Dawn was just breaking. Sonic ran through the middle of the street like a bullet.
I know what I'll do, he thought. I'll just show everyone!
The FBI was crawling all over Empire City. They questioned anyone who had caught a glimpse of the blue hedgehog. Uniformed men patrolled the city, tranquilizers in hand. They had been given the order to knock Sonic out if they ever saw him. Small posters showing Sonic's face were everywhere, with phone numbers below to call if anyone spotted him. Sonic did a small hop and slid on his heels, coming to a complete stop and picking up snow while doing so. He looked at a poster with feigned curiosity.
"I guess I'm famous!" he said to himself.
A tranq dart flew past his ear and hit the side of the poster. He looked back to see a uniformed FBI agent point a tranquilizing gun at him.
"I have clear visual of the rat," the agent said into the microphone on his shoulder. "Permission to fire?"
"Permission granted," the microphone said back.
The agent fired at Sonic, but he was quick and ran behind him. "I'm not a rat!" he exclaimed, kicking the agent behind the knee, making him fall. "I'm a hedgehog!" With that, Sonic threw a punch across the agent's head, knocking him unconscious. He adjusted the gloves on his hands and smirked confidently. He heard police sirens in the distance. Could it be crime? Or could it be reinforcement for the knocked out agent? Sonic looked at him and felt a sting in his chest. He grabbed him by his arms and dragged him to the sidewalk, where it would be safe. He looked to the distance and saw smoking looming over the rooftops. Was it a fire? Sonic sped off, excited to see.
When he got there, what he saw was both terrifying and amazing. An entire apartment complex was on fire! Four firetrucks were gathered in front of the building dosing the fire with a heavy stream of water. The snow around the building was completely gone. An ambulance and a police car were there as well. People screamed as they saw Sonic looking on with awe.
Are there people in there? he thought. Can… Can I do anything?
Sonic stared at the entrance to the blazing building and knew what he had to do. He adjusted his gloves once more, then leaped inside. His flight only lasted two or three seconds before he plowed into the window. His bare feet slid along the dusty floor as his momentum slowly disappeared.
"Anyone in here?" he hollered as loud as he could.
He immediately got his answer. Two or three people started screaming and yelling. A piece of burning debris fell right in front of Sonic. He froze and looked at it with wide eyes.
This was a good idea, he thought sarcastically.
He jumped over the fiery debris and started looking. As he followed the people's screams, he could tell that the apartment complex was really old. He could only imagine what the fire's source was. The screaming was getting quieter. Was he getting farther away from it?
"Hello?" he called out. The screams' volume remained the same, filling Sonic with dread.
He was only a floor up from where he started. Suddenly, the floor below him collapsed. He groaned in frustration after landing, realizing he was back where he started. The floor creaked, and collapsed, too. The screams were crystal clear as he plummeted to the story below. He in a small room that was being eaten away by the hellish inferno. He coughed out some smoke and looked round. He saw three small children huddled behind him in the middle of the room. Then he looked around for an exit. He finally spotted one, but it was blocked by a wall of flames. Sacrificing his body, Sonic tackled through the fire barricade, opening the exit.
"Hothothothothothothothothot!" he screamed.
He walked back into the room and picked up and carried the three children. They became calm and didn't freak out over Sonic.
"Let's get you outta here," he assured them.
Outside, firemen, police, and paramedics observed the scene. As far as they knew, no one was inside except Sonic. The fire had gotten too out of control, so there was no point in delaying the collapse of the complex. Just then, something burst through the wall a couple stories up. In front of the building landed Sonic with the three small children in his arms. Each kid has their own parents, which they ran to. They grown-ups cried as they hugged their kids. Sonic looked on, pleased.
One of the children turned to him. "Who are you?" they asked.
Sonic smiled. "I'm Soni-"
He was interrupted by a tranq dart hitting his chest. He just looked at it, shocked, but showing no reaction. He didn't even attempt to take it out. He looked at the small crowd of people watching him. Then, in what felt like slow motion, he fell to his back and lost the memory of what happened after that. All he could remember was the hazy image of uniformed men with tranquilizing guns surrounding him…
Sonic woke up with a start. His legs… He couldn't feel his legs! They cut them off! He tried picking up his arms, but it felt like there was something weighing a hundred tons lying on his wrists. His vision was blurry. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything.
Oh God, he thought. They're gonna kill me!
Sonic yelled weakly, like a monster that was hanging on to the last bits of life. Slowly beginning to regain his senses, he felt sweat and tears flowing down his face. He tried again to lift up his arms. No luck.
"Nooooo…!" he yelled. "You can't kill me…! You won't…! Gaaaahhh…!"
"Easy, kid," he heard a deep, manly voice say. "Just stop fighting and let the rest of your body wake up."
Sonic relaxed involuntarily, like his body had control over itself. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing. He started hearing a whooshing sound, as if he was flying through the air at an enormous speed. His eyes suddenly shot open as he felt the cloudiness and confusion leave his body. He was able to move his head. He saw that he was lying on a long table. His wrists were restricted by two steel cuffs. He looked over his chest and saw two stumps in place of his legs. So, he had gotten into his human form… Was it because of something they did?
A black man in a camouflage army uniform was sitting next to him.
"Who are you?" Connor asked.
"I'm General Serkins of the United States military," the man answered.
Connor looked around some more. They were in a cold, gray room with no windows, the only source of light coming from a bright lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Connor looked at the general Sure enough, there was a pin of an eagle near his chest, and there was also a narrow, black tag that said "GEN. SERKINS" in gold letters.
"What am I doing here?" asked Connor. "What do you want with me?"
"You can't play dumb with me, son," said the general. "I know who—and what—you are."
Connor looked at General Serkins with an expression of fear and anger. What was going to happen to him? What was happening right now? Why didn't they just kill him? He wanted to go home! He wanted to be with Grandpa Gene and Granny Wilma and Miles and Elise!
In a voice barely louder than a whisper, Connor said, "Let me go."
"Unfortunately, we have to discuss some things first," said the general. "Then you can go."
"You mean you're not gonna kill me or lock me up?" Connor blurted.
Serkins' seemingly emotionless face smiled. "You think I would have you killed or isolated, Connor? No, no, I would like to ask you a few questions about your… gift."
"You know who I am?"
The general nodded.
"You know what I can do?"
The general nodded again.
"…Does my family know I'm here?"
The general shook his head no.
"How long've I been out?"
"Two hours. We're still in Empire City, as a matter of fact."
"Dang." Connor looked at his restrained wrists.
General Serkins read his mind. "You want those cuffs off."
"That'd be nice."
He chuckled. "Well then, get yourself free. Show me what you can do."
"Huh?!" exclaimed Connor. He looked at the general in terror.
"Hey, don't worry. Trust in yourself. Trust in what you can do."
Trust in what I can do… thought Connor. Quickly he understood what the general meant. He closed his eyes and transformed into his Sonic form. His arms were skinnier now, but his hands were way too big for the cuffs. He looked at his arms in despair. As he desperately searched his mind for ideas, he remembered how easy it was for him when he tore Don Richards' textbooks apart. That's right, his physical strength was much better when he was Sonic!
The tall, blue hedgehog began pushing his right wrist upward. The cuff creaked as it slowly began to lose its hold. Then, it was ripped from the table. The same happened with the left cuff. They both flew to the other side of the room and clanged against the wall. Sonic sat up and smirked.
General Serkins gazed at Sonic in awe. His hanging mouth closed, and he cleared his throat. "Uhm… That's… amazing."
Sonic adjusted his gloves. "Yeah, it is pretty cool."
"Connor, you're a double-amputee! But when your become this… this… this…"
"Sonic The Hedgehog?" Sonic finished.
"Yes! When you become Sonic The Hedgehog, you get two fully functioning legs! That's so coo-" The general stopped himself and cleared his throat again, regaining his composure. "I need to ask you about your, uh… second persona."
Sonic shrugged. "Shoot."
"How long have you had this ability?"
Sonic thought for a moment. "Not very long. Not long at all, really. I'd say about a couple weeks."
The general's eyebrows rose. "Oh? How did you get it?"
"Oh, God. I was sitting at the place where all the water drains in from the sewer, when a glowing piece of a crystal floated by and s-"
"Wait, what?" interrupted the general. "A glowing piece of a crystal?"
Sonic nodded simply. "Well… yeah."
"I…I don't understand."
"Well, I touched it, and when I did, my body glowed. I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was in this new body."
"Where did the crystal piece come from?" the general asked, nearly interrupting him again.
Sonic pondered over the question. "I think… it came from the Master Emerald." He looked at the general. "Ever heard of it?"
"Actually, I have. And I've seen it, too. Not in person, however. But there is a small chunk of it missing on its side."
"Huh."
"Did it do anything else when you touched it?" the general asked.
"Yeah. It turned into this vapor-like stuff and dissolved into me."
"The missing piece of the Emerald is inside you?"
Sonic started panicking. "Is that bad?"
"Yes and no. Yes because it needs to back to the Emerald. No because the only it does is give you your powers. Heh… Imagine if you had touched the whole thing."
"It would make me stronger? Faster? Better?"
"I don't even know."
"The Emerald's at Christmas Island, right?"
"The island's official name is Emerald Island. And yes, it is."
"Well, maybe I can go there and touch the Emerald in its entirety and see what kind of power I get!"
"Negative. Emerald Island's been erased off our maps. It's too dangerous for us to go there. If we did let you go there, it would be so you give the missing fragment back to the Emerald."
Sonic sighed in dissatisfaction. "So, are you gonna let me go now?"
"Yes."
He didn't know what, but something compelled Sonic to look General Serkins in the eye and say innocently, "Why?"
"As Connor Ford, you have no record of misdeeds, you have no legs, and, in my opinion, you seem like a good kid. As Sonic The Hedgehog, you have no record of misdeeds, you freakin' saved a group of kids from a fire before we got you, and, in my opinion, you do not pose as a significant threat. But be warned. I'm keeping my eye on you. Not when you're Connor, but when you're Sonic. So be on your best behavior. You either use your power usefully or don't use it at all. If you slip up, I will find you and give you a warning. Slip up again and..."
Sonic waited for the general to finish.
"…Well, I suppose you don't want to find out."
"I understand," said Sonic.