Alright, this story is a favor for a friend of mine. He wanted a story based off one of his favorite AU ideas, I'm happy to oblige. If you want to view the base image and inspiration, click here!

www*deviantart*com/hoshinousagi/art/SC-AU-Redesign-545195484 (Replace the stars with periods, FFN won't let me post a direct link.)

Alright, let's get going!

Parallel Lives

Prophecy

"Come on man! You said you'd pay forty thousand not twenty five."

"I'm not sure what goes on in that head of yours Maurice, but I told you twenty five from the start."

"You're trying to con me! I'll do thirty five."

"No way, twenty five was our agreement."

Maurice was in the middle of a heated argument with the shop owner. Truth was, they had agreed on twenty five before he had left, he just had to be sure Ivo didn't remember. His prediction hadn't been correct however, otherwise he would have been out of here by now, they didn't call him 'Sonic' for nothing.

Sonic spun around on his heel, "If you're not interested, I can always find another buyer, one that keeps their deals." He spoke, stowing the small ruby as he did so.

"Let's not be brash here," The overlander from behind the counter spoke. "I can give you twenty eight, but not any higher!"

"Make it thirty and you've got a deal."

Ivo sighed, Maurice was one of his best sellers, even if he had a habit of pushing his luck. "Deal."

The two shook on it and the gem switched hands, along with thirty thousand credits.

Maurice turned to the door, "I'll be back."

"I know you will."

He stepped out of the shop and into the street, he had some ideas for what to do with his newfound credits, the Tornado could always use a new engine, he'd been told that he'd look good with a brown scarf, he seriously doubted it, but there was no harm in trying.

Eventually he left the city limits and broke into a run, accelerating very quickly. Super speed came in handy, he didn't know what he would do without it. He slowed down and arrived at his small hut, a bright red biplane sat outside. Dubbed 'The Tornado' when he first built it, it basically facilitated his entire lifestyle.

Inside he hung up his pack and sat at the table, maps of all sorts covered the table. He was getting closer to something, he had heard stories of a magical stone of some sort. Sonic continued to stare down at the maps and photos. "Its somewhere around here," He thought, circling an area with his finger. The area had an ancient ruin of sort, he wasn't quite sure it was safe enough to traverse, but if this gem was everything he'd heard it was, it would be worth it.

Sonic grabbed his second pack from the table, checking inside, he noted that he had everything packed, he could go out now. Rolling the maps and stuffing them into the pack, he elected to go with his instincts and just do it. He exited the house and started up the Tornado, he started to fly directly east, he supposed he could run there, but it was decently far and he could get lost in the maze of trees, the Tornado was a much safer alternative. He put on his flight goggles and started to increase his speed. If he wanted to get there and back by sundown he needed to get moving. He enjoyed living life how he wanted to, and nobody could tell him otherwise. Consulting the map every now and again, he eventually landed outside the ruins. They looked even bigger up close.

"Now if I was a magical gemstone, where would I be…" He looked up at the archway in front of him, a diamond with lines radiating out of it was carved into the stone. "Bingo."

He entered the temple, the entire place was in shambles and crumbling from age, whatever lived here had left or died out long ago. Ornate carvings covered the wall, many of which depicted the diamond. His curiosity peaked, he continued deeper into the structure, several small crevices dotted the pathway. Nothing he couldn't handle. He entered the central chamber and spotted a green gemstone on a pedestal, it was cut like a diamond, and looked identical to the ones in the carvings.

"Well, that was easy." He thought.

Ascending the steps he found himself standing at the pedestal, the gem was incredibly beautiful, unlike anything he had ever seen. Picking the stone up, he could feel its weight in his hands. He whistled to himself, he could get some serious cash for this. He placed the stone into his bag. As he began to exit, the pedestal itself started to rise, something broke through the stone floor of the chamber. Sonic started to dart toward the exit, and straight into a wall. The door had sealed itself. The figure continued to rise from the floor until it was finally fully visible, it was a golem. Animated by an unknown force, he recognized it from some of the carvings he had spotted earlier. It attempted to strike him with its fist, however, Sonic easily dodged the slow moving attack.

"Gonna have to try a little harder than that temple!" Sonic yelled to nobody in particular. He attempted to kick the golem in the head, only to be met with protective shield of some sort. It was radiating an energy field of some sort to protect itself. Sonic looked around for anything else he could use, eventually he saw a crevice that had appeared in the ceiling over the years, it was too high to reach just by jumping, he would need some extra height.

Sonic dodged another strike from the golem and jumped onto its arm. Running up onto its shoulder and finally its head, jumped up and grabbed the edge of the crack. He hoisted himself through the crack as the golem attempted to strike him. The fist blasted apart the stone around the crack, continuing through in an attempt to connect with its target. Sonic smiled to himself, now that he was in the open he was much more free to move around.

Sonic easily outran the golem, who was incapable of keeping up with the speedster.

Back outside, Sonic looked into his pack. The gem was still nicely tucked into his bag, it mesmerized him as it glinted in the light. He moved back to the Tornado and took off, he was excited to see what Ivo would think about the stone. It was a sight to behold.

He returned to his hut just as the sun was beginning to set, he placed the gem onto the table, he would figure out more about it tomorrow, he was tired. He rolled himself into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

-X-

Sonic slowly opened his eyes, he rolled out of bed and looked over to the table, the usual maps and photos dotted the table, however one thing concerned him. The gem was gone. He checked around the house in a panic before darting outside. The stone was sitting in the grass outside, relief washed over him as he grabbed the jewel. As he touched it, the grass grew darker and he turned around to find his house in shambles. Now curious, he entered into his home, everything had been torn apart in the house. He could feel an energy of some sort radiating in the room. He spotted plenty of things in the home that weren't his, as if someone, or something, had been staying here.

"Maurice," a voice from behind him spoke.

He turned around and spotted, what he recognized as a Echidna. She wore more traditional clothing and appeared to be glowing.

"Your world is in great danger, a dark power awakens, you must gather the other six Chaos Emeralds if your world is to be saved."

"What do you mean saved? What dark power?"

"I will explain all eventually, you must begin. You don't have much time."

-X-

Sonic jolted awake, he slowly stood up and walked into his main room, the Chaos Emerald was still resting on the table. He knew not to ignore the warning he had received, some unknown force had been awoken in the world, and only the Chaos Emeralds could stop it. How exactly, he didn't know yet, still, he needed to try and track down the others. He already had one, that left six to go. He consulted back to his maps, he had heard multiple rumors about the Chaos Emeralds, he just needed to find where the next one was.

He prepared his bag with supplies, including a large amount of credits. He figured he would be gone for a while. After consulting over the maps for a while he discovered where the next Emerald may be. He set himself off in the Tornado, after flying over the ocean for about three excruciating hours, he finally arrived. Touching down, he exited the plane and set off into the trees.

"Westside," he thought aloud. "Geez, it's been how long?"

Westside was one of his favorite islands for hunting, it supposedly had one more secret to uncover. As he continued into the trees, he was unaware of a single sapphire eye following his every move.

-X-

Sonic traversed deep into the forest, he had an idea as to where the Emerald might be, a few years back he remembered seeing similar carvings to the ones at the last temple, maybe they could help him figure out where to look. He marched toward his destination, his only companion was the occasional rustling of leaves. He checked in his bag again and produced the Chaos Emerald, its glow had brightened since he had arrived, Sonic had no idea what this meant, but it was an interesting observation nonetheless. The plants to his right rustled slightly and Sonic stopped, he could have sworn he saw something. Stowing the Emerald he approached the brush, nothing immediately appeared to attack him, and he figured it was just some small animal or gust of wind.

He continued on his trek, eventually arriving outside of a set of ruins. Noting now, he saw similar ornate carvings to the last temple. This one looked to be in even poorer shape then the last, overgrown with plant life and vines. He could try and venture into it now, however, it was beginning to get dark, and the lack of natural light could heavily impede his vision. Sonic found it better to wait until morning to try and explore it. Pulling out a small sleeping mat, he laid himself beneath the night sky until he fell asleep.

Shortly afterward, a figure exited the brush near him, slowly stepping over to the bag, he started to rummage through its contents until finally, he produced the Chaos Emerald, smiling to himself, he started to back away, staying as silent as possible. Just as he thought he was in the clear he heard the hedgehog from earlier speak to him.

"You know," He began. "Its not nice to steal things that don't belong to you."

Instead of returning, he broke into a run, feeling the familiar sensation of fear course through him.

"Just don't let him catch you, and you'll be fine!" He mentally yelled at himself, as he did so, he was stuck in the back, tumbling to the dirt below. "How the heck did he get here so fast!?" He looked back up at his assailant, now completely overcome with fear. He threw the Emerald away from himself.

"T- Take it, just please don't hurt me!" He cried, scared for what punishment he might receive.

Alright guys, that's it for the first chapter. Feel free to let me know how I did and if there's any way I can improve! Until next time!