The blue blur seldom stopped moving, that gust of air you immediately dismiss as: "Just the wind."
He was a ghost. Untouchable, incorporeal, intangible to his adoring fans and loved ones. No matter how tightly they held onto him, their arms passed right through the space in which he occupied nanoseconds ago and I'm so sorry, Amy, but I'm not the man you want me to be.
He never apologises for the despair he imbued in them; their faces conveying confusion and hurt. He never apologises, because by the time it takes for their facial muscles to twitch, for that frown to form in all its despicable glory, he, Sonic The Hedgehog, was already hundreds of miles away; gone like the wind.
No, he was the wind.
The wind that put out the fires of destruction and the wind that assaulted the evil with the particles in which they carry ruthlessly scarring them in the midst of the friction between good and evil. Genocide, terrorism and hedonism, Man has done it all and if given the chance, he will continue to rape and plumage and conquer.
He was the hero, King Arthur reborn; stopping the bad guy was his job, his duty and so what if he laughs a little too hard as he ran and thrashed to his hearts content, how else will he, the strongest man alive, gain that adrenaline high. Oh the adrenaline, oh the rush of adventure. This is what he lives for! Even if he indulges in his carnal desires, as long as the day was saved, wasn't everything as it should be? Wasn't it...right? Surely for men like him, mercy should hold no place in their heart. The number of times he tried to kill him and his friends were too numerous to count, something he could never truly forget. Children or not he came at them with the ferocity of a lion: predatory, merciless...
Heartless.
So why should he show mercy? This egghead just couldn't be saved and so, he took the easy way out. For every land he raped Sonic smashed and broke everything (everything!) in his path three hundred fold until he was left panting, more from excitement than anything, his limbs trembling from the dosage of adrenaline that flooded his bloodstream.
How many times have they played this game? Too many but never enough. He was addicted to this wonderful drug: adventure, his only mistress. Wreckage stretched out, as far as the eye can see. Sonic admired his masterpiece even as the city, once so full of life, was as silent as death, layered with the remnants of Eggman's army (he will never take the city. Not when he's still breathing).
In a blur he stood before the prone figure, covered in ash with a coffin of scrap metal, the remains of his glorious creations but he couldn't spare even an ounce of ruth. If Eggman only played nice, Sonic would never have to break his toys.
"Wow, Eggman. You sure showed me. With all that genius you always forget one important variable. As long as I'm here, you've already lost," he mocked before the wake of the city not delighting in Eggman's pain or misery, but just flaunting his victory for the silent crowd, for the world to see their hope and aspirations for a better future be embodied in him.
Sonic stared down at the prone figure of this proud man, thwarted, defeated and yet never truly broken. He respected that character trait but it was utilised for the wrong purpose: of furthering his evil goals and Sonic could never forgive that.
Once again it clawed at his throat, the guilt that always plagues him (will he ever be free) day and night as his body and soul, once again succumbed to wanderlust and I am so, so sorry Tails, but I have to run.
Sonic The Hedgehog, always running away from his problems, from his loved ones and every time he returned, recounting his most recent quest for glory he sees admiration and pain shine in their eyes because once again he had that marvellous adventure without them. No matter how tightly they clung, the wind slip through their fingers and all he could say was sorry but they never heard; he was already gone.
(Stop hurting yourselves, you can't hold the air).
This man was a monster and ruined everything Sonic held dear, nearly killing Sonic and friends several times in his ridiculous conquest and his numerous sins swirled through our blue heroes head. There, Eggman launched him out of the shuttle, into space. The atmospheric reentry alone should have killed him and Eggman clearly didn't expecting him to survive.
Remembering the terror that coursed through his veins as he fell for hundreds of thousands of feet, his raw throat almost bleeding from his screams, still war from his painful transformation. To be honest, Sonic didn't expect himself to survive the fall either.
There, Eggman threatening Amy's life with a gun to her head and there, Eggman capturing harmless animals to power his killer robots and there, Eggman creating a factory of nightmarish proportions that drained the Wisps' of their life force, powering his new Kingdom and there, Eggman discussing Genocide with the ease of discussing the weather.
But Sonic simply moved too fast for these atrocities to become etched into his soul, to corrupt his pure heart. He remembered Eggman, saving the life of his brother (his precious Tails), Eggman sacrificing his life for their cause. Eggman, saving Orbot and Cubot from gun fire even though he really didn't have to and his mouth opened, his throat aching as he tried to force the words back, to swallow his traitorous tongue, Eggman's eyes widened at the sorrow reflected in those emerald gems, a sorrow he mistook for sympathy and he snarled in hatred. Don't say it. Damn you rodent, don't you dare pity me!
"I'm so-" He began and Eggman broke. He screamed and raged, writhed and snarled in animalistic rage, pulling at his beloved moustache with an unforseen ferocity, tearing out a few strands in the process and the hero of Möbius could only stare in shock, too dumbfounded to even force the rest of his sentence from his burning lips.
He never finished his apology. There was an explosion of scrap metal and a metal fist faster than a speeding bullet was imbedded into his blue cheek as the red, apathetic orbs of Metal Sonic bore into him, recognising the distress of its master and responding as a trained Rottweiler: apathetic yet deadly. Sonic soared and tumbled, the advanced electronics giving the robot doppelganger a strength no mortal should ever possess. Sonic, hardly ever got hit and though not unused to pain as a 'child soldier' he couldn't completely suppress a surprised grunt upon impact before rolling to a stop.
"-rry, " he finished lamely but only the ground was witness to his poor attempt at an apology. Too little, too late, Sonic. He didn't bother checking his; Metal Sonic and the maddened Doctor Eggman were already gone.
He tried to remember a time where he didn't have to fight for his life and what he believed in.
He came up suspiciously empty and thought that if he had the capability, he would have cried but the world doesn't need a man, a mortal.
It needed a hero.
He won the war but he felt no glory, no pride because he did it at the price of a man's sanity. Even so he plastered on a paper thin smile (the winning smile) as he accepted his trophies and awards with a heavy heart (never before has sorrow been so graceful). He laughed with his friends, taunted Shadow mercilessly in the hopes of gaining a race and successfully distracted Knuckles from that hunk of rock.
For a mere moment, he was able to convince himself that nothing really changed. However, his facade falters at home where his barriers break down.
He was so tired. Tired of his traitorous mind replaying the scene of Eggman's breakdown again and again until he thought he would go mad with guilt.
" Oof!"
He suddenly exhaled painfully as an orange blur collided with his stomach. He flailed comically before toppling, Tails clinging to him like some deranged monkey. Cute, sure, but very uncharacteristic; confused he hugged the suddenly affectionate fox automatically, muttering an unsure: "Tails?"
"It's okay," he responded, his twin tails cascading them like a sheet and Sonic swallowed, his eyes watering. That one statement held many others and Sonic heard them all through their strong bond. "It wasn't your fault", "It must have been so hard for you", "Eggman isn't worth your conscience" and "I forgive you."
I forgive you...
So overwhelmed, if he hugged Tails a little too tight, he never said anything and they embraced each other in the midst of the tomorrow that awaited them.
However, with a watery smile, Sonic challenged fate because his loved ones forgave him...
This Jerk With a Heart of Gold.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. All rights belong to Sega.
Author's Note: Computer's been MIA for quite a while so I'm quite rusty. So, I need to improve my writing skills via side projects before I tackle my perfect imperfection, "Giratina's Anecdote". If Sonic or any of the character's portrayed are out of character or any errors particularly stand out, please inform me in the comments. Insults of any kind will not be tolerated. This isn't YouTube people.
Happy readings everyone and I hope you all will enjoy your Christmas vacation!
P.s: I've grown to distaste disclaimers in recent years. In my opinion, they cheapen the reading experience with inappropriate humour and dissolves suspense, hence I placed it at the end. Think of it as the credits or bibliography and if you don't like it, inform me in the comments below and the issue will be rectified A. S. A. P.