Sonic Begins

Chapter 8: Your Anger Is A Gift

A blue hedgehog smashed through a run-down wooden door at the end of a dusty, old hallway just outside the apartment in which his uncle dwelled. He picked himself up, looking left and right, trying to figure out what his next move would be. Upon climbing to his feet, he decided on a direction, and started running down the hallway in which he found himself. He sprinted as fast as he felt he could, pumping his arms back and forth, breathing in and out at a feverish pace. Although he was giving it all he had, however, he knew he wasn't moving as fast as he wanted to.

Nick had only passed a handful of apartment doorways when the horror he had left behind smashed through the wall behind him. A robot labeled Gamma 102-E erupted through the exterior of his uncle's apartment, sending debris in all directions. The entire building nearly shook from the machine's actions, causing Nick to stumble forward. He caught himself with his arms outstretched and prevented himself from falling completely to the hard wood surface beneath him.

The blue hedgehog rose to his feet again, glanced over his shoulder and saw the mecha just standing there, covered in rubble, seemingly doing nothing more than assessing the situation at hand.

Suddenly, the sounds of live ammunition being fired from behind Nick filled the air. The hedgehog was approaching a corner that continued the hallway in another direction, bullets screaming past him as he ran. They tore up the wooden floor boards all around him, chipped drywall and other materials from the walls around him, and blew out a pair of windows that the machine's target was just about to pass by upon rounding the corner. Shell casings pooled around Gamma as they were ejected from the bullet chamber on the mecha's arm.

Nick ducked down and held his hands over his head as he sprinted onward around the corner, everything around him being torn to pieces. Suddenly, something ripped through his left arm and sent him spiraling to the ground with a frightened yelp. Next thing the hedgehog knew, he was on his back, holding his right hand over a wound on his left arm where a bullet had grazed him.

Gamma ceased fire upon losing sight of its target.

Blood seeped from the wound as the hedgehog gritted his teeth and lifted his hand from his arm.

"Aww man, this... this thing is trying to kill me!"

Nick gathered himself and climbed to his feet; he wasn't dead yet.

He could hear the thunderous footsteps of Gamma around the corner as it marched down the hallway towards its target.

"Target wounded: Proceed with caution",Gamma commanded itself.

Now back on his feet, Nick was sprinting down the hallway as fast as his feet could carry him. If only he could move faster... He had to find a way to unleash the beast inside him once more, just one more time. He could do this; he had done it once before when he needed to most.

As Nick continued to make his way down the hall, Gamma was beginning to turn the corner, being guided by its armed appendage.

An elder chipmunk poked his head out of his apartment's front door. Upon sticking his head out, he saw a hedgehog jogging by, cradling his bloodstained arm.

"My God, are you okay?! Hey, wait!!!"

Nick looked back over his shoulder and yelled out, "You might wanna lock your door!"

"What the..." the chipmunk looked in the direction from which the hedgehog had just come... and saw Gamma.

His jaw dropped at the sight of the machine, and in a flash, he slammed his door and threw all the locks into place.

Gamma had the blue hedgehog in its sights. It knew he was wounded, and force was now only a secondary option. It couldn't kill the subject it was pursuing.

Nick tackled his way through a large steel door that led to the stairwell. He then came to a screeching halt, almost toppling over a stretch of railing that appeared in his line of vision right after he passed through the door.

The hedgehog felt his heart beating faster than he had ever felt it beat before. His hands were shaking, his legs were trembling, and blood was trickling from his wound onto the concrete floor underneath his feet.

Nick turned around and saw Gamma simply standing at the other end of the hallway. Suddenly, a small explosion erupted behind the robot, sending it barreling down the hall at breakneck speed.

"OH, CRAP!" The blue hedgehog forced the stairwell door closed, instinct telling him to create some kind of barrier between him and his pursuer.

Not the best idea.

Everything around Nick started to shake violently as the faint roar of Gamma's rocket booster grew louder and louder.

The blue hedgehog turned towards the railing behind him and, in a panic, threw all caution to the wind. He dove right over the railing just as Gamma exploded through the door, taking with it half the surrounding wall. The blast propelled Nick through the air seemingly in slow motion as pieces of debris fell all around him. Next thing he knew, he was slamming into a lower level staircase one story down, adjacent to the railing he had jumped over. He heard the door Gamma had catapulted right off its hinges slam into the wall above, then saw it tumble right down the middle of the square shaft outlined by the stairs.

Dust filled the stairwell from the destruction Gamma was causing. The hedgehog coughed and choked on the air around him as he tried to figure out whether or not he was in one piece.

Gamma, who was still one floor up, peered down at Nick, planning its next calculated move.

From the view of the machine's HUD, it scanned through the thick dust and had a clear sight of its target using its infrared vision.

The blue hedgehog staggered to his feet, supporting himself against the wall with one arm.

Gamma just stood there, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Rain was still falling outside, the sound of it sheeting over the steel-grated windows of the stairwell ringing true.

Nick simply stood in place, looking up at the machine, breathing heavily while still cradling his wounded arm.

So many thoughts rushed through his mind, all of them filled with uncertainty. What could he possibly do to escape this machine? Maybe it would have been better if he had just submitted to it in the first place; maybe then he would have gotten to see his family once more. Maybe...

Nick was still overcome with exhaustion. He just wanted this nightmare to be over with for good. He wanted to see his little brother again; he wanted to be with his family. He wanted his life back.

"WHY?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Nick screamed at the machine looming over him from above.

The hedgehog's angry cry towards the machine echoed around the stairwell, but he did not receive an answer of any kind.

Nick collapsed with his back against the wall and slid down it, falling into a sitting position. Still holding his right hand over where the bullet had grazed him, tears of sorrow and frustration began to well up in his green eyes. He knew he couldn't beat this machine; he knew he had lost.

Gamma was now slowly making its way down the stairs towards Nick. There wasn't nearly enough clearance for it to hover to the floor below.

Nick felt the ground shake with each step it took.

Soon, the machine was standing right over the broken hedgehog.

"Specimen: H132GH, Priority One. Do not resist. You are due for... collection."

Gamma lunged forward with its iron claw outstretched and grabbed Nick by the throat.

There was nothing the poor hedgehog could do; he was powerless against the machine's hold. He choked and thrashed his legs about, trying to break free, but he couldn't escape.

Then, suddenly, something strange happened. A spark flew from Gamma's head, and the mecha dropped Nick to the steps below. Upon landing, the hedgehog tumbled down a few steps before finally stopping on the large concrete slab that acted as the segue to the next staircase.

Gamma started to convulse madly. The machine began to thrash about, swinging its arms in all directions and smashing into everything around it. Nick watched in complete shock as the mecha went haywire right before his eyes. The robot soon lost its footing and came crashing down the stairs. Nick dodged out of the way just before it would have landed right on top of him. Rolling down the next set of steps, Nick grabbed hold of the railing and brought himself to a stop.

Gamma was laying on its chest plate, looking directly at Nick with its cold, metallic eyes.

Maybe the hedgehog had gotten lucky. Everything broke down from time to time... even a half-ton robot apparently.

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"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

Dr. Robotnik slammed his fist down upon the arm of his metallic chair. Only moments ago, he had watched his prized machine, E-102 Gamma, go completely haywire right before his eyes.

"He was within our grasp! That blue hedgehog was nearly mine, and one of my finest creations malfunctions?!"

The Doctor turned to another compact robot hovering before a computer console nearby, which was monitoring every piece of information received from E-102.

"Well?" he yelled at the bot. "I gave you an inquiry! A simple response would suffice!"

"... Subject H210GH, within E-102 Gamma, is resisting neurological nullification process."

Robotnik couldn't believe his ears.

"That... can't be! Never has a specimen rejected neurological nullification subsequent to successful robotization!"

Simply put, the hedgehog within the machine had a stronger will to live than the mad scientist would ever have imagined.

Robotnik pondered for a moment what this discovery could possibly mean for his future endeavors, and ultimately came to a decision about how to handle this possible quandary.

"I want you to segregate every machine containing a hedgehog. I need to isolate this problem; I don't need another incident such as this occurring during my next campaign. Everything must go smoothly these next coming days. The last thing I need is my creations going rogue and mucking things up!"

Robotnik peered up at the large screen before him and saw through Gamma's eyes. He could see the blue hedgehog he sought after sitting just a few feet beyond the robot's grasp. He then watched carefully as the hedgehog climbed to his feet and cautiously approached the mecha.

The doctor pressed a small button on his chair's console, activating a com-channel to Gamma.

"Actually... I've changed my mind; I'm in the mood for some entertainment! Gamma, if you're listening, kill the hedgehog! I no longer desire his capture."

Robotnik figured he could scare the creature into demonstrating his power once more.

No response.

The robot monitoring Gamma spoke in a monotone voice, "Doctor, Gamma is not responding. H210GH is still resisting."

"Well, that's just grand! You know... What was the boy's name? Ah, yes! I remember now: Edward! Well, I do believe we are giving Edward here too much room to... breathe! I must admit, I am duly impressed with his will to resist and override the commands I give Gamma, but he is nothing more than the battery within my toy. Disengage the neurological nullification processes and raise power consumption to one hundred percent!"

Once a creature was robotized, they would take control of the machine into which they were inserted. Not by their own will, however; their ability to act of free will would be completely counteracted by a process carried out by a small CPU installed within each mecha. Every command the Doctor gave, the creature within would hear, and then command its robotic shell to carry out the order. Therefore, in all actuality, it was the Mobian's own mind acting as the mecha's main CPU, an organic mind hardwired into each and every machine. No CPU could ever process information even half as fast as a highly-developed organic brain.

If the orders the Doctor had just given were carried out, Ed would be free of the hypnosis of the robotization process, and Gamma's AI would take over completely. However, if the machine were to draw all the energy it possibly could from the Mobian inside it, the results...

"Doctor, if power consumption is increased to maximum levels, there remains a ninety nine point nine percent chance H210GH will not survive for more than...ten to fifteen sixty second intervals."

With an annoyed look upon his face, Robotnik leaned his head forward, rubbed his temple with his thumb and index finger, and sighed.

"That's precisely the point!"

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Nick stared at the fallen machine, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief take him over. Gamma was simply lying before him as if it had completely broke down. Its eyes glowed with a vague color and its body still had a faint mechanical hum emitting from it, but there was no sign to indicate it would be getting up any time soon.

Suddenly, a sharp pain made itself apparent where Nick had been grazed by one of the machine's many flying bullets. Looking down at his arm, he could see the wound starting to close as the dry blood caked over it cracked and fell away.

Before he knew it, the wound was gone, as was the pain.

The blue hedgehog couldn't believe what he had just seen; he didn't want to believe it.

"This... This can't be! I'm just a normal hedgehog, that's all! Nothing more..."

Nick felt as though he were losing his mind from everything he had been forced to endure in the past few days. He was fed up with it all.

"This... This is all your fault!" he cursed at Gamma, still lying motionless before him. "You've taken everything from me! My family, my... my friends, my home... It's all gone, because of you! Why?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

Nick screamed at the top of his lungs, his clenched fists held out in front of him.

No response; the machine remained dormant.

The hedgehog picked up a chuck of broken concrete that was resting on the stairs nearby. With an angry shout, he hurled it straight at Gamma, and it smashed into the mecha's head with a loud clang.

"YEAH! You want some more?!"

He found another chunk of concrete to toss at the fallen machine. It didn't really seem to even scratch Gamma's paint, but it felt good.

Nick lobbed the piece of debris at Gamma, and once more it hit, then ricocheted off the mecha's chassis.

"You stupid... whatever the hell you are! ARRGGHH!" Another rock was thrown by the hedgehog, smashing into Gamma yet again.

Out of breath, Nick looked all around him, bearing witness to the mess Gamma had left behind. The air was filled with dust, and the stairwell was covered in smashed debris from when Gamma had charged through the wall.

The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Maybe someone had called the cops... It would be impossible to make any kind of sense of this mess. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, though; one could doubt that the police wouldn't respond to a call stating, "A giant robot just smashed through my apartment complex."

Then, suddenly, something happened that struck terror deep into Nick's heart.

A muffled scream was heard coming from within Gamma. It sounded like the cry of an actual living creature such as Nick himself.

It was a shriek of agony, piercing the thick metal contraption that had brought a twisted change of reality to the blue hedgehog's world.

Suddenly, Gamma roared to life with the sound of a jet engine being ignited.

Nick stumbled backwards, taking a few steps down the staircase on which he was standing as the machine slowly climbed to its metal footing, its eyes glowing a deep, pulsating red.

The hedgehog now sensed his heart beating seemingly at a million miles per hour, feeling as though it were going to explode out of his chest. The machine had come back to life and was now giving off a powerful aura as if it were about to explode at any moment, like an engine of some kind within it were being pushed to the limit.

There was truth to that, however.

Little did Nick know, a fellow red hedgehog was screaming for his life inside the machine. He thrashed and convulsed as the mecha drew every ounce of power from his body, maxing out Gamma's energy readings. The red hedgehog's mind was still hardwired into the mecha, and he could see the faint image of Nick before him.

A haunting voice emitted from Gamma as the blue hedgehog froze in fear.

"What... are you... doing?! R... RUN!"

Shocked and confused, the blue hedgehog was lost for words at what was just "said" to him by the machine. It didn't sound like a robot at all; the voice had life to it, and what was more, it sounded awfully familiar...

Once more, an impatient command was yelled at the hedgehog, this time boasting the intensity of a roar.

"RUN!!!"

Gamma's power levels were through the roof now, and its rocket thrusters roared to life.

The cable that was drilled into the back of Ed's head, which was hardwiring his mind to the machine, broke free. He could no longer fight the commands issued to the mecha; E-102 Gamma was now under complete control of itself. The red hedgehog trapped inside couldn't see his friend before him anymore; all he could see now was the inside of Gamma's chassis and the horrors of the dozens of tubes and wires drilled into his body. His fur and flesh were bloodstained, twisted, and intertwined with the mechanical insides of Gamma.

The pain was nothing short of blinding.

Ed had fought off the commands given to him for as long as he could. He had brought Gamma to the ground, but now there was nothing he could do. He was nothing more than an oversized battery about to run dry.

Gamma's onboard A.I. sprang into action and assessed the commands last issued.

"New orders received and processed... Specimen: H132HG, Priority One. Action: Termination."

Ed heard the machine voice its new orders, and knew Nick wouldn't stand a chance.

"NICK! RUUUNNN!!" the red hedgehog shrieked as loud as he could. His voice-cracking scream was just loud enough to pierce the thick metal surrounding him and reach the ears of his terrified blue friend, who had also heard Gamma announce his own demise.

In a flash, the mecha raised its armed member and aimed down its sights, ready to take down its target.

Its machine gun loaded more ammunition from its reserves and ratcheted the chamber, expelling a bullet casing which sailed through the air seemingly in slow motion.

Nick watched as it sailed through the air, light glistening off the copper casing as it spiraled down the center of the stairwell and bounced off the concrete floor four stories down.

This was it; a feeling came over the hedgehog with which he was becoming only too familiar. All the fear surging through his body seemed to be screaming at him to run.

Run... like hell.

Gamma opened fire.

The blue hedgehog quickly dove down the next set of stairs, a barrage of bullets following his path. Time seemed to slow down as he sailed through the air and curled up into a ball. Each and every round Gamma fired appeared to be coming at a slower pace than the one preceding it. The mecha tried to keep up with its target, but he was moving way too fast.

Nick landed perfectly on both his feet at the end of the staircase and bolted down the next flight of steps as bullets continued to slam into the wall behind him, causing the concrete walls to crack and explode, sending dust and rock everywhere.

It was happening once more; the power Nick possessed was coming alive. He had no idea how or why; all he knew was that it was keeping him alive. It reached a point where he could hear the mechanical process of Gamma firing off each and every round: the bullet being loaded into the chamber, the hammer falling on the end of the round, the primer igniting and causing a chemical explosion that catapulted the slug through the nose of the weapon at a velocity which was lighting quick in reality, but not quick enough to keep up with the target the machine was pursuing.

Nick dashed down the long series of staircases as Gamma unleashed everything it had on him. The hedgehog dodged every single round that was fired at him with extreme prejudice. Before he knew it, he had reached the bottom of the stairwell and barged through a doorway leading to the main lobby on the bottom floor of the apartment complex.

The blue hedgehog came to a halt and looked left and right, trying to figure out where to go next. The option was clear. The elevators to his left acted as a dead end, while the front doors of the apartment building to his right... It was an obvious choice, but was it the right one? Leading Gamma into the open would expose him to the public; someone might be killed in the crossfire.

Suddenly, Gamma exploded through the doorway Nick had just passed through, once again taking out half the wall with it and causing the building to shake with a faint rumble. Before the mecha could even line up his sights once more, however, its target was already out the front door, having dashed off in the blink of an eye.

The hedgehog made his way down the front steps of the apartment building and into the streets of Mobotropolis. The rain was still falling at a steady pace as Nick hurried into the heavily populated area. The apartment was right in the middle of the downtown area, and despite the early morning hour, Mobians were everywhere.

"Oh, man... this is NOT good!" Nick said to himself in desperation.

The streets were occupied by numerous cars and busses, while the sidewalks were covered with countless civilians. This was the city, and for thousands of Mobians, the day started early.

Nick threw his hands over his head as he frantically looked around in a panic. He had no idea what to do next; there were people everywhere.

Suddenly, a massive explosion sent the hedgehog flying through the air from where he stood, along with dozens of other innocent bystanders who happened to be wandering by at the moment. A massive fireball had erupted from the lobby behind him, blowing nearly the entire front side of the building to oblivion. The windows of nearby parked cars were blown out from the shock wave of the explosion, and the sounds of screeching tires filled the air, along with panicked screams of terror. Drivers of vehicles passing by slammed on their brakes and collided with one another at the sight of the explosion, while others veered off the road, crashing into lampposts and other things littering the sidewalk.

The ordinary, tranquil morning had just been thrown into complete chaos. Innocent Mobians scattered on the sidewalks within the blast radius, and others ran for their lives at the sight of what had just happened as the sound of approaching sirens began to fill the air.

Nick tumbled through the air and bounced off a car that had just screeched to a grinding halt. After leaving a dent in the car's hood, he fell onto the rain-soaked asphalt with a sickening thud. A high-pitched ringing sound pronounced itself in the hedgehog's ears as he lay shell-shocked on the wet pavement. His vision was blurry, his senses were dulled, and he could barely move. He rolled onto his stomach to face the aftermath of the massive explosion that had just taken place, and noticed a large silhouette looming through the rising flames.

Gamma emerged from the fire and slowly marched towards where its creator's blue prize lay sprawled out in the middle of the street among the panicked madness surrounding him.

Seeing the mecha make its appearance from the fire drove everyone watching into hysteria.

Gamma's arm-mounted weapon seemed to have taken a different shape; it was now bulkier and had a much wider barrel.

The mecha trudged on towards Nick as he struggled with all the strength he could muster just to get to his feet.

Daylight started to fill the sky as the rain continued to fall, drenching the poor hedgehog as he watched the mecha slowly step towards him, cracking the road beneath its metallic feet with each thunderous step.

Suddenly, Gamma came to a stop and swiveled its head to the left to see a fire truck and several police cars barreling down the street, racing directly towards it from about a block away.

Judging by the velocity at which they were approaching and their unchanged heading towards the mecha, Gamma saw the vehicles as a threat. He raised his one weapon-mounted arm at them and fired off a large, ballistic shell from its cannon. The round sailed through the air, and met the fire truck head on.

The large vehicle exploded and lifted off the ground, spiraling through the air, now nothing more than a flaming wreckage. The blast caused the surrounding police cars to careen out of control in every direction. The demolished fire truck slammed into the ground, rolling and tumbling towards Gamma. It slid along the asphalt and came to a stop only twenty feet away from the machine.

Smoke rose into the sky, and Mobians screamed for their lives as they fled from the chaos and havoc Gamma was wreaking upon its surroundings.

Nick rolled onto his back as his vision slowly started to come back into focus. His hearing was still somewhat muffled, but the faint ringing in his head began to fade, allowing the sounds of everything happening around him to flood his ears.

A shadow loomed over the hedgehog. It was Gamma, staring down at him with its glowing red eyes.

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"OH HO!! Ehehehahahah! Oh my, this is just... I must say, the exuberance I feel is overwhelming!"

Dr. Robotnik watched the havoc his creation was wreaking upon Mobotropolis unfold before his eyes on a large screen within the bridge of his ship.

"Such firepower, such destruction, such... such results! I might as well have Gamma bring down the whole city while he's present. Now, as for this hedgehog, I'm not impressed from what I have witnessed thus far. He demonstrated his high velocity movement only once during this episode. It appears even he doesn't know how to utilize it accordingly! Perhaps he would be nothing more than a waste of time..."

The doctor scratched his chin, and tapped his fingers on one of the arms of his large metal chair.

"I must admit, however," he continued in a deep, gruff tone, "this creature is a lucky one indeed. He still manages to breathe even after having nearly a thousand rounds of ammunition fired at him!"

Through Gamma's eyes, Robotnik watched the machine aim its weapon in the face of the dazed blue creature.

"Oh now, pause for just a mere moment, Gamma! As much as I would love for you to stain the asphalt with this blue creature's brain matter, I think I'm in the mood for a little fun! Make an example of him! He destroyed one of your fellow brethren! Doesn't that agitate you even the slightest?"

Gamma lowered his weapon... then grabbed Nick by the throat and lifted him from the rain-soaked streets.

"These hedgehogs, as strong-willed as they are, have proven to be nothing more than potential problems for me and my future research. But no matter how strong his will may be, it can be broken... and Gamma shall be the one to break it. This blue hedgehog will be the first example that one simply does not trifle with the great Dr. Robotnik!"

The doctor smiled an evil, twisted grin.

"Alright, Gamma, break him in half!"

Robotnik watched as the mecha threw the hedgehog with all its might and sent him sailing about twenty feet through the air. Bystanders watched in fear as Nick curled up into a ball while flying through the falling rain, then smashed through the windshield of an idle, abandoned car in the middle of the street.

"Oh, that must have felt quite unpleasant! I assume my perceptions about this creature were nothing but of false nature. Sorry, Edward, my child; you had such a promising future as Gamma's doppelganger. Your time has nearly run out."

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The faint sound of a heartbeat was all Nick could hear as he lay in the backseat of an old, beat-up taxi cab. Covered in broken glass with blood trickling down his face, he felt he was just as shattered as the window through which he had been catapulted a moment ago. A single thought crossed his dazed mind: whatever did he do to deserve this punishment?

Perhaps, had he been taken with his family during the attack on Green Hill, he wouldn't be in this situation now. He wouldn't be lying broken in the backseat of an old car, waiting for some monstrous machine to come finish him off. He wouldn't be separated from his family, who probably needed him now more than ever.

But how could he know? His family might be dead, or worse, if the scream that had come from inside Gamma served as any indication. The very idea of such a fate pierced Nick's soul with incredible anguish. The visions of his father, mother, and helpless little brother being forced into metallic coffins flashed before his eyes.

"No... That can't be... It can't be true..."

The scream he had heard... It was real; there was something, or rather, someone, within that machine. For that reason alone, one could only assume the worst.

Nick rolled onto his side, the sound of broken glass crunching beneath him. He peered through the large gap previously filled by the windshield through which he had just been thrown. He saw his attacker just standing there, possibly waiting for its target to show some sign of life before advancing once more to take it.

But Gamma was no longer occupied with the blue hedgehog. It now turned its attention to the innocent Mobian bystanders... and opened fire. The sounds of gunfire and explosions began to shake the downtown area of Mobotropolis.

To his eternal horror, Nick felt responsible for leading the terrible machine to Mobotropolis. Many would now die by the hands of E-102 Gamma, and it was all his fault.

Suddenly, someone threw open the car door closest to the hedgehog's head.

"Oh my God; he's still alive! Come on, let's get him out of here before that thing starts shooting at us!"

A raccoon dressed in a paramedic's outfit grabbed the blue hedgehog under his arms and dragged him out from the backseat of the abandoned taxi cab. Next thing he knew, Nick was being rushed on a stretcher to an ambulance parked around the corner of a nearby building, while dozens of police cars stormed the scene.

"Hey! Where are you taking him?! Stop!"

"Tails! Come back here!"

The hedgehog glanced to his side to find a small orange fox running towards him. Amy and Uncle Chuck were running close behind the vulpine, chasing after him.

Just as the blue hedgehog was about to be loaded into the back of the ambulance, the orange fox pleaded for the paramedics to stop.

Tails, Amy, and Uncle Chuck had escaped the apartment complex during an evacuation through the stairwell on the opposite side of the building. They hadn't seen much, but they had heard the explosion that leveled the ground floor, and had turned the corner of the rear of the building just in time to see Nick fly through the air and smash through the glass windshield of the abandoned taxi cab parked in the middle of the road.

"Come on, kid, beat it!" one of the paramedics snapped at the frantic child. "We need to get this guy to the hospital!"

"No! You don't understand! He doesn't need to go; he's fine! He has to kill that robot! He can do it!"

"Kid, that robotnearly killed him! It's a miracle he isn't already dead! You need to get outta here anyway! It's dangerous here!"

Another explosion shook the block, causing everyone on it to duck down with their hands over their heads as they tried to flee from the scene as fast as they could.

The paramedic glanced at Amy and Chuck.

"Does this kid belong to you? Take him and get out of here!"

The elder blue hedgehog stepped forward and pointed towards Nick.

"He's... He's my nephew! Is he going to be...?"

"LOOK; if you know this guy, then come with us! We gotta leave, NOW!" The paramedic was losing his patience with all the hold-ups.

Tails, however, was still at a disagreement with the situation.

"NO! HE'S FINE!" The young fox dodged around the paramedics surrounding his friend and stood by his side.

"Come on, Nick! You have to fight that robot! I know you can do it; I've seen you do it before! Don't let it win, please! Are you gonna let 'em take everything from us, just like that?! Remember your home? Remember your family? Don't you remember your little brother, who you said was just like me?"

Nick turned his head to the side, meeting eyes with the fox.

"Tails... I... I can't. I don't know how..."

"That didn't seem to matter when you saved me! Come on, Nick, please! Do it for me, just one more time! Do it for all of us! We need you! I know you can help us!"

Another explosion erupted nearby, sending a huge fireball shooting upwards towards the morning sky.

More screams, more gunfire. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the robot, which was clearly overstaying its welcome.

Everyone listening to Tails was confused by what he had just said. What could this battered blue hedgehog possibly do to stop that crazed machine?

Nick glanced first at Tails, who had tears in his eyes, then over at Amy, who had a look of mixed confusion and uncertainty on her face. This blue hedgehog was nothing but a mystery to her, and after what the two-tailed fox had said, the mystery only went deeper.

Uncle Chuck was all for the idea of leaving the area as soon as they could; he saw nothing more than his nephew hanging on for dear life while chaos continued to spread around them.

Nick witnessed visions of his past flash before his eyes: the village where he had grown up, the family who had raised him, the day his little brother was born... and the day when it had all been taken away from him, before he even had a chance to say goodbye.

They were gone... forever.

Never to be seen again, just like that.

They say life is unfair... but it was never meant to be this unfair.

Nick could only imagine that it was just a matter of time before the city was attacked. It made sense; Gamma was already here, going on a rampage, perhaps waiting for others to come and join him.

Life isn't like this.

Soon, millions of lives would be at stake, everything would be destroyed, and, just like Green Hill village, nothing would be left.

It was so frustrating, so infuriating to Nick, that he was ready to scream. He wanted his life back; he wanted everything to be back to normal. He just wanted out of this nightmare.

No such luck. He wasn't going to wake up from this; instead, he would become one of the millions to be hunted down by the machines.

The blue hedgehog clenched his fist and sat up, baring his teeth.

"Whoa! Take it easy, man! We're gonna get you to the hospital!"

Nick looked the paramedic who had spoken dead in the eyes, and simply muttered determinedly, "No, you're not."

The hedgehog rolled off the stretcher and stood on his own two feet. He felt his strength returning to him as his anger fueled his will to do anything but lay down and die. He wasn't going to forget where he came from, he wasn't going to just claim defeat, and he sure as hell wasn't going to wait to be hunted down like some inferior creature.

He could feel his blood boiling. He was ready to give it one last try, to unleash the beast inside of him.

Nick marched onwards, away from the safety the ambulance promised and towards the war zone Gamma had created. It was now clear to him that he was much more than an average hedgehog. He should have died by now, but in reality, he was far from being six feet under.

Everyone around the ambulance looked on in shock as the blue hedgehog limped forward. He rested his arm on the corner of the building that hid them from the view of the machine, which was now only a few blocks away, still randomly destroying anything in its path.

Nick peered around the edge of the building and saw the mecha he was about to face. He then felt a presence behind him, and looked over his shoulder to find Tails, Amy and his uncle all standing right behind him, along with the other individuals who had witnessed the hedgehog refuse to be taken away.

"You're actually gonna do it?" Tails asked. Nick nodded his head.

"Yeah, but no matter what happens, Tails, you stay here, okay? I don't know if I can really do this, and I don't need you getting hurt too, or worse."

Tails scrunched his brow.

" Fine, but I'm not saying goodbye. I know you can do this!"

"I'm not saying goodbye either. At least, not to you."

Confused, the vulpine replied, "What? What do you mean?"

"Can you do me a favor, Tails?"

"Sure, Nick!" the fox timidly responded. "An... Anything!"

"Don't call me 'Nick'."

Tails was shocked at the request, knowing exactly what his friend wished of him.

Then the hedgehog left the others behind as he walked out into the street to meet his fate, armed with nothing but his fists, his anger, and a will to avenge everything that had been taken from him. He walked onward towards the defining moment in his life: the moment when he would leave who he thought he was behind, and become something more.

A commotion broke out amongst those who were now watching the blue hedgehog make an attempt to face the machine. They pleaded for him to come back, to join them in retreat, but he ignored them all. His uncle was being held back by others as he struggled to chase after his stubborn nephew. There was nothing stopping him; nothing would change his mind.

The blue hedgehog reached the middle of the street and turned to face Gamma, who was hundreds of feet away, currently tearing a car in half.

He cracked his knuckles, cricked his neck, and wiped away the crimson stains that had washed over his face only moments ago.

He inhaled heavily, then exhaled with a shaky composure.

This was it.

"HEY, YOU BUCKET OF BOLTS!"

Despite the distance between them, the hedgehog's taunt still captured the attention of the machine.

Gamma turned to face the direction from which the call had come, then aimed its cannon, resting its sight over the blue creature it thought it had disposed of earlier.

"Yeah! You surprised to see me? You know, you guys are really starting to piss me off!"

A newfound attitude came over the hedgehog; he felt he couldn't care less if this machine blew his head clean off right there and then. He wasn't about to blink first. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore; his walls had already come crashing down around him days before this moment. He had already been pushed past the brink, and he was never coming back.

He looked all around him, a witness to the destruction Gamma seemed to be causing for no reason at all. Torched cars with smashed-in roofs littered the roads, and buildings were ablaze from all the explosive ammunition shells launched into them. The streets were nearly deserted now; Mobians had either fled the area, or found shelter in the surrounding buildings. Some weren't as lucky, however; bodies littered the streets and sidewalks, some seeming to be truly devoid of life while others simply played possum, hoping the machine would move on. The police didn't stand a chance; nearly all of them ran for safety, or were gunned down trying to face off with the machine.

Gamma ignited its thruster and hovered above the ground, revving up its engines to full power. The blue hedgehog widened his stance, gritting his teeth and scrunching his brow.

"Alright, you pile of scrap, let's do it to it!"

Amy placed her hand on Tails's shoulder, and asked him, "What did he mean by that, Tails? Why doesn't he want to be called by his name? And what could he possibly do to stop that thing? Why is he doing this?!"

The little two-tailed fox just looked up at the pink hedgehog and smiled.

"Because he's not scared anymore."

Another member of the small crowd watching the mysterious hedgehog face off with the machine heard Amy's comment, and added one of his own.

"Yeah! He's just a hedgehog! What could he possibly do to stop that... machine? Who the hell does he think he is?!"

Tails turned towards the speaker of the unfaithful comment, and simply replied:

"He's Sonic."

Kneeling down, the blue hedgehog assumed a 3-point stance, one hand placed on the ground. Suddenly, a massive aura of energy could be sensed around him, causing all the debris around him to shake and rattle more intensely with each passing moment.

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

As soon as those words left Tails's mouth, something incredible happened.

The hedgehog let out a great battle cry and bolted from his spot as fast as a lighting bolt, producing a massive invisible shock wave that tore the sound barrier in two.

The spectators of the battle were knocked right off their feet from the force of the amazing phenomenon.

In a matter of seconds, running at supersonic speed, the blue hedgehog reached Gamma, who didn't even have time to process how fast its target was approaching.

Sonic then changed his focus, time seeming to slow down for him. He jumped into the air, curled into a ball, and slammed right into his target's chest.

The impact of the blow was so intense, it sent the machine flying backwards hundreds of feet. It slammed into a bus that had been abandoned in a nearby intersection due to Gamma's earlier rampage. Upon impact, the bus nearly folded in half as the mecha smashed into it and tore right through the center of the massive transportation vehicle. Twisted metal, glass, and miscellaneous objects from within the bus exploded out the other side along with Gamma.

The machine lost its weapon-mounted limb in the process of crashing through the bus, and its legs were heavily damaged upon impact with the ground. Sparks flew and smoke seeped from Gamma as it tried to upright itself.

Suddenly, the mecha noticed a flash out of the corner of its eye, and once more, Sonic slammed into its side at a speed not even jet engines could reach in such a short distance. Gamma was sent flying yet again, but this time, the blue hedgehog ran right below it as it careened out of control at high speed through the air.

Sonic rocketed past his target, gaining a lead, then turned and smashed into the machine once more, knocking its head from its metal shoulders and cracking its chassis wide open.

The remains of E-102 Gamma slammed into the ground, bouncing and crashing out of control, robotic parts of all kinds tearing from its shattered metal body.

Nothing but a smoldering robotic husk was left.

Through the pouring rain, the drenched blue hedgehog approached the mangled remains of Gamma. He looked like had been through hell and back, and felt like he was going to be violently ill from moving at such high speed. He couldn't believe he had managed to do it. He had found the secret to his power; he had discovered the metaphorical switch needed to unleash it. It was the burning anger within him. He would get so lost in it, and it would build up to such an uncontrollable feeling, that once he let it all go, everything in his mind was crystal clear on another level. It was something no one could ever possibly understand.

Sonic found himself surrounded by the destruction the machine had caused as he wandered on. Soon, hundreds of Mobians began to emerge from hiding. They had witnessed what the blue hedgehog had done to the machine, and it left them all in shock and awe.

Then, something caught the hedgehog's eye: something far from robotic was hanging out of the machine's wreckage.

It was the arm of a Mobian.

Running at a normal pace, he quickly made his way over to the intriguing sight. Upon reaching the dismantled robot, the blue hedgehog grabbed the edge of the chest plate that was now broken from its welded seal, and swung it open.

What he saw next would haunt him till the end of his days.

A red hedgehog lay limp within E-102 Gamma. Tubes and wires punctured his skin, blood seeped from his eyes and ears, and he had numerous gaping wounds from which several of the tubes surrounding him had broken free. But there was a far more disturbing fact about the horrid sight the blue hedgehog was witnessing: the creature within the machine was still alive, and even worse, it was someone he knew.

"NOOO!" a voice-cracking shriek escaped Sonic's throat.

He stumbled backwards, holding his hands over his face. There actually was something more to this machine than mechanical parts, and out of the thousands upon thousands of Mobians that were taken, it had to be one he knew, one he had grown up with.

Tears began to flood Sonic's eyes. He couldn't bear to take a second look... but he had to; he needed answers. He needed something to help him make some sense of what had been happening the past few days.

Slowly, he approached the ruins of Gamma again, and met eyes with his thought-to-be-lost friend.

Ed was shaking madly, going into shock... but he knew who was standing over him. He knew it was a face he thought he would never see again.

"N... Nick. You... You did it..." Ed spoke weakly.

The blue hedgehog reached out and took his friend's hand in his, holding it tight. He could feel the life being drained from the red hedgehog with each moment lost.

His voice trembling, the blue hedgehog asked, "Who... did this to you?!"

Coughing and sputtering, Ed replied, "An Overlander. He calls himself Dr. Robotnik. He's doing this... to all of us. He's going to destroy... ev...everything..."

"Why would the Overlanders do this?"

"No; it's just one man, an outcast. He's taking revenge on the entire planet... and he's starting with us."

A moment passed; Sonic just didn't know what to say. He didn't feel like he had won; he simply felt as though for everything he had tried to make right, he was being punished.

"I tried my best to buy you time; I fought the machine from within... but he pulled the plug, and I was helpless to resist. He knows about your gift... and now that he's seen it again, it's not just gonna be one of these things sent after you. You're nothing but a threat to him now."

Ed started to convulse and cough up even more blood.

"No... No, Ed, please... Do you know what happened to my family? Alex? Please, do you-"

"They're all gone. I'm sorry; he butchered us all."

Sonic hung his head over and shut his eyes tight, trying to avoid completely breaking down from the news he had just received from his dying comrade.

Suddenly, Ed's grasp around his own hand tightened, and the poor red hedgehog let out one last, mournful groan.

Then he was gone.

He had only lived long enough to deliver the news the blue hedgehog hadn't wanted to hear.

His hand grew limp in Sonic's, then slid out of the latter's grasp.

As Ed passed on, however, a part of the blue hedgehog died as well: the part of him that hoped to be with his family once more, the part of him that hoped for a chance that life would go back to the way it was.

That was the day that Nick Hedgehog disappeared forever.

The anger was gone.

The mourning was gone.

The hope was gone.

Nick Hedgehog, in a sense, was dead, and the only part now left of him...

Was Sonic.


Thanks for reading! See you next chapter!