The following 'epic' is based on
characters created by Sega, and also DIC "Sonic the Hedgehog" (SAT AM) Gearbox
and "O" are the copyrighted property of Dan Drazen.
Manifest Destiny
Mobius, 03-15-3187
"At first, I thought he was simply another lamb…err hedgehog
to the slaughter, until the blood tests came back. Who could blame me? We had
no way of tracking who he was, as they shipped him to my port in an overcrowded
medivac transporter. To lower the weight of the cargo, the soldiers were
stripped of everything but their pants, if they had any. But to be able to
treat Maurice Hedgehog, the former sheriff of Mobius, what an honor! After he
was finished with that board meeting eight months ago, our facilities were
upgraded almost instantaneously.
Something was not right. Doctor
Prower had spent all day reading the blood tests from his unconscious patient.
Maybe the EKG tests would give him more insight. "Doctor?" The physician looked
up from his paperwork.
Feeling the package in his hand, Maurice opened it in the
dark. It was some sort of recording device, a crude old tape player, perhaps.
"Didn't know they still made these things." Maurice thought to himself as he
fumbled around the recorder trying to find the play button. Suddenly, a
familiar voice filled the room. "Hey Maurice, I'm glad you're still alive. I
feel a bit awkward having to record this and not being there in person, but I
can't wait for you to get up. Duty calls. The war's over, but there's still a
threat. You know your brother's partner? He was the ringleader for Yuo Sape
I'll bet. Watch yourself around him. By the way, remember Maria? Well, she set
you up that night and had Smite shoot you. Why? She loved the mafia more than
you, and they made her choose. She hated you for that. Basically, stay away
from her or you'll die quickly. Why am I telling you this? Ridge died on the
filed in my arms, and now you're probably the closest thing I'll ever have to a
friend. I don't want you dying in times of peace, from my own flesh and blood.
It wouldn't be right. Maybe I'll see you around sometimes. Oh wait… I see
everything. Take care and move on."
05-05-3189
Charles looked out the window of his brother's new home. "So today's the big day, huh?" "Yeah, I guess so!" Maurice replied. "You nervous?" "Kinda, I mean we've only known each other for about two years now… how can two years determine if you'll be compatible for the rest of your lives?" Charles looked at his brother. "Well, you don't have much of a choice now, Maurice… she IS pregnant, ya know." Maurice's eyes widened. "How'd you know?!" "I guessed. Anyway, it's getting late and you don't wanna be late for your own wedding do you?" Charles answered quickly, not wanting to add any more to the discussion.
11-14-3189
"Maurice, dear, you've been doing this since we started living together…where are you going?! It's 2 am!" "Nervous energy, babe, I gotta run it off! I don't KNOW where I'm going!" "Ugh. Goodnight then."
"Is this sand taken?" "Not at the moment. Long time no see." Maurice didn't bother to look at the assassin. "Yes, it's a wonder you're still alive today." Maria replied, frowning. "So I've heard. Have you come to finish the job?" Maurice glanced at Maria who turned away. "The 'job' is already finished." She replied. "How so?" "Our son never had to meet you, so he'll never be able to put a face with his questions. The job is done." Maurice looked Maria in the eyes, unsure of what he had just heard. "…our son?! "I have a child???" "And a wife and another on the way, if I'm not mistaken. Besides, Raja's lived three years not wondering where or who you are. If he asks, I'll tell him about his father. But he won't, so don't worry about it." Maurice's jaw dropped in disbelief. "How?! How could you keep this from me?" "Keep it from you? I thought you were dead all this time! But when I was running a scramble op in Mobotropolis last week, I entered your name in the database, just for kicks. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up your file!" "But, why did you try to have me killed?" "What are you talking about?! If I wanted you dead, then that's what you'd be. It's bad enough that Raja will have to grow up without a father, but I'm not going to make him a bastard myself." Maria excused herself for the beach, leaving Maurice to sit and ponder his next move.
As he cautiously made his way to
the Neo Green Hill zone, Maurice's judgment was clouded more and more by the
questions that kept arising in his head. Was Chino lying to protect him or his
nephew? What did Raja even look like? He couldn't be a hedgehog, or the
database would have detected it, and the child taken into the custody of the
Royal Army. Reaching the outskirts of the Mobian Mafia's stronghold, Maurice
used a secret entrance he'd used once before just to sneak a last peak at Maria
so many years ago. Maurice crept to Maria's hut undetected, as only a trained
recon specialist could do. When he reached Maria's hut, he peaked into the
room. The moonlight gave a bluish glow to the hut, and Maurice's eyes fixed on
the young kitten sleeping in a basket right under the window. Pushing at the
window, Maurice found it to be opened. Noiselessly slipping through the window,
Maurice examined the kitten. Instinct told him that this was his son. Reaching
into his pocket, Maurice revealed his purple heart from the war. He slipped it
into one of the kitten's outstretched paws, and silently exited the hut. He
then left for his home.
As Smite patrolled his area, he
passed Maria's hut. Looking into the hut, he could not find Maria. Something
wasn't right. It wasn't like her to go running off when she didn't have duty.
Not since… Smite sniffed the air. Hedgehog! The tiger gritted his teeth. "Not
on my watch." He thought to himself, following the scent to the end of the NG
zone. Smite pulled out his communicator and called up the next shift. "Come on
early. I'm pursuing a prowler. Out." Smite barked into the mic. The malicious
tiger carefully tracked Maurice's scent to the outskirts of Mobotropolis in a
small house. Checking the premises for security, he found a laser alarm on the
front door step. "Not too original." He thought to himself, going around to the
back. "Let's see, they're both home now, probably asleep, saying as how it's
0430 hours." Looking through the half closed blinds in the rear window, Smite
saw Maurice and his wife asleep in bed. "Good thing I came here without a
conscience." Smite pulled out a Z-30 grenade he'd stolen from Chino, and
attached it to the window.
After three painstaking hours of silent work, Dr. Prower turned to the coroner.
"There's nothing I can do for him, so clean the body up." The coroner looked at
the doctor who turned away. "What about the female?" he nodded to Salina.
"She's also dead, but I can probably save the baby. Get me a wet blanket and
alert Maurice's brother, okay?" The coroner left the room, as Dr. Prower's eyes
welled up with tears of anger.
"Dr. Prower, how is the baby
doing?" The doctor looked at Sir Charles, who had just come from the morgue
after identifying his family members. Charles had a way of hiding his emotions
in all circumstances even in his times of desperation. "Excellent, actually,
but this means my theory was correct, as the child is quite abnormal." Charles
looked at his nephew, inquisitively.
03-12-3194
"Hey Uncle Chuck! Watch this!"
0645 am. An irate kodkod stormed into his pupil's hut. Tearing the tattered sheet off the sleeping kitten, the kodkod greeted Raja. "You slept in again!" Raja stretched a bit before opening his eyes. The elder feline began to pace impatiently "Oh, you're strong alright…too strong. That makes you lazy! I don't know why I promised Maria I'd train you! Get up!" Raja looked adoringly at his sensei. "What can you teach me today, si fu?"
Under the orders of his sensei, Raja sat upside down from a branch on a redwood in lotus position and meditated. He was to meditate for four hours every day. As hard as he concentrated, Raja always kept his mind's eye on his environment, as sometimes his sensei would attack him as a test while he was in his trance. Suddenly, the young feline sensed a familiar presence and jumped out of the tree. "Uncle Chio!" Chino revealed himself to his nephew. He smiled to himself, hearing Raja try to pronounce his name. "Hey kid, there's something we need to talk about." Raja sat on a tree stump. "What's up?" "I want you to have this envelope. Keep it with you always, but don't open it. Not until you're done with your training." Chino pressed the envelope in his nephew's paws. "You got it uncle! Hey, guess what? I'm going to the Mystic Cave for the first half of my training! Si fu is going to let me stay up all night! Kaas and his dad went there last month and he had fun!" Chino looked away for a moment. "Raja, I…" He fell silent, not wanting to upset Raja when he wasn't ready for the news. "Yes, uncle?" "Don't forget to be good." Raja smiled. "Sometimes you're really weird, uncle!"
08-14-3196
As Sir Charles Hedgehog worked
feverishly in his private laboratory in the attic of Mobotropolis' Capital
building, his work was interrupted by a knock at the door. The only other one
that knew the location of this lab was a cafeteria worker, who'd occasionally
sneak him snacks. Curiously, Charles let the cook in. "It's happening as we
speak." The shrew was out of breath and had a bit of blood on his lip. "What's
going on???" Charles asked, alarmed.
That night
"Hey, uh…Mr. Chino?" Chino watched
as Sonic tried to maneuver up the tree he was sitting in. "What're you doing
up, boy?" he asked, helping him up to his branch. "I was just wondering
somethin'. How long has Uncle Chuck known you?" "That's not what you were
thinking about.
09-16-3197
"Sir, it's been over a year and you
haven't left these treetops. You've been surviving off berries and dew all this
time, and you're always on the alert. Won't you rest yourself on the nice
ground for once?" "Miss Rosie, look at the tree right over there, the one with
the scratches. How many marks are there on that tree?" "Thirty two. What does
it mean?" "Thirty two confirmed headshots from distances well over 500 meters.
I made the bullets from acorns, pinecones and anything else I could find up
here. Robo hounds, poachers, SWAT bots, Yuo Sape scouts and bounty hunters have
tasted my wrath. Every month there are fewer and fewer travelers.