Written due to Tumblr and the one post where Adventure was edited to make Sonic a reluctant hero, facing off with Chaos. A wandering introspective of the path that leads up and beyond that point. Please R&R!
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"It's gonna rain, it's gonna rain
Till the levee breaks
And a tidal wave of fear and pain carries us away
Another fight into the night
Until nothing else remains
How do we find harbor from the hurricane?"
-Thrice, Hurricane
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The first time he had encountered a robot, he had barely made it to 14 years old.
The second time he had run into one he had noticed the mustached insignia and burned it into his memory, it's terrifying red-lit eyes boring into him with its gun cocked and ready.
The third time he had been cornered while helping an older racoon move to a safe place, many small creatures cowering behind him.
The third time was the First time the fearful adrenaline had rushed through him as he curled into a ball, spun, and destroyed the terrifying metal that had been hunting him.
The fourth time he ran, faster and faster as the world began to blur. A Human Man of Terror's laughter echoing in the darkness.
The fifth time he fought. Fought for his life and the Fox who had been battered and bruised from his attempt to escape.
Things changed after the fifth time.
But his fear never left him.
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He had never been sure of just what it was that had happened to his parents. They had lived together happily and peacefully, his father owning a plane to travel and explore the world with his endless curiosity. His mother, frail in body but strong in heart and wit loved to fly and explore the world in that plane.
It was always during the good days, so that they could see the vast and wonderful world together.
The Last Time, he had been out for only half a day having left with things as they always were.
A strong hug from his father, a loving kiss on the forehead from his mother and her Blessings.
The house left barren.
He had cried in the terror of the night, alone in his room. Not understanding what had happened, yet somehow knowing that he would never see them again.
The plane and his father's tools were the only things he kept.
After a year of learning more of the outdoors, surviving in the vast wild, an orange Fox appeared asleep under the shadow of his plane.
Filled with wonder, he realized the Fox had an incredible gift with machinery, as things that had slowly become outside of his knowledge to fix were again new.
When morning came the Fox hid and cowered behind a rock, crying in the belief he would be scorned and berated for tampering with another's property.
Instead the Fox gained a Friend and a Name.
Miles Prower was reborn that day as Tails.
Proud and slowly coming to accept himself as he was, no longer disdained.
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They had been running from the Metal Terror, his devilish doppelganger when he was punched in the face with a spike-and-gloved hand.
A smirk and a chuckle rang through the air as Emeralds of Great Power disappeared and fled from his grasp.
They had just barely managed to silently sabotage The Doctor's previous plan, and now this.
Rubbing his face he stood with a sigh, his twin-tailed companion brushed out his ruffled fur, looking up to him for guidance with his young kit-eyes.
An island that floated in the air was strange, and strange was its Guardian.
He was unsure what had persuaded the Echidna, incredibly rare as he was to fight them, but it didn't matter.
They were in danger, his tears dried out long ago to instead be used for comforting reassurance.
Cold fear still gripped his heart, scrapes and burns once more embedding themselves into his flesh and fur and quill.
Had Tails not been by his side he would have never left the protection of the woods, as fleeting as it was.
He had no bravado, no snippy comeback to be made in the face of Evil Planned.
A mural of ancient origin.
The Master and Seven.
Absorbing their strength and light he fought and restored Peace.
Always temporary.
Fleeting, but his greatest Hope.
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She reminded him of his father's Strength and his mother's Will.
She was the first girl to ever approach him. Her emerald colored eyes, much like his own, sparkled and gleamed as she blushed with fingers covering lips that He was Her Destiny.
He couldn't find it in himself to believe in Destiny.
It wasn't that he thought her Ideas were silly or foolish, he just didn't have the heart to Believe anymore.
He was too run down, too afraid, and oh so very tired.
When the Metal Doppleganger grabbed her and took her away from him, a new feeling bubbled within him.
It wasn't Love, or anything romantic, but he Would Not Allow her to be caught up in This.
It was a Game he didn't want to play, but alas, as he jumped through Time he Saw.
This… if he were to Believe in Destiny, it would be that it was his… Duty perhaps, to rescue others.
To bring them Hope.
To Restore.
He just really wanted to be Free of it all.
After what seemed like a never-ending goose-chase, he rescued her.
Free'd Little Planet.
The Shackles and Chains holding it down Crumbling.
Crumbling with his Hope that this would be the Last Time.
She hugged him tight.
Her touch Lingered even weeks after he had fled.
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"...Power... enriched... by the heart."
He was Dreaming.
Her Voice soft and lulling, yet gripping his attention at all the emotions that rang through her Song.
Love. Sadness. Joy. Fear.
A soft pink ball of light began to appear at the corners of his vision, particularly when he was unsure as of what to do.
Amy had changed her clothes to the Red of Rose, unknowingly unnerving him with the memory of the Blood he and others shed, of the terrifying robotic light that tracked their step. Yet, it suited her and he couldn't hold it against her.
She was pretty.
She would also be in Danger again. He could feel it.
His only comfort was knowing that she was becoming Stronger. Fighting. Learning.
He didn't want her to have to Fight, but She had begun to be in as much Danger as Anyone Else from The Doctor's scheme's.
It was not uncommon.
"...The controller is..."
Angel Island was Falling.
He helped the humans and animals evacuate to higher ground as the Tidal Wave hit and battered the coastline of Station Square.
It was quick, but the implications sickened him.
"...Chaos..."
He was fighting Water.
He Didn't Like Water.
A few hits, and the Creature Fled, into the sewers it bled into the waters below.
Rain fell.
The Light and The Song grew brighter, grew louder.
"The servers are the seven..."
He was fighting Knuckles.
Again.
It was short lived, the Misunderstanding cleared easily enough.
The Hunt was on once more.
He hummed the Ancient Melody softly to himself as he made his way through Mystic Ruins, into the caverns of the Lost World.
"...is power..."
He was overwhelmed.
The Ancient Mural depicting Devastation. A creature of incredible God-Like Power.
That soft Light Enveloped him… and then he was surrounded by Fire.
If there was anything he hated more than Water, it was Fire.
He took in his surroundings, filled with trepidation and fear as he made his way across a stonework bridge towards the strangely-yet-not familiar Shrine his friend Protected.
A group of tiny felled bodies around a girl.
Her clothing unfamiliar, yet She herself seemed like an Old Dear Friend.
He knelt down beside her, and suddenly she stirred, looking around at what lay before her. She gasped, a keening Cry of Rage and Hurt in the Distance. "No… Please..!"
She stood with difficulty, he followed as she ran up the stairs with failing Breath.
The Master, dim against the flame came to Life with her Faith. Her arms outstretched as she Sang.
"The servers are the seven chaos!"
Light.
He understood now.
Tikal was the one at the corners of his vision.
Singing the Song that would Warn and bring Hope.
The Doctor stopped laughing as the Final Emerald absorbed into the Watery Creature.
Chaos, the God who Destroyed in his Hurt and Pain for his Children that had been Lost.
The Chaos Emeralds fell in far off places, too much Water in the surrounding area to make it possible to reclaim their darkened husks.
Slowly, surely, too quickly his friends Gathered.
"Sonic… If the Emeralds have lost their Power because of Chaos' negative Feelings, than maybe.. Maybe Our Positive Feelings can bring them back to Life!"
"We Believe in You!"
He… he did not Ask for This. Why did he have to save the world?
His teeth clenched, his body shook, his lips trembled as he faced away from his friends.
He closed his eyes.
Sonic could feel Their Hopes.
They... expected so much from him.
I...was too Weak to Stop Them… but… I think... you have the Strength… You have what's needed… to quell Chaos' Anger… Please… Lend me your Power so that Peace can be restored.. So that I can finally… Rest…
Tears rolled down his cheeks. Compassion and Loss bloomed in his Heart. She had deserved a full life, yet Sacrificed herself to bring back Tranquility.
He felt her Embrace Him, her ghostly figure visible to those whose Hearts she had Reached.
Her Touch was as soft as the Light of her Soul.
She Sang, and Power Bloomed.
"The servers are the seven chaos… Chaos is power. Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the chaos."
Please return to us Peace and Tranquility.
The Emeralds disappeared, Absorbed into his own Body Once More.
Shimmering Gold he flew through the watery streets, his Heart in his Throat, Her Song on his Lips.
Chaos Fell.
Water receded.
Chaos stood, in his most Basic Form as Tikal Went to Him.
"Your Children have once more returned to roam this Earth. Though they are Different, their Innocence is now Protected in the Hands of These. Let us Rest Together once more…"
They rose into the sky and disappeared, and so restoration began.
The Doctor again began to scheme.
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Tails revealed his new Plane. Though the original Tornado had been lost to Wreckage, the Fox had recovered what pieces he could salvage and used them in the Tornado 2.
He lost more of his Past, but at least Tails was thoughtful enough to preserve what little he could for the Future.
To Remember.
It meant a lot to him, for something that'd gone unspoken.
He began to Patrol the vast world they lived in. Running through the deserts, traversing the terrifyingly large waters, and indulging in the beauty of luscious green forests.
The cities became an odd mix of Humans getting used to Their Kind moving in, and fascination with just Him.
He was uncomfortable with their stares, their gleaming adoration and wonder.
He did, however, appreciate the random Chili Dogs.
Sonic was never sure just how that rumor got started, but free food was always appreciated, and his wonder with the different spices and flavors always fascinated him. Each region had its own take, so it was an adventure in and of itself that he found he enjoyed.
It had been while he was in the middle of wandering a flower exhibit while thinking of Pink Quills that he was surrounded by Vests and Guns.
He didn't appreciate the idea of going to Prison for no reason.
Just because they saw the Shadow of a Hedgehog on a security camera, they blamed it on him?
It's not like Hedgehog's were rare! He didn't even know there'd been a Chaos Emerald in the City he'd happened to be in!
His annoyed pleas fell on deaf ears.
Eventually frustration with the situation bent sensibility and he broke free of his restraints, jumping out of the helicopter they had decided to transport him in. The movies make this seem so easy…
The screeching of metal downhill on asphalt rang through his ears as he made his escape downtown, abandoning his board in favor of running once he'd regained enough feeling in his legs and calmed his nerves.
Laser focused sight was on him, and he was forced to fight a Manned Mech.
He huffed as it lost the ability to move, its pilot temporarily stuck inside due to damaging the hatch release.
Power tingled and surged around him, a flash of black and red in the corner of his vision.
"I am Shadow the Hedgehog...the Ultimate Lifeform."
A sizzle of Chaos.
The dark enigma gone without a trace, leaving behind nothing but guns in his face.
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Maria… did I keep my Promise..?
His heart was in his throat again as he bit his lip. A Power Ring held in his hand like a lifeline.
Shadow had been in such Pain…
He just wanted to fulfill the Wishes of the One He'd Lost… his life returned anew too quickly, confusingly, to grasp the true scope of the horrors he'd endured before being forced into Cryogenic slumber…
His Crime simply for Being…
Humans… were Strange… and Frightening.
Amy gripped the Power Ring, tears running down her lashes and cheeks.
"It's my fault… My Words… woke something deep inside…
I Wish I could talk to him again… He deserved… More."
He breathed, warily bringing an arm around her shoulder for comfort. For whose he was unsure, but he Knew. "It's not your Fault… and, I think we'll See him again."
It seemed Impossible.
But… if he had learned anything… in the face of Destiny
You had to Believe
Wishes Came True.
"...I know you are... supporting me."