Hello all! This week I've decided to, instead of boring you with behind the scenes details (BTW, things are still going smoothly and I'm having more luck with sound effects now) I'm going to treat you to a special character bios feature! OK, yeah, I know what you're thinking, "But, Lycan, we already know all about Sonic and friends! Why's this a treat? Are you being lazy/annoying/retarded or something?" On the contrary, dear NG public. You see, because (like many fan series writers...and even the guys behind the Dic toons and Sonic X to be honest...) I've put my own little creative spin on each character, I want to share some (non-spoiler containing) details about them. Plus, with Ashura and now the Master Key, I guess I'll have to share a little about them too, huh? The descriptions will be brief, but informative... or something like that...

Sonic
Sonic in Ignition is basically a combination of all of the different versions of him in the multiverse. He is, as always, a cocky, mischievous, adventure-loving, impulsive, smart-ass, adrenaline-junkie who likes his freedom and hates being restricted or trapped in any way, shape, or form. Sonic is a pretty cool dude (or so he claims) and nothing seems to faze him... though, despite the care-free front he puts up, he's actually a lot more sensitive on the inside than he lets on.

Sonic's parents died in a huge car wreck when he was 3, and his Uncle Chuck raised him from then on. Uncle Chuck never treated Sonic like a kid, though. Rather, he treated him more like an apprentice or a subordinate (and on rare occasions, a sidekick) and he was kind of tough on him, which is how Sonic learned how to be so tough himself. Sonic started going on his own adventures at 10, and Uncle Chuck gave him the Tornado 1 to use whenever he needed it. Sonic was hard-hit by Uncle Chuck's death, but sees the entire thing with the mansion as an opportunity for, you guessed it, another big adventure.

Amy Rose
Amy is sometimes stalkerish and obsessive when it comes to Sonic, but she actually does care a lot about him. She can be temperamental, bossy, and even shrewish, but she's also a very sweet girl... you know how the song goes about roses and thorns, right? She means well, but she's prone to letting her emotions get the better of her and override her better judgement...which gets her in a lot of trouble and often makes her look like a huge ditz.

Due to the nature of the series, I've decided to play up Amy's interest in the mysterious, magical, and occult which has, thus far, only ever been referenced in 2 games (Sonic the Fighters and Dark Brotherhood). Amy is, of course, an expert at reading Tarot cards, but she has also been learning magic along with Tikal (with whom she's been besties since after the events of SA1). Amy's #1 goal is, naturally, to marry Sonic one day...but becoming a powerful witch on top of that is her #2 dream. ...Poor Sonic...

Tails
Tails is everybody's favorite 8-year-old supergenius. Skilled with machines and computers and a top-notch pilot, Tails is Sonic's closest and most loyal friend. Really, he knows Sonic better than anyone, and can always tell what Sonic's really feeling underneath that cheerful grin of his. He looks up to Sonic like a big brother, but he also really looks up to Knuckles and Shadow too...even though the three of them sometimes embarrass the living Hell out of him.

Tails can be kind of a nerd sometimes. He has a whole collection of Transformers, has every line from FFX committed to memory, and has an alarm clock that plays the theme from MacGuyver. That being said, he's also 8. He loves watching cartoons and playing video games (especially Mega Man), he thinks kissing a girl on the lips gives you kooties, and he's pretty sure there's a monster living in his closet...or under his bed...or both. Sure, he's a tough kid, smart for his age...but he still has a lot of growing up to do...

Knuckles
Knuckles is the most together and mature out of all of the guys. The most dependable, the most responsible...generally, the most grown-up. He's generally a loner, but he doesn't exactly mind having friends to back him up every once in a while either. In fact, he likes it...not like he'd openly admit it or anything, he's too cool for that. Too much of a "tough guy." Being the guardian of the Master Emerald, he's naturally very protective and just a little stubborn. He does like his rap music, and has picked up some "ghetto slang" from listening to it...maybe a little too much?

Knux isn't all that "people smart," but he's an expert when it comes to living out in the wilderness (he makes "Man vs. Wild" look like "Man vs. Well Stocked Walmart") and hand-to-hand combat. He is pretty awkward with girls, though. He just kind of handles them the same way he'd handle a dude...which doesn't always work out quite right... Knuckles doesn't remember his parents or any family, really. As far as he can remember, he's always been on his own, taking care of himself and guarding the Master Emerald. Though, he couldn't have just popped out of nowhere...right?

Tikal
Tikal is a sweet, peace-loving girl who would rather make love, not war, and stood in front of a freaking army to protect the Master Emerald... Ergo, she's sort of a hippie. Being a pure "good girl" type of character she doesn't curse, but she does use a lot of cutesie euphemisms (such as "sugar" in place of "S#!+").

Her grandmother was the head Shaman of her tribe way back when, and she was teaching Tikal the ways of magic so that she could one day take her place. After being freed from the Master Emerald after the events of Sonic Adventure, Tikal continued her studies, becoming best friends with Amy as they learned magic together. Tikal's magical specialty is mostly healing, sealing, and exorcism, but she's also pretty decent with attack spells.

Rouge
Rouge can be called a lot of things; materialistic, kleptomaniacal, sneaky, selfish...hoarder... But she prefers "treasure hunting fem fatal." She's sneaky, a professional con, willful to a fault, and will stop at nothing to get her hands on some sweet, sweet, bling. All your jewels are belong to her and she's not shy about making that known. Rouge only "tolerates" Knuckles keeping the Master Emerald because, as she sees it, she's just "letting him watch it for her" until she has a proper place to put it. Yeah, getting him annoyed every so often so she can see his angry face has nothing to do with it at all...*snicker* *giggle*

There is another side to Rouge, though. To her, gems and jewels aren't her only treasures. She also treasures her friends. She doesn't trust people very easily, and the people she does trust and care for she will cut a b**** for trying to "F" with. Yes, although Rouge loves the finer things in life (as her credit card bill will attest), she can be kind of ghetto sometimes. Mostly when she's mad.

Shadow
Shadow is slowly trying to put his past behind him...but, well, seeing your best friend shot to death right in front of you and then having your father figure mess with your head so you'll destroy the world is kiiiiiiind of a hard thing to get over all at once. Oh, sure, he's a lot better than he used to be...but he's still got problems. Shadow hates being shown up, he hates to loose, he hates winning too easily, and he definitely hates when people don't respect him. He does like overkill, motorcycles, and getting his ego stroked, however. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's really a nice guy at heart. Tell that to his face, though, and you'll wind up in a full body cast!!

Shadow's memories about his life on ARK have slowly come back to him over time, and they're full of a lot of crazy, uncomfortable, and down-right embarrassing experiments and tests meant to make doubly sure that he is, in fact, the Ultimate Life Form. He's been probed, prodded, spun, poked, injected, fed all manner of unidentifiable crap... just to prove how freaking indestructible he is. Those aren't happy memories...well, mostly not.

Cream
Cream is sort of a typical, sweet little 6-year-old girl. She likes hanging out with Amy and the other girls when she can, but lately her mother has been keeping her busy around the house with chores (trying to teach her to be more responsible...after she tried using Chaos Control in the house...which didn't end well). She's always with Cheese, her Chao buddy and has a little crush on Tails... Well, when he's not talking her floppy ears off about how much stronger Optimus Prime is than Ultra Magnus... She's sort of everyone's baby sister and there's no one who can resist her "sad little girl" eyes... no one.

Blaze
Blaze, as we all know, is a powerful princess from another dimension. She can be kind of stubborn and unyielding, and somewhat scary when angered, but she's also a very warm person, despite her cool exterior on most occasions. She's very mature and responsible, but has recently learned to loosen up a little and have fun when the occasion calls for it. Being a princess, she also has the entire "courtly lady" thing down pat and can switch from being the tomboy she really is to the most sophisticated lady in the room at the drop of a hat. She's got it going on.

Blaze has a little crush on Silver, but won't admit it because she doesn't want to mess up the great friendship the two of them have.

Silver
Silver is the psychokenetic, determined, and fluffeh hedgehog from the future...and the only one besides Blaze who actually remembers all that crap with Mephiles and Iblis. He went to Blaze's world to find her after the whole retcon fun thing, and has been by her side ever since. He can be very naive and childish sometimes, and is also kind of a mooch, but he's a stand-up guy...mostly. He can also be just a little clingy.

He and Tails often end up arguing about video games, or cartoons, or Star Trek, but they also get along because they're both into that stuff...so, go figure. Silver hasn't been back to the future since he found Blaze. Is it just because he doesn't want to be separated from her again...or is there something else afoot?

Shade
Shade has been a member of the Nocturne military most of her life. She is disciplined, tough, strict...and, frankly, a little judgmental. She's very impressed with Sonic and Knuckles, the way the handle themselves, fighting for what they believe in and living by their own code of honor, always being true to themselves. However, she's not fond of Shadow at all. She's always picking on every little flaw he has, every little blemish. For some reason, she can't stand him...

Although she is no longer a soldier, lots of things from her time in the military still remain; her ability to focus whole-heartedly on her mission, her steely toughness no matter what the odds...her ability to make a bed so tight that she can bounce a quarter off of it... She is really more feminine than she acts on the surface, but she doesn't let that side of her out very often. Much of her life, that was a bad thing. Since becoming friends with Amy and the other girls, however, she's slowly inching closer to coming out of her shell...maybe...a little...

Ashura
Born in the backwater town of Backwatertown, the photokinetic (light manipulating) hedgehog Ashura thought that he'd be stuck there forever until the fateful day when Eggman invaded and Sonic saved his life. Since then, he's spent the past 5 years following Sonic, trying to meet up with him and thank him...and maybe even be friends. Although Ashura and Sonic are both the same age (15), Ashura has always looked up to him in much the same way as Tails... only, he's had to do so from just a step behind and a second too late the whole time...well, until what happened to be the saddest day of Sonic's life.

Ashura is not a very confident guy, but he's cheerful and persistent and, although he is kind of a clumsy dork who's always falling on his face or his butt, takes his hits like a man, never stopping to sulk over his injuries. He is determined to become a great warrior, and wants to learn what Sonic's secret is. Now, if he can just stop tripping over himself long enough to find out!! He also seems to have some knowledge of magic. How much is unclear, but he can read those weird runes...hmmm...

Master Key
The Master Key is, well, the enchanted master key to the mansion. He has a personality and can think for himself, Uncle Chuck forged him that way. Master Key can be very condescending and snippy most of the time and, although Sonic is now his master, doesn't have much respect for him. at all.

So, that's a brief cast run-down for Ignition. Hopefully, that clears up some confusion...or at least makes you even more hungry for Episode 3...