Westside Island

Free "Beautiful island, that Westside. It's good for swimming, scenery, living in, gambling, getting a tan, skiing, and getting oil and magma. Talk about multi-purpose."

- A brief description of Westside.

Westside Island (Nishigawano Shima ), also known as The Island of Illusion, is a landmass of mostly deciduous forest located near the X-Treme and Unknown Islands in the Meta Ocean. The most natural and untouched parts of Westside are Emerald Hill, Mystic Cave and Hill Top, while there are big cities in Casino Night and Chemical Plant and the ice-capped peaks of the Westside Mountains. It was here that a set of Chaos Emeralds originated, and the island is well known for it. Legend goes that a fox tribe once ruled over Westside, based in Emerald Hill and Aquatic Ruin, and used the stones to develop their society, and had them studied by their philosopher's. But during the reign of Kalchis Kitsune, an alchemist named Flamel broke the new ban set on studying the Emeralds, and his experiments resulted in the destruction of the fox clan. Almost the entire history of Westside is recorded on the walls of Aquatic Ruin, which was their prime location, and nothing of the sort ever occured since.

Ancient Times
"The legend of West Side Island, the Island of Illusion, tells that many years ago, a people here based the development of their civilization on a collection of strange stones, and employed their greatest philosophers to theorize on the true power of these stones. In order to gain these powers, some attempted to channel the energy of the stones for their own evil intents. These attempts, however, came to naught. Since, the legends tell that the stones have been sealed by the gods somewhere on this island."

- The legend of Westside.

Thousands and thousands of years ago, an ancient race of foxes lived on Westside Island, and built their civilization in the Emerald Hills. They based the development of this civilization on a collection of seven mysterious stones. They employed their greatest philosophers to theorize on the true power of these stones, and, in order to gain these powers, some attempted to channel the energy for their own evil intents. These attempts, however, came to naught, and during the reign of Kalchis Kitsune an uncertain disaster occured to the people, and their cities crumbled, and many died. Since then, legend has it that the gods sealed the stones away on Westside, protecting them from dark forces.

War of Westside
"It has been reported that, yesterday, Dr. Robotnik attacked the paradise island of Westside in the Meta Ocean. Many thought to be dead and much damage has been inflicted on the forests and natural areas."

- A news reporter in Central City in 1992.

In 1992, Westside Island was attacked by the robot army of Doctor Robotnik, and many residents were made into robots. However, the residents of Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant, Casino Night and the Westside Mountains fought back, and destroyed much of the army, freeing the transformed Mobians, and were assisted greatly by Sonic the Hedgehog of Christmas Island and Miles "Tails" Prower from Emerald Town. Thankfully, Robotnik and his army were driven off of the island, and they retreated towards Mount Mobius. This event came to be known as "The War of Westside".

Physical
"Very nice for a holiday, Westside. As long as you don't go too far South, where it's all oily and marshy. But don't go too North either, it's covered in ice and home to magma."

- April Fox describing her home.

Westside Island, despite being very far North, is made up mostly of deciduous forest, though much was felled to make way for Casino Night and Chemical Plant. The Northern parts of the island are rather prone to earthquakes, which may have had a part to play in the Destruction of Emerald Hill. The Westside Mountains, being very high and dominating the skyline, are capped with ice and presumably snowed on through the year. To the North of the Mountains is Hill Top, which has a very high amount of magma, presumably coming from inside the Mountains. In the South-East, there is a large oil count, which is used by those at Oil Ocean, and a small amount of marshland which may be Mystic Cave. Off of the South-East coast lies the Westside Delta, a cluster of isles apparently protecting it from Mount Mobius and the Veg-O-Fortress. The large Westside Lake lies further Westward, taking up much of the island, and the West River connects it to the Shallow Sea.

Political
"Westside Island isn't part of Mongor, as many believe. It isn't part of the United Federation either, nor the Meta Union. It's just itself, a continent in its own right. Hasn't had a leader since the Destruction of the Emerald Hills. A true free country."

- Rouge the Bat on Westside Island.

Westside Island has had no government nor leader since the Destruction of Emerald Hill and the death of Kalchis Kitsune, and is considered a continent in its own right. As such, laws and legislations are decided by the community, though technically they are not legit nor binding, and should the need for justice occur, the accused is either taken Southwards to Winerville where they are tryed, exiled from the land or imprisoned in Casino Night or Chemical Plant.