This is my new story, Sonic: Before Heroism. It's meant to be sort of a prequel to The Two-Tailed Fox and Rogue the Hedgehog. However, there is no particular order you'd need to read any of the stories in, and you wouldn't even need to read all of them. I'm not finished with any of them yet, but once they're done, I plan to have them make sense no matter which one you read first. Have fun reading, and I hope you like my story!
Prologue
"Mom, look! Look at how fast I'm going!" Eight-year-old Ogilvie Maurice the Hedgehog, who preferred to be called by his nickname, Sonic, was running around his backyard on Christmas Island in complete joy. He had been practicing for a while, and he could go up to around seven hundred miles an hour. His mother, Bernadette, applauded the speedy little critter and exclaimed, "That's very good, Sonic, honey! Just be careful now, or you'll bump into something." Sonic winked and gave her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I'll be—OOF!"
He slammed right into a tree since he wasn't looking where he was going. He slid down to the ground, and an apple fell from the tree and hit him on the head. "Ouchie! That hurt…" He got up from the ground and brushed the dirt off of himself. "She told you to watch out, Sonic!" said a voice from behind him. He turned around to see his six-year-old brother, Samuel, standing there. "Hey, Sam. I know… I need to be more careful, but I'm fine. See? No bruises or anything."
Sam chuckled and walked over to Sonic. "Yeah! Just keep doing that and you won't get hurt at all!" he mocked sarcastically. Sonic rolled his emerald-green eyes and responded, "Oh, shut up, squirt." He gave his little brother a noogie before Sam told Sonic, "Dad says the chili dogs are done." The words "chili dogs" made Sonic's pointed ears perk up. "All right!" He revved up his feet and ran over to his house. "Make way! Chili dogs, here I come!" He rushed into this home and into the kitchen, where his father, Jules, grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "Whoa, there, Ogilvie!" His father was the only person whom he allowed to call him "Ogilvie". "You'll get your chili dogs if you calm down."
Sonic sighed and slowly grabbed a plate from the cabinet above him. "Okay…" he moaned. He set the plate down on the counter next to the stove, and Jules put three hot dogs on it. Then, he scooped some chili onto all three of the hot dogs, and not even a second after he was done, Sonic grabbed the plate and dashed over to the table, where he stuffed a whole half of one into his mouth. "Okay, kiddo, slow down," said Jules. But Sonic didn't want to slow down. He wanted to taste the full goodness of the chili dogs.
"If you don't eat slower, I'll have to take those chili dogs away from you." This one sentence caused Sonic to immediately take smaller bites and take more time chewing his food. He hated eating slowly, but he hated not eating worse, and when his father said something, he meant it. After about a minute, Sam and Bernadette walked into the kitchen from outside, and Jules dished his youngest one chili dog and gave his wife two. He put two on his own plate, and they all sat at the table.
"Before you eat anymore," started Bernadette to Sonic. "we need to say grace." Sonic was about to take the last bite of his first chili dog when he set it down and folded his hands. Jules led the prayer and the others joined in. After that, Sonic finished off his first chili dog and began on his second one. All of them ate their chili dogs, and once they were done, Sonic went over to the TV in their living room and turned on his old GameCube after he put in a game titled Sonic Adventure DX.
The young blue hedgehog had always wondered if the hedgehog named "Sonic" in the game was actually an older version of him, but frankly, when he was playing it, he didn't care. He always had too much fun with it to focus on that. While he often played as the character of Sonic, he also would play as the character of Tails, an orange fox, frequently as well. Sam and Tails' personalities were very much alike, so he naturally liked Tails' character. That day, however, he was playing as the red echidna, Knuckles.
Unlike most days, however, he actually was thinking about how the Sonic in the game could very well be him. "I just hope I don't have a stubborn friend like Knux when I'm older," he said to Sam, who was watching him play the game. Little did Sonic know that almost every event that transpired within those games would come to be someday. Sam chuckled and responded, "With your luck, you'll have tons of stubborn friends like him!" This made Sonic chuckle as well. "Probably, little bud." Lighthearted conversations were common amongst the two brothers. A conversation with a similar relaxed feel took place amongst their parents in the kitchen.
"I'm so glad that those two get along so well," stated Bernadette with a smile on her face. An alike smile appeared on Jules' face as well. "Yes. They don't argue like me and my brother did." However, the discussion quickly changed moods when Bernadette sighed and said, "I know I shouldn't be thinking of this kind of thing, but if something were to happen to us, I'm not sure if I'd want the children to stay with him. He gets intoxicated so often." Jules comforted his wife by hugging her and whispered into her ear, "But nothing's gonna happen to us, honey, so why think about that, anyway?"
She whispered into his ear in much the same fashion, "I know, Jules, I know." Despite what she said, though, Bernadette couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss; that something terrible was going to happen later that day.
After about half an hour of playing games, the doorbell rang. "Yes!" exclaimed Sonic. "He's here!" He opened the door, and at it stood his best friend, a raccoon named Vermillion after his fur color. Sonic had invited Vermillion over to his house at one o'clock so they could play a few video games and games outside. Vermillion was about three inches taller than Sonic, and was only a year older. Like many male anthropomorphic animals on Mobius, the only clothes he wore were gloves and shoes, so the vermillion and white fur on his body was completely visible.
Sonic looked at the clock by the door and said, "One o'clock. Prompt as always, Milly!" Vermillion didn't care that "Milly" sounded like the girl's name, "Millie". It was just what he preferred to be called. That was one of the things Sonic liked about him. He let himself be himself. Milly smiled and replied, "I try, Sonic! Anyway, are we gonna play some Melee or not?" He was always straight and to the point. "Sure!" answered Sonic.
Super Smash Brothers: Melee was one of their favorite games to play together. Unlike most brothers do when they have friends over, Sonic and Milly even let Sam play a couple rounds with them. After having some fun playing Melee, the two boys went outside to play some soccer, which was Milly's favorite sport. To make conversation, Sonic asked, "So, Milly, have you gotten anybody to want to adopt you yet?" Milly was living in the orphanage on Christmas Island, and had been ever since he could remember. He had always hoped to find someone to adopt him, but in the ten years he had been there, he'd had no such luck. Milly simply shook his head.
"If only we had enough room in our house for one more," started Sonic. "Then you could maybe stay here." Milly smiled at the gesture and replied, "Yeah. I'd like that, but I've been wondering if I should just act differently when people try to adopt me. There's another couple coming to see me tomorrow, and I've been trying to work out what to say to them. Do you think I should be myself?" That was an odd question for Milly. They repeatedly kicked the ball back and forth as they continued conversing.
"Of course, Milly. You're not gonna get people to like you if you're not yourself."
"But I've been trying for so long, Sonic!"
"Well, keep trying. I know that's easier said than done, but you need to."
"Nobody likes who I am, though."
"I like who you are," stated Sonic. "Doesn't that count for anything? My parents like who you are. Sam likes who you are. All of your other friends like who you are. You just need to be yourself. Tell the next couple that tries to adopt you everything about you. I guarantee that there's some family out there that would want you to be part of it." Sonic had always been good at encouraging other people, especially those close to him, like Sam and Milly. A wide smile spread across Milly's face. "You're right, Sonic. Thanks for that. Sometimes, I don't know what I'd do without you."
Sonic stopped the ball and started to stroke his chin. "You'd be lost in an eternal spiral of not having a friend as good as me!" he shouted overdramatically, which made them both laugh. They began to kick the ball back and forth again, but soon became weary, and they walked over and sat at the picnic table. It was already three forty-five, and in about fifteen minutes, Milly would have to be back at the orphanage. "Too bad I couldn't sleep over tonight since we have school tomorrow," he said after five minutes. Despite being a year older than Sonic, he was still in the same grade, since the orphanage didn't put him in kindergarten until he was six, while Sonic went in right at five.
"Yeah," responded Sonic as they got up and walked to the front yard. "See ya tomorrow, buddy!" Sonic watched as his friend walked down the street. He walked back inside, but then remembered something very important. His eyes widened at the realization. "I still have homework to do!" he exclaimed. He immediately ran to his room, opened his backpack, and pulled the math book and his notebook out of it. He started on the not too terribly difficult mathematics assignment, and within five minutes, Sam walked in. "You forgot to do your homework again, didn't you?"
Dang! exclaimed Sonic in his mind. That kid knows everything! Sonic looked up at him and replied, "Nope. I just…" He was trying to come up with a good answer, but when he couldn't, he said, "Okay… I forgot about my homework…" Sometimes, he hated when his little brother did that to him. "Just leave me be for right now. I'm halfway through. I just need to finish these last ten problems." The child did as he was told and left the room.
After seven minutes, Sonic put away his stuff and walked out to the living room, where his family was sitting. "Hey, guys!" he exclaimed as he walked out and plopped down on one of the couches next to his mother. "So, Ogilvie," started Jules. "Your mother and I have been talking it over…" Then, Bernadette continued the sentence. "And we weren't going to tell you until tomorrow, but seeing as Milly has, in a way, already told you, we're planning…" Then, they both said at the same time, "on bringing him into the family."
It took Sonic a moment to process everything. "Wait a second! You're that couple that's going to see Milly tomorrow, aren't you?" Bernadette smiled in reply. "Does he know?" asked Sonic. Jules shook his head and answered, "No. We wanted to surprise him as well." This was truly an exciting moment for Sonic. Not only was he going to get to see his friend more often, but Milly would finally have a family to call his own. It was a dream come true. However, when Sonic was about to exclaim the word "yes", he was interrupted by a couple of knocks at the door.
After the knocks, though, the door was kicked down, and two adult male humans burst through the doorway, which scared everybody half to death, especially young Sam. "Get down!" one of them commanded. "This is a raid!" The whole family did as they were told, and the other man walked up to them and held Sonic by his torso as he said, "If you don't want this boy hurt, you won't resist!" Innocence took over Sonic's normally coolheaded way of thinking as he yelled in fear, "Mom! Dad!"
Sam, however, stood up and started barraging the man holding Sonic with small and weak punches. "Let my big brother go, you big meanie!" The man smirked and responded, "All right, you want me to let him go? I'll let him go!" He threw Sonic across the room and into the kitchen, where he landed in the sink with his stomach down. Inside the sink were a couple of sharp knives, which cut Sonic several times in the chest and stomach areas. He screamed in pain and reached down to the knives, taking them out of that part of the sink and putting them in the other. He freaked out as he saw blood streaming from the cuts.
Still in the living room, Sam was pelleting the man with punches. "You big meanie! You hurt Sonic! I'm gonna beat you up!" Bernadette stood up and tried to walk over to Sam, but the other man quickly raised his gun and shot a bullet. The bullet had hit its mark not even a second later and went through Bernadette's head. This made tears well up in Sonic's eyes, and poor little Sam instantaneously burst into tears. He may have only been six, but he very well knew what death was.
Tears even came out of Jules' eyes. The man quickly stood up and tried to run over to his wife's now lifeless body, but he too was stopped by a bullet to the head. Sam collapsed to the ground in a fit of crying. "Be quiet you little brat!" exclaimed the man whom he was punching only five seconds ago. He pulled out his own gun and shot the crying child in the stomach. After this made him scream even more, the man kicked him in the head, which quickly made him go unconscious.
Needless to say, Sonic was utterly horrified at the horrendous events that had just taken place. He had just seen the merciless slaughter of his own parents and watched his little brother get shot in the stomach and knocked out. Could things get any worse? He painfully climbed out of the sink and fell to the ground after doing so, which sent signals of pain throughout his chest and stomach areas, but he crawled over to Sam's unconscious and bleeding body.
"What should we do about him?" asked the man who shot Sonic's parents. The other man shrugged and replied, "Leave him. He'll probably bleed out, anyway." Then, Sonic had to watch in absolute dismay as the two men gathered everything valuable within the house and put it on their truck outside. He wanted the escape of unconsciousness, but that wasn't granted to him, even with all of the blood he was losing. When they had removed everything of value from the house, Sonic thought and hoped they were done, but that wasn't to be.
"Set fire to the house," commanded the man whom Sam had punched several times. No… thought Sonic. No… Don't… Please, don't… Even more tears welled up in the suffering hedgehog's eyes. He didn't even have the energy to say the word "no" as the other man lit a couple matches and tossed them on the wooden floor in the kitchen. Both men ran as the burning matches hit the floor, and the floor immediately caught on fire. Sonic heard tires screech outside as the fire spread in the kitchen.
Sonic's adrenaline started pumping as he realized that Sam was still alive, and that he needed to get him out of here at any cost. He stood up and agonizingly lifted the young boy up, and he ran as fast as he could outside. He ran about fifteen feet away from the house and set Sam down on the grass, after which he immediately collapsed onto the ground. Both he and Sam were staining the grass and the dirt red.
Sonic was now just watching as the house he had lived in for eight years burst into flames. "Mom… Dad…" he mumbled. He wanted to save his parents, but he knew they were already dead, and he wouldn't be able to carry them out of the house anyway. Not in the shape he was in. He struck the ground and yelled at the top of his lungs, "NO!" He was devastated. Fifteen minutes ago, he was given the most exciting news of his life, and now his whole life was falling apart in front of him, burning up along with his house.
Then, Sam awoke and let out a small cough. "S-Sonic… Are you there?" Sonic excruciatingly got on his knees and crawled over to Sam. "Right here, Sammy. Right here." Sam let out a few more coughs and asked, "Am I gonna die, Sonic?" Sonic knew the correct answer to the question, but he didn't want to say that, not to him. Sonic knew that they were both going to die. "Of course not, Sammy," he replied as reassuringly as he could. "We're gonna make it."
"Sonic…" started the young boy weakly. "I'm glad the last one I saw is you." Tears were uncontrollably streaming down both boys' faces, but after about ten seconds, the tears ceased to come out of Sam's eyes, and his eyes stayed wide open. "Sam?" asked Sonic worriedly. "Sam? Sam? SAM?" Sonic put his finger on the boy's neck, hoping to feel a pulse, but he felt nothing, and he immediately began making sobbing noises as loudly as he could. He just lost everything. He lost his brother, his parents, and his home all in one fell swoop. He couldn't believe it. It had to be a dream. He tried closing his eyes and opening them after three seconds, but he was still there. Unfortunately, this was real.
He gently pulled his brother's eyelids closed and hugged his corpse tightly. He cried onto the non-moving shoulder and bled onto the non-rising stomach until he lost consciousness…