This thing here… it's more of an attempt to explain Sonic's origin, game wise. So, though I'm giving a nod to the Fleetway Sonic the Comic, this is ultimately going to reference the game universe most of all.
I just hope this'll work. :\
Disclaimer : Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA
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Green Hill Zone hadn't always been known for its peaceful weather, and lush vegetation. It hadn't been known for its friendly inhabitants or the wondrous views out to the brilliant blue ocean. It hadn't been known for much at all.
Not to say that none of these facts were true. Green Hill was indeed a peaceful place. But in this particular time, it suffered immensely from storms, floods, and all other kinds of natural disasters. None of the inhabitants really knew the cause. And they weren't prepared for any of it, either. Hence, it was a dark year for the Zone, as many of these Mobians were swept away or even drowned by each flood that struck them, week after week.
Due to constant destruction, it seemed that the Green Hill Zone would be forever wiped off the map, and unable to recover. Nobody could really grasp how all this damage could be undone. Or why it had all happened. The civilians of the area had begun to manage their unfortunate state, regardless, and move up to higher ground, safe from threatening waters.
None of them dared move back down, even when the weekly flood passed and the water level dropped. Nor did anybody leave his or her houses. As far as they were concerned, they were in trouble. And they needed help. They needed someone to save them from this constant threat.
Problematic as it was, there was no-one. There was no-one to save them, and from this threat, there was nothing that could be done, but wait.
Patience was needed in order to wait for the flooding waters to finally pass the civilians of the Green Hill Zone by.
And, patience was also needed to wait for the coming of age of their hero – who currently needed more saving than any of the current folk would ever need…
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The rain cascaded down from the grey storm clouds that swirled violently above the troubled lands. Trees were pulled helplessly back and forth by the crazed winds, several branches threatening to snap off and lose themselves to the dark skies. Heavy raindrops came crashing down, plunging into trembling leaf after trembling leaf. The usual green fields of the Zone were stained with brown, sloppy mud…
Any observer could tell that this was turning out to be a disaster area.
And the observer who had just made this claim was currently sitting on the very top of a hill, overlooking the Zone.
If any inhabitant of the area had come to see this stranger in such circumstances, an uproar would have ensued. For this person was no Mobian. He was not even an animal, for that matter. He was a human. A scientist, to be more specific.
He had not come from another 'world,' as many Mobians would have claimed. This scientist had come from miles, countries, even continents away. He'd indeed come from half a world away – just to explore the unknown of what had been deemed "Mobius."
The scientist gave a sigh.
Green Hill Zone had looked promising. Upon arriving here, he'd found much to fascinate and amaze him. The civilians had appeared friendly; the weather had rivalled the beauty of Station Square's local beaches (before the freak thunderstorms had ensued, at least) – and on top of that, he'd been able to confirm many rumours and discard others.
For one, it had been officially decided what the Mobians had actually looked like. Mere whisperings had debated on whether or not these creatures were actually animalistic in appearance. The strongest evidence for the theory, up until now, had come from Professor Gerald Robotnik's creation of the supposed, "Ultimate Life Form," said to be based off the appearance of a Mobian. Despite this claim, there had been no recorded image of such a creature, and such data regarding the matter was over almost 40 years old. This evidence was soon found as fraud – especially after Gerald's descent into a vengeful madness.
This statement had disappointed the scientist quite deeply. He'd always had faith in such a great man as Gerald. In fact, that man had inspired him, many a time, to also become a great scientist. To work hard, and create wonders, all for the sake of helping people…
The scientist rose, as a flash of lightning soon streaked amongst the dark, grey skies above, a deep rumble of thunder soon following after.
This man knew he would follow in the great Gerald's footsteps, and become the greatest scientist of all time. He knew he would surpass his adored grandfather.
He swore it on his name as Dr Ivo Robotnik.
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It was still raining heavily as Robotnik continued to amble his way through the nearby forest of Green Hill. Though the rain had occasionally been lessening up, before once more plunging down, the scientist knew all too well that another one of the Zone's weekly floods could very well be on its way. Despite the thick and tangling vegetation, the Doctor managed to slip past quite easily – he was known to be rather skinny for his age.
His white labcoat-turned raincoat had been stained with flecks of mud around its base as he jogged throughout the drenched forest, droplets of rain trickling down his glasses, and making it increasingly difficult to see. Yet he was certain that he was heading in the right direction. He'd built his settlement right where his ship had crash-landed… and according to his calculations, if he'd continue in this direction for another twenty-one paces, and turn northeast, and continue nearly thirty-four paces in that direction, he would –
Robotnik's thought processes came to an abrupt halt as one of his feet were caught somewhere in the undergrowth, and he suddenly tripped over, landing in the soft, squishy mud with a loud splat.
This man wasn't one to complain – yet he was somewhat annoyed at the fact that he now definitely could not see a thing, and that his entire labcoat was soaked in mud. Rising steadily, and removing his glasses, Robotnik cleansed them with his gloved fingers. It was all the more easier to rid the lenses of mud – the rain washed them clean in nearly five seconds flat.
Replacing him on his rather long nose, and sitting up all the way, he turned to see what exactly had tripped him up.
Half-buried in the mud, it appeared to be a small shrub of sorts. A small, brown shrub, with thick blades of…
The doctor rubbed his lenses. That couldn't be right.
A small shrub with what seemed to be quills… shivering violently – was that the wind?
Robotnik blinked. That couldn't be right, either. Internally, he began recording observations…
A small brown shrub with quivering quills, shaking violently… and the quills seemed to be rising and falling…rather quickly, but in a sort of rhythm…
The doctor made a sudden inference. The shrub was alive.
Hurriedly, he reached over, careful not to prick his gloved hands on the spines, and lifted the small creature from the soaked, suffocating mud. Yes, his inference was correct. The creature was alive, and barely breathing. Yet it only dimly, very dimly, seemed to be conscious.
Robotnik blinked, standing up and still holding the creature by its sides. From here, he could plainly see that, from arm's length, it was a hedgehog. A typical, Green Hill, Mobian hedgehog. And a rather young and exhausted one, at that.
Despite the general weak appearance of the young creature, the hedgehog's eyes only just remained open. And they did not portray a frightened weakness, nor sadness.
Its eyes were a fierce jade. They were tired – looking, yes, but determined. As if the young creature had been pushing himself continuously to stay awake through this suffocating weather.
Robotnik gave a sigh. The creature was still shivering rather violently from the cold. It wore nothing, no shoes, no gloves, no form of clothing at all.
He couldn't leave it here, try as he might.
Reassuring himself that his base would only be a few minutes away, the scientist
gently placed the hedgehog back on the ground and removed his muddy lab coat. He didn't hesitate to wrap the small hedgehog up, regardless of its sharp spines – that coat was a lost cause, anyway.
Picking up the young creature, and tucking it under his arm, Robotnik hurried through the forest once again, picking up from where he had left off on his navigational calculations. And from its new, warm retreat, the hedgehog stared up continuously at its rescuer for a few good minutes, before exhaustion finally swept over it – enough to finally make it slip into unconsciousness.
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Mud.
Mud and… water…
And rain. Rain, too.
Those were the only things he remembered, vaguely well. The images played, over and over, in his head. The cold, and wet ground… stumbling around in the forest…
Finally to collapse, and remain in the mud for… For Chaos knows how long…
So, when the young hedgehog reopened his eyes for the first time since falling into unconsciousness, he came to realise that he was in a very different place. His bleary, sleepy eyesight made out something rather different– instead of a dreary, cloudy sky with raindrops streaking down into his eyes, there was a ceiling.
A grey, metallic ceiling. He'd kinda thought that it was a storm cloud, at first…
But, no. He was clearly 'inside.' There was no rain. And on top of that, he was warm. Something soft had been placed underneath his aching head. He was entirely comfortable, in contrast to his previous state.
The hedgehog was tempted to fall back asleep, again. He felt safe, here. Warm and sleepy. But a nagging curiosity had overtaken his young mind. It wasn't out of fear, or doubt. Merely out of the desire to know what had happened, and where he was. So, slowly, he sat up. And his surroundings were soon revealed to him.
The young Mobian had never seen such things in his life. Metal… things and junk were scattered about the floor. Nuts, bolts and vinelike wires snaked across the cold, steel ground, pouring out of half-completed … machines, he guessed.
Multicoloured lights flickered on and off, upon certain machines. Some even made soft 'whirr'- ing, or 'hmm'- ing sounds. The hedgehog took all this in with great fascination, having never seen these kinds of objects and 'machinery,' before. The hedgehog wasn't sure how they all worked. And he wasn't really interested in those facts, for that matter.
He was interested, because they were all something new.
Studying his surroundings for another good few minutes, his jade eyes gleaming with interest, his fascination soon dimmed, and his prior excitement faded away.
What else was there?
The hedgehog glanced down at himself. He sat on a metal table of sorts, a large white pillow formerly cushioning his head. A small, grey, woollen blanket had been draped over his small body. It was comfortable, though it was starting to get itchy. He pushed off his covers and carefully swung his legs over the side of the table.
His ears perked up, suddenly.
Jade eyes wide, and attentive, he glanced about the area. He thought he'd heard a loud clatter of sorts. It was still echoing a little, right now, throughout the room…
He blinked. It was a pretty big room.
His attention focused back to his current goal – reaching the floor. Glancing back down over the side of the table, he swung his legs back and forth, rather indecisively.
He wondered if this was safe. The floor was appearing further and further away from his dangling feet, as he continued to stare downwards, despite the fact that he was leaning forward, his head inches from his knees. What if he broke an arm? A leg?
His eyes grew wide, paranoia overcoming his small form.
…Or every bone in his body?!
The hedgehog didn't have to wait long to discover the outcome. In fact, as soon as a shiver had travelled down his spine at the very thought of such an injury, his small body had become unsteady, and on top of that, he was already leaning forward considerably far.
So, inevitably, he fell forward off the table.
And after performing a somersault and a half in mid-fall, landed hard on his head.
Pain shot through the hedgehog's skull, and he let out a loud yelp. He quickly sat up, tensing his whole body and gripping his head in pain. A couple of tears spilled over, though he was a little too frustrated to wallow in the despair of his own clumsiness.
Still, it didn't mean he hadn't sat there for a few minutes, seething in mild pain and anger.
So he was rudely shocked when a new voice reached him, startlingly nearby.
"That was quite a fall…"
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Once again, Robotnik was taken aback at the unnaturally green eyes that the hedgehog shot up at him, wide in surprise, and slightly watery from slipping over. Though he could tell (quite easily) in this light that they were part of what made the creature appear so young, they also contained a kind of spark. As if it knew more than it let on.
The scientist shook his head, and crouched down to face the hedgehog at eye level. It rose back onto its feet as he did so, still rubbing the back of its head, though its jade gaze suddenly intense and stoic.
Coming from something so young, however, Robotnik was hardly deterred. He gave a small smile back, and the creature's expression faltered in confusion.
"An Erinaceus Europaeus, if I'm not mistaken." The scientist recited, earning an even more confused (and rather disarming) expression from the young hedgehog, whose arm fell back to its side, its shoulders slumping. Its eyes then narrowed, as if deep in thought.
And finally, for the first time, it spoke.
"…What's… that… mean?"
Robotnik gave a small nod, the voice confirming several of his theories about the small Mobian. For one, the hedgehog was definitely male. Though it hadn't been easy to reach this conclusion – his voice was rather young. The scientist estimated that the creature was at least eight, if not a little older.
"Never you mind." He replied, with a sigh. "Nothing you'd understand quite yet."
The hedgehog hesitated, before giving a nod. His expression had grown rather stoic again, though the façade slipped, once more, as a small rumble sounded from his small stomach. As if that had been some sort of reminder, he plopped back down on the ground, clutching his middle, his face screwed up in mild pain.
"…Hungry…" He moaned, softly.
Robotnik exhaled, sharply. Of course. Adding onto the amount of time the hedgehog had been outside and lying facedown in the mud, the Mobian had been unconscious for a good nine hours.
The Doctor gave a small nod, standing up, once more.
"Stay there – I'll get you something…"
Which was how, nearly one hour later, Dr Ivo Robotnik found himself entirely deprived of two fifths (he'd performed the calculations himself) of his current food supplies. He hadn't expected much of an appetite, though he knew the hedgehog probably could not recall the last time he'd eaten.
But two eggs, a pitcher of water, five apples, a banana, a bowl of chicken and rice, two chilli dogs (he'd taken a personal liking to those…) and three ice cream bars – especially for such a small creature – was ridiculous.
Needless to say, a small belly had formed where the Mobian's ribs had been showing, no more than an hour or so, ago. And finally, the young creature had slowed down on his eating, though despite this, his eyes were still fixed on Robotnik, who had been observing him the entire time.
The hedgehog took one last bite into his third ice-cream bar, before glancing over at what remained. Pulling a face, he slowly placed it by his side, and swallowed his last bite with difficulty. He was done, and he had the faint shade of green upon his features to prove it.
Robotnik blinked, them gave a nod. "Is that it?"
A nod.
The scientist gave a smile. "Well then. Do you feel any better?"
He'd soon realised how ridiculous that question had sounded to the slightly sick hedgehog. But he received anther nod, nonetheless.
At this, Robotnik sat down, in order to see the Mobian from eye to eye.
"I see… Do you think you'll be able to get home from here?"
The first thing that struck the scientist was the silence that followed. There was no nod. No reply at all, for that matter. Only that the hedgehog's stoic gaze had returned, slightly fiercer than usual, focusing back onto the ground.
Finally, he stood up, now completely level to Robotnik's sitting height.
"Don't …have one." The hedgehog said, as if it were a simple fact of life.
The scientist blinked. "Family?"
"Don't know." The young creature countered almost instantly, though his eyes wandered upwards in slight thought. "Washed away a long time ago."
"… 'Washed?' You mean… your parents were swept away? By the floods?"
The hedgehog stared at the scientist for a moment, no sign of sadness in his jade eyes. Though they were still rather clouded with confusion.
"Don't know. Just happened. They left – didn't let me come with 'em. Put me up
somewhere… where water couldn't get me."
Robotnik swallowed. "I… see. You're alone."
"Yeah." The hedgehog paused. "Water can't get us… here, right?"
The doctor shook himself out of the sudden pity he'd felt for this creature, and cleared his throat. "Uh… A-hem. No, no. Not to worry. We're on a small plateau. The floods can't get us here." He reassured, with a weak smile.
The young Mobian blinked. "S'not what I said… water can't… get us here, can it?"
Robotnik gave a small chuckle, shaking his head. "Oh – Aha! 'Water' and 'floods' are the same thing, young man." He tried to explain. "Now, 'flooding' is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land, a del – "
"Who're you?"
" – Eh?" The scientist paused, his definition interrupted.
"Just wanted to ask you…" The hedgehog's shoulders slumped slightly, his jade green eyes wide with curiosity. "What's… your name?"
The man gave a small sigh. He wasn't too certain about revealing his identity to a Mobian, and a young and impressionable one at that. Though it had been confirmed that the child had no home, nor any family, if word spread of his name and whereabouts, he wasn't quite sure how the Mobians would react.
And he wasn't about to take that risk. But at the same time, he couldn't remain a stranger to this hedgehog – this child needed some hospitality, regardless.
Sighing, he made a decision.
"I am Dr Ivo Robotnik." He stated. "But there's something I want you to do in return for knowing my name."
The Mobian blinked. "Huh…?"
"I do not want anybody else to know my name, or that I'm here in the first place. Understand?"
The hedgehog's expression scrunched in thought for a moment or so, before his gaze resumed on the doctor, and he gave a small nod.
"…Okay… but…"
He gave a sheepish smile.
"… I'll just call you… 'Doc.' Your name's hard to say…"
Robotnik's large moustache twitched, slightly. Personally, he didn't approve of the nickname. Regardless, as impressive as his name sounded, he knew an eight-year-old wouldn't have the patience to pronounce it.
"Very well, very well…" He gave a resigned nod, before glancing back over at the creature. "But now – what's your name?"
The hedgehog's expression resumed its stoic ferocity. "Don't have one."
Robotnik's shoulders slumped. He could personally say that this young creature was a sad case, on his part. No home, no parents, no food, no name -
"Well…" The doctor stared hard at the Mobian, who glanced back, the hardened expression dissolving. "I can't keep calling you 'Hedgehog' now, can I?"
"…Uh-uh." Came the reply, along with a small headshake. "Only… the angry people
call me that… Y'know, when they're… mad at me."
"All the more reason to give you a name." Robotnik stated, deciding not to dwell off the hedgehog's unfortunate situation any longer. It was time things started looking up for this creature, regardless of his origin. "Is there anything that comes to mind? What do you want to be called?"
The Mobian blinked, hard. Then… for the first time, an actual smile managed to appear on his youthful features. Its absence up until now seemingly struck Robotnik, and he sighed in relief. Up until now, nothing had made the hedgehog smile…
"I… I don't know." He admitted, sheepishly. "Don't know… how to get a name…"
The scientist nodded, deep in thought. "Alright, alright… Let me think…"
He couldn't exactly pick a name out of the book – for one, he hardly knew this hedgehog. The child definitely deserved a unique name – because that was ultimately what came to mind about this Mobian. This one was… well, strange. Different.
But somehow, in a good way.
"… Is there… is there anything you're good at?" Robotnik wound up asking. If he had more of a base for names, other than the fact that the subject was a hedgehog, and termed 'unique,' perhaps this would be a little easier. "Anything you enjoy doing?"
The creature's gaze grew astray, as if in deep thought. Then, something struck him, and he turned back to the scientist, eyes sharp in realisation.
"I can run."
It wasn't the way the hedgehog looked, when he'd said those words. It was more the expression he had, that struck Robotnik.
"You can run?"
"I can run real fast." The Mobian said, his tone growing firm. "The people say I can… can run like the wind. Like… super fast!"
The idea seemed ridiculous to the scientist. Hedgehogs didn't run. At least, not where he came from. But the creature's expression was set in stone – so serious – when he'd said it. The words, the idea, the tone of voice – they all sounded childish.
Yet Robotnik… couldn't exactly bring himself to say that.
"How fast?" He reluctantly encouraged the young hedgehog to continue.
"Super fast. Like… like one time, I beat one a' the squirrels in a race – they're supposed to be real fast, but I beat him good – a-and I managed to escape from one of the Bear family when they were real mad – they get super fast when they're mad – so… so back the I musta' been super duper fast! One of the rabbits – like, like the old ones – he said I was like… like a sonic boom!"
The hedgehog made his emphasis by spreading his hands to either side, though his breathing had become rather shallow at the gesture. He'd rambled on entirely in one breath, the scientist had noted, his eyes glimmering brightly in excitement. He'd never seen such life, such enthusiasm erupt from the young Mobian, before…
The excitement suddenly seemed to dissolve, and both the hedgehog's arms dropped to either side, his expression melting into one of confusion, once more.
"Hey, Doc…? What's a 'sonic boom?' "
Robotnik gave a small chuckle. He wouldn't bother himself to explain scientifically, anymore – this child was beyond that.
"It's a term for… for going really fast. It's a loud sound that happens at… twice the speed of sound."
The hedgehog blinked. "So… really really superfast?"
"Yes." Came the reply, slightly distorted as the scientist grew deep in thought, a rather large smile appearing upon his features.
That was it.
That was perfect.
"…Sonic."
The hedgehog blinked. "Huh?"
Robotnik nodded in internal agreement. "Yes. That will do. 'Sonic.'"
The Mobian blinked, and for a brief moment, the scientist could have sworn that the creature's brown fur was standing on end, his quills shivering, ever so slightly, in suppressed excitement. His jade eyes were gleaming, once more, as if their owner was in the midst of rambling about the very concept of running, once more.
"Son… ic?"
"Yes." Robotnik said, nodding. "That will be your name. Probably a little strange, but…" The scientist shook his head. "I believe that's all I can come up with, for now. Is that all right?"
He was once more met with silence, as the hedgehog seemed to ponder over the matter. Yet – he seemed internally happy – no, euphoric. It was revealed in his eyes, and the way his small body seemed to tremble in excitement.
"… Thanks… Doc…" He said, in a small voice, barely audible. "Thanks… a lot."
The scientist gave a nod. "No need to thank me, Sonic." He untangled his crossed legs and finally stood up, shaking his head. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm afraid – I left an experiment unsupervised… " He admitted, sheepishly, as he walked back through a few broken machines that surrounded them, mumbling to himself about restarting the entire experiment due to lack of observation, safety regard, et cetera, et cetera…
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The hedgehog did not watch the scientist leave. He did not look at anything, for that matter. He didn't feel lonely when his only company had parted – nor did his stomach feel sick, anymore.
Slowly, he heaved in a shaking breath. It was there, on the tip of his tongue. He knew it was there. It was his, now. It belonged to him.
And he just… wanted to say it properly.
Another small smile appeared on his features, as he let the breath out…
… his new name following, soon after.
"Sonic."
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Any feedback here would be appreciated.
NettikGirl