Welcome, all, to the revised version of Phantom Gauntlet, a Sonic The Hedgehog AU!

A little fun fact: the universe of the original was inspired greatly by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While this fic is definitely gonna do it's own thing, there's still a good amount of inspiration and homages in here.

One more thing, a quick shout out goes to Awareness Bringer for helping me brainstorm some ideas for this AU.

Well, I have nothing much else to say, so sit back and enjoy this story!


Chapter 1

Sand Oasis - 1:07 PM

The sky was a clear blue. The sands- which stretched for miles upon miles, shifted ever so slìghtly on the desert's surface as they were driven to and fro by the wind, vaguely concealing the structures that stood erect on the dusty floor. Light casted by the heat-filled glare of the sun glinted off of the stone and metal of these buildings.

In all, it was a hot and acrid day, but rather normal for a desert such as Sand Oasis. But the day was not completely ordinary, for among the shifting sands was a blue blur tearing through them at a fast pace.

If one were to somehow take a closer look at this mysterious azure streak, they would find a blue Mobian hedgehog running through the dry desert at an unimaginably high speed, drifting effortlessly across the temporary formations the winds had moulded.

The anthropomorphic hedgehog, who went by the name of Sonic, had earlier decided to go for a leisurely run, dashing in any direction his adventurous sights set on. He had experienced his fair share of deserts and had mainly found this one on accident. Nevertheless, the hedgehog- hailed as the Blue Blur in many areas- had decided to go for a quickie run throughout the giant sandbox.

As the Hedgehog continued his spontaneous sprint, he thought of his best friend back at the Mystic Ruins. Sonic first met Miles when he -on a victory high after essentially becoming a national hero, taken a vacation to a place called Westside Island. It was a pretty serene and beautiful place to crash in, and he'd thankfully landed (or more accurately, crashed) in a place populated with people, mostly Mobians. The blue hedgehog had left to get some snacks, and, when he returned, there was the young fox checking out his plane's inner machinery. Upon discovering that he had been caught, the little guy had cowered in fear initially, but the Mobian had quickly put his fears at ease.

They got to know each other, and Sonic had discovered that the fox was an orphan who was a victim of bullying, but all the same had a brilliant mind- creating cool inventions and understanding things the cerulean one couldn't possibly comprehend. So, when Sonic prepared to leave Westside Island, he graciously had offered for the fox to tag along, to which Miles surprisingly accepted.

From there, they had soon become the best of friends, and the fox had moved to the Mystic Ruins. A few years had passed, and Miles had gotten work with a military agency and had become a lot more independent and assertive, a huge change from the scared and shy kit the hedgehog had found in Westside. In addition, Sonic made semi-frequent visits and usually brought food, whatever scrap metal he could find, or just some good old rings. Nothing but the best for his little buddy.

Smiling fondly at the memory, Sonic skidded to a stop near what looked like a bunker of some sort, looking around to figure out which direction he was supposed to take.

And that was when the gunshots started.

The Mobian could only catch a glimpse of white-coated metal before a group of strange, egg-shaped... things started shooting at him. Reflexes jumping into overdrive, Sonic jumped, dodged, and ducked to avoid being filled with lead.

Eventually, the hedgehog found an opening: He'd ended up directly behind one of the drones. As the ovular machine turned around to look for him, the hedgehog struck, jjumping up and ending its mechanical life with a well-placed kick.

The Mobian, now firmly on the offensive, rushed at the others, who met their respective ends mostly the same way.

Now standing in the middle of dozens of dented drones and severed parts, Sonic smirked and dusted the sand off of his gloves.

'All in a day's work.' he thought. Now, he definitely remembered a time when all technology in a five mile radius was out to kill him, but all the same, he never expected it to actually continue. Now, where was he?

"Jackal Squad, attack!"

The loud voice rang out, shocking Sonic out of his jubilation. The sound of something tearing through the air was heard, and the hedgehog ducked- just in time for a sword to whizz past the spot where his head had been.

The Blue Blur whipped to the source of the previous noise only to see several jackals running out of the bunker, each armed with swords. One of them, evidently the leader, was barking orders as the jackals descended on him with the intent to kill.

Sonic just sighed. 'So much for a leisurely run.'

The next few minutes consisted of Sonic dodging swords that were thrown at him and engaging in combat with the jackals that decided to go for the close quarters approach. The Blue Blur wasted to time in knocking out any unfortunate enough to be caught off-guard, but the jackals were pretty relentless and the hedgehog eventually decided to vault over a set of wooden crates positioned convieniently outside the base.

Of course, the Blue Blur could definitely take on the jackals by himself, but he needed to take a slight breather before jumping back into action.

Sonic's keen ears twitched, detecting... nothing. The sounds of commands and rapid footsteps had ceased. It was almost as if they had left him alone..

Then Sonic did hear something: An ominous ticking noise, right next to him.

Whipping around to the source of the noise, the Mobian discovered a small squarish object with an oddly familiar insignia of a grinning face staring back at him.

It was at this moment that he knew, he had walked right into a trap.

Cursing himself for not noticing it sooner, Sonic made to quickly back away. All for naught, as the bomb exploded, sending the hedgehog flying backwards.

Sand, a searing pain and the smirking faces of the jackals he had fought earlier were the last things he knew before everything went black.


Unnamed Bunker - 4:30 PM

Sonic woke up on a bed, his hazy mind doing its best to keep up as he surveyed the surroundings of the dark room he found himself in.

The hedgehog groaned. What happened? And where was he?

'Oh. I got blown to kingdom come and possibly kidnapped.' he thought to himself, sighing as the memories of the day made themselves known- as well as the regrets and the self disappointment. He was the Blue Blur for crying out loud! He couldn't have seriously let a bunch of jackal mooks beat him!

The hedgehog opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he was about to say came out as a gasp as phantom pain surged in his chest.

The hedgehog's hand rushed to his chest, feeling not flesh, but metal.

Sonic's eyes widened in abject panic. "What the he-"

"Language."

The unexpectedly soft voice interrupted his terrified cursing, and the Mobian whipped around to its source.

He'd expected another jackal, but what he got was someone he'd never expected to see.

Someone he never thought he'd see again.

"U-Uncle Chuck?"