The night had settled on Green Hills. Nothing about had stirred. Everything was silent in the rural town. A blue hedgehog was sleeping soundly in his dimly lit room, found in the attic of the house he stayed in. Yes, you're not mistaken, he is a blue hedgehog. A talking, three-foot creature to be precise. He contained the most amazing amount of speed that would put the Blackbird fighter jet to shame. Fighter jets aside, the blue hedgehog continued to sleep peacefully.
It had been six months since Sonic had finally met with Mobians of his own kind. He had a best friend named Tails; an actual friend and not a father figure. Amy Rose was his very own stalker. Tom had joked that a restraining order could be placed on her, but Sonic kind of liked the attention. Sure, he ran for the hills whenever she tried to suffocate him in a hug, but someone actually admired him. He'd lived most of his childhood in hiding and no one to talk to. Plus, she was pretty in a humanoid hedgehog kind of way. And then there was Knuckles. His clan had tried to capture Sonic and was how he met the brash echidna. Knuckles had sympathised with Sonic's troubles and joined the team. However, there was something odd and aloof about the red echidna. Was he hiding something?
Although these were Sonic's friends, he chose to stay with Maddie and Tom on Earth during his down times. He had communication with the team if they required his help. He didn't dare tell them about his new family and how he remained on Earth, he wasn't sure they'd understand.
A loud noise erupted from his bedside table. A loud bleeping that would intrude any deep sleep. Sonic's hears twitched in the direction of the sound it came from. He grunted in annoyance as he reached out for it. This better be important, he thought to himself, unaware of the time of night it was.
"Yeah?" Sonic slurred.
"Sonic! We need your help. Eggman's decided to go crazy down in Seaside Hill. I've picked up readings from- whoa! Metal's here too!" a voice squeaked through Sonic's communicator. The hedgehog's ears pricked up, understanding the situation clearly. If only Eggman had left it just a few hours later, Sonic cursed to himself.
"No worries, I'll be down in ten!" the blue teenager confidently called back, forgetting he'd only been sleeping for a few hours before the rude awakening. In a dash, Sonic changed in his clothing, a black, skin tight tank top, a blue and red sports jacket with sleeves rolled up to his blue biceps, red sneakers with signature white stripe and white fingerless gloves, one with a black cuff and the other with his communicator worn as a bracelet. Male Mobians weren't ones to wear much clothing unless for purposes like being part of a tribe. Sonic wore his clothes as pride to be part of the human world. Maddie and Tom gave them to him shortly after he was accepted as part of the family.
Lost in thought as he was getting ready, he glanced across his chair that contained his fingerless gloves. A golden locket hung on the back of the chair. The back of Sonic's neck prickled; how could he forget this?! He slowly picked the locket up and put it around his neck. He tucked it in his black shirt to hide it from view. He closed his eyes and smiled; this locket meant everything to him and he never left without it.
The blue hedgehog grinded down the banister (that Tom frequently yelled at Sonic about) and quickly scrawled a note to Maddie and Tom for where he was going. He wanted to make sure they didn't get too worried. He should be home for dinner tomorrow. He grabbed his bag of rings and made a run for it into the middle of the night.
The naked eye could not keep up with Sonic's mad dashes to the wild woods of Green Hills. All manner of animals squawked and squeaked in the dead of night. The blue blur smiled to himself, admiring their primitive life forms compared to his own species. He once saw a hedgehog and cat have a face off. Sonic was routing for the hedgehog but all it did was roll into a ball and the cat relentlessly prodded it. The three-foot hedgehog had to intervene to save the small spikey animal from unwanted stress.
Sonic came to a sudden halt as he pictured the white beaches and crisp, clear oceans of Seaside Hill as he threw one of his many rings. It grew larger and floated in mid-air. Inside the circular portal, the sun burned on Sonic's fur as he smelt the salty air. His smile faded as he watched his friends under attack from his metal doppelganger. The organic hedgehog leapt through as the portal disappeared, soaking him in it.
"Yo, Boltbrain!" Sonic yelled in confidence. Despite containing one of his quills, Metal was not his superior. A yellow fox stopped in mid-air, a pink hedgehog spun around in mid swing and a red echidna almost fell over from his own pound attack as they faced Sonic. Although it has been a week since they last saw one another, it felt much longer. Metal Sonic made a bee line for his copy as Sonic simply dodged out of the way without thinking.
"I thought you made this thing fast, Egghead," Sonic smirked. A round man, floating within a hover craft named the Eggmobile was fizzing at the blue hedgehog's choicest remarks.
"Grrrr! Quiet rodent!" the one called Eggman bellowed. Sonic continued to laugh as he darted about with his robot copy following in close pursuit.
"Admirable," Sonic's cockiness didn't last long as he glanced over the mad scientist's shoulder. In the distance, darting from each ramp, platform and parts of the ocean were Echidnas. The blue hedgehog's eyes widened in fear, making him forget about any of his surroundings. Something heavy knocked into his side, wiping him off his feet. He completely lost track of his fight with Metal and now he was in trouble. The robot copy pinned Sonic down with its evil red eyes boring into Sonic's own lime. He winced as he tried to break free but the robot talons pinned him down tighter.
Meanwhile, Amy and Tails attacked the hordes of Badniks that were cluttering up the beach they stood on. Knuckles seemed hesitant to attack as he watched his brethren come into the fray.
Eggman held out an arm to stop the Echidnas progressing any further, "You can have him soon," the Echidna leader folded his arms impatiently.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Sonic groaned, kicking his way out of Metal's grip.
"You've embarrassed me long enough rodent. Plus, I have a deal to pay," Eggman grinned maniacally.
Sonic kicked Metal in the air and leapt across with a spin attack to Eggman's flying pod. He landed heavily, grabbing onto the egg-shaped man's scarf. He could sense spears aimed towards his back. Although it made every quill stand on end, he continued to stare angrily at his most hated enemy.
"WHAT, do you want Egghead?!" Sonic's tiny body heaved as he readied for any attack. What he didn't expect was a blow to the face from something solid. He fell hard to the ground as the side of his face throbbed. Another blow and something landed heavily on his back to render him immobile. The blue hedgehog struggled to turn around as he could see an unexpected face pinning him down. Knuckles.
"Er, Knuckles?" Sonic glanced at Amy and Tails still stuck in the heat of battle, assuming their speedy teammate had a handle on things. "The fight's over there!"
"I'm sorry Sonic," was all Knuckles muttered firmly.
"What?!" shrieked Sonic as he struggled against his comrade's strength.
"Hand back our specimen, Guardian!" one of the Echidnas shouted. Sonic couldn't make out any of their faces but a new and somehow familiar fear took over him. Eggman snapped his fingers to call for Metal Sonic. The robot hovered near Sonic and Knuckles in case the guardian decided to hinder the tribe's plans. A second snap from Eggman's gloved fingers and Tails and Amy suddenly froze in a force field contraption. Sonic peered as best he could to a horrible sight that made his eyes burn. Electric Chaos energy…
Sonic was alone. His friends were frozen and his other friend was handing him over like a piece of meat. What was all this about? Why did the Echidnas want Sonic? Why did they call him a specimen? Why is Eggman siding with them?! The anxieties were too much for Sonic as he allowed his burning blue eyes spread to the rest of his body. His fur and quills stood on end as powerful surges of electrical energy erupted from his body. Knuckles struggled to grab on to his teammate. The other Echidnas excitedly watched their prize come to life. Eggman continued to smile as if knowing this was going to happen.
Sonic rose up effortlessly, shaking, as his emotions and raw power were becoming stronger by the second. The front row Echidnas backed away slightly.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Sonic bellowed. More flashes of electricity wildly left his body.
"You were created by us and we want you back!" one brave Echidna stepped forward and answered.
"And they're going to help me!" Eggman grinned. Sonic's eyes burnt in hot pain. Tears streamed down his muzzle as his life flashed before his mind. It was all a lie. He was created to be nothing more than a mere pawn. He really was a freak of nature. He never had a family. Everyone feared or wanted him for his power. Sonic screamed, causing an electrical explosion similar to a sonic boom. Tears continued to flood his electric eyes. He ran towards his enemies with electricity still erupting out of his body. Unbeknownst to him, the red one whom he believed was his friend, aimed a weapon at the speedy critter and fired. A dart flew out of the primitive weapon, heading straight for Sonic. The blue hedgehog crash landed to the ground from the impact of the dart. It electrified him and absorbed his power quickly. Sonic attempted to raise his head.
"Good work Knuckles," the blue hedgehog's ears twitched but he didn't recognise the voice. His adrenaline was drained and he blacked out, knowing no more.