Sonic Twenty Five
In honour of the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, I have written… well, I don't really know what this is. Poetry? No, only the first part was designed to rhyme. A tribute? No, all fanfiction is a tribute really, this is different. Needless ranting? No, this isn't a rant, it definitely says things that need to be said. I'm not sure what to call this at all. The point is, this here was created for the sake of Sonic's twenty-fifth anniversary. I want to remind everyone out there reading this – yes, you there! I mean you – that we are the TRUE Sonic fans, and we are the ones who have kept the series going. 25 years of going fast - here's to countless more anniversaries and milestones to come.
xX*Xx
Twenty-five years dedicated to fast.
And each one of those years has been a total blast.
From the classics of the 90's to the modern today,
And every other design that we've seen on the way.
It hasn't been easy, the times have been rough,
But the true fans will come back for more soon enough.
Why do we do this? Why do we still care?
Although they seem stupid, these questions are fair.
Just being known as a fan of this game
Can be all that it takes to get unwanted fame
A target for all sorts of bullies and jerks
Who can't just accept that we all have our quirks
Is it even worth it? The games have declined
There've been the years when they just aren't worth your time.
Back in the nineties, the series was gold
But in this day and age it's started getting old.
So why do we stay here, the true Sonic fans?
Everyone else doesn't see why we can.
The reason we do this is nothing complex:
We love the franchise. We will never forget.
We've made a connection with the hedgehog we know,
And with some imagination, his world is our own,
The struggles of life can make you wish you weren't born,
But you slip into the games, and your troubles are gone.
Sonic the Hedgehog makes us who we are.
Our lives are shaped by these tales from so far.
The alternate world that we've all grown to love
Is a way to take shelter from life's pushes and shoves.
So no matter what, we can hold our heads high
Saying that we're fans of such a cool guy.
We've stuck with the franchise for 25 years
And today marks a milestone, so let's have three cheers!
xX*Xx
Sonic stood at the edge of a grassy cliff. It was barely two minutes before midnight. He tapped his foot, not waiting for anything in particular. Checked brown and orange dirt stuck to the sole of his shoe. Somewhere in the distance, over the perfectly calm ocean, a seagull called out to its friends.
"Hey! Sonic!"
The familiar voice caught Sonic's attention. He turned around and saw exactly who he expected – Tails, racing towards him. "Oh, hi, Tails," the hedgehog said. "So, what brings you here?"
Tails stopped in front of his friend. "Can't sleep," he explained. "And you weren't in the house, so I assumed you were out here. Why are you here?"
"Well, I guess I'm sort of anxious," Sonic admitted. "I mean, tomorrow's gonna be a really big day." He sat down at the edge of the cliff, and motioned for Tails to join him. "But I'm not usually the kind of guy who freaks out over that, so maybe I'm just sleepless and bored tonight."
"Tonight is practically yesterday," Tails pointed out, sitting down. He yawned. "I'm so tired… I wish I could actually go to sleep."
Sonic nodded. He looked over the horizon. "Hey, that cloud looks like a boat right on top of the ocean."
"Oh yeah, it does!" Tails focused on the sky. "Hmm… if you connect the stars here, it looks like a Chaos Emerald."
"Where?" Sonic asked. Tails carefully pointed out the stars until he could see it. "Oh, I see what you mean! That's cool."
Tails smiled. A faint beep-beep noise came from under his glove, and he reached under it to switch off his watch. He turned to face his friend. "Sonic?"
"Yeah?"
"Happy birthday."
xX*Xx
Dreams don't betray us. When we lose ourselves... that's when we lose our dreams. It's not that dreams don't come true. We just give up on them.
This has always been my favourite Knuckles quote, in fact, one of my favourite quotes of all time. Don't give up on your dreams. This world is what it is, and we can't prevent the inevitable days of darkness. But nothing lasts forever, not even the worst of times. As was said in the ending theme of Sonic and the Black Knight, Live Life, Hold on, hold tight, don't let go, don't lose sight. Don't just give up because you feel like giving up. Stay strong. You can do this.
Anyways…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONIC!
-Zosonils