I've never felt more helpless in my life.
Heroes were supposed to protect people. They were supposed to protect those close to them, as well as those who can't protect themselves. They were supposed to help.
But right now, I felt like anything but a hero.
It started out just like all the other times. Eggman whipped up some new scheme, and it was my job to put an end to it. Sounds simple, right? I thought the same thing, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Just as I was about to set out to stop him, Eggman decided to take the battle to me by endangering the citizens of a nearby city. We dueled, and I took down his creation like it was nothing.
But nobody could have expected what happened next.
All it took was for Eggman to push one button, and the next thing I know, a giant robot fell from the sky. The ground shook every time it stepped, and it shot destructive lasers from its eye. The only thing Eggman did was laugh as he flew off in his shuttle.
And for the first time in a long time, I was truly scared.
A majority of the citizens managed to get out of the city before the worst could happen. Others...weren't so lucky. I'm one of those unfortunates. I helped out with the evacuation, and got everyone to safety. But just before I could escape, the bridges collapsed, and since I can't swim, I was trapped in the city. Luckily, I found an underground bunker with tons of food and water. I locked myself in, and I've been there ever since.
That attack was a month ago.
Fast forward to the present. I haven't left the bunker once, mainly because I'm too scared to go outside now. But I don't even need to leave to be able to hear those giant machines from the bunker. The worst part about the place is that I'm cutoff from everyone, including my friends. And to top it all off, I'm kinda low on food.
Guess today would be the day I'd see what became of the world outside.
So I open the door to the bunker only to be greeted by a bunch of debris. I spin dash my way through to make a path for myself back to the surface. But when I did get back, all I saw was a ruined street. I ran up the side of a small building to get a vantage point from the roof.
But when I got to the top, I felt my heart shatter into pieces.
Not a single building had been spared. Some were in better conditions than others, but most were completely destroyed. Dark clouds littered the sky for miles, blocking out the sun. There were flames in the distance that spread to the horizon. And in those flames, marching through like they didn't care, were three of those metallic monsters.
But that wasn't even the worst part. It was the wind that crushed my spirit. It wasn't even close to how I remembered it. This wind felt dry and dead, like it just gave up.
Was this what the world was like now? Is this how it ended, after everything I'd done? What if my friends were...?
My hand clenched into a fist. A scowl appeared on my face. Not a single word came out of my mouth. There was no spark of confidence in my expression this time.
Only rage.
I ran off the building and jumped into the air. I landed on the ground, and ran right towards those giants. I didn't seem to care that everything seemed helpless. I couldn't care less that I'd lost.
All I cared about was revenge.
Some of Eggman's lesser robots appeared in my path. I stopped right in front of them and put up a fighting stance. "Get lost!"
I jumped up in the air and mercilessly homing attacked them into each other. I wasn't even trying to show off anymore. Once they were gone, I continued running down the broken path.
The more I ran, the worse I felt. I kept looking at the passing buildings, and felt nothing except despair. But I didn't care. I had to keep going. I had to stop this.
But how can I win when I have nothing left to fight for?
I dodged some more debris by moving to the sides. I spotted a small pile in front of me, so I jumped over it. Big mistake there, cause as soon as I turned my head to face forwards, I saw a giant piece of debris heading straight at me. I was flying through the air with nothing to jump off of; I wasn't escaping this time.
To think that I'd go out like this. I always thought my death would be more heroic, dying while fighting for what I believe in. It's almost kinda ironic howl I'm gonna get a pretty pathetic death.
Well, nothing I can now except for wait for it to happen.
...
...And yet once again, fate has other ideas.
Just before the debris could hit me, a blur smashed right into it. I looked into the air where the blur ended up, and my jaw nearly dropped.
While it was nice to see someone else, I just wasn't expecting it to be me. Or rather, the younger me, to be more accurate.
"Mini me!?"
When both of us landed on the ground and started running, the younger me flashed a smile and a wave at me. I couldn't help but smile back.
Been a while since I've done that.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you again!" I said with excitement. "Aren't you supposed to be back in your own time though?"
The younger me gave a quick nod. I was expecting a verbal response, until I remembered that I couldn't talk when I was ten.
Come to think of it, I actually don't remember why.
"So, I bet you're probably a little confused about what the heck is goin' on," I stated.
Another nod.
"Well," I scratched the back of my head, "it's kind of a long story."
The younger me titled his head in confusion. I must have forgotten we were running, cause I started to realize that we were a little too close to two of those giant robots. They fired their eye lasers at the path behind us. Both of us yelped a bit.
"Look, let's head back to my place," I suggested. "I'll give ya the rundown once we're there."
The younger me nodded again.
"Alright. Say, you been practicing your boosting?"
He smiled and gave me a thumbs up.
I couldn't help but grin. "Then let's see what ya got!"
The two of us started boosting through the ruins of the city, avoiding lasers and debris as we ran. But honestly, I don't think I cared where I was anymore. I was actually having some well-deserved fun!
Sure, the world may not be in a good position right now, but that doesn't mean I should just sit around and let it burn. I might not have expected to see my past self ever again, but it definitely helped my self-esteem.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt a small glimmer of hope.