedgehog simply stood there - fur fading back into that familiar shade of blue - while the doctor lectured him.

This was...

Dark Oak knew of Sonic's golden transformation - the supposed Super Sonic. The bright, sunny form that seeped into the hedgehog's body, and made him difficult to defeat. He saw the hedgehog's friends when he transformed; he saw the hope that entered their faces, their undying faith etched into their wide, innocent eyes. However, this new transformation wasn't that. It wasn't golden, or pretty, or pure. It was the exact opposite. It was dark; murky; almost evil.

Interesting.

Dark Oak chuckled, tapping a long finger against the handle of his throne.

He could use this.

The hedgehog wasn't one-sided; he not only had a good side but a bad one, too. Such a bad one that he was blissfully unaware he struggling against it. But, what if Dark Oak gave him a little push? What would happen, then?

But, he needed more information, first.

He only had a couple of months' worth of data on the hedgehog. What he needed was more than that to truly understand what he was going up against.

Dark Oak closed the two videos and searched through his computer, his fingers tapping gleefully against the keyboard.

He needed someone who knew a lot about the hedgehog.

The Metarex leader pressed a button and the screen lit up in response. He quietly tapped his fingertips together, and he waited for his request to be fulfilled. Eventually, the screen changed and a familiar face popped up, their face displaying shock. Their expression soon shifted, and the corner of their lips pulled upwards into a kind smile. Although, Dark Oak was well aware that the smile was merely a facade.

"Ah, Dark Oak," they greeted, sweetly. "How can I help you?"

Dark Oak leaned forward in his chair, the light from the screen bouncing off of his head. "We need to talk."

Me: Well, there's your teaser.

Sonic: Yep. We hope you guys enjoyed it. Next time, we'll get to the real story.