"...I -- am not your enemy -- not your destroyer -- I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword."

The dark shrouds of time cease to be present. The time I spent in the darkness seemed eternal. Though my prison is surrounded by deep blackness, a small glimmer of light resided nearby. That glimmer, however, was my own soul. Glowing bright enough to show me where I am. Though were I am in my prison, is a true secret that's never to be set free.

  To the best of my knowledge, years pass away, and my hope of leaving this accursed prison does the same. And then, that’s when I saw it. A small, radiant light that seemed to be at the other end of my prison.

  "Other end?" said I, "I thought it stretched on forever. Either way, I can see that reaching my goal will take some time."

  As I approached, the small glimmer began to get larger. I could sense life and vitality beyond the light. How I longed to walk among the living, enjoying every day on to which I never did in the last millenniums, fighting for loyalty, only to be tossed aside like a failed card that had no role in that hand, and then finding that the card they tossed was wild, a card that had it's own set of rules. I, in that sense, was that card. With that, I never realized my deep longing I had for life.

  The light got even more intense as I approached my destination. 

  "Freedom, at last," I said as I reached for the edge of the opening.
 

    "I'm going out!" I exclaimed.

  "Where are you headed?" mom asked

  "To Castle Acorn to meet with my friends. Rotor has something to show us. Why?"

  "Nothing..."

  "Bye mom," and with that, I dashed out the door.

  I sped into the forest down the secret path to Castle Acorn wondering about what was so interesting. Its probably something that the worlds most way past cool hedgehog hasn't seen before, especially with all the adventures I had kicking Dr. R's butt. Whatever it was, it's probably important

  Moments before I arrived, I could see Tails in the distance. I guess he decided to meet me before hand. When I arrived, everyone greeted me with a smile on their face. Rotor was especially happy to see me.

  "Great to see ya, buddy!" Rotor exclaimed.

  "Rotor, what's up?" I replied.

  "I'll tell you later."

  "Let's head inside. It's starting to get dreary out here," Sally pointed to the coloring of the clouds. Odd. It was sunny not three minutes ago.

  "Oh, by the way Sonic, Knuckles will be over as well," she said.

  "Why, is he part of this?" I said in protest.

  "What I'm about to show you involves all of the freedom fighters. That includes Knuckles," Rotor replied, "Sonic, I know you aren't the best of friends..."

  "You can say that again."

  "...But your just going to have bare with it for now."

  "Come on, Sonic!" Sally exclaimed in a reassuring voice, "Take one for the team!"

  At that moment, as the clouds began to darken, I had only one thing to say.

  "Humph!"
 

  The light poured around me like a flash flood as I crawled through the crack. Around me, I could see the resonating souls of the spectral plane. They danced around me, inviting me to be among them. The irony of their behavior would be their downfall, if it weren't for the fact that for the first time in my unbound life, I was actually enjoying myself to be among them. It was as if I forgot that they were the prey I hunted down to survive in both the living world and the spirit world. Though this wasn't the life I longed for, it still lifted my undying spirit.

  After that sidetrack, I surveyed my surroundings. I found that I was entrapped in a tomb, with the Soul Reaver placed on an engraved platform. I felt that the only way to escape the tomb was to first enter the material realm. But before I could do that, I would need to find the spirit gases needed to leave the spirit realm. Luckily, that was stationed at the other end of the tomb.

"Concentrate..." I said as I stood over the gases, propelling my spectral form down into the abyss, only to reemerge into the world of the living.

  "Ahh, fresh air!" I sighed, "Oh, how I missed the sounds and smells of the living."

  I laid my hand against the wall and started to look for an opening. I walked for no more than two meters when I felt a gust of cold air coming through a crack near a bolder. I moved the stone aside to reveal an exit. 

  "Finally," said I, "I can now leave this dreary tomb." 

  Then I hesitated. I turned around and sighted the Soul Reaver again, sitting on its engraving. I could not take it with me for it will try to devour me again, but I could not leave it here either for dark forces might find it. I looked around the tomb I saw red drapes hanging just above it.

  "I've got an idea."
 
 

  We all headed to the main hall of the castle. Elegant drapes hung from incredibly high ceilings, and long, red carpets ran from here to the duel stairs that lead to the next floor. Doors all leading to another part of the castle were peppered throughout the hall, all in a symmetrical manner.

  "We'll head down to the laboratory. That's where I left it." Rotor said plainly.

  "What's the 'thing' that you wanted to show us. Please tell us!" Amy whined, "The suspense is killing me."

  "All in do time. Let's head downstairs."

  Rotor opened an old looking door to reveal a dark corridor dimly lighted by torches. We proceeded down the hall with the thought of what was this mysterious thing was. At the end of the hall, Rotor opens a steel door that was locked up by AI security, revealing a large room filled to the seams with paper, wires, and machines. Rotor then ran to a nearby desk. He then grabbed a weird octagonal stone with a strange symbol on it.

 "What is it?" I asked, "How will this help us out?"

 "I don't know exactly what it is. I found it just last week. What I do know is that it dose produce a lot of power." 

 "How so?" Knuckles asked as he just walked in.

 "Late as usual," Sally directed at Knuckles, "Have trouble finding your way here?"

 "Not exactly."

 "Ah-hem. Well to answer your question Knuckles," Rotor continued, "the only way I've been able to draw power is by using these cables." He then pulls out two connector cables. "Attach them to the equipment you need to charge up like so." He then clamps on end of the cables to a powered out machine. "Then connect the other end to the source and..." As he did this, a blinding flash of light erupted from the odd stone and power started to flow through to the machine.

 "Whoa!" I exclaimed.

 "Impressive," said Tails.

 "Yeah. This could really help us out without doing damage to the environment." Rotor replied.

 "Bravo, Rotor," Sally exclaimed, "This could improve things around here."

 "How will this help us out against the mad doctor?" Tails asked.

 "It won't help us out much, but it is a step in the right direction."

 "That reminds me," said Knuckles, "I saw one of his crusades coming from the west. I could just see him while on Angel Island."

 "Well, then we better jet if we want to beat him to the punch!" I quickly said.

 "Let's head out then," said Sally.

 "Let's..."
 

  I strapped the sheathed Soul Reaver to my back and headed out.  I found myself walking down a long tunnel. It seamed to go on forever, until it suddenly came to an abrupt stop. I found myself looking down on the forest canopy some 200 meters below me. 

 "I guess the only way out of this, uh, cave, is to drop down into the forest."

 I then ran off the cliff and dived down to my freedom. I caught the wind current in my tattered wings and glided gently down the rest of the way. The leaves brushed against my bony face. My feet landed gently on the soft ground. 

 "Wow," I said in astonishment, "Nosgoth's so beautiful! I thought I would end up at the era of Kain's Empire." 

 I looked about, and saw the cave that I not a few moments ago left. Above the canopy of the forest, beyond the sky, lied a large floating island flourishing with an abundance life.

 "What in hell?!?" I gazed in astonishment at the sight before me; "It's like nothing I've ever seen in all of my travels. But if I've not seen this before than this must be..."

 I held my voice into what I've found out. I realized now that I am in Nosgoth’s far future.

 "He did it! Nosgoth is well again!" I paused for a brief moment, "But how long ago did this happen? And how long will it last?"

 This began to trouble me. Nosgoth could still be in peril even though it is in tranquility. I then saw large explosion in the west. This only deepened my resolve.

 "I should investigate that." 

 And with that I set off, on another adventure to restore balance to the world.

 "I can never get off easy, can I?"