If you knew there was an episode called 'Just a Guy', but you didn't know what the episode was about, what would be the first thing that comes to your mind? This story will be told from Sonic's POV. Feel free to rate and review. Enjoy.
I'm in a race against time. Eggman's up to no good again. But what is he up to this time? Pushing myself to the limit, my legs carry me as quickly as possible across the flat, sturdy terrain until they skid and stop near a two-way junction. Wearing an earpiece, sent to me in a box from a villager, Eggman chuckles gleefully.
"I'm at the two-way junction. What now, Egghead?"
"Well, Sonic", he began, "I have a little challenge for you." A challenge, huh? This'll be interesting. Hehehehe. "I will tell you what your mission is. Each junction leads to a small, dilapidated building. Both of which contain a little... something." Uh-oh. This can't be good.
"The left building contains eight people, and the right building contains two people. It is up to you which ones you choose to save, Sonic." Eggman has sure got his hands dirty, I'll give him that. But this shouldn't be a problem, right? I go for one building and then I'll go for the other. Piece of cake.
"So, all I have to do is save them both before the timer runs out. Pshh, this will be a cinch." But as it turns out...
"You really think it's that simple, hedgehog?" Uh... no. That's why it's a CHALLENGE. Eggman snickers before he could carry on flapping his gums. "Oh no, there is no timer on this one. You see, you can only make one choice. Whichever building you go for, the other will explode. Just with the push of a button." What? No! Eggman! You can't... you wouldn't... "Like I said, it is up to you which ones you choose to save. So who will you save? The lives of the few or the lives of many?"
I couldn't believe my ears. I have to choose which ones to save? Why can't I just do both, under a time limit? I knew saving lives was going to be a challenge, but I never thought it would be like this. I have to make a choice, starting now. Saving the eight victims will result in two people getting hurt, but more people will get hurt if I choose to save the two people. This is a nightmare, it has to be! I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Forgive me." My eyes open, filled with determination, and I make my choice.
Running as fast as I could, Eggman speaks to me with a malevolent tone. "You know, it didn't have to be this way. Such a devastating event shouldn't have to happen to those poor two, the ones you chose to leave behind. But sometimes you have to do what you believe is right, make some... decisions. No matter how painful it is." As soon as I make it to the left building, the bomb defuses and falls to the ground, and I open the door to set the eight citizens free. "Everyone out. Hurry!" One by one, they escape the building, thanking me for saving their lives.
But it wasn't enough to take my mind off what will happen next. A loud, booming sound echoes across the area. The villagers and I turn our heads to see flames bursting out, chunks flying into the air. The people gasped and screamed at the sight, but I was just there. Frozen and devastated as time slowly goes by. Couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything. A woman snaps me out of my trance and I return the rescued to the village. By the time we are at the village, I hear a voice. A reporter talking about casualties. Wait, casualties? That means... oh, thank goodness.
I rush to the area where the two victims are, and I find them carried away in ambulance vans. I step in to try to help, but a man stops me, telling me that there is nothing I can do. Never in my life have I felt so... helpless. So lost. So scared of the fact that I failed the people I swore to protect. I return to the village greeted with funny looks from the villagers. Confused, I wanted to know why they are looking at me like that. One person stepped towards me.
"Why? Why didn't you save them?" Another voice speaks out. "You could have saved them!" Another voice. "You're supposed to be the fastest thing alive, and you couldn't doing anything to help them?" A cacophony of jeers and scoldings surrounds me. Do they really blame me? Could this really be my fault? I didn't want to believe it, but... am I... a failure?
A reporter greets me with a microphone shoved towards my mouth and I explain everything. Everything ranging from the destination to the choice I had to make. Of course, not everyone was satisfied... including Amy. She stands there while people jeer at me, scolding me for not protecting people like I was supposed to. Luckily, my friends and other people step in for me, claiming that I had only one choice. A part of me is relieved to hear this. Sticks comes to me, promising to sort it out with Amy. Knuckles and Tails manage to keep me away from the furious crowd.
Some time later...
Man, I'm starving! Gotta fill the tank if I want to fill keep my strength up. I arrive at Meh Burger and order a chilli dog and an orange soda. With the full tray in my hands, I sit next to a small group of people. Maybe a friendly conversation will take my mind off things. Or maybe not. "Hey, where are you going? Don't you wanna sit with me?" They glare at me and one person tells me, "Who would want to sit with a guy who lets innocent people get hurt?" Those words were like darts. I sigh to myself as they walk away.
Taking one bite out of my chilli dog, I hear footsteps. Two people I know approach me and sit in front of me. "Hey, Sonic. How are you doing?" "Not too good, Knux." The red echidna sighed. "You know, being a hero doesn't mean you'll get everything right. I mean, take me for instance. I'm the strongest member of the team, but not the brightest. At times, I feel like the grey sheep of the family." Grey sheep? "That's black sheep, Knuckles." Tails stated, correcting his mistake.
"See what I mean, Sonic?" "Well, at least you didn't have to choose between saving many and a few victims." Tails and Knuckles look at me, almost like they are feeling sorry for me. "I just wish that things were different, you know? Like saving both victims under a time limit." It was now Tails' turn to speak. "Sonic, being a hero wasn't going to be easy, to begin with. Sooner or later, we were all bound to slip up. But this isn't one of them." What does he mean by that? "You had a choice to make, right? It's either the eight be saved or the two be saved. The wrong thing to do would be to let them both or the eight victims get hurt."
He has a point. But still... "Tails is right. And in the end, you made the right choice. Even if it meant, you know." "Yeah, I know. Thanks, guys." They smile reassuringly as I drink my soda. Man, that was one good chilli dog! Some time later, Eggman is attacking the village with his fearsome robot. The guys rush off to his destination, which had more than enough room for a fight. Sticks shows up with Amy, telling me that Amy had a good talking to.
How do I describe this thing? Well, it was big and bulky, it had claw-like hands and two legs and Eggman was in the head, controlling the robot. Using our teamwork skills, we took it down. It was tough, but nothing we can't handle. Eggman makes his escape from his broken, cut down robot as we celebrate our victory. However, our celebration didn't last as long as we thought it would. I noticed a teen boy trapped under the arm of Eggman's robot! Before I could save him, the explosion knocks me back. Once again, I failed to protect someone.
Tails and Knuckles help me up as four villagers run to his aid. "He's wounded!" a man cries out. "Get help!" Thank goodness he's alright. I just hope that he and the other victims will find it in their hearts to forgive me someday. Another man from the crowd charges at me, with a face of thunder. "You! You were not even trying to help him! You let this happen! Who do you think you are?" The same thing happened again. This time, it was even worse than before.
As soon as my friends and I got to Amy's house, things... didn't go so well. Long story short, she scolds me for not saving the kid like I failed to save the victims, while the others try to calm things down. I told her that even with all my powers, I'm just a guy. But then she said something that I will never forget for a long time. "There is no excuse for this! Your potential is going to waste, that's what! That's why you couldn't even attempt to protect the innocent like you were supposed to." The entire room went silent for 10 seconds.
To tell you the truth, I expected Knuckles to do this sort of thing. But not Amy. Sweet, innocent, mature, responsible Amy. And from that moment, I decided that enough is enough. "You know what? That's it, I'm done. I'm taking a break." "Where do you think you're going? Get back here, Sonic!" she yells, as I walk out the door. I need some time to rest and think. Not be 'the hero' for a few days.
The next day...
Everything that has happened so far. Eggman, the victims, some of the villagers and... Amy. Sigh. To think that it would all turn out like this. I have nothing to do right now, except relax and clear my head in a hammock on the beach. How I wish things could be different, then everything would have been OK. Except that... it isn't and it wasn't. And I don't know if it ever will be. Maybe a snack will distract me for a bit. "Sonic!" a young voice calls out. "Sonic... are you OK?" "Not really, Tails. But I will be. Is there something you want to tell me?" He doesn't respond. "Tails." "The village is under attack. It's Eggman's doing." Eggman! That no-good... "Sonic..." He gives a sorrowful look and I placed my hand on his shoulder, smiling at him.
"Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Go on and help the team deal with Eggman. They need you... more than I do." Tails smiles a little before he runs off. Good luck, little guy. You're gonna need in the battle with Eggman. I hope they're alright. I could really use a snack right now, good thing I bought some peanuts, cereal bars and drinks yesterday. With a drink, a cereal bar and some peanuts in hand, I was able to forget about my worries for a while... until another came up. I think it was because I drank a little too much!
With that out of the way, I try to relax. Well, I DID say try. I begin to sense that something wasn't right. What if my team was in danger? Only one way to find out. After a short time, thanks to my speed, I find my teammates defeated by Eggman's most powerful robot to date. Kind of like that show where a bunch of teenagers wear suits with bike helmets and teleport themselves into a giant robot or something. Long story short, Eggman and I both take beatings before I finish the job. The crowd cheers for me as I try to stand up before falling to the ground. My vision darkened to black.
The next thing I know, I'm lying down on something quite soft. My eyes open and I find my friends and a villager looking at me in shock and relief. I'm... in the hospital? How did I get in here? "Sonic." Tails was the first to speak. "We were so worried about you. We thought... anyway, Knuckles carried you here." "That explains the bandages, Sonic. We all know how you feel about the sports tape." Knuckles spoke. I chuckle from the statement. Amy looks at me with tears in her eyes. "What I said to you before... I-I'm so sorry. I never should have... made you feel this way."
"I too must apologise for the harsh treatment, on behalf the villagers", a man spoke out. "We hope that one day you will find it in your heart to forgive us." I smile at them. "Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe you guys were right about me. I never meant for it to be this way, you know. But still... all my powers, all my abilities and I couldn't even save them." "Sonic." Tails and I look at each other sorrowfully. Then I hear a voice calling out to me. "Sonic."
My friends step aside from my view to reveal a teen boy with bandages around his face, arms, abdomen and legs. He was also wearing a sling around his left arm. "It wasn't your fault. I saw you trying to save me. It wasn't your fault, you tried to save me." "I agree with the boy", a man with bandages around his face, arms, chest and legs steps in to see me. "Whatever happened to us was NOT your fault." "So why do I feel like I failed?" I ask. "It is better to try and fail than to not try at all. Had you chosen to save the woman and me, you would have made the wrong choice." I will never forget those words. Now I understand that even with all my powers, all my abilities, I am in fact... just a guy.