A/N: Hello, everybody! It's been a while, hasn't it? For those who have never met me before, I'm BearfootTruck, and I've been writing fanfic since 2012. However, I took a long hiatus because: 1. I couldn't figure out which direction to go with this one series I was working on, 2. I was (and still am) going through various personal issues, and most importantly, 3. I wanted to take some time to sharpen my writing skills.
About that last point: from the time I finished my last fanfic to the present day, I've been taking a good look at my body of work, and I've found that a lot of them aren't as good as they could have been. In fact, I deleted a couple because they were utter crap. The rest I'm keeping up because I already spent a lot of time working on them and I'd hate to see my effort go down the drain. Mock them if you wish, but know this: nothing that you say or do can hurt me any worse than what I've been through in my entire life.
On the bright side, I've had plenty of fun writing, and I find that that's what's really important.
So, to the people I've never met before, and to my long-time followers: let's get the party train going!
In the Kingdom of Mobius, it all began with a blade of grass.
To be precise, it began with several blades of grass.
Mobius was said to have the greenest grass on the planet. Furthermore, despite the amount of pollution in the planet's atmosphere, the country's air was generally agreed to be the cleanest. Couple that with the clear blue skies, and the Kingdom was voted by innumerable magazines, websites and other media as one of the best countries to live in.
Then, said blades of grass were ruffled by a fierce gust of wind, marked by a streak of blue. This streak was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. Known the world over for his numerous crusades against evil, he usually spent his free time running around wherever he dang well pleased. Though the world around him became a blur like he was, he could still find his way around. Truly, this was heaven to him.
Sonic's journey took him to Azure Lake Zone, located in the eastern part of the country. The world's largest lake, Azure Lake was known for its crystal clear water and a few ruins on the southern tip. After taking a lap around the lake, the Blue Blur went to said ruins, where he found a large cabin sitting atop a hill not too far away. He knocked on the door.
"Come in!" said somebody on the other side.
Sonic entered the cabin. Standing before him was Miles "Tails" Prower, his best friend. Inside the cabin was a mix of old-school and new-school, with a few rugs, leather and chestnut furniture, and a bunch of electronics. Upon stepping foot inside, Sonic slipped on a bunch of mail and fell. When he hit the floor, he couldn't help but notice one piece of mail in particular. As if the Black Arms stamp wasn't already a giveaway, the sender's name was.
(A letter from Shadow?) thought Sonic. (Ah, probably one of his death threats again. Why doesn't that turkey just tell me in person?)
Tails went to help Sonic up, but the Blue Blur got to his feet by himself and gave a thumbs up. "And the man is A-OK!"
Tails had a frown on his face, which was unusual since he was usually so happy to see Sonic.
"Tails…what's wrong?"
"Sonic, I got a call from Acorn Hospital," said Tails. "It's about Uncle Chuck."
"Why, what happened to him?"
"I don't know how else to tell you…but…he has cancer."
"Wha…?" Sonic's mouth remained agape for a few seconds. "Why didn't ya tell me before!?"
"Well, you did have your watch communicator turned off…"
"Never mind that! How bad is it?"
"The doctor said it was terminal."
"So when's he gonna get out?"
"Sonic, you don't understand! 'Terminal' means that he's not gonna make it!"
"All right, now you're just jivin' me! I'm outta here!"
With that, Sonic sped out of the cabin.
Not long after, Sonic made it to Emerald City, the capital of Mobius. About half of the Mobian population lived here and its assorted suburbs. It had suffered a number of takeover attempts by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, all of which were repelled by Sonic. Since it was in the afternoon, there was an influx of people trying to get home from work. Despite the heavy traffic, Sonic managed to weave through everything and make it to Acorn Memorial Hospital. Like a number of establishments in the city, the hospital was named for the Royal Family. Inside, it was rather crowded. Ol' Blue charged through the front doors and up to the front desk.
"Welcome, Sonic!" said the receptionist, a gray goose. "Can I help you?"
"My Uncle Chuck's here!" replied Sonic. "What room is he in?"
"He's in Room 0301."
"Thanks, that's all I need to know!"
Sonic zoomed past a bunch of ambulance attendants and headed up to Room 0301, where Charles T. Hedgehog was located. Chuck was almost a spitting image of his nephew, but he was light blue and had a white mustache. By now, however, he'd lost much of his color and looked somewhat emaciated.
"Uncle Chuck!"
"Good to see ya, Sonny!" Chuck began coughing.
"I came as soon as I could! How are ya feelin'?"
"To be honest…I've seen better days."
"No kiddin'! Say Unc, I got a question…"
"Yes?"
"And don't jive me…"
"I won't."
"Is it true that you ain't gonna make it?"
Chuck groaned. "Let me put it to ya this way: the priest has already given me the Last Rites, and I've made peace with my fate." Chuck coughed again.
Sonic turned his palms upwards. "So that's it? You're just gonna lay down and die!?"
"I never said that; I'm saying that I'm OK with death."
Sonic hung his head. "Well…if that's how ya want it…I guess I can't stop ya, huh?" He brought his head up again. "So riddle me this: what the heck happened to my parents?"
"Sonny, there's no good way to tell you this…but…your parents were assassinated." Chuck coughed again.
Sonic dropped his jaw. "WHA…!? But why?"
"There's a lot ya don't know about Jules and Bernie. They worked directly for King Max on special assignments. Even I don't know what they were working on. All I know is that they made quite a few enemies."
Sonic crossed his arms. "Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Robuttnik's fault!"
"For years, I wanted to tell you that your parents died in a car accident, but I just couldn't bring myself to lie to ya. Now that I'm here, I figured it was only logical that ya knew the truth."
"Ah, thanks anyways…I guess. That reminds me…"
"Yes?"
"Unc, I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with ya. I guess in all my adventures, I lost sight of what was really important."
Chuck reached out and touched Sonic's arm. "Don't feel too bad about it. I'm happy that you found your true calling, and I'm very proud of ya."
"Thanks, man." Sonic cracked a weak smile.
"Oh, and Sonny…"
Sonic leaned closer. "Yeah?"
"I…
"Yeah?"
"I…"
"What is it?"
Chuck relinquished his hold on Sonic as his eyes closed. Sonic stayed by his side for as long as possible, but eventually, the heart rate monitor flatlined.
"Unc? UNC!" With tears forming in his eyes, Sonic shook Chuck."Come on, Unc, wake up! Please, don't do this to me, man! Please, wake up! Don't die! I'm beggin' ya! I'M BEGGIN' YA!"
Sonic stopped his pleading and instead laid his face down on Chuck's chest, crying. Because he had never experienced the loss of a family member in a long time, the hospital staff had to struggle to pry him away from his uncle.