Welcome to chapter 1!

Hope you enjoy,

-SilencedFox

Sonic Begins

Chapter 1: Promises

"Hey, Nick! Wake up!" A small voice whispered.

The eyes of a slumbering blue hedgehog slid open. Standing at this bedside was a much smaller, light blue hedgehog holding two fishing poles.

"Ugh, what time is it..." The older hedgehog groaned, throwing the sheets over his head.

"It's almost seven! Come on Nick! You said you would go fishing with me! Get outta bed! You promised!"

The little one decided his older brother wasn't understanding of the matter's urgency. He ran over to the curtains covering his sibling's bedroom window and threw them open. The blinding rays of the morning sun flooded into the once dark bedroom.

Nick held the sheets tight over his head trying to block out the bright daylight. Suddenly, his sheets were yanked right off his bed. The piercing rays of light punched him right in the face. His head jerked as he slammed his eyes shut. He continued to curl up into a ball on his side, his head smothered in his pillow.

"Alex...." The older hedgehog growled out with frustration.

"NICK!! You SAID!"

"I KNOW. But do we have to go this early?!", he replied, his voice muffled under the pillow.

"Ya dummy! You said fishing's best early in the morning!" Alex replied.

"Alex, just let me sleep one more hour...please..."

The child scrunched his brow. Now he was more determined than ever to get his brother out of bed.

Alex hopped up on his brother's bed and started jumping up and down, "Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP!"

"ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE PUNK I'M UP!" Nick yelled at the top of his lungs as he sat up, throwing his pillow across the room.

The little hedgehog was startled by the outburst. His ears were backwards and he was now dead silent.

Alex quickly scrambled off his brother's bed, tears welling up in his eyes. "How come you gotta yell at me even after you promised?!" He snatched up his fishing pole from the ground. "I'll just go by myself."

The little hedgehog sniffled and wiped his nose as he headed towards the doorway. He turned toward his irritated brother and scowled, "Jerk." Then he slammed the door behind him as he left the room.

Nick let out a sigh and hung his head, "Nice one. Yelled at my twelve year-old-brother. Real mature, Nick." He said to himself.

He hung his legs over the side of his bed, gave his arms a good stretch, and let out a yawn in the process. Then he hopped to his feet on the hard wooden floor, nearly stepping on the fishing pole that was left behind. He picked up the fishing rod, and walked over to his bedroom window. Being on the 2nd floor of his home, he was able to see out of his window onto the front porch below.

He didn't see his little brother outside, "Maybe dad stopped him at the door," He thought.

He glanced up from the ground below and looked off into the picture perfect view his village was privileged to have. Over the rooftops of the other wooden homes, about half a mile away from Nick's window, was the coast of the Mobius Ocean. Unscathed by any type of pollution, the waters of the vast ocean were crystal clear and full of thriving aquatic life forms of all kinds. The coast was also thick with lush, tropical plant life that covered the rolling green hills. The rising sun glistened on the tranquil waters of the Mobius ocean and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. For the residents of this coastal village, days like this were hardly in short supply.

Nick sighed, "Another day in Green Hill Village."

Suddenly the sound of the front porch door slamming grabbed his attention. Down below he saw his little brother stomp his way down the front walk towards the cobblestone roads of the village.

Nick dropped the fishing pole and bolted out of his room. He couldn't let his brother leave the house by himself like that; his father would kill him. As he ran down the upstairs hallway the floor boards squeaked loudly beneath his feet. He passed by his brother's messy room and also by this parents' room. His parents' bedroom door was closed. He thought perhaps they were still sleeping, which would explain why no one stopped Alex. He hurried down the spiral staircase at the end of the hall to the kitchen below. He stomped down the last two steps and saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. It was his father, sitting at the kitchen table, pealing an orange for breakfast. He was a much older hedgehog. His quills were a dark shade of blue just like Nick's, but the tips were beginning to grow gray with his old age.

He just sat there, tending to his piece of fruit, not acknowledging his son just entered the room.

Nick walked up to the table, "Uh, morning... Dad. Did you say it was okay for Alex to go out by himself?"

The elder hedgehog cleared his throat, and replied with a gruff, "Nope."

"Well, didn't you see him walk by and slam the door on the way out?"

Without looking up from his breakfast, "Yep." He added.

"Well...why didn't you stop him?!" Nick demanded to know.

The old hedgehog looked up at his son, "Because I'm tired of making you two play nice all the time. So why don't you start acting like an adult, Nick, and stop flipping out on your little brother."

"Well I'm sorry! I get a little impatient when the little creep wakes me up at the butt-crack of dawn to go fishing!"

Irritated with his son's tone, he glared at the boy, and scrunched his brow, "So how old are you going to be next week Nick?"

"Uhh, eighteen."

"WELL START ACTING LIKE IT!" he yelled, causing Nick's ear's to flip backwards as he cowered from his father's shouting.

"Now go get Alex!" he snapped.

"Y..yes sir.." He timidly replied, avoiding eye contact with his irritated father.

He slowly made his way towards the front door with his head down.

Noticing his son's lack of urgency in the matter, the aged hedgehog leaped to his feet; the legs of his chair grinding against the floor as it scooted back.

His father's sudden movement startled the unsuspecting Nick.

"MOVE IT!" he yelled, pointing towards the door.

"Okay okay! I'm going! You don't have to yell at me!"

Nick ran up to his to his shoes that were placed by the front door. These were his one and only pair.

"And you didn't have to yell at Alex either."

The young hedgehog slipped on his red and white sneakers and then stood up, facing his father who had his arms crossed and a very unpleasant look upon his face.

Nick shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Okay, I get it! I'm sorry."

His father pointed towards the door, " Go...get...your brother."

Nick let out a frustrated sigh, and made his way out the front door. He made his way across the front walk, which was just a fine dirt path that lead to the street. On both sides of the walk, the ground was thick with green grass and many assorted flowers. His mother loved to tend to their garden.

Nick stopped half way down the walk and turned back towards the house, finding his father now standing on the front porch.

"What if I can't find him?" Nick called out.

"I really doubt he got too far. What, you forget we're hedgehogs? We aren't exactly the fastest things alive, Nick."

"Whatever." Nick mumbled under his breath.

"He's probably heading down the to the river anyway, so go look for him there."

Nick just nodded and turned away to begin the search for his younger sibling.

He walked to the end of the front walk and stopped at a small wooden gate. He swung it open and stepped out onto the roads of Green Hill Village. Being as early as it was, the village was very quiet and not many had ventured out of their homes to greet the day. Nick began to walk north towards the river that ran into the Mobius ocean. The sun was rising in the east, painting shadows all over the ground. Nick could hear various tropical birds singing their songs as he walked through the sleepy settlement. The air was crisp with the clean ocean scent that was all but too familiar.

He continued to pass through Green Hill, heading towards the riverbanks.

As he passed by one of the many homes that were scattered all over the village, he heard his name called out.

"Nick! What's up bro?"

Nick turned his head towards the voice.

Standing at the gate of the home he was passing by stood a red hedgehog that was about his height.

"Ed! Hey man, what's up? What are you doing up so early?" Nick asked with a laugh.

"Gotta get up early so I can go to work with my old man, I'm waiting for him."

Nick walked over to the fence, and greeted his friend with their usual fist bump.

"Oh yeah that's right, you're still working at his shop?"

"As always. I'm getting tired of it though." Ed replied.

Ed's father was a carpenter and had a very successful business due to the fact that almost everything in Green hill village was made from the wood he prepared.

Nick rested his arm on the fence and sighed.

"You alright?" Ed asked raising one brow.

Nick shook his head, "I'm alright, it's just....I yelled at my little brother, and then my dad chewed me out for it, and now I'm trying to find him."

"I'm so glad I don't have a little brother." Ed laughed.

"Yeah? I wish I could say the same." Scoffed the blue hedgehog.

"Oh come on dude, don't say that. I mean, I guess it would be kinda cool. You know, because he looks up to you and stuff."

"Yeah, he does. It gets annoying though, like this morning. He wakes me up at the crack of dawn because I promised him we would go fishing."

Ed tilted his head, "And did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Promise?"

Nick sighed, "Yeah I did. I just didn't think he would wake me up so freakin early."

"Bummer."

"Yeah, but I kinda yelled at him, and he got all hurt, and now I'm out here looking for him....Did you see him?"

"Nah, I just came outside not too long ago. I didn't see him."

"Crap. Well, he's probably down by the river by now so I gotta get going dude."

"No worries, same. I don't know what's taking my old man so long so I'm gonna go check it out."

Ed held out his fist and Nick bumped it once more.

"Catch you later bro, good luck with all the little brother stuff." said the red hedgehog.

Nick cracked a smile and rolled his eyes, "Thanks. Later dude."

The blue hedgehog started to make his way towards the river once more, but stopped when he heard his friend yelling for him.

"Hey Nick! We still gonna make that trip to Mobotropolis?"

Nick turned and yelled back, "Next week! After my birthday! Let's do it!"

"Woo! Freakin' sweet dude! 'Bout time you turned 18 too!"

"Yeah, tell me about it! We'll talk more about it tonight!"

"Cool bro, later!" Ed waved goodbye and then went back inside his home to look for his father.

--

--

A tiny blue hedgehog sat on the shore of the Green Hill River. He had a fishing pole in hand, and his eyes were moist with innocent tears.

He gave a quick sniffle and wiped a tear that slid down his face, "Stupid Nick, he says we can fish, then yells at me. Hmph."

Suddenly the young hedgehog heard something shuffle through the thick tropical foliage behind him.

He looked over his shoulder with a nervous look on his face. Then his expression turned to anger when he saw it was his brother Nick making all the noise.

Nick let out a sigh of relief, "Oh man, there you are."

Alex turned away from his brother, "Lemme-alone!" He pouted.

The older hedgehog knew he had to make this right. He realized that he was really out of place yelling at his little brother like he did.

Nick sat beside Alex on the sandy shore of the river.

Alex scooted away from his brother and then shot him an angry look.

Nick bit his lip and wrapped his arms around his legs, holding them close to his chest.

He looked into the crystal clear waters of the river and could see many assorted fish swimming about beneath its surface. A gentle breeze blew, the many assorted plant life danced and swayed, and the sky above became a brighter shade of blue with each passing moment the sun climbed into the sky.

Nick sat quietly and took in the sites of the beautiful place he lived in and then felt a bit of sadness for his little brother.

They live in a near-perfect world. Why would he ruin it for his little brother?

He wasn't sure what to do about it, however, he was certain a simple apology probably wouldn't suffice.

It was worth an effort though.

"Hey, Alex." Nick said, trying to get his angry sibling's attention.

Alex just ignored him, keeping his angry eyes on the water before him.

Nick shuffled towards his brother. In return, the little hedgehog moved away from his older brother once more.

Nick sighed, "This is going to be tough." He thought to himself.

"So...You caught anything yet?" asked the older hedgehog.

Alex shrugged and leered at his brother, "No."

The little hedgehog rolled his eyes and then jerked his fishing rod, "Come on stupid fish! Get caught!!"

Sudden splashes sent ripples through the tranquil river causing the fish beneath to scatter everywhere.

"Take it easy, Alex! You're not gonna catch any fish if you don't have the patience to!" Nick snapped.

Alex turned towards Nick and threw his fishing rod on the ground, "What do you know about patience!?"

Nick was taken back by the comment his little brother made. Sometimes Alex said insightful things you wouldn't expect a child to say.

"You don't have any patience when it comes to your own little brother! You're just getting all old and stupid! You want nothing to do with me! You never wanna play with me! Then you tell me we will go fishing today, and then you yell at me! You do this all the time!" Alex screamed at his older brother.

"Alex! I'm..."

"No! You're nothing! Nothing but a big jerk! I hate you! Just go home and lemme-alone!"

The frustrated little hedgehog rushed up and tried to shove Nick away, furthering his point that he wants his brother to leave. Being twice the size of his younger brother, Nick didn't budge - at least not physically.

With that small insignificant push, Nick became a little further from his brother emotionally.

The feeling was mutual.

Alex turned away, stomping off towards the ocean coast with tears in his eyes.

This time however, Nick wasn't just going to let his brother slip away. He wasn't going to continue ruining his relationship with Alex.

Nick leaped to his feet, "Alex I'm sorry! Please... I just, I don't know why I yelled at you this morning, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I'm just....I'm sorry, okay?

Alex stopped dead in his tracks, "No, you're not. Hmph. You don't mean it."

Nick ran up next to his brother and kneeled down next to him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and looked into his little brother's uncertain eyes, "Of course I mean it. Look, I've just been really stressed out lately. You know I'm going to be eighteen soon, and there's just a lot on my mind. There's so much pressure from dad about me getting out in the world and making something of myself. You know....the whole grownup thing."

Alex wiped his nose and nodded in agreement.

"Alex, it's not that I don't wanna spend time with you, I've just been so busy with everything I feel like I don't get any time to just relax. So that's probably why I get impatient with you, and I'm sorry. It's like I'm taking my frustrations out on you, and that's just totally bogus of me. Hey, you're the only little brother I'll ever have! I don't think I can promise that I won't ever lose my patience again, but I can promise that I'll never let anything happen to you. Never. And I'll try to be here for you when you need me. Always. From now on - even though I know I'm going to regret this - as long as I'm still around we can go fishing every morning, anytime you want. How's that sound?"

"You really mean it?" Alex timidly replied.

Nick smiled, "Dude! Of course! You're my little bro!"

Alex smiled and embraced his older brother.

It seems forgiveness wasn't in short supply after all.

"So, we cool?" Nick asked.

Alex stepped back and nodded, "Yeah, we're cool, dude."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Oh man, you gonna start talking like me now?"

The little hedgehog laughed, "Yeah! I want you to talk like that around me more. It's way...uhh, what do you say around your friends?"

Nick raised one brow, "You mean, way past cool?"

"Yeah! That's it! Way past cool! Haha."

Alex snatched up his fishing pole from the sandy shore and asked, "So can we go fishing now?"

Nick laughed, "Yeah, Let's do it to it....Oh man, my rod's at home though."

"Well, then I'll race you there, slowpoke!" The little hedgehog sprinted back towards their village.

"Haha… Hold up, blue streak." Nick said, chasing after Alex.

He did it. Finally he did some good when it came to his little brother. He always failed to realize how much Alex looked up to him. Nick was like a superhero in the little one's eyes. The little hedgehog would try to emulate him by copying all the things his big brother would do. Nick failed to see how hurtful it is when you get rejected by the person you idolize.

Nick made a promise to his little brother, and he planned on keeping it. He would always protect him, always be there, and....he would go fishing with him - every morning.

As he ran after Alex, Nick cringed at the idea of getting up at the crack of dawn every day.

It didn't seem like such a bad idea, however. Soon he would be leaving his village, on the path of making a new life for himself. It was his rites of passage. Everyone had to do it sooner or later. So, the idea of enjoying the morning sun and spending each day with the most care-free person he knew sounded better and better as he thought about it.

Nick wished that he could live in this blissful daydream-of-a-life forever.

If he only knew that tonight was the night that his perfect dream would turn into an undying nightmare.

Thanks for reading, Chapter 2 should be finished by next week.

As always Reviews are much appreciated!