Sonic Legacy: Downfall

Chapter 13: Vanik the Hedgehog

Castles, old looking buildings and paved streets conformed the city of Timber Town, where a great competition was taking place that night. A blue furred hedgehog with long quills of the same color was adjusting the shoelaces of his roller skates, along with some other competitors. He wore a red beanie, gloves of the same color and a pair of black sport sunglasses, just covering his forehead. "Ready to lose, newbies?" The hedgehog chuckled arrogantly.

"Let´s see who laughs last, Vanik." The young squirrel by his side replied.

"Well, me, of course." Vanik smirked confidently. "You´re gonna bite my dust so badly."

"On your mark, get set, go!" The major of the city, a white suited lion, shot at the sky with a rudimentary gun, making the competitors to rollerblade down the sloping street, provoking the claps of the crowd as well.

Vanik had his arms bent back and the back a bit inclined. He jumped continuously while performing tricks on the air, being acclaimed by the crowd. Vanik smirked. "They love me."

"Show off." The squirrel mumbled.

Vanik slowly began to raise his left leg, therefore rollerblading only with one roller skate. "What you think about this?!" He received instant claps and shouts of praise.

The finish line was a few meters ahead, Vanik was already savoring the victory until the team´s ship landed abruptly right over it, with some smoke coming from the backside. Several shouts of confusion were heard. The ship´s door opened and the ramp went down. Spark showed up afterwards and walked down the ramp while looking around him nervously. "Uhm, hi?" He waved at the crowd and the competitors, who were looking at him with discontent. Spark approached Vanik, being almost sure he was the one his mother told him to find. "Hey, I...I´m Spark, Spark the Raccoon."

"So?" Vanik crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, uhm...I need you to come with me." Spark scratched his nape. "Vanik, right?"

"Yeah, that´s my name, but why would I come with you?" Vanik responded.

"Because the world is under attack." Spark switched to a straight tone. "We need your help."

Vanik expressed disinterest and shook his head. "Dad hasn´t changed, has he?" He walked towards Spark with arrogance. "Or maybe it was mom´s idea."

"You mean, Sonic and Amy?" Spark inquired.

"Yeah, that´s exactly what I mean." Vanik sighed and looked away while shaking his head. "Those two never understood me." He glared at Spark again while chuckling and walking around him. "They said 'Oh, son, your powers can do so much good in the world, don´t be selfish'." Vanik stopped walking and stood with his arms on his waist, looking at the moon on the horizon. "They didn´t care of what I actually wanted to do with my life." He raised his arms and looked at Spark over his shoulder. "This. This is life, uhm...what was your name again?"

"Spark." He replied, somewhat upset.

"Right." Vanik exhaled deeply. "Alright, this is what you´re gonna do." Vanik turned and approached Spark. "You´ll tell mom and dad that I´m not interested in their 'world saving' offer, okay? That their son is living the life just as h..."

"They´re dead, Vanik." Spark knew it wasn´t the way to tell him, but he thought it was the only way to get his attention.

Vanik´s glare decayed, he gasped and looked down, clenching his fists. "What did you say?"

"Sonic, Amy and Knuckles, the three of them died in battle." Spark tried to put his hand on his shoulder but Vanik moved his hand away from him aggressively.

"Don´t touch me!" Vanik sat down on the ground, breathing deeply. "That´s not true, you´re lying."

"Vanik, it´s true, they´re gone." Spark said. "I´m so sorry, but...your parents ar..."

"Don´t you dare say it again!" Vanik broke down in tears, embracing his legs, resting his head against his knees. "No!" He sobbed deeply and bitterly. "No!" Vanik screamed loudly.

"Hey." Spark crouched and patted his back. "Man...I know how you feel b..."

"Give him a break, kid." A middle aged beaver told Spark, he had witnessed the whole conversation.

Spark straightened and looked at the beaver, nodding while glaring down. The beaver nodded back and left. Vanik mourned deeply and inconsolable, reliving the memories he best remembered with his parents, sobbing with pain and guilt. Spark let him let out more of his sadness for a while until he decided to keep persuading him. "Vanik." Spark said with a tone of empathy. "We have to go."

Vanik looked at him, with tears still running across his face. With a hand gesture, he asked Spark to help him stand up, so he took his hand and got onto his feet with the help of the young raccoon. "You go." Vanik turned and began to walk away. "I´ll keep living my life."

Spark growled. "Vanik! We need y..."

"...need my help, yeah, you´ve said that already." Vanik cleaned some tears off his face.

Spark walked towards him and began to follow him. "Hey, you don´t understand! The world is under attack, our forces are being destroyed!"

Vanik sighed and turned to look at him. "And what do you want me to do?!" He frowned. "To go there and save the day like my father did every time? I´m not like..." His voice started to break again. "...I´m not like him..." He pushed Spark. "You understand?! I´m not my father!"

"I know!" Spark exclaimed. "But you have his powers, right?" He gestured at the ship. "Come on, do something useful at least once in your life."

Vanik chuckled mockingly. "Now you´re the one who tells me what to do with my life..." He shook his head while crossing his arms. "...incredible."

"Just think about this, what would they tell you if they w..?" Spark got interrupted.

"Don´t say it!" Vanik warned. "I know exactly what they would tell me, but that doesn´t matter." He turned again and spun the wheels of his roller skates. "No one can force me to follow in their footsteps."

Spark sighed and crossed his arms, getting thoughtful for a moment. "You´re right." He said and Vanik glanced away, with a pensive look. "I can´t force you." Vanik looked at him again.

"Yes." Vanik replied. "Now you understand."

"I do." Spark replied. "I´m just appealing to the values that your father must´ve taught you in the past." He got closer to him and got his hand over his shoulder. "Do you remember them?"

Vanik sighed while frowning and shaking his head. "I never forgot any single thing he told me." He looked up while cleaning a tear off his face. "Or mom." Vanik got silent for a moment. "Kindness, strength, faith..." He let out a long sigh. "...I never put them into practice, though." Vanik gestured to his surroundings. "This...is what I am, what I chose to be." He looked at Spark with a reflective glare. "Freedom, they also taught me that." Vanik started to walk away.

Spark growled silently. "Everyone will lose that freedom if you don´t come with me, Vanik." He spoke with a straight tone.

Vanik grunted and stopped walking, chuckling briefly. "You really are stubborn, aren´t you?" He looked at Spark over his shoulder.

"You have no idea." Spark replied while crossing his arms.

Vanik stood there, thoughtful. He was clenching his fists, hesitating while looking at the front, tempted to just keep walking and go home. Vanik looked at the star filled sky, locking his gaze on it´s dark blue vastness. After a few moments, he looked down and turned, glaring at Spark with a serious gaze. "Just this time." Vanik walked towards him. "Then I´ll go."

Spark sighed with relief. "It´s all we´re asking for."

They walked towards the ship and got in, the ramp went up and the doors closed. Spark approached the control center of the cockpit then with a few key presses he set up the destination and pressed a button on the console, activating the autopilot. The ship hovered over the paved street then it accelerated towards the sky, en route to Spagonia.

Vanik walked in the ship´s corridor. "Hmm, looks smaller from the outside." He looked at his surroundings with curiosity. "Whose ship is this?" Vanik noticed the doors at his sides.

"My mother´s." Spark sat down on the pilot seat, looking at the quickly moving clouds on the dark horizon.

"Cool." Vanik opined. "Uhm, do you guys have something to eat here? I´m starving."

"Yeah, there´s some stuff..." Spark pressed a button on the console and a small door under it slid smoothly, then he crouched and looked inside the narrow snack bar. "...right here. Uhm, do you prefer peanut bar or fruit bar?"

"Peanut." Vanik replied, leaning his back against the corridor wall.

"Okay, then." Spark took an aluminum wrapped peanut snack bar as it was stated on the text over it. He threw it at Vanik, who caught it with one hand.

Vanik opened the wrapper and took a small bite. "Weird." He kept biting the bar. "Good enough, though." Vanik sighed and got in the cockpit, standing next to Spark. "So, what´s exactly going on out there, Spark?"

"Well, several armies from other dimension want to take over ours." Spark explained. "Basically."

Vanik´s eyes widened. "Like, for real?"

"Mhm." Spark nodded.

"Woah...that´s sick." Vanik took a big bite from the snack bar. "I mean, my parents had some weird adventures in the past but this one takes the prize." He sighed and sat down on the copilot seat. "Great view." Vanik admired the moving clouds in the night sky.

"Yes, quite a view, right?" Spark got his hands behind his nape and let out a yawn. "It´s gonna be like half an hour ´till we arrive."

"Oh, and where are we heading to?" Vanik looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Spagonia." Spark responded with a sleepy voice.

"At least I could have some of their world famous ribollita after we´re done." Vanik kept eating his peanut bar. "Have you had ribollita before?" He heard no response. "Buddy?" Vanik looked at Spark, finding out he had fallen asleep already.

Vanik sighed while shaking his head. "Alone for half an hour. Great."