A/N: Well hello everybody, I'm glad I can start getting my first Sonic fic underway. Really hope I can make this interesting for what I have planned. Though I am a bit worried on the overall success due to the category. Just because the sheer size of it, seems like something new pops up every other second, so I can only assume this will get buried fast. But I can always cross my fingers.
Blood Ties
Chapter 1: "Welcome back,"
The lab held an eerie silence. Other rooms in the base would be filled with the sounds of clanging metal, robots either working or being built. But this lab was different, the silence was needed, and wanted.
At one of the consoles sitting in the lab, stood a tall, round bellied man. His attire being of black pants and a red, buttoned up jacket. Small blue glasses hid his eyes from sight.
The man's face was fixed on the monitor in front of him. Reading the text that ran across its glass surface. As the data sped by, a large smile stretched across his face.
"Alpha3, I think he may be ready," he said, turning his gaze from the monitor to a robot standing beside him. The robot stood almost a foot taller then the man, having a white half-circle head with a single spike jetting from the top, a glass visor made for it's eyes. The rest of the robot's body was hidden under a black cloak, the material looked as though it was made from both metal and cloth.
"You may be correct Doctor," the robot responded, "but we should run the proper diagnostic tests first. Double check for any unknown variables. And run the simulator for possible-" The 'Doctor' held his hand up to interrupt the robot, his smile replaced by a look of irritation.
"Don't try and think you know whether he is fine or not, I'm the genius here," he barked, shifting his eyes back to the screen, the old smile creeping back onto his lips. The Doctor then pressed a button at the side of the monitor.
From the far side of the room, the walls of the lab opened. A large cylindrical tank slid out of the new opening. Different machines and monitors dotted the top and bottom of the tank, each blinking trinket or flashing gizmo holding its own purpose.
The Doctor approached the tank, examining its contents with his own eyes. A green liquid filled the tank, different wires came down from the top that held onto a creature floating inside. Attached over it's mouth was a clear tube for oxygen.
A row of three buttons lined up under the biggest monitor. The Doctor pressed the first, the green liquid swirled and drained out of the tank, allowing the creature to hang freely. Pressing the next one caused the glass walls to rise up. After he pressed the third button, the wires all detached, causing the creature to fall flat on the cold floor.
Only a small time passed before the creature shot it's head up, gasping for air and giving a series of raspy coughs, each echoing through the vastness of the lab. The Doctor stood over him, his smile going unchanged.
"Welcome back," the Doctor greeted. The creature looked up at him, his eyes darting rapidly about the lab.
"B-back?" he mimicked, his voice sounding croaked and hard to form. The Doctor merely nodded.
"That's right, do you not know where you are?" The creature shook his head. "Hmm..." The Doctor pondered. "Do you remember anything at all?"
"N-no.." he answered, unable to think of anything, his mind drawing a complete blank.
"Hmm," the Doctor murmured again, running his fingers through his enormous mustache. "Well," he began, "some time ago, there was a terrible accident. And you, of course, were in it. I found you, an inch away from death. I was able to revive you here in my lab. And it seems to have damaged your memory..." The creature just gave him a blank stare, it was hard for the Doctor to tell if the information had registered. "But enough of the past for now," he made a small bowing motion, being limited by his portly stature, "I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, genius inventor." The creature tried piecing together what he was being told, from the sound of it, this so called Doctor had saved his life.
"Well... thank you..." he said, having trouble talking with his scattered mind. The creature then picked himself up, immediately noticing his legs could hardly keep his weight. He stumbled forward slightly, much like an infant learning to walk, before quickly becoming accustomed to feeling the metallic floor beneath his feet.
"It's quite alright," the Doctor replied, showing a slight concern while watching the creature stand. "Now, I am sure you could use a good rest after just coming out of stasis." He motioned the robot toward them. "Alpha3, would you escort our guest to his room?"
"Yes Doctor," the robot replied. The machine then turned down one of the corridors leading out of the lab.
"Have a good rest," Robotnik called as the creature followed the robot, "we will talk more tomorrow." While a million questions were running through his head, the Doctor was right, his muscles ached from an impossible to understand exhaustion.
"So," the creature began, sparking a conversation with the robot as they walked down the hall, "your name is Alpha3?" The machine payed him little mind, not even shifting it's gaze toward him to answer his questions, keeping it's head forward.
"In shorten verse, yes. The title given to me on the day of my creation was KG-Alpha mark 3. I am the second revised form of the first robotic line of the KG units."
"Revised?" he asked, not fully understanding. Alpha3 didn't answer right away, the creature couldn't tell if the question annoyed the robot or not.
"Alpha1 was just an early draft, a precursor to better models. Alpha2 was an improvement but still lacking. Both only existed to point out benefits in structure and flaws in design. As is the reason for all prototypes. To be examined... then dismantled."
"And you? What happens when Alpha4 comes?" An odd sound came from the robot's artificial voice, coming close to a rhythmic crackle of static. To the creature, it sounded like a chuckle.
"Such a thing will not exist. I am the best there is, no problems exist within my programing or design. And no failures in what I do occur."
"What do you do?"
"Many things. My main objective is to act as guardian and primary adviser to Master Robotnik. On some occasions, I am tasked with dealing with certain... problems that occur." The creature wanted to ask more but could tell his questions would only be answered for so long. There was one thing he needed to know.
"Do... do you know who I am?" The robot stopped in its tracks momentarily, abruptly continuing its normal pace. Turning it's head toward to creature to see if he had noticed it or not.
"Of course," it finally said, "eraniaceus europaeus, or as you may know, a hedgehog." Hedgehog, though he wasn't sure he knew exactly what that implied, it sounded right to him. But it wasn't what he wanted.
"But who am I," he pressed, his tone coming off as desperate.
"We do not know, you were found with no means of identification. The Doctor had hoped that when you awoke you could tell us, obviously that won't do." They both stopped at a metal door in the hallway. A mechanical hand appeared from within Alpha3's cloak and pressed a button on the side and the door slid open. The inside was a small room, a bed with a metallic frame being the only furniture.
"Though the accommodations may be sparse, you will find no better sleep then in this bed. Farewell for now... hedgehog." And with that, the robot disappeared, leaving the hedgehog alone.
The hedgehog entered the room. Besides the bed, the only other item that contrasted its emptiness was a full length mirror hanging on the wall. Through it, he was able to look at himself for the first time.
True to the robot's word, he was in fact a hedgehog. As far as he knew he appeared like any other. His fur was a dark blue color. A light brown was colored in for his fur-less flesh, consisting of his inner ears, muzzle, and a circular patch on his chest. Six quills curved from his head, much like they would a hedgehog, the main thing he noticed were the two quills furthest down, both being bent at the tip and going more outward. Another set of quills were on his back, shifting his stance allowed him to see them more clearly. One was in the center of his back while two smaller ones were at its sides.
Added with his dark blue fur, other portions of his body were black. All of his quills held a black line going across its top, all except for the topmost quill on his head. His ears and the tip of his tail also being blackened. An oddity with his fur were patches of jagged black that were around his wrists and ankles, slightly going up his forearms and legs.
White and gray chest fur covered his upper chest, the sides went on to his shoulders and curved around their side.
Something odd stood out among everything else. It wasn't his natural appearance, it was something he wore. Around his neck was a golden ring, looking like a simple metal band. The hedgehog tapped on it, he pulled it, even tried taking it off, but nothing happened. Unable to even feel it on him, but it felt so foreign to him. Though the ring worried him slightly, the hedgehog put it away with the many other questions he had for Dr. Robotnik.
After several minutes of looking himself over more, he sat atop the bed and laid down. Staring at the blank ceiling, the hedgehog tried piecing together his own mind. Fragmented thoughts that clouded his head, leaving nothing recognizable.
Though he tried remembering something, anything as to who he was or why he was there, nothing could be found. Not even a name for himself could be formed from the vacancy of his own inner monologues. Only a simple title was what he had. Hedgehog. A name for an animal, a name for himself.
The hedgehog had to of been more tired then he first thought. As his mind drifted towards his own existence, his eyes shifted downward. It took only a moment later for his breathing to soften to a steady pace.
A hedgehog ran across the open fields of endless grass. Breathtaking sights could be seen by him as the air blew through his quills.
All around him the sights blurred as he ran faster and faster, his feet crunching the grass in an increasing pace. An undeniable sense of freedom was what the hedgehog felt, not tied down by anything. Nothing ever slowing him.
No clear destination was on his mind as he went further into the horizon. Everything and nothing were all in his sights at the same time. Such a peaceful state that he didn't want to give up.
But the blissful running didn't last. A fiery explosion erupted next to him, stopping his speed in an instant. All around him, more and more explosions fired upward, each more intense then the last.
One was close enough to him it threw him across the field and forced him against the ground. As his body began to ache, he looked up to see a robot's metallic face staring back at him, moving closer and closer as if to smother him. Then the fires grew and engulfed him.
The hedgehog lurched forward from his sleeping position. Sweat drenched his fur, his lungs cried for air as he took in rapid breaths, his chest pumping like a piston. His eyes looked about his surroundings, he was back in his empty room.
It had just been a dream. But was that even possible. The idea caused him to question the implications of a dreaming amnesiac. Just something else he hoped the good doctor would have answers for. The hedgehog wiped away the moisture on his quills before he slouched back onto the bed.
Despite the heart racing vision he had just experienced, it didn't take long for the hedgehog to be taken away again.
What the hedgehog did not know however, was that a bed and mirror weren't the only things in his room. Something else was cleverly hidden at the top of the walls, something impossible for anyone to notice or see.
From a different room in the base, more monitors were placed against the wall. Standing before one was the rounded doctor and his robotic assistant. Their eyes were locked on the image of the sleeping hedgehog, the camera in his room showing them everything. A second monitor beside it showed readings of the hedgehog's sleeping status, due to machines implanted into the bed he now slept on.
"Did you see that Doctor?" Alpha3 questioned, even within his emotionless voice there was an unmistakeable distress. Robotnik didn't answer, his eyes unable to leave the screen. "He is experiencing the dreams faster then we have anticipated," the robot pressed, "this is a clear warning sign that something is wrong."
"I see nothing wrong with it," Robotnik replied, his voice showing no alarm to the situation, "it doesn't matter as long as he doesn't understand them. Too much time has been placed in this already to simply abandon it at every simple hiccup. His ignorance to who he is is all we need to make this work. And if it is proven that this will fail, then we can dispose of him easily, without alerting him in the process."
A/N: All right then. First chapter has been seen and I hope it has caught some attention.
Something I thought up of a while back but have been too busy to post. Hopefully I can do it justice and keep reader interest going throughout.
So, I hope everyone has enjoyed this first chapter. Leave a review if you wish, encouragement is always helpful. And so is criticism, I know I'm not perfect and there is always room for improvement.