I'm Not a Hero

Chapter One: A New Journey or Intro

A.N: Hey everybody, this story here has been bothering me for a while. I've always asked myself "Hey, CtC, what exactly DID happen in Charge's life? How did he become and anti-hero and a rival to Blaze? How did he meet Aqua? How did he meet the Sonic crew? How did he meet his OC friends?" For the longest time, I couldn't answer, as I had nothing to inspire me.

Boom, I stumble across my Mom's ITunes, and what do I find? A song called Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, which technically could be called four songs in one if you listen to it. The introduction hit me like a ton of brick as I thought, "Hey, this is EXACTLY what Charge's story would be like!" So one furious bit of typing later, here it is.

Please Review. That is all I ask.

Disclaimer: I own Charge, Dagger, Queen Flare, King Ember, Aqua and the plot. Sega owns Sonic and co. My Chemical Romance owns Welcome to the Black Parade, along with the lyrics. All OC's mentioned and in cameo later belong to their respective owners; I will list them in the chapter.

And now that the boring stuff is done, let's get to the good bit:

~16 Years Ago~

Even in the middle of the night, rain came down hard, soaking the already saturated earth to a breaking point. Wind tore at the green leaves, attempting to tear them off their stems and drag them away. The grass was beaten down flat, and any creature with any sense had long since retired to a dry area.

However, one fleet-footed figure rushed through the trees, leaping over logs and rocks as if it were an Olympic hurdler. A black cloak and hood covered its head and body, making it impossible in the light to make out any distinguishing features. However, streaming out behind it was a yellow-colored cat tail with a white tip. Clutched to the feline's shoulder were a small bundle of grey blankets.

The cat skidded to a stop in a small clearing, and looked up to see another figure, this one in a navy blue cloak. However, the figure had his hood down, revealing a grey cat with golden eyes that bored into the small bundle.

The hooded figure panted, "Is everything in place?"

The grey cat nodded, "I will raise him as my own son, and when the day comes, he will know the truth and will meet his sister."

Seeing the other continue to look nervous, he added, "Remove your hood. I disposed of any watchers on our business."

The other nodded, the lowered the hood to reveal a young she-cat with blue eyes, glancing once more at the bundle in her arms, before whispering, "I love you, my prince. One day, I will see you again, I promise." A tear fell from her eye and onto the bundle, which moved slightly before a small sigh escaped from it.

Eyes still full of unwept tears, the she-cat passed the bundle to her friend, "Please, take care of him, Dagger."

The grey male nodded, "I will teach him to fight and do what his heart believes is right."

Even with the somber mood, the she-cat couldn't help but giggle, "You always were a bit of a poet at heart. But now," she sniffled, "I bid you goodbye for now, my son."

Golden eyes followed her to the edge of the clearing, watching her leave, and only then did Dagger mutter, "Goodbye, Queen Flare…"

He stared at the little bundle, and a pair of sleepy green eyes stared back. Dagger couldn't help but smile, "Hello there, Charge, my son."

~Ten Years Later~

"Dad, I can't see!"

"Well, then come on, up on my shoulders."

A small green head rose above the sea of thousands, to watch the festive ride past. The young green cat gasped at the massive floats, "Dad, how do those things move?"

Dagger grunted slightly under his son's weight, "I told you when you were six, magical emeralds make them run."

A pair of green eyes rolled to the heavens, where their creator Sol ruled justly, "Da-ad, I'm ten! You really think I'm going to believe in a story about magical emeralds?"

"Well, I tried." Dagger thought glumly, then noticed something, "Hey, didn't I tell you not to mess up you hair?"

"Aw, I like it like this!" Charge whined, stroking his unruly bangs.

"It doesn't matter what you like, it looks improper." Dagger reprimanded him sternly, "Come on, down you get. Let's fix it up."

"Hmph." Charge moped, but then noticed something, "Dad, Dad! Here comes the princess!"

As the young cat watched, a marching band blew a fanfare and out stepped the young Princess Blaze the Cat, dressed in full royal attire and carrying her head high. Her eyes never strayed from her path in front of her, and she looked like a young queen already.

Charge cocked his head, "She's cute." This attracted the attention of several of the nearby royal subjects, who chuckled or grinned. Dagger, however, immediately fought the image of incest from his mind, "That she is, my boy. Now get off my neck before my spine telescopes."

Charge obediently slid off, and turned to stare as his father got off his knees. The grey tom had lost some shine and color in his coat over the years, and his posture was slightly hunched, but his eyes still burned with the same fire as before, and he still carried himself with the same proud strut as always.

Charge cocked his head and suddenly asked, "Dad, what were you before you were a blacksmith?"

Dagger froze, not expecting the question at all, "What?"

"It's just…" Charge closed his eyes and put his hands behind his back, "I was thirsty a few nights ago, and I decided to get a glass of water. As I came down the stairs, I heard a noise, so I pressed myself flat against the stairs and peeked between the banisters. I saw you in the common room with a sword, and I was scared. I thought you were fighting a bad guy, so I ran and hid in my bed. But while I was there," Charge paused, "I thought about it, and the old room you never told me to go into, and I figured you must have been something before you were a blacksmith."

Dagger stared at the young feline, amazed he had been able to figure all that out while lying in bed. 'He really does take after his mother.' he mused to himself, before carefully replying, "There are some things you can't know about yet, my son."

"Why?" whined Charge, and when his father didn't look at him, his gaze hardened, "Oh I know why. It's because you're scared of my "gift", isn't it? You're going to tell me that you found me on the curb, alone, and that I'm not your real son."

"What!"

"It's true!" Charge's eyes began to water, and he turned away, "The kids at school are right, I'm a freak."

A streak of green streamed though the crowd, followed by a clap of thunder, causing people to jump and spin, trying to discover the source. Blaze looked to the side only for a second, but soon returned to her previous forward leer 'Some foolish youngster with a firework.' she guessed mentally, before adding quietly to herself, "How pathetic."

She failed to notice a grey tom push worriedly though the crowd.

~Outside the city~

Dagger swore at the twigs and brambles that continuously caught in his fur. Pushing aside another branch, he came across the tall maple tree he was searching for. Approaching the massive trunk with careful steps, he saw a quick flash of green amongst the red and yellow colors of fall, heard a small sniffle above the wind in the branches, and felt a tear fall on his shoulder.

Dagger immediately started scaling the tree, his species natural instincts and talent making it easy. Yet, he noted that his age slowed him down, characterized by his sore back and lack of breath after a short time. 'Oh what I would give to be twenty years younger.' he thought bitterly, but shook it off. There were more important matters to deal with, like attempting to reconcile with the young boy he had come to truly believe was his son.

With an extra curse upon the branch that continued to snag his fur no matter how many times he shook it off, Dagger climbed up into the three-way fork that served as a resting point, looking like he had fought a battle with a prickly ash bush, and lost. Leaning against one of the thick branches, he glanced over to see Charge sitting in a fork in one of the branches further out. His knees were drawn up, and he hugged then as he rocked back and forward, staring out at the low sun. Dagger could hear the occasional sniffle and sob come from him, and noted an occasional arc of electricity come from his body.

A short pause developed, in which Charge's ears swiveled back slightly, then returned to their normal position. The young kitten muttered, "Go away, you don't want a monster for a son."

Dagger ignored the comment, instead starting a new conversation, "Did I ever tell you how I got to know about this tree?"

At first, he thought the youth didn't hear him, but then one of his ears' twitched, "No."

Dagger leaned further back against the tree, folded his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes, "Like you, I was persecuted because I was different. When I was your age, I could jump off of walls and run at high speeds. Yet, I couldn't focus in class. The other kids used to throw pencils and balled-up paper at me when I fell asleep in History."

A sudden bolt of lightning hit the tree branch further along, turning it into ashes instantly. Neither cat flinched, they had both gotten used to the sound, smell and sight of lightning. Charge turned his head slightly; "You couldn't do that to a person."

"No, I couldn't." Dagger admitted, heaving a sigh, "But you're not alone. I hear that Princess Blaze is pyrokinetic."

Charge turned to face him slowly, his eyes full of unwept tears, but also filled with surprise. Noting this, the older cat continued, "Maybe you two could get along."

Charge spun around, his face contorted into a grimace, "Eww, but she's so… serious all the time. I bet she never gets to go play a lot."

Dagger laughed, "Ah, yes. You're never one to be serious, now are you?"

Charge shrugged and wiped his eyes, "I try to be, but it's no fun being stiff as a board all the time! I wanna be able to run around and see the world, taste the wind and swim in the oceans. I want to meet people and eat different food, and be a great hero to the world!"

Dagger smiled, and beckoned the young cat over, who crawled over and sat beside his dad, wrapping his arms around him.

"Use your gift, and never forget, it is a gift…" Dagger reminded him, "And one day, you could be standing on a stone, having a sculpture modeled after you for all the great things you've done for the world."

Charge looked at his dad, green eyes meeting golden ones, "You really think so?"

Dagger ruffled his hair with a chuckle and an indignant, "Hey!" from the kitten, " I know so, you green ball of never-ending energy."

Charge looked out into the sunset, "Dad, promise me something."

"Anything."

"Well, two things. One, that you'll tell me everything when I'm sixteen."

Dagger smirked, "That I can keep."

Charge giggled before continuing, "And, also, you'll never go anywhere."

Dagger hugged his son, "That I defiantly can keep."

Charge sighed and smiled, eyes closed, "I know, and I love you Dad."

"I love you too son, but it's time to go. It's getting dark, and I've got an order from the garrison commander to fulfill.

Once the two were down, however, Dagger unleashed the demon.

"Oh, and you're grounded for running off and climbing a tree without my permission."

"WHAT?"

Ahh, the refreshing sound of comedy.

Hope you enjoyed, and didn't think of this as a complete waste of your time.

Here are the Intro lyrics to WTTBP:

When I was a young boy

My father took me into the city

To see a marching band

He said, "Son, when you grow up

Would you be the savior of the broken

The beaten and the damned?"

He said, "Will you defeat them

Your demons and all the non-believers

The plans that they have made?

Because one day, I'll leave you

A phantom to lead you in the summer

To join the Black Parade."

(COUGHSPOILERALERTCOUGH!)

See the button below? Push it, and go through you're day with the knowledge that you did something right.

Cheers,

~CtC~