Lights in the Sky
The sun had nearly traveled its course as it lowered beneath the tree line, but this made no difference to Sonic the Hedgehog. In fact, it was his favorite time of day. The multiple colors in the sky seemed to swirl together into multitudes of blurred layers as he ran - or rather - as he flew down the gravel path. He admired the shades of pink and red that fell into his view.
Such a wonderful contrast to the forest green and brown below. And this wind! It's so fluid and cool this late in the day. Why can't nature be this simple and pleasant all the time?
This was what Sonic would think about on many of his evening treks through the forest. Hardly any of his friends would have ever believed it, but Sonic was indeed quite pensive as an individual. Amongst his friends and in all his battles with Dr. Eggman, one could easily identify him as the one with the laid-back personality. Practically everyone on Mobius believed he hadn't a care in the world - it was all about saving the day, assuring the safety of his friends, and doing an obscene amount of running.
But Sonic cared about a lot of things.
On this particular evening, he was running to get away from...well, pretty much everything. Earlier today he had made a fool out of Eggman. The lunatic scientist had unleashed a new robot nearly 20 stories high on the city of Station Square. The robot was rather lanky however, and Sonic easily spotted its weakness in coordination. It only took a quarter of an hour to lure Eggman and his creation to a section of the city where Sonic could easily pummel it to the ground. The robot was dismantled, the scientist absconded in a fit of rage, and the day was saved once again. He was congratulated by thousands and lauded as a hero, but this of course was not out of the ordinary. He was the hero of Mobius, plain and simple. There was nothing that he, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, and the rest of his team could not do to save the innocent lives that Eggman constantly put in jeopardy.
Or was there?
This question bothered Sonic day in and day out. Everyone on Mobius believed he was an unstoppable force. Eggman would attempt to establish his Eggman Empire and Sonic would be there to thwart his plans - it was the status quo that couldn't be changed.
But what if it did change? I'm not perfect, and although I can run faster than anyone, I'm not an omnipotent force...I can't run faster than fate. One day, Eggman will learn from his mistakes. He will pinpoint my weaknesses and he will focus all his energy on taking me down from the inside. His ambition blinds him now from defeating me, but he is clever. One day, he will set aside his own goals to focus on the one thing that obstructs his view: Me. He will plan, and I will be at the mercy of his mind. Maybe I will still be able to defeat him when he reaches this epiphany, but it certainly will not be easy.
And if I am defeated. If I am seriously injured, or if I die: Who will save Mobius?
Everyone is so sheltered and so unprepared. Tails will be a strong opposing force for awhile, and so will Knuckles, and beyond that Amy and Cream might stand a chance - they're stronger than they look. But when Eggman figures them out too, what will stand in his way?
Everyone is counting on us, and we can't afford to let everyone down. How could anyone deal with all of that pressure? How can I deal with all that pressure? It's really not fair at all!
Sonic stopped without warning. He stood in the middle of the path, hunched over and out of breath. It was strange for him to arrive at exhaustion so quickly, but the thoughts that gnawed at his conscious diverted all the energy he had. He really needed to set himself straight!
He decided he should probably make his way back to the city, but after another look at the dimming sky, he figured it would be helpful to take in his surroundings for awhile longer. He stepped off the path and strode through the woods for a little while until he came upon a decent grassy clearing. He laid back in the grass and took in all the lights in the sky.
Millions of bright dots in a field of pale, dark pink filled his gaze. It was simply stunning to see so many lights up there, especially when it was such a rarity to see any stars from the city. He could always count on the wilderness as a place to find beauty - a place to get away from it all. Isolation was what he cherished.
"Isolation". That brought a few more pressing thoughts to the hedgehog's mind. It was true that he had many friends, and he was very thankful for their company. The love of Mobius' citizens was a blessing as well and he took part in the happiness of those around him.
But let's face it. I really am alone.
It seemed all too true in Sonic's mind. He was the one singled out to be the hero, and he was the one with an all too massive weight upon his shoulders. It was frustrating, to be expected to handle so much pressure. Even more frustrating was that he had no one to talk to about it. All of his friends believed in him just as much as everyone else - he couldn't possibly let them know he was doubtful about his abilities! The last thing he wanted to do was have his friends doubt him. Or to know he was scared.
I'm so scared.
Sonic bit his lip as he shifted his gaze to from the sky to the edge of the tree line. Only a narrow strip of pale pink remained above the tips of the trees. If the strip had been a bit brighter, it would have matched the color of Amy Rose's quills.
Amy Rose. That hedgehog...
Sonic rolled his eyes at the thought. If there was anyone he wanted to confide in, she was certainly the worst choice. Him confiding in her would just be an invitation for her to strangle him again with one of her death glomps.
Why was she still chasing him around? It was true that they were good friends, and he wasn't outright hostile to her, but he also never gave indication that he would be interested in being any more that friends. Yet, there was Amy Rose, believing in a ship that never even sailed.
He had to admit though, when Amy wasn't busy chasing him,glomping him, or screaming his name, she was actually...
...really sweet. Someone that could make anyone feel better in a serious situation. She's been a fantastic influence on Cream, and quite a helpful friend for Tails when I'm not around. Heck, she even gets along with Knuckles, and that's hard for anyone to do!
And, I guess, we're pretty good friends...if you look at it that way. When she isn't chasing me around and when's she's not attempting to fulfill her romantic fantasies - she's actually kind of nice to be around. In fact, in the few instances where I've been able to have an actual conversation with her, I've discovered that she's actually pretty deep.
For instance, there was that time she told me the true reason she had chosen the hammer as her primary weapon. She said she felt weak - perhaps not physically, as her body had the demeanor to swing the mallet with great force - but mentally. She said she felt like she lacked the courage to save others, even though her will to do so was enormous. Through the use of the hammer, she felt like she could appear to be a hardened warrior, even though deep down inside she was terribly frightened.
Then she told me she wasn't as scared anymore. She said she believed that ultimately, it was not the hammer that had quelled her fears, but instead her closest friends - Cream, Knuckles, Tails...and Me. And when she told me all of this, there was no hint of a romantic tinge to her words or a demeanor that implied she was only telling me this to get to my heart. Her words and thoughts were genuine, and in that moment, I felt more connected to her than I ever had before.
Sonic sat up from his makeshift bed of grass and looked out into the darkness. He was smiling, a remnant from one of his fondest memories of Amy. But the smile soon faded as he remembered why he was unwilling to actually to talk to her in the first place.
But...she's such a nuisance. Honestly, we could be really good friends if she wasn't so infatuated, or must I even say obsessed with me! Unless by some miracle she's distracted enough not fall for her romantic impulses, we can never have those real conversations. If we could only have these conversations, just a few minutes of actual talking, I think things could be better between us.
And with the limited possibilities of her being a good friend aside, she's too overzealous for me to handle. Like today? What the hell! She was bouncing off the walls cheering my victory, bombarding me with compliment after compliment after strangling hug-of-death! It's already hard enough to have everyone tying me down with the expectations of being a hero - I hardly need her to be annoying me every freaking moment of every freaking day!
At this point, Sonic realized that all of his stress from worrying about Eggman and the future was slowly escalating into a volatile anger directed at Amy Rose. He knew it was wrong of him to get so mad at her so suddenly - she hadn't specifically done him wrong. But the longer he dwelled upon his thoughts, the more angry he became. It didn't matter if she was really a sweet individual. In this moment, she was the focus of his hatred, and his thoughts reached a point of no return.
He suddenly rose from the grassy clearing and found he was no longer comforted by the lights in the sky. The pale pink strip of light above the trees had vanished entirely.
Sonic began a brisk jog back to the forest trail which quickly turned into a solid run and finally, without warning, into a fierce sprint as his furious thoughts grew more intense.
Didn't she know she was only adding on to this burden? How could she? She's so selfish, blinded by her own immature romantic aspirations. So what if she seems caring, it's all probably just some act to get closer to me anyway.
She's such a nuisance.
She's so ANNOYING!
Sonic pushed himself even faster. The trees all blurred together into a palette of brown and evergreen. It was only instinct that was guiding him now, and if he could only see how the anger ravaged him, he might have found that what he was doing was dangerous. Not in the sense of an accident - his reflexes could prevent any possible collision with a tree. Rather, in the sense that he was making conclusions that he would probably regret.
She's always so needy. She's always so tempered. She's so hard to deal with.
Ugh, she's SO hard to DEAL with.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH HER ANYMORE!
Sonic gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed. He had allowed himself to slow down since he was approaching the city, but it did nothing to quell his anger. The stress from being the hero of Mobius had finally gotten to him.
And one pink hedgehog was paying the price.
If I know one thing about Amy Rose, it's this. If she was not on our team anymore...if she had to leave for whatever reason...if she moved away to another city, another country, another planet, another goddamn alternate universe...
...I don't think I would miss her.
Not one bit.
Not even at all.
