Nothing was more rejuvenating to Sonic than the crisp air of the lush Hidden Meadows carrying the chipper sounds of nature to accompany the weary traveler. He could feel the damp grass soaking coolly into the soles of his sneakers. The smell of morning dew and the leaves from the twisted trees filled the air around him. The canopies of the trees that covered the sun above danced along to the patterns of the wind. Unfortunately for Sonic this utopia was not the place for a lovely stroll but was now the setting for the battle of his life. If it was that bald behemoth Eggman he wouldn't have minded as much. He wouldn't have even been that bothered if it was the spineless freak Lyric; but his enemy was neither of the above. No, his foe was instead his dark doppelgänger, the black and red hedgehog who would twist time and space to destroy him. The foe that stood before him was Shadow the Hedgehog.
The two hedgehogs faced each other with fire in their eyes; both have been covered in scratches and bruises after a flurry of constant spin dashes, piercing punches and kicks as well as the beehive the two had accidently destroyed when Shadow pushed Sonic into it. After spending an intense minute or so running away from the swarm of angry bees the two decided that it would be best if neither mentioned that part of the fight again.
"Phew, haven't been this exhausted since Eggface moved into Tails' place." Sonic panted, "And you seem to be crankier than usual, Shadow. What's the deal?"
"You know, I thought even you would've gotten the hint by now." Shadow growled as he dusted off his legs and straightened himself up "I'm fed up with you and your childish notions of teamwork and your failure to see me as your superior. This ends right here and now! And when all is said and done only one of us is going to walk out of here alive." This statement had Sonic step back in shock. Sure Shadow has threatened him before but this time Sonic actually believed his statement.
"Whoa whoa whoa. What do you mean only one of us walking out alive? You mean like a battle to the death?"
Shadow rolled his eyes, "No Sonic, I mean a dance battle."
"Hey, sarcasm's my thing. You just stick to being grumpy." Sonic exclaimed. Shadow adjusted his gloves with every breath seeming to emanate contempt.
"You ready then?" He asked. Sonic gave him a thumbs up.
"Let's go." The two hedgehogs clenched their fists and bent their knees, both getting ready to charge at each other.
"Let's end this." Shadow growled.
"Ladies first." Sonic smirked. With that the two charged forward like stones shot out of a sling shot. The two hedgehogs became streaks of blue and dark red light constantly clashing against each other creating fireworks and novas exploding across the meadows. The spectacles ended with Shadow kicking Sonic's spindash into a nearby tree. As Sonic collided with the trunk the tree collapsed, burying Sonic in a pile of woodchips and leaves. With a huff Sonic picked himself out of the pile and picked out the leaves that got stuck in his quills.
"Come on, dude. I just showered today."
"Really? I never would've guessed." Shadow gave Sonic a sardonic look, barely suppressing a smirk while charging up a chaos spear brimming with golden sparks. Shadow hurled the spear with the intent of hitting his rival between the eyes. Luckily, Sonic's lightning reflexes once again did him justice as he dashed just inches away from the projectile. Staring back at Shadow, Sonic found it hard to believe that the one surrounding himself with a crimson light for a chaos blast intended for him was the hedgehog he once called his older brother.
Velocidad, Naka
6:04 pm
Five years and nine months before the Raskovnik mission
Young Ryan used to think that his city Velocidad was a magical place. During the day the streets were filled with musicians and street performers that created a spectacle of hypnotizing melodies and illusions unable to be comprehended by the average spectator, all for the sake of a few coins. When the sun set and the moon rose however, the buildings would light up like Christmas trees. Parades would march down the cobblestone streets with marchers adorned in costumes shining brighter than the stars above them and the lamp posts lining the roads would change into many different colours flashing into the night. Ryan's father, Charles, a gruff and stiff mechanic without a funny bone in his body would often scoff at these performers and complain that nobody gets any sleep in this city. But to young Ryan, his older brother David and their mother Aleena it was a beautiful dream that they'd never want to wake up from.
However, not all in the world was peaceful and festive as Velocidad. In the archipelago Racimo, of which Naka was a part of, a shrouded group of empowered beings known as the Deadly United Assassin League (DUAL for short) has been taking the countries by a violent storm; robbing stores, kidnapping super-powered children and taking control of entire national militaries to increase their power and influence. This shady group has faced little resistance due to how feared they are and how little is known about them. Upset by how the world is doing little to stop them David begged his parents to enroll him into Erizo Academy, a school designed to train empowered beings to fight evil and defend the islands in Racimo.
"And right now Naka needs help more than ever." Eleven-year-old David begged his parents. His parents knew that David was an empowered child, one of a rare group of children gifted with amazing abilities believed to have been used by the heroes of long ago to defend Racimo from evil. David's power over electricity and bending the space and time continuum to perform many feats such as teleporting with what he called Chaos Control made him very popular in the neighborhood and even made some money as a street magician. Of course with supervision from his parents to ensure his feats of grandeur didn't fly out of control.
"Which means right now we need to protect you more than ever." Charles countered, "Who knows when DUAL will decide to hit Naka next? You know how quick they are with kidnapping children and at that school…" He slammed his fist on the couch cushion laying on the black velvet couch that he, David and Aleena were sitting on. In the room across from them eight-year-old Ryan was leaning against the wall, listening in on the conversation.
"And what if they come here? If I can't be taught to fight back when they do, I might as well start quacking because I'm a sitting duck."
"I see your point David but Erizo will only graduate students who are grown up enough to go to dangerous places." Aleena had to bring her voice down to almost a whisper in an attempt to calm her now anxious son.
"I'm grown up enough!" David pouted, crossing his arms knowing he was only proving his mother's point. Charles shook his head.
"Do you realize that you could be killed?" He asked. On the other side of the wall a shocked Ryan pushed himself back and mouthed the word "killed" as if to create an echo. "Then what will happen? How's it going to be like for Ryan to have to grow up without his older brother? Have you even thought of what would happen if we had to bury our own son?"
"But what if I spend the rest of my life sitting in this house all day? What will Ryan think of me if I decided to be a coward?" David exclaimed, his eyes full of tears.
His mother sighed, "David, there is more to helping people than becoming a soldier."
"But you saw the news. The 'peaceful tactics' aren't working. Kids are still being taken, innocent countries are still being attacked and you guys don't even care!" David yelled, "You're both stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"Go to your room." Charles narrowed his gaze at David and pointed towards the door at the top of the stairs.
"But-"
"David, listen to your father." Aleena interrupted. The last thing Ryan heard before pushing himself off the wall was the sound of his sobbing brother storming up the stairs and slamming the boys' bedroom door closed.
That night after brushing his teeth Ryan went into the room he shared with David expecting what happened to be brushed under the rug. So Ryan leapt into his bed and turned off the lamp on the dresser separating him from David's bed. Ryan assumed David was asleep and so whispered a good night before closing his eyes. However, he found himself waking up to the sound of David's voice.
"You heard, didn't you?" A dazed and sleepy-eyed Ryan curled up into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes.
"Wha?"
"The argument I had. With Mom and Dad? About Erizo?" Ryan rubbed his eyes, despite the room being pitch black he didn't bother to turn on the light out of fear it would blind him at this hour.
"They just want to protect you, bro. They love you, just like I do." Ryan was normally the sibling to side with his parents, he almost never raised his voice at them, an act his brother had more trouble achieving. David sighed.
"But… what about the kids without parents like Mom and Dad that are targeted by DUAL? What about them? I can't just stand around and watch." David's voice cracked, a sign that he was on the verge of shedding tears once more.
"So how's a boring military school going to help?" Ryan asked dazedly.
"It's not a military school!" David retorted. He immediately covered his mouth in case their parents heard him. He was greeted with silence. Assured, he continued, albeit more quietly, "It's much, much cooler. They assign you to teams of basically super heroes with cool powers." Ryan had heard the speech many times before, each time David had the sameenthusiasm for praising Erizo and the national heroes that were said to have graduated from the school.
"Like your lightning and teleporting stuff?"
"It's not lightning and teleporting stuff. It's chaos spear and chaos control. Completely different." David rolled his eyes in annoyance, "And Erizo's going to make me just like those super heroes; saving people, fighting bad guys, maybe even get me a girlfriend." With an "Ew" from Ryan, David found himself being struck on the head with a pillow. He tossed Ryan back a bigger pillow and within seconds the two brothers leapt out of their beds and a pillow fight ensued. The sound of the two laughing brothers wrestling each other to the ground and treating pillows as makeshift boxing gloves was only interrupted by a very annoyed and tired Charles Hedgehog.
"What are you two doing up there?"
"Nothing!" The brothers called back, trying to stifle their laughs as they got back into their beds. For a moment neither hedgehog said a word, instead opting to take a breath to regain their composure.
"Erizo is going to help me be a hero." David finally declared.
"But Mom and Dad already said 'no'." Even though it was dark Ryan could tell David had a sly smile on his face.
"That's not going to stop me."
For days David continued to try and convince his parents to let him enroll in Erizo. He tried begging, he tried reasoning, he even tried threatening to never go to school again. This all led to the same response, "No, no and we'll justhave to drag you to school then". It seemed as if nothing could convince his parents to let him enroll. It wasn't until one week later, three days before school was supposed to start that David decided to take his fate into his own hands.
It was after Ryan and Charles went shopping for school supplies when there was a knock at the door. Charles opened the door, expecting his wife having returned early from work. His moustache almost dropped to the ground in shock in the presence of Erizo headmaster Numantia.
"Ah, hello." The old teal falcon said with a smile, "My name is Numantia Linnaeus, the headmaster of Erizo Academy. You must be David's father Charles." For a moment Charles couldn't say a word. He had no idea as to how Numantia could have known David's name let alone his family or where he lived.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Hedgehog?" The puzzled falcon asked. With that Charles snapped out of his thoughts and placed himself back into reality.
"No no. Uh…" After taking another moment to put his words together Charles finally let them roll off his tongue, "Could you please excuse me for one moment?" With that the now infuriated hedgehog marched up the stairs and into David's room where he and Ryan were playing a motorcycle racing game on their Saturn console.
"David T. Hedgehog, get your tail downstairs now. Ryan, stay here until I call you down." Charles told the boys. Davidcould tell by the tone of his father's voice that arguing was not an option and immediately followed him downstairs. Ryan, not wanting to miss what was going on crept across the hall and to the top of the stairs. When David saw that standing before him was the headmaster of Erizo he knew it was time to tell his father what he had done.
"David, care to tell me what's going on?" Charles asked with each word seeming to add fuel to the fire that was burning the inside of David's stomach. For a brief moment he thought of pretending that he had no clue as to who the falcon at the door was, but he knew he couldn't lie to his father. Besides, Ryan was watching and he couldn't let his brother down. There was also the option to run away, lock himself in the bathroom and hope Numantia would go away. However, if he was to become a hero he knew he needed to stand his ground and tell the truth.
"Dad, I uh… uh… I sent Numantia an application to Erizo… without your permission." Every word that came out felt like nails being dragged up young David's throat.
"What?" Boomed the two grown-ups. Fear for his older brother filled Ryan's head as he saw what unfolded. He never liked seeing David get in trouble but this was nothing like the times he was caught trying to use his chaos control to get to the cookie jar before dinner.
"But, the application required a parent's signature. How did you manage to get those?" Numantia asked the trembling hedgehog standing before him. David gulped before giving the headmaster his answer.
"Um… I used Mom's signature from her cheque book and written it as best as I could."
"You mean you didn't trace it?" The now bewildered Charles asked. David shook his head. Just when Charles had seen it all with the son that could warp time and space, lift the cars at his shop and conjure electricity at will David continued to surprise him with hidden talents.
"David Hedgehog," Numantia sighed, "I'm very disappointed in you. You could have been an amazing asset to Erizo Academy. You could have been something great, among the legends even. But this academy has no place for dishonest, immature children like yourself."
Without thinking about what he was doing Ryan called out, "Hey! My brother's not immature!" The three looked up at the stairs, Charles and Numantia with surprised while David tried to mentally beg his younger brother to please be quiet. Unfortunately, he was on the wrong channel.
"David is the greatest brother ever. He is nice and cool and awesome and only wants to be a hero. He only did that because Mom and Dad said 'no' because it was dangerous." With the thought of defending his brother and making the funny blue bird stop being mean to David, Ryan sped down the stairs in a streak of periwinkle light and stopped right below Numantia's beak.
"But he just wants to help people, otherwise he never would have tried so hard to get in. And if you can't see that then you're a big dumb bird brain full of mud!"
"Ryan The Hedgehog!" Charles interrupted. It was at that moment the world seemed to stand completely still as Ryan looked around and saw not only Charles' stern scowl and David's jaw threatening to touch the ground but a scorched streak treading from the top of the stairs to the floor behind him.
"It seems that extraordinary abilities run in the family." Numantia said thoughtfully. Ryan was as shocked as anyone that was standing in front of the door at that moment. He was used to seeing David find new powers and superhedgehog abilities that the kids in school would read about in comic books but never had any powers came from him. He was supposed to be the boring one of the two. Where did these powers come from?
"Well, I can't seem to remember the last time I've had a student visit this eventful." The falcon cocked an eyebrow, "It is said that one of the best ways to judge a person is seeing how their siblings see them. If what you say about your brother is true young Ryan, then David will make an exceptional defender of Racimo."
"Wait, does this mean I'm in?" David asked excitedly.
"Only if it's okay with your parents." Young David immediately turned to his father and begged him to please give him a chance. Charles shook his head.
"I don't know, David. What you did was a very dishonest thing to do. We'll need to discuss this as a family when your mother gets home." With that the spark in David's eye vanished as he went back upstairs with Ryan in tow.
Later, after Aleena got home the family of hedgehogs gathered around at the kitchen table with dinner still being heated in the oven. For a spell nobody said a word before Charles became the first to speak.
"David, care to tell your mother what happened today?" David hesitated, before looking into Ryan's eyes urging him to go on. With that look David explained all of what happened to Aleena about when Numantia came to the house.
"Wait, so David managed to copy my signature exactly based on memory and Ryan ran down the stairs in supersonic speeds?" She asked with bewilderment.
"Well, yes dear but-"
"Wow, that is incredible. Can you imagine what you could do if you used that memory to study for your tests, David? And Ryan, wow hun, how fast do you think you were going?" The boys enjoyed this attention from their mother. All day they were worried she would react with disappointment but to see the excitement in her eyes brought joy to their hearts.
"Aleena, we are not supposed to be encouraging them." Charles growled.
"I'm not encouraging them, I'm just asking-" Aleena began, but she cut herself off when she realized she wasn't helping anyone at the table's case on what happened. Instead, she cleared her throat and changed her expression to make herself seem more serious, as if she was back in court in front of the jury.
"David, why did you decide that it would be a good idea to go behind our backs and lie to the headmaster?" David could feel the sweat dripping down the side of his head and the world begin to spin around him.
"I was mad. I really, really wanted to become somebody important. When I look back at all this when I'm a Dad and my kids ask 'Where were you when all those bad people were attacking Racimo?' I don't want to say that I hid under my bed and did nothing. I want to give people a chance to live a good life. I want to give those kids a chance to see their parents again. Even if I only go on one mission, even if I don't get any awards or fans for doing anything I still want to look back and have no regrets about what I've done. If you let me enroll in Erizo, I promise I will make you both proud."
"And if we say 'no'?" Charles asked.
"If you don't let me go, I won't go. I will never ask to go again and I will never do anything to disobey you. I'll admit it, it'll be a tough pill to swallow but…" David turned to look at Ryan, who was mostly fiddling with a fork on the table, ignoring the conversation, "As long as Ryan thinks I'm a hero, I know I have the potential to do great things someday. And that's good enough for me." Ryan couldn't help but blush, to have his brother say something like that to him was like waking up to Christmas every day. It always meant the world to Ryan to gain respect from the super hero he was glad to call his big brother.
"David, are you just saying this to try and convince us to let you go?" Charles asked. David quickly raised his hands in defense.
"What? No! I really, really mean it. And if you don't believe me you can take away my Dreamcast, my Saturn and my Genesis." He then turned to Ryan, "I'll even tell Ryan that he's the better hedgehog at Astro Smash." This statement was what got the other three hedgehogs' attention. Now, Ryan and David were both avid players of the old game Astro Smash, often taking turns seeing who can destroy the most asteroids before losing all their lives. David played the same way he used his powers, with aggression and force. Ryan on the other hand focused more on speed and dodging. The two often bickered over who had the better style and who was the better player. The family knew David was dead serious with his plea when he put his pride and "Astro Dignity" on the line.
Charles looked at Aleena. Aleena waited for a cue from Charles. The two were at a loss for words, at one point neither of them knew what to do in the face of that. The only sound in the room was of the timer ticking down the last few seconds of cooking time. Then Aleena gave her husband a slight nod of approval. Taking a deep breath Charles turned his head to his sons who were anticipating his answer.
"If we allow you to go… will you promise to stay in contact with us?" David leaned forward so his father could hear clearly and replied with a calm and unhesitant voice,
"Of course. I promise." A small half smile weaved its way onto Charles' face. With the sober air that followed himaround when things were looking positive for the family, Charles nodded. A tidal wave of joy washed over David with torrential force. The he and Ryan leapt out of their chairs and hugged each other while bursting at each other with rapid phrases of indistinguishable excitement. Of course, this reaction was small compared to when the timer dinged and Charles took out of the oven the pan of chilidogs.
The next day, David packed all his clothes and belongings, minus the Genesis and Astro Smash game and left the house. He gave his parents a hug and a kiss each before leaving the home that he would never again see until the summer holidays once again came around. He allowed Ryan to accompany him on the walk to the city bus stop where a bus would pick David up and take him away from his family and towards his dream of being a hero. The sun shone above the stone buildings that although were said to be older than the streets they walked upon seemed just as bright and inviting as ever. The children were playing with marbles and chalk on the sidewalks and feats of music and magic were being performed in front of the markets and the stores no doubt owned by the powerful business couple Yu and Ji. The birds were singing their melodies without a care and the chao were playing gleefully in the park. It seemed too happy of a day for two brothers to besaying good-bye.
At the bus stop where a red armadillo, a violet weasel, an indigo prairie dog and an amber rattlesnake were all crowded at the post the two brothers looked across the street before them. The road had no fork, it was just a straight line,despite this the two hedgehogs would have to walk in the opposite directions. One would go back to a land that was familiar to him and live for almost a year with a piece of his life missing. The other would venture into a new and perilous world with a testing path but a reward well worth the journey.
Still, the thought of losing the brother he grew up with his whole life saddened Ryan. Without any effort to either stop or trigger them tears rolled down the young hedgehog's cheeks. He was hoping David wouldn't notice them, but he did, and responded with a hug.
"I won't go if leaving will upset you." David whispered. Ryan buried his eyes in his brother's shoulder.
"B-but. You have to. You've gone so far to get where you are. I don't want stop you, even though…" Ryan hoped he could keep going without breaking down. However, his emotions won out and he turned into a mass of sobbing blue fur.
"Hey. Hey, little buddy, if you want me to go then why are you crying?" David asked, trying to hide his own tears.
"Well I don't want you to leave. But…" Ryan took a breath and a gulp as if to try and swallow his sadness, "It's something you have to do." The two ended their embrace and stood just arm's length away from each other.
"Um, David? Do you think that… one day I-I c-could go to Erizo t-too?" Ryan dropped his eyes down to the sidewalk so David wouldn't see how embarrassed he was of asking.
"Are you kidding?" David gave his brother an assuring smile, "Of course! With that speed you could one day outrun a truck or even break the sound barrier! Plus, you'll be a great role model to children everywhere. You can do anything, will be nothing." Ryan's cheeks once again turned beet red. While he appreciated getting praise for what he did he sometimes found it embarrassing to be seen as that special in front of people when, in his opinion, he wasn't anything that extraordinary.
Suddenly the humming of the bus engine screeched its way into the town and rolled up the road to the left of the soon-to-be heroes. The hedgehogs once again embraced, hoping that somehow time would stand still so the two could never let go of each other. They both knew, however, that even if David used his chaos control that it was not to be. The two gave each other their final good-byes before the bus parked itself in front of the post and the future defenders of Racimo boarded the bus, David being the last of them. The bus rolled away from the bus stop, taking Ryan's only brother and true hero with it. As the bus disappeared over the horizon the clouds covered the sun with its misty hands and an ice-cold chill followed Ryan as he walked back home.
For the next three years David would call the Hedgehog household every week to tell the family what he's been up to, what his classes were like and about his squad Team Hermano. Ryan would spend the most time talking to him, he wouldn't bother to give the phone back to his parents for hours on end. Ryan would always take the time to remind David that he supported him, that he was the first thing he thinks of after waking up, that he was the last thing he thought of before going to sleep, how he never even touched the dining room chair he would normally sit in and how he was working on beating his high score in Astro Smash. The two would laugh and share fond memories, promising to spend as much time together as possible when summer came around. After the two realize the home phone was running out of batteries the brothers would share a long good-bye and Ryan would have to hang up on his hero, now given a new name by Erizo… Shadow.
If young Ryan had only known how that name would haunt his future, he would have never let David board that bus.