The Genesis of a Generation

"I'm Not a Monster!"

Notes: Dear Sonic fans, I don't care if Sonic Generations was "short" (what exactly constitutes a 'long' game?). It was amazing, so get your heads out of your butts and appreciate the fact that SEGA listened to your whining and gave you Classic Sonic back. Sincerely, Hikari.

P.S. If you want a 'long' game, go play Sonic Unleashed. Oh wait, the only reason it's long is because of the Night Stages. Unleashed only had nine Day Stages, while Generations has eighteen fully fledged levels. Not enough? Go play Sonic 1. Oh wait. Sonic 1 had six Zones with three Acts each. That's EIGHTEEN levels. Yeah, same amount. Quit complaining. It makes the rest of us look bad.

Now that I've gotten that off of my chest, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It takes place during Generations.

Sonic woke with a crusted film on his body and stiff joints. He was aching all over, and he was pretty sure that his left ankle was swollen, if the way it was throbbing was anything to go on. His head was sensitive to the touch, and the light of the setting sun stabbed into his green eyes, making him groan and force them shut. His right arm was pinned under his body, numb from lack of blood flow, and his quills were uncomfortably bent and stabbing into his back.

"Okay," he grumbled through unresponsive vocal chords, coughing up dirt, "who's the idiot that threw me out of a spaceship this time?"

"Same idiot as always," a young male voice answered, its owner ambling close to the hedgehog. Something soft and muscular brushed against the blue one's leg and he opened his eyes just in time to see two tails wrap themselves around his foot, yanking him toward the gold body of the speedster's best friend. The fox tsked under his breath, poking at the swollen ball that had once been his ankle.

Involuntarily, Sonic's hips bucked and he attempted to squirm away from the gentle, inquisitive fingers of the fox. Tails' namesakes were like coils of rope around his leg however, and all he got for his troubles was dirt lodged into his quills. Hissing between his teeth, Sonic glared at his little brother through the fog of pain now clouding his vision.

"I'll need to splint it," Tails finally said after what seemed like an eternity of probing the injury. "No running for at least a day."

Sonic groaned as Tails finally released his leg. The fox eased the appendage toward the ground, careful not to jar the hedgehog's ankle. "It looks like we're right outside of Apotos." Tails continued, his head swiveling around. "I'll need to go into town to get the proper supplies." So saying, the fox rose, standing with his back toward the quickly disappearing sun. "I should be back in about an hour. It'll be dark by then, but you can take care of yourself for that long, can't you?" Turning toward the hedgehog, he winked.

"Where are the Littles?" Sonic spoke through gritted teeth. His head felt like it was about to split in two.

"I dunno," Tails replied. "Don't worry," he continued, seeing the look on the hedgehog's face. "They can take care of themselves. I'm sure they're both running on the rooftops of Spagonia as we speak."

o0o

In fact, both the younger fox and hedgehog were currently floating above Spagonia in a giant fortress, held against their will at gunpoint by two cheery looking Egg Fighters. Sonic's teeth were barred, ancient animal instincts surfacing as he snarled and stood in front of his four year-old charge, protecting him bodily. The Fighters paid no heed to the blue one's feral actions, simply raising their laser guns a little higher so they were even with the speedster's eyes.

"Ah, Sonic," a loud voice cooed, its overweight owner practically bouncing into the room. "Already getting in tune with your animalistic side. How fitting, considering what your older self is no doubt experiencing!"

"What are you talkin' about, Robotnik? !" Sonic demanded, his hands fisting at his sides. Behind him, Tails attempted to hide his face in his namesakes.

"See for yourself, hedgehog!" The doctor declared, gesturing toward a large screen. It was slowly flickering to life, a blue figure materializing on it.

Despite himself, Sonic leaned toward the screen, staring at his older self.

o0o

Sonic laid on the ground for about fifteen seconds before he started to get antsy. He eased himself into a sitting position, facing the sliver of sunlight left. His hands fisted into the grass, yanking it out of the ground and holding it up toward the sky as if in offering. The wind swept the grass out of his hand and toward the horizon.

"Bored." He grumbled under his breath, watching the last piece of grass disappear. "Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored." Falling onto his back, he stared at the darkening sky, feeling his eyes starting to sink closed.

He knew better than to sleep when he was possibly concussed, but he couldn't help it. His ingrained instincts told him that if he had a second of downtime – forced or otherwise – he needed to take advantage of it.

He fell asleep. For how long, he had no idea, but he woke to a familiar pain in his midsection. It was a striking pain, and it overshadowed his throbbing ankle and aching head. He woke with a start, bending and pressing his hands over his belly, putting pressure on the phantom spasm. It spread quickly across his chest, making his heart speed up and his mind started to race, attempting to figure out what was happening.

His head snapped toward the horizon, and his eyes widened when no sunlight met them.

No… He thought to himself. It's impossible.

Before this thought was completely across his mind, a dark shadowy energy started to form at his wrist, spreading along his body and covering his field of vision. His bones were ripped apart, reforming and lengthening, liquefying and solidifying in seconds. His fur was pulled longer, darkening in color as his nose lengthened. Claws ripped their way through his fingertips, shredding his gloves and his shoes stretched along with his feet, the superior material able to adapt. Sharp, carnivorous teeth sliced through thin omnivorous gums, sending jagged stabs of pain through Sonic's whole being. He didn't realize he was screaming until he lost his regular voice to the change, his vocal chords becoming more feral.

When the energy dissipated, Sonic the Hedgehog was gone.

All that was left was the Werehog.

o0o

Across a continent and back in the flying base, Sonic's younger doppelganger stumbled away from the screen, staring at the image in horror. He was unable to look away, despite how much he wanted too, and he nearly tripped over Tails in his haste to get away from the monitor. The kit squeaked and wrapped his hands around Sonic in an effort to comfort his shaking form.

"Ohohoho! Now you see, Sonic!" Doctor Eggman cackled, making the picture of the newly transformed Sonic enlarge. The younger hedgehog shuddered and he hugged Tails back, looking down at the fox to distract himself. "The moon changes you into a different being! It brings out the evil in your heart and transforms you into the ugly creature you truly are!" He threw his head back, laughing even louder. "You call me a monster, yet look at yourself! Look what you have to look forward to!"

Suddenly, Sonic's eyes hardened, his spine stiffening and his head snapping toward the evil man. A dark smile worked its way across his face, sending Eggman's sense of self preservation roaring to life. He started to back away slowly from the hedgehog.

Then, before the doctor could blink, Tails was in the air and Sonic was bouncing around the room, taking out every robot, the screen, and every hidden camera and switch. The door behind Eggman locked itself as a red light started to flash in the corner. When he landed, Sonic glared at the doctor with flashing green eyes, his quills rising a little higher off of his head.

"That's where you're wrong, Robotnik." He growled out, walking purposely toward the scientist, his shoes crunching through broken glass. "I'm not a monster! You kill and enslave Mobians for your personal gain! You build robots and death machines to kill a ten year old child! You don't see people as people; you see them as power sources! You make me sick! And that's why I will give up everything to stop you!" Now right in front of the towering human, Sonic commanded attention. He jabbed a finger at the empty wall where the monitor used to be. "What was on that screen, the transformed-me, that wasn't a monster; that was someone who will do anything to stop you, even sacrifice himself." Now, he pointed up at Eggman. "What you see in the mirror however, Robotnik, is the real monster."

Then, without preamble Sonic curled into a ball, spindashing and catapulting himself toward the nearest wall. He sliced right through it, sailing into the sky over Spagonia. Tails followed him, taking the time to stick his tongue out at Eggman as he passed. Swooping through the hole Sonic had created, he soared down and caught the hedgehog's hands right before he hit the ground.

"Thanks Tails!" Sonic called over the rushing wind, smiling up at the fox with twinkling black eyes and a small thumbs up. Then, he let go and dropped to a roll on the ground, pausing for just milliseconds to rev up another spindash. Sonic blasted in a southerly direction, heading straight to Apotos.

o0o

When the Werehog finally got a grasp on his surroundings, he began to growl quietly to himself, kneading his claws into the soft fertile ground. The wind licked at his fur, agitating him because it was free and moving and he wasn't. One of his legs was hurt; how exactly he didn't know, but he knew that walking on it sent jagged waves of pain up his leg. He was forced to lay in the grass like a lesser creature, attempting not to whimper.

He had been laying here for an eternity, staring at the slowly rising moon. The sky was darkening, stars barely visible through the cloudy skies. He grumbled in a low voice, rolling over onto his side in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain in his throbbing foot.

"Sonic! Sonic, where are you? C'mon man, I got the splint!" Sometime later, a voice appeared, followed shortly by a shuffling sound in the tall grasses. The being was clumsy, like he was carrying something large and heavy. "And some food! Where are you? !"

Sonic sniffed, barely poking his nose out of the grass. The smell was familiar, comforting and threatening at the same time. It was another canine, yet someone he knew. If the way he knew this being was in a favorable light or not, he couldn't be sure.

The walking ceased, and the voice spoke again, closer than before. "I don't get it. He wouldn't try to run, would he?" The voice paused. Then it sighed. "Yes, he would." The being sounded tortured, like whoever he was looking for generally didn't listen to him. Slightly, Werehog felt his heart tug for the younger canine. "SONIC!"

The Werehog jumped, his fur standing on end at the sudden loud voice. A gasp sounded behind him and he growled low in his throat, standing as best he could now that his position had been given away. The other person was staring at him, his large blue eyes wide in shock.

"S-Sonic? ! Wha-? What happened? !"

Werehog had no idea who this 'Sonic' was, but his mind still tugged him toward the other, now revealed to be a fox, like he knew what happened to 'Sonic'. He fought the urge to move closer to the fox by shaking his head and backing away, tail between his legs and his teeth barred.

Suddenly, the fox deflated, and he fell backward onto his backside, his head falling into his hands. "I should have known better…" He mumbled. "Time travel. Of course this would happen." His shoulders were hiked up to his ears. "I'm sorry, Sonic." He sniffled, making the Werehog's heart yank again.

Werehog had no idea who this pup was, but he felt like he owed him something, like he had some weight in the child. He slowly nosed his way toward the fox, taking his balled-up state as an unthreatening pose. He walked toward the other on all fours with only a slight limp, alert to any signs of a demeanor change in the other. The fox didn't seem aware that a larger predator was moving toward it, just kept his face hidden in his gloved hands. Once he was close enough, Werehog snuffled his nose into the kit's fur, taking a deep whiff.

Suddenly, memories broke through the wall in his mind. Apotos. Eggman. Emeralds. Time Eater. Running. Tails.

Tails.

"…Tails…" Forcing the word through uncooperative vocal chords, Werehog watched as the fox's head jerked up, almost colliding with his own.

"S-Sonic?" The golden one's blue eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

"… Yes… Li'l bro."

Tails let out a happy sound, wrapping his arms around Sonic's huge head, digging his face into the soft fur of his side. He let out a sigh, finally releasing his tears. "I'm sorry, Sonic. I didn't realize that traveling through time would place the Dark Gaia Energy back into you! I should have paid more attention. I mean, the continents are broken apart, even though the Apotos and Spagonia continents are back in place… I'm sorry."

Sonic grunted, shaking his head. "No." It was a simple word, but it conveyed everything Sonic needed to say and Tails smiled wetly before nodding once.

"Can I splint your ankle now?"

o0o

When the past incarnation of Sonic finally managed to find his older self and the older Tails, he was pleasantly surprised to find them both curled up in the tall grasses outside of Apotos, dead asleep. Tails was twitching in his sleep while Sonic was like a rock, no movement whatsoever. His body was large, dark, and less pointy, but Mini-Sonic could still see himself in the transformed hedgehog.

And, in the end, it wasn't the body that you traveled in; it was the journey you made in it.

With a happy smile, he curled up beside his older self, basking in the warmth he gave off. The four year old fox that had followed him all the way here snuggled up to his side and Sonic wrapped his arm around his little brother. The kit was out almost instantly.

Sonic laid there for a few more minutes, listening to the breathing of his now more beastly future self, and he couldn't help but smile.

He looked so kickass in that wolf-like form!

The endings of these things always suck. I have no idea how or when to stop.

So, I have a(nother) proposition for you guys. If I were to record myself reading my ficlets, add commentary, and then post the videos on YouTube, would you watch them? Just to get an insider look into my mind and my writing process, or should I not even bother because none of you would want to listen to me blather on about 'Classic Sonic this' and 'Modern Tails that' and 'this says this because of this,' 'I chose to focus on this character here because' type stuff? Just a proposition. Think on it and get back to me?

Review please?