The Hills are Always Greener
"The grass is always greener."
Sonic knew that saying. He even knew that it was a reference to how perception of how another individual's circumstances appeared better than they actually were. Under normal circumstances, if he was really into the intricacies of the English language, he might have enlisted Tails's help in finding a book that could explain the origins of such phrases. But, these weren't normal circumstances. He was on South Island – the last 1% of Earth that wasn't under Eggman's control. He was standing here in the Green Hills, watching his younger self do everything that he'd done a lifetime ago. Collect rings. Run through loops. Stomp on badniks, and every so often, find a power monitor. All roads led to the Green Hills, it seemed. Course it was on an island, and roads couldn't literally lead here, but it seemed that ever since he and Eggman (or Robotnik as he'd called himself then) had begun this little game, there was always some green, hilly area that they'd come across. As if the universe had decided it liked Green Hills so much it couldn't bear the rest of planet Earth to not have its own equivalent in various areas of the world.
Yet here he was. Back where it all started. Eggman had first tried to build his empire here. Scrap Brain Zone, now a decaying ruin, stood in testament to his first failed attempts. He'd branched out across space, and in later attempts at conquest, time. Now he was back here, at the last bastion of the Resistance.
"You okay?"
He looked at Tails. A few years older than when they'd first met, a few years wiser as well.
"Hmm." That was all Sonic said. Feeling older himself, yet not wiser.
"I mean, we're back," Tails ventured. "Twilight Cage, the Nocturnus…I mean, we're both fast. You're faster of course, but we can still save the world, right?"
"Yeah," Sonic said, forcing a smile. "Of course." He gestured towards his counterpart, now a blue dot on one of those totem heads that populated the area – after all these years, Sonic had never understood the architecture of this island, or why 360 loops appeared in other locations as well. It was just a quirk that he accepted, moving too fast through the world to question its nature. And now, with so little of the world left…
"Come on."
He started moving, reaching 60kph in a few seconds. On cue, Tails took after him. While Sonic 1.0/Sonic Junior/ "that guy" took care of the badniks further inland, he and Tails planned to run around South Island's shoreline. Just to see how far Eggman had spread, and where he'd landed his forces.
"Hey Sonic?" called out Tails. "You can go faster you know."
"Yeah, I know," he said. He picked up some speed, reaching 120kph.
"Faster," called on Tails. "Faster!"
Sonic did, reaching 150kph. Tails was starting to pant, but he still kept up. Sonic smiled – he remembered when Tails hadn't even been strong enough to carry him while flying. How back on Westside Island, he had to keep waiting for the fox to catch up. The smile faded – Westside Island was in Eggman's hands. Westside Island was a wasteland. Tails had lost his home, and barely said a word about it. So had everyone in the Resistance really, but…
He grit his teeth and reached 200kph. Home. South Island had always been his home, even more than Christmas Island. He'd never really questioned why he felt this way, only that he knew that he did, and that was on the occasion when he felt tied to any location at all. Maybe it was because it was his first real confrontation with Robotnik (no, waku cars and starfighters didn't count, thanks for asking). That he'd established himself as "the guy" who could always take down Doctor Robotnik, and could still do so after the scientist's name change. Flattered himself with an idea that turned out to be true. An idea that now sickened him, and-
No.
He screeched to a halt, his sneakers digging through the sand. Panting, Tails came up to him. "Sonic?"
He just stared at the sight. Ruins. Ruins of ruins, technically, because the Marble Zone had always been ruins as long as he, or anyone else on South Island could remember. But now, barely any of the ruins were left. They'd been turned out. Crushed into dust by the sentinels.
"Sonic…"
"I always hated the Marble Zone," he said. "Too much lava."
"Don't you mean magma?"
"No, I mean lava," he snapped, before sighing. "I…I mean, Springyard was fun. The Labyrinth was filled with water, so no tears there. Starlight Zone…" He sighed. "Suppose that's gone too."
"Sonic-"
"But hey," he continued, gesturing towards the peak of South Island. "Scrap Brain's still around, right? Course it is. Why wouldn't it be? Eggman built it, and Eggman rules the world, and we failed the world-"
"We weren't here."
"Exactly. We weren't here, and we failed. And now South Island is a near-wasteland because of it."
Tails fell silent – was it because he had nothing to say, or nothing to contest the point? Sonic didn't know. But they'd both seen what was happening, as desertification crept across the island, as sure as it did the world. The Green Hills were accurately named, but the greenness had once covered all South Island. Now, they were outcrops in a world that had been taken by chaos. And not the kind of chaos that allowed him to always beat Eggman in the end, or even a giant water demon. No, just chaos. Pure, horrible chaos, that made him feel ashamed to have ever enjoyed taking on Eggman in the first place.
"Well," Tails began. "If…I mean, when, we beat Eggman, I…well, we can rebuild Marble Zone."
"What?"
"Yeah, rebuild it. Make it better. With less lava. Or magma. And...His lip quivered. "Make it like old times. I mean, it only took the two of us to take down the Death Egg, right? What chance does Eggman have now that we're back?"
Sonic didn't know. The Death Egg, he reflected. Another device from another lifetime. Actually, he'd recalled, Knuckles had played a role in finally destroying the thing, but yes, he and Tails had taken down Eggman together, that time. Many other times as well. Who was to say they couldn't again?
"Y'know," Sonic began, "I don't think I ever said thank you." He looked at his friend. "For the…help."
"Yeah, you did."
"I really don't think-"
"Yeah, you said 'thanks Tails for catching me, I couldn't have done this without you, and you're completely awesome, and-"
"Tails, I didn't say that."
"Alright, fine, you didn't. But hey, you'd fallen from an exploding space station and landed on a bi-plane. I was fine with the silent treatment."
"Yeah, I really didn't talk as much back then." Sonic nodded towards his counterpart. "Still don't."
Silence fell on them nonetheless. But he smiled. The Green Hills were still here. South Island was still here. Tails, at least, was still here.
Maybe he could take some comfort in that.
A/N
So, Green Hill Zone's in Sonic Forces because of course it is. Um, Sega? I like Green Hill Zone as much as anyone, but you don't need to keep shoving it into every other game. :(
That said, looking at the zone's design, there is an interesting tidbit, namely how desertification appears to have taken hold of the area. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I can't help but wonder if it's in-universe, a sign of Eggman's reign and all that. Yeah, probably am reading too much into it, but drabbled this up regardless.