Disclaimer : I don't own Sonic, Mighty, Ray or Robotnik. Kinda wish I did.
888
It wasn't easy for Green Hill Zone to rebuild. Nor was it so simple for the damage and suffering caused by the flooding to be mended. For many of those brave enough to venture outside their homes, let their children run around free, and venture down to the formerly flooded area to retrieve anything of theirs swept away, there was still sadness. There was still frustration.
So it was ironic that on the very same day that the rains ceased, an exciting discovery almost completely broke the solemn mood of the Zone.
A child, having been curious enough to access the lower areas of Green Hill, had rushed back home, holding something very peculiar in her grasp. It was not an item that had been swept away, nor was it a reminder of a lost one.
It was a ring. A very strange, oversized ring, glimmering a brightly coloured gold. It was unlike anything anybody had ever seen before…
Many Mobians were attracted to the find. They wondered if the floods had brought them along, from a far-off place and covered their lands with these mysterious and beautiful objects.
The majority of Green Hill Zone had claimed that restoring their destroyed community was top priority, and stuck to their duties of commencing rebuilding houses. Many other Mobians (especially children) however, were interested in collecting more of these rings. Adults were interested in the possible profit they could make, if they were sold at another distant Zone, far from the flooding disaster.
This plan soon crashed – and disappointment ensued.
For the civilians of Green Hill Zone made yet another discovery. Constant contact with the rings would cause them to vanish, completely. And even when one went so far as to walk or run into them at any kind of velocity, the rings would also vanish, without a trace. Nobody could really explain this, as of yet.
Some claimed that the rings were merely mirages, caused by some chemical substance from some distant zone washed into the area by the floods. Others claimed that some supreme being was mocking them, taunting them with riches before taking them away. But though the adults of the Zone were disappointed by this fact, the children were undeterred.
Each child of Green Hill Zone were exploring, hunting and trying to gather as many rings as they could, before they disappeared. It didn't matter to them what they were worth – just as long as they were there. Present, wondrous and beautiful.
Each child of Green Hill Zone…
… but three.
Two who were in the middle of an intense race.
And one who was trying to spectate them…
… if he could catch up.
888
Mighty the Armadillo focused straight ahead. His legs were dashing as fast as they possibly could, and after days of running around in circles inside his home out of boredom, he wasn't about to get puffed out so easily. He felt everything around him – the grass tickling his feet through his sandals, the wind pelting through his short fur, the warm sun finally descending on the area of Green Hill…
… and the presence of one rather annoyed hedgehog at his heels.
The armadillo grinned to himself, as he continued to run. If there was one thing he was good at, it was working out how a race worked. After a few years of experience, he's come to note that many of his younger racing opponents often made the error of either starting off with a quick burst of energy, then slowing down. Or, they had a slow start, and attempted to make up for it by sprinting, near the race's finish. But Mighty had learned from these mistakes, and through these strategies, he'd created his own – he usually had a quick start, then kept up a relatively fast pace throughout the entire race.
From what he could see, Sonic hadn't quite got the hang of the 'quick start' portion of racing, yet. The hedgehog was still running, however, seething with what appeared to be frustration at being second place.
"Thought you said he was a blur, Ray!" Mighty yelled over his shoulder, at the youngest of the three. The flying squirrel was currently tailing the duo, hovering over them in a glide. The wind was in Ray's favor – he could keep the two of them in view, and remain airborne for a lengthened amount of time.
"Didn't say that!" came the reply, nearly fully obstructed by the surrounding winds. "I said, he can run REAL fast!"
Mighty chuckled, turning his focus ahead, once more. "Sure…" He mumbled quietly. His thoughts turned to the length of the field, and how far they were in the race.
They had started a few minutes or so ago – but the end of the field was nowhere in sight. Regardless of the fact that their racing grounds still seemed endless, Mighty was undeterred – the many hundreds of metres that stretched before him were nothing. He could keep going - he knew he could. And despite both Ray and Sonic's claims, he still wasn't convinced that the hedgehog could truly run faster than the eye could see.
His mind back on the race, Mighty continued to dash forth, quickening his pace, slightly. It was a bit of a risky move, considering that there was a chance he could run out of steam at the finish line. But all the same, the armadillo was confident. The person behind him served no challenge at all.
However, he was immune to the fact that Sonic had caught onto the self-muttered remark of "Sure…"
The hedgehog wasn't hurt. Nor did he let his frustration cloud his mind. Instead, it was at this time when he began to build up his momentum, as he'd practised. He'd always been slow to start, he knew.
But as the rhythmic 'tmp tmp tmp' of his feet began to speed up, little by little, he knew all too well that this little factor didn't matter anymore.
Mighty was the first to sense the hedgehog's change of pace. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he came to realise that Sonic's running style was slowly changing. His arms were swinging back and forth to keep up with the balance and momentum of his feet, but it soon came to be that those two appendages were unable to keep up.
The armadillo's eyes grew wide, as he realised that the hedgehog was approaching him, nearing him… passing him, his pace increasing drastically.
Mighty scowled, and began to place in his effort. His run increased into a sprint. He knew that his chances of winning the race had been halved, already. But then again, so had the hedgehog's. There was no way someone could run so fast and not collapse inches from the finish line. Both he and Sonic were bound to slow up, regardless of who was ahead and who was behind.
The two were head to head, now. Mighty's breathing was shortening, slightly, and an ache was starting to form in his side. But he pressed on, making occasional glances to his opponent.
Something suddenly caught the armadillo's eye. At first, he mistook it for a rock, or a brown patch of grass, but then he came to realise that it was neither. A black, fuzzy dot had suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye, and it wasn't travelling on the terrain that passed him by.
A couple more black dots crept into his vision, as well as a slight feeling of dizziness. Confusion of the occurrence was suddenly overtaken by realisation, and Mighty abruptly shook his head, planting his full focus forward.
He knew they were signs of fatigue. It had happened to him twice, before, but he wasn't about to stop now. He couldn't, regardless of his inability to breathe properly.
Sonic was focusing directly ahead, paying absolutely no heed to the Mobian beside him. His teeth were gritted slightly, as he raced on – it was becoming more and more obvious that his arms were becoming a nuisance, unable to match the speed of his legs.
Mighty couldn't help but give a small, triumphant grin. Sonic was running way too fast to keep balance! If his arms could no longer support his speed, he'd soon trip over, and fall flat on his face. If he kept this up, the armadillo would be the victor…
"Hey, Mighty!"
The Mobian snapped out of his thoughts, realising that the hedgehog was now speaking directly over to him. He was slightly taken aback at Sonic's voice – his opponent didn't sound the slightest bit puffed out or tired at all. It was a wonder he could still speak, whilst running at this velocity – whilst Mighty was struggling to breathe properly, to keep on going. He couldn't even reply to the hedgehog's remark.
But Sonic just seemed pleased that he had his attention.
"I'd like to apologise!" His opponent yelled. "Kinda!"
Mighty blinked, hard. He managed to summon up enough breath to reply, though it paid him to do so – he was a couple of paces behind Sonic, now.
"What… For… ?!"
The hedgehog gave a small wink, before his gaze resumed back forward.
"For holding back on you!"
And with that remark, Sonic the hedgehog's head bowed forth, towards his goal. His arms finally flew back, caught in the wind's velocity to either side – and he began to sprint.
Mighty's breath grew caught in his throat – as his opponent shot several metres ahead of him, in the few seconds that followed. Faster – faster – as fast as the eye could see. He hadn't needed to build up momentum – he hadn't needed to stop and take a breath. He hadn't needed a drink of water, a rest, or any kind of recharge.
Mighty's limbs began to numb, ever so slightly, as he began to lose coordination with his body. Yet he still stared on forward, as he watched his opponent vanish into the distance –only to soon come quickly back into view, as the Mobian caught sight of the steadily approaching cliff face and barren ground that marked the edge of the field – the finish line.
The armadillo's vision suddenly clouded over, and dizziness overcame him as his body finally succumbed to fatigue. He tripped forward, landing on the damp grass in a skidding sprawl.
It was impossible.
Awesome. Admirable, even. But impossible.
Sonic the Hedgehog hadn't needed anything to surpass him.
Ray's panicked voice cried out at him, though it sounded rather distant. His vision blurred, then grew dark. And heaving in a dry gasp of cherished oxygen, Mighty's turquoise eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Sonic's triumphant grin was replaced with a look of confusion as he heard Ray the flying squirrel cry out from several metres behind. Despite his feelings of adrenalin and excitement, he forced himself to skid to a halt, sliding a mere metre forward, before glancing back over his shoulder.
His eyes grew wide at the sight of the collapsed armadillo.
And for the first time in what seemed like ages, fear crept onto his features.
"…Mighty…?"
888
Midday was approaching. Much as the past day's weather had influenced those in the Zone, today's weather had given an even bigger impact. The sun was warming the area to its highest temperatures, since the civilians of Green Hill could even remember. The remnants of water within the grassy fields and forestation were now long gone, as the ground warmed beneath them.
So, the trio of young Mobians had soon found themselves in the shade, sitting up against the cliff face. They were shielded from the scorching rays of the sun, thanks to the landform.
However, it could do nothing to shield Mighty from a certain flying squirrel's outburst.
"You know what your folks said!" Ray yelled, pointing firmly at his older companion. "If ya start seein' spots, you just gotta stop!"
The armadillo gave a small glare, his turquoise eyes slightly glazed over from the impending heat. Yet he remained relaxed, his form sprawled back up against the cliff wall. He still felt slightly sick, but his breathing was returning to its usual rhythmic pattern. That was a good sign…
"…I know." Mighty replied, his voice slightly raspy. "I messed up…" He managed a small smile up to Ray, whose stubborn expression still held.
"But I'm not an idiot. It's not gonna happen again… anytime soon." He added, his smile growing sheepish. He glanced over to Sonic, who sat next to him, but not in the carefree manner that the armadillo portrayed. His knees were drawn up to his chest, and he hugged them, his head resting atop his kneecaps, his gaze astray.
Silent.
The armadillo frowned, slightly.
"You mean it's not gonna happen to ya, ever again!" Ray corrected, amber brown eyes narrowed in frustration. "We can't have ya hypo – hypovint - " His eyes soon screwed upwards, in confusion, the word rolling around in his mouth. "– Hypovuntla – Hy – Hypoventu - "
"Hypo – Hyperventilating." Mighty corrected softly, slipping the word around in his mouth a little, himself. Sonic's absentminded gaze suddenly drew back to the armadillo, his green orbs seemingly bright with what appeared to be anxiety.
"Y-Yeah, that." Ray nodded, resuming his stubborn (and somewhat authorative- in a childlike way) expression. "We can't have that happen to ya all the time, Mighty!"
"Well, it doesn't. Usually." The armadillo countered, his attention back on the flying squirrel. He sat himself up slightly, but ceased his effort when his nausea began to return. "Like I said, I'm not gonna do it again... I'm not gonna push myself to collapse every single race."
"You promise?"
Mighty glanced over to his right, turquoise eyes slightly widened in surprise. It was Sonic who had spoken, his voice slightly shaken. Yet his jade gaze was now firmly fixed on the armadillo, unblinking. Sharp.
Demanding.
The older Mobian hesitated. "… Yeah. I guess." Mighty gave a small nod in response. He looked on; as his new friend seemed to relax slightly, then look away.
Ray frowned, voicing his older companion's thoughts.
"What's wrong?"
Sonic didn't look at him. "Nothing's wrong." He mumbled.
"It's always something when a person says it's 'nothing.'" Mighty said, with a small smirk. "Something's bothering you."
"Yeah, yeah!" Ray nodded, walking over to the silent hedgehog, who seemed to glance away even further. "You're way too quiet… and – hey… look at me. Look at me!" The flying squirrel leaned forward, trying to grasp the Mobian's attention. However, there was still no reply from the young hedgehog, and Ray withdrew, arms crossed. "Haven't seen ya act like this before, Sonic."
"Maybe it's just 'cause you don't know me so well."
"… Okay, this is getting stupid." The armadillo gave a sigh. "What's wrong, Sonic? If it's about me collapsing'n'all, it's no biggie. It's happened to me before, and I've been through worse – it's no problem." Mighty muttered, giving a smile. "Wasn't your fault."
"Yeah, it was."
The armadillo's smile faded, and Ray's eyes narrowed in slight confusion.
"It was my fault."
There was a brief silence. Only the distant winds from the fields sounded, rippling throughout the long, green grass. The rustling blades drifted back and forth, back and forth…
"How was that your fault?" Mighty asked, bringing Sonic's gaze back from the grassy fields.
"You thought you could catch up with me, just 'cause I slowed up…"
"You still worried 'bout that?" Ray interrupted the hedgehog, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, Sonic didn't have any problems with provin' how fast he could be."
Another silence surrounded the three of them, broken when the hedgehog let out a small sigh.
"… You've… never actually seen someone collapse before, have ya?" The flying squirrel withdrew slightly, his amber-brown eyes growing wide in realization.
Sonic finally glanced up at Ray, and for the first time, genuine fear was present in those sharp, jade eyes of his. It contrasted the stoic, challenging stare he'd used back when the race had been issued – that Sonic was gone.
And this Sonic… just looked upset.
"Not… from running so hard…" The hedgehog mumbled, quietly. "I knew I was fast, but… I didn't think someone could… well, fall asleep…" (Sonic cringed. That didn't sound right. Sounded too peaceful. And that collapse had been anything but.) "…when they were runnin' and all."
"Well… I guess it's not much of a problem for you." Mighty said, finally managing to sit up straight without encountering any dizzy spells. "But a lot of people can't run so fast without getting puffed out."
He smiled when Sonic glanced back over at him, finally lowering his knees from his chest to spread out across the ground. Finally, he had his attention.
"Like… who?"
Mighty shrugged. "People like me, I guess. I can run, for a long time. But if I run too fast… I guess my body gets too tired." His expression screwed up in thought, trying to find the right words. "I mean, I guess I wanna run, but my body doesn't. Keeps hurting, getting more and more tired, and tries to stop me."
" – And then it does." Ray pointed out. "If someone's running too fast, and their body can't take it, then it makes them stop. By makin' 'em fall asleep, I guess."
Sonic blinked, his features scrunching slightly in confusion.
"I… never thought that could happen to anybody. S'never happened to me."
"Well, I think you're an ekseppshio – "
" – Exception."
" – what he said." Ray said, with a firm nod. "I mean, during that race, you were just playing around with Mighty, huh?"
Sonic tensed. "Well… yeah, but…"
"And he couldn't keep up with you at all. Mighty was real tired, but you handled it real easily!"
The hedgehog blinked, hard. "But I…"
"Sonic." His uncertain gaze was drawn over to the armadillo, who was now making an attempt to stand up, pushing himself up against the cliff wall for support. Ray, noting that he was having a small amount of difficulty, hurried over to his side.
"You apologised for holding back on me, didn't you?"
Mighty's smile was genuine. Sonic stared at him, slightly taken aback.
And slowly…
Very slowly…
He smiled back. His first smile since the older Mobian's collapse.
"…Yeah. I guess."
The hedgehog shook his head.
"No… I did."
"That sounds more like you." The armadillo laughed. "Besides," he added, standing up fully, and shaking his head to quickly rid himself of any dizziness. " we've already spent a while sitting around here…"
Sonic exhaled, the weight that had been dropped on his chest finally lifting. Both Ray and Mighty were right. He'd completely forgotten.
"There's… not much point in worrying about what's already happened, is there?" He mused to himself, his tone adorned in slight wonder. The armadillo caught his words, and his features scrunched in deep thought. He'd never really thought of it that way, before…
"'Sides, it was still a tie."
Mighty blinked, his attention drawn back onto the flying squirrel, standing right next to him.
"Huh?"
"The race. It was a tie."
Sonic glanced over at Ray, eyes wide in confusion.
A… what?
A tie?! He… couldn't understand it!
"How…?"
A mischievous glint had appeared in the flying squirrel's amber-brown eyes, and he crossed his arms, a smug grin upon his features, evidently taking delight in knowing what two older Mobians did not.
"Neither of you crossed the finish line when the race was still going."
There was a rather dumbfounded silence. Mighty slapped a hand to his face, and Sonic's stare widened in realization.
"Oh…" He mused, his shoulders slumping, his gaze falling down to the ground.
"Yeah…" The armadillo muttered, hand sliding down his face, his gaze astray.
Ray's face still had that same smug grin. And it increased in size, as he raised a hand up to the sky.
Neither Sonic or Mighty seemed to be paying any attention to the flying squirrel, still both seemingly caught up in their mistake. Yet instead of their weary gazes being fixed on the ground, it became apparent that the two of them were resuming gazes on each other.
It took the very motion of Ray's hand falling back down to his side to signal the resume of the race. And at that motion, both Sonic and Mighty thrust out a hand each to the cliff face wall, as quickly as the two of them possibly could…
888
The late afternoon was approaching. The hot, midday sun had drifted past its pinnacle, and was now slowly sinking down towards the horizon, painting the skies a slight yellow, encouraging the evening to follow after.
The grassy fields were still green, though their colour dulled under the fading, sinking sun. Even the winds seemed to be settling, their previous strength fading away, soaring into the distance. It was as if the day itself had been exhausted, and was slowly encouraging everything it touched to slow down, and cease. The noises of Flickies chirping in the trees had faded away. The winds no longer whistled through the trees, and the sound of the distant reconstruction of the Green Hill villages could no longer be heard from the open fields.
Though these factors were silent, there were a few others that refused to do so.
Silence didn't involve screaming.
Silence didn't involve loud laughter.
And silence certainly didn't involve the sound of a young, high-pitched voice screaming out : "-slowdown-slowdown-slowdown-you're-going-too-faST-YOU'RE-GOING-WAY-TOO-FAST-Stop-it-stop-it-you're-gonna-kill-us-you're-gonna - " before fading to the opposite side of the field.
Sonic the Hedgehog had taken the liberty of demonstrating exactly how fast he could run to his new friends. Though neither Mighty nor Ray could come close to his speed, no matter how hard they had tried, the hedgehog had pondered another option.
He had grasped both the armadillo and the flying squirrel by their wrists, and encouraged them to do the same to him. Then, slowly, he pulled the two along, in a steady jog across the plains.
Despite the extra weight of two bodies, his velocity steadily began to increase to the point where he was rocketing across the plains. It was only at half his full speed, which slightly annoyed him.
But to Mighty and Ray, it was currently scaring the living daylights out of them.
"HOW MUCH FASTER ARE YA GONNA GOO!!??" The flying squirrel screamed, airborne due to his small size and the flaps of skin beneath his arms. He was grasping Sonic's wrist with both arms, as tightly as he possibly could for fear of being blown away. "WE'RE GONNA FALL OFF, BACK HERE!! WE'RE GONNA DIIEE!!!"
"QUIT IT WITH THE 'DYING' BUSINESS!!" The armadillo yelled back over to his younger companion, almost equally as panicked, his feet skidding across the ground, both occasionally lifting a few inches into the air from the speed.
"SONIC! WE CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!!" Mighty yelled, hoping that the hedgehog would even just consider slowing up his speed. By just a little.
Tiny bit…?
Tiny tiny bit…?
The armadillo then caught sight of the euphoric grin that Sonic flashed back at him, and gave a resigned sigh.
…Or not.
"HOLD ON TIGHTER! I'M GONNA GO FASTER!"
Mighty's eyes grew wide.
"WHAT?!!"
"TRUST ME! YOU'LL BE FINE!!"
Ray's breath was caught in his throat, as the hedgehog bowed his head forward as fast as he possibly could. His legs powered up and he managed to shoot forth a good few metres –
Both the armadillo and the flying squirrel were just about ready to scream. They were ready for the surrounding forces to blow their faces off. They were ready for their hearts to stop, and for Sonic to accidentally let go and send Ray flying into the heavens, and Mighty six feet under the ground.
But that didn't happen.
Internally, the hedgehog was scowling. He knew he could go faster than this, though both the armadillo and the flying squirrel weighed him down. But this speed was enough. This speed – he recalled – was special to him. It wasn't the fastest he could run. Nor was it exhilarating for him, by any stretch of the imagination.
But he remembered, a long time ago, when it used to be so. And looking around him, Sonic was reminded exactly why.
Everything surrounding them was a blur. The trio was cut off from the world around them. There seemed to be hardly any sound – the distinctive grass blades within the fields seemed to blend into one another. The darkening skies were free of any stray clouds, which had seemingly blended into the atmosphere.
Ray and Mighty fell silent, for the first time since Sonic had broken almost 50 kilometres per hour whilst dragging them along. And that notion alone caused the hedgehog to realise –
- they understood. They understood, now. Not exactly. But they still understood.
Sonic smiled, glancing back at both Ray and Mighty. The flying squirrel still appeared rather shaken from the sudden burst of speed. But his wide, mahogany eyes seemed to be surveying their surroundings, brimming with wonder and amazement. He was still suspended in air, and the winds were still rushing past him, faster than ever – but something was different about him. He was seemingly relaxed – mostly just taking in everything that he could see…
Mighty, too, seemed relaxed. Yet he was significantly calmer-looking than his younger companion, his turquoise eyes abandoning their surprised look. Instead, he appeared to be in a daze – just taking in everything around him, but at the same time, looking as if he was letting his mind wander…
The spell was broken when Sonic, upon observing both of his friends, lost coordination with his feet, once more.
With a yelp, the trio landed hard upon the ground, Sonic hard on his stomach, Mighty on his shoulder, and Ray being forcefully pulled out of the air by the fallen hedgehog to land on his face. The three skidded a good couple of metres across the grassy ground, the winds that surrounded them roaring in their ears, before ceasing, as the fallen trio skidded to a complete stop.
None of them moved for a few moments.
Then, slowly, steadily, Ray rose first, spitting out any grass and dirt that had been forced into his mouth. Starts danced before his eyes, and he sank back to the ground with a moan.
Mighty sat up, rubbing his shoulder, followed by Sonic, who was forcing himself to breathe steadily, once more – he'd been slightly winded, again.
There was a brief silence, the three still a little taken aback to even speak. Instead, the hedgehog and armadillo glanced at one another, slightly shaken.
Then, a small giggle sounded from the flying squirrel, who was still face down on the ground, his body shaking with laughter.
It couldn't be helped. The silence was completely broken. Both Sonic and Mighty had burst out laughing, Ray joining in soon after as he rose, wiping the dirt and grass stains off his face. It hadn't needed much of a trigger – the shaken three were lying on the ground, laughing so hard that their sides hurt.
They had been so scared. Even Sonic – he'd never liked crashing. They'd genuinely though that their time was up.
But their laughter wasn't out of relief. It wasn't out of a slight feeling of insanity one would have gained in that situation, either.
They were laughing, because all three of them had just had a ball.
Eventually, their giggling began to subside, and instead of rolling around and grasping their sides, Sonic, Ray and Mighty lay still, breathing hard, staring up to the darkening skies, painted the warm colours of evening. The first few stars were starting to appear in the sky above, glimmering brightly as if they were diamonds.
The sound of crickets began to echo around the plains – very quietly, and very few, but enough to signal that evening was well on the way. And it was with this signal that all three of them began to suddenly feel immensely tired – even the hedgehog. It hadn't been easy to drag either Mighty of Ray all over the place…
"Hey, Sonic?"
The Mobian glanced up to his right, where the flying squirrel lay, his tired gaze still cast up to the skies.
"I… think I get why you like to run, so much."
A chuckle came from his upper left, and Sonic rolled his head over to see Mighty, arms folded across his chest as he stared up at the increasing number of stars.
"I think I second that."
The hedgehog blinked. "You 'second' it?"
Mighty gave a brief glance down to Sonic, with a smirk.
"Means that 'I agree.'"
"Oh."
The hedgehog resumed his gaze up to the evening sky. Truth be told – he'd never really done this before. He'd never spent so much time with anyone else other than Robotnik. Not even with his parents… at least, before they'd been swept away.
He wondered why. Was it because he'd hardly been bothered to do so? Running in races had always been fun – being number one was fun, too.
Yet… hanging out with these two had made him ponder.
Perhaps, throughout racing – with only the goal of winning in mind…
…maybe he'd missed out on something.
888
The skies were a deep navy when Sonic had begun to make his way back to Robotnik's base. The departure from both Mighty and Ray had been gradual – the three were exhausted, and unable to register too much of a thought. Yet he dimly remembered the trio promising they'd meet again tomorrow – and that was all.
He hadn't told the duo about where he lived – his promise to the doctor still stuck in his mind, and after all this time, he wasn't about to break it. Mighty had been slightly more open about his and ray's whereabouts, however – they lived near the main village of Green Hill, around the cliff face and down in the valley. There wasn't much left of the old villages, due to the flooding, but it still made for a great meeting place.
It was a few moments in the darkness of Sonic stumbling around half asleep through the trees, before the small plateau that marked the Doctor's whereabouts came into view. Attempting to shake the drowsiness out of his head, Sonic blearily glanced upwards at the domed structure upon the landform.
Truth be told, he hadn't been counting on climbing up that thing. Especially in this tired state…
A loud BANG, followed by a series of loud CRASHes jerked Sonic from his dreamy state, though he was soon genuinely surprised as a large chunk of smoking metal was hurled out one of the dome's circular windows with an almighty SMASSHH!
Sonic flinched, ducking down as several pieces of glass showered him, a couple of shards scraping past his fur. Though upon rising, and shaking his head abruptly, he jumped nearly a foot into the air in shock as a loud WHAM sounded inches behind him, and sudden warmth flooded his back, to the point where it was almost uncomfortable.
Sonic was frozen, unable to really fully comprehend what had just happened. But he was awake, now.
Confused, but awake.
Slowly, cautiously, he turned around, realising that the enormous chunk of smoking metal that had burst from the dome's window had impacted the ground only several inches from behind. His heart leapt into his throat when he realised that he'd nearly been squashed mercilessly into the ground.
Yet Sonic, upon spotting the hulking metal, suddenly felt a minor wave of curiosity sweep over him. The hunk of metal wasn't exactly solid – its edges were glowing orange, indicating that it had been in an enormous explosion, heating it up. The hedgehog had seen it happen before, in another few of Robotnik's experiments…
As soon as his heart leapt into his throat at the fact that the good scientists may had been involved in such an explosion, a frontal layer of the melting hunk of metal fell away from the main body, revealing what lay underneath. Sonic blinked hard, realizing that the smoking metal had been a compartment of sorts – a huge metal container…
…housing what appeared to be a…
Sonic's eyes narrowed.
… bright … red…
"…Gem…?"
He was snapped out of his thoughts, as someone roughly yanked him back by the arm, from the large, hot debris. Glancing up over his shoulder, Sonic realized that Robotnik had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his frontal labcoat scorched, and a few burns present on his face.
The hedgehog blinked. "Doc?"
Instead of a friendly greeting, Sonic flinched at the cold glance that the scientist gave him, through his burns and broken glasses. There was no compassion for the young Mobian, nor was there concern. Nothing that he had ever seen before.
He… just looked mad.
"Get inside." It was a demand, and despite its harshness, the young hedgehog was all-too-inclined to obey. The earlier drowsiness gone, Sonic made a bolt for the face of the plateau, quickly scrambling up the cracks that heavily adorned the landform, as the scientist placed his attention back on the mysterious debris.
And despite his confusion, fear, and curiosity –
- the hedgehog never looked back.
888
This took me a while… just trying to establish the friendship between these three, a little more.
I'm wishing all of you readers a Merry Christmas, Hannukkah, whatever you celebrate. And thanks for sticking with me, so far. : D
NettikGirl
