Don't Think Twice
Intro: Avatar: The Last Airbender Theme
Chapter 8: Not So Different
BGM: Spider-Man 2002 OST – Parade Attack
Oh, goody. Seems like Team Avatar can never truly get a break from the action, seeing as during Avatar Korra's parade, Infinite has decided to show his face. He sent a powerful, chaotic looking red beam at the crowd, being distracted by Korra's speech. Luckily for them, Korra wasn't the one that was distracted. Seeing the beam come right for the crowd, she jumped off the podium and got right in front of them, earthbending a large form of a wall to block the attack. Upon impact, the beam exploded with Korra's earth wall, creating a large cloud of smoke that covered the entire area. When the smoke cleared, the people were now in panic, running for their lives because some random lunatic decided to fire an all-powerful beam at them.
"Okay, what the heck was that?!" Bolin shouted. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Blaze looked at who was in the sky, then turning to each other. They all knew who it was just by taking one look at the flying madman.
"Is he flying?!" Tenzin exclaimed. The reason why he was so shocked was that it was a legendary airbending technique, as literal flying in the air hasn't been seen in thousands of years since the legendary Guru Laghima.
"Whoever he is, we gotta stop him!" Mako told the group. Sonic started running as fast as he could to get some momentum, planning to jump into the air and strike Infinite when he least expects it.
With Sonic doing that, Infinite was still on the offensive, laughing in a maniac-line manner as he sent a massive ball of energy at the crowd again. This time, it would be Bolin to provide the earth wall, but the ball of energy Infinite shot immediately destroyed it, the blast radius sending him flying into a pole.
"Bolin!" Mako yelled, now gritting his teeth at Infinite blasting his brother. He would extend his fists, guiding them like they were flamethrowers as he was now attacking Infinite. Blaze would join in on this attack, creating flamethrowers of her own. To avoid this attack, Infinite would split himself up into two clones. The first clone would extend his arm out, using the Phantom Ruby's power to literally control Mako's and Blaze's flames by himself, redirecting it at them.
"How in the-?!" Mako couldn't believe what he was seeing. Did someone just seriously redirect his and Blaze's fire like it was nothing?!
"Look out!" Blaze tried to get Mako to snap out of it, tackling him to the ground before the flames were able to annihilate them.
On the other side, Tenzin and the rest of the gang were trying to deal with the other Infinite clone. "Kids, get behind me!" he told them, now jumping into the air, flipping sideways and sent an airbending slice kick. The Infinite clone would dodge the attack rather effortlessly, teleporting in front of Tenzin and grabbed him by the throat.
"There's no point in trying!" The Infinite Clone said, throwing Tenzin into a building as Meelo, Ikki, and Jinora were now angered
"Dad!" They all said in unison, Pema now being worried for her husband. Though, she knew that she had to get the kids to safety.
"Kids, let's go!" she told them, the pregnant woman grabbing their hands, but the kids wouldn't listen.
"NO MOMMY, I'LL SHOW THESE BAD GUYS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY MESS WITH OUR FAMILY!" Meelo said, getting away from Pema's grip.
"MEELO, GET BACK HERE!" Pema said. Her being distracted gave Jinora and Ikki the opportunity they needed to get away. They would take this opportunity as well.
"Sorry mom, but we gotta teach these guys a lesson!" Jinora said, with Ikki adding, "They're gonna pay!"
"Kids, it's too dangerous!" Pema shouted, but it was pointless at trying to get through to them at this point. Meelo was fartbending on the Infinite clone that threw Tenzin, while Ikki and Jinora combined their airbending powers to create a large gust of wind, blowing the clone away.
"Never mind…" Pema unenthusiastically said, watching her kids take care of themselves as she could only sigh deeply.
"CODE 3, CODE 3! I NEED METALBENDERS ON THE SCENE NOW!" Lin yelled into her radio, multiple Infinite clones now showing up. With a fire being lit in her eyes, Lin raised her leg in the air and stomped the ground, causing the ground to crack while the entire area was now shaking. This caused most of the Infinite clones to get off balance, allowing Lin to shoot out her metal cables, swinging and slashing the clones all over the place.
One Infinite clone was trying to catch Lin by surprise during her onslaught, though. Flying in from behind was an Infinite clone ready to punch her in the back, until Asami came out of nowhere and kicked him in the face, protecting Lin from getting smacked. Lin turned around just in time to see all of this, clearly being surprised.
"I had no idea you could fight, Asami." Lin told her, Asami giving a smirk.
"My dad put me in self defense classes when I was little so I wouldn't be helpless. Safe to say that it worked out at the best moment," she explained, but as the two looked around, they could see that more Infinite clones were surrounding them. Asami's and Lin's backs went against each other, both of them covering opposite sides.
"Well, it looks like we're going to need a lot more of that self defense right now." Lin told her in a serious tone, both women looking on to the mass army that they had to face.
"HAAAAAAA!" Knuckles shouted, punching every Infinite clone in sight while Tails was smacking them with his tails.
"Knuckles! Give me a hand!" Tails yelled, Knuckles nodding. He would grab Tails, shooting him like he was a canon and Tails was the ball. Tails acted as a pinball of some sorts, connecting on a lot of Infinite clones and knocked them down. It also greatly helped that Knuckles' pure strength helped the impact of the attack. Tarrlok was helping as well, using his waterbending to freeze part of the ground, making some of the clones stay in place.
The main Infinite was still flying in the air, seeing Korra by herself facing other clones. When he was about to come down and strike her, by this time, Sonic had leapt into the air. He spindashed Infinite right in the gut, making him go off course and crash to the ground.
Infinite was clearly angered by this, getting up as he took a deep breath. He now saw that metalbenders were surrounding him. "Stop! You're outnumbered and we have you surrounded!"
Infinite could only laugh, shaking his head. "Maybe so, but you're clearly outmatched."
That's when Infinite would teleport in front of the metalbenders, elbowing one in the face, uppercutting another one which sent the metalbender flying to the sky, and then giving the third one a nice Hawaiian punch to the jaw.
Sonic would speed up, charging right at Infinite and pulling his fist back, getting ready to punch to punch him. Infinite would see this coming, grabbing Sonic's punch. "Nice to see you again, Sonic!" he said wickedly, before blasting him right in the chest that sent him skidding across the ground. Sonic groaned in pain, looking up to see Infinite come for him while he's down. Before he could get another hit in, though, Korra jumped right in front of Sonic, yelling, "Get away from him!"
Korra then shot a massive fireball at Infinite, to which he blocked just in time. Korra would remain on the offensive, however, her fists being on fire as she repeatedly punched Infinite in the face. She would do a backflip, unleashing a barrage of boulders at Infinite. The all-powerful Phantom Ruby user would destroy the boulders coming for him with his blasts, but as soon as he was done with that, Korra was now sending waterblasts at him, continuing her onslaught.
This kept Infinite on his toes, constantly avoiding some attacks, but got hit by more than a few of them. "Oh, you're good," Infinite told Korra, deciding to stop playing around and teleported right in front of her.
"But not good enough." He said, punching her right in the gut which knocked wind out of Korra. Sonic saw this happening, and recovered as fast as he could to break them up. He would try to lock on to Infinite and perform his signature homing attack, but that wouldn't work out. Infinite would extend his arms, making cube projectiles and shot them at Sonic. It broke him out of his homing attack, causing him to be out of control while in the air, and eventually hit the ground face first.
Sonic would struggle to get up, gritting his teeth as he became more frustrated. When he looked up, he saw that Infinite was standing right in front of him, still having that wicked smirk throughout the entire thing.
"It's time that we have a talk, Sonic."
Infinite would snap his fingers, and at a moment's notice, all of his clones disappeared, including himself. This would also go for Sonic. The only thing that would let you know that Infinite showed up was the destruction around the area.
With everybody recovering, they looked to see where Infinite went, but to no avail.
"He's… gone?" Tenzin asked, getting up and held his left arm.
Though, with Infinite being gone, that's when they realized Sonic was gone.
"Oh no…" Tails said, now being worried for his best friend. Knuckles would look the same way.
"Sonic!" Bolin yelled. "Come on out, buddy! You can stop playing with us now!"
The rest of the group tried to search for Sonic, but it was useless.
Korra could feel her heart sink, not knowing what to do. She knelt down, punching the concrete below her and causing it to crack out of frustration. It was at this moment that the people of Republic City would let her have it.
"You were supposed to protect us! Some Avatar you are!"
"Yeah, look at this place! It looks like it's been through the 100 year war!"
Mako would step in, not letting these people attack Korra like this. "Are you serious?! If it wasn't for her, all of you would have been obliterated by that first beam attack! Have you guys already forgotten about that?!"
Another Republic City citizen would decide to step in. "If she were a fully realized Avatar, she would have beaten Amon by now and that new freak who attacked us!"
It would continue to layer on.
"She will never be Avatar Aang! She will forever be in his shadow! Avatar Aang would've stopped all of this because he actually knew what to do!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tenzin shouted, not wanting to hear his father being brought into this nonsense. The usual calm Tenzin persona was being thrown out the window for this moment, and it made the rest of the group shocked.
"Avatar Aang would never approve of this utterly ridiculous behavior! If I hear one more word about this, I WILL-"
"Tenzin!" Lin yelled, making Tenzin stop dead in his tracks. She looked at the group of angry people, now taking command of this situation. "I understand that everyone is upset right now, but I will respectfully tell everyone to leave the area immediately! This is now police business!"
The people and Lin would get into another argument, as it was seemingly never ending.
Left alone in the madness was Korra, though. Her hands were covering her face, because she didn't want to be seen crying.
Nighttime On A Republic City Rooftop
"Sonic, why didn't you save me? Why did you leave me alone?"
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was thinking!"
"You're the cause of my demise, Sonic."
"I know! I should have listened to you while I had the chance… I'm sorry."
"It's a chance that you'll never get back."
"Wait! Don't leave me again! Please!"
Infinite would be the one to end this virtual reality for Sonic.
"Wake up, Sonic… Wake up…"
Sonic's head was moving around, now starting to wake up. When his senses got better, he didn't know where he was.
Oh God, was he dead?
"You're not dead… yet."
With Sonic's eyes now fully opening, he saw that Infinite was standing right in front of him. Infinite couldn't help but to grin at Sonic finally waking up. "You know, Sonic, I've been doing some thinking. After I went through your memories, I realized that you and I are not so different."
Sonic groaned, before saying, "That's a load of crap, and you know it."
Infinite could only shake his head. "Oh Sonic, you're only looking at things in simple terms. You know, the typical good versus evil battle. Of course, I chose my path, and you chose to be the hero." That's when Infinite actually sat by Sonic, acting like he was having a casual conversation with him, giving the blue blur a pat on the back.
"However, what I'm talking about, Sonic, relates to the reasons why we fight in the first place. I fight because I lost my team, my friends, my family. You could say I have nothing left. It seems like I'm all alone."
That's when Infinite gave a pause, letting his words sink into Sonic's mind.
"I know you know that feeling all too well, given what happened to your Uncle Chuck."
When Infinite said those words, Sonic's eyes immediately got a whole lot more intense. He looked to Infinite, yelling, "HOW DO YOU KNO-"
"Don't you remember when I said that I went through your memories?" Infinite sighed, shaking his head once more. "You see what I mean now? You see what I mean when I say we fight for the same reasons? We fight because of the people we lost, and those events changed us forever."
Infinite wasn't done.
"I bring up this old news, because I'm concerned about you. As you know, we're not in our original bodies nor our original world. But knowing you, you've probably made friends already. It was the group that I attacked today, right?"
Sonic didn't answer, Infinite only giving a shrug in response.
"I'll take that as a yes. And if I had to guess, you probably didn't tell them the true reason why you're here, given that it would be a hard story for anybody to understand. You have these friends now, but if they ever find out the truth, then you could be in some serious trouble. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you. Why bother continuing to go down this path when you know that the end is inevitable?"
"It's the way I am, Infinite. It's who I am," Sonic replied, Infinite raising an eyebrow.
"That's the best response you could come up with? The old 'because I'm a hero' excuse? No, this goes deeper than being some hero." Infinite told him, continuing with, "Let me tell you something. Your new friends, the people of this world, or whoever else you can think of, they exist for the few exceptional people in this world to lift us up. But as fast as those same people can lift you up, they can bring you down even faster. You and I are exceptional, is what I'm saying. And judging by my short interaction with one of your friends today, the one that could control the earth around her, along with water and fire simultaneously is exceptional as well."
Sonic remained silent, as Infinite continued to speak. "You weren't awake when it happened, but you should have seen how violent the people of this world got when it came to your friend. After I left, they blamed everything on her, and how she wasn't able to protect them when it's supposedly her duty."
Sonic looked surprised, and that look of surprise soon turned into concern. "That parade was a celebration of her…"
"Bingo. My point exactly. The same people that lift you up, will be the same people that bring you down. This is why I'm offering you a choice," Infinite told him.
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "A choice?"
"Join me, and imagine what we could do together. Or, we could be doing it the way we've been doing it, the pointless fighting that constantly makes innocent lives at stake. Even if we did find a way back to our world in the end, do you really want us to continue doing this? Cause the death of innocents in our selfish battles again, again, and again until we're both dead! Is that what you want?"
Infinite's red aura was coming around him, signaling the end of the conversation.
"Think about it, hero!"
That's when Infinite would vanish, teleporting away and leaving Sonic to think about what he said.
"Soooooniiiiic!" Bolin yelled, Team Avatar still searching for the Blue Blur late into the night. Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami were riding on Naga, while Tails, Blaze, and Knuckles were not too far away, searching on foot. Pabu was also there to help. Hey, all hands on deck to find their friend, am I right?
While guiding Naga, Korra looked lost. To go along with Sonic being missing, which didn't make her feel great at all, what the people said today about her never being able to live up to Aang along with the fact that Amon still hasn't been stopped, and now Infinite has shown his face, this was taking a mental toll on Korra.
Mako noticed this, and tried to comfort her. "Hey Korra, you alright?"
It took a minute for Korra to reply, but she did.
"I'm fine."
Bolin, Mako, and Asami all looked at each other with worried expressions. They knew Korra was going through a lot, and it was obvious that she was lying by the tone of her voice.
"I'm sure Sonic is fine." Asami said, trying to comfort her.
"And don't worry about those people today either. Those guys were complete idiots." Bolin told her, but it wasn't working.
"I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I'm going to need some time. Not only is my friend missing, but… I feel like the people are right. I think Aang would've known what to do, and he probably would have beaten Amon by now. What have I done? What did I do to deserve that parade in the first place? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Lin even said it, and I agree with her."
"Korra," Mako began, "No matter how you look at it, you're forgetting that Aang had his friends to help him. He didn't always know what to do."
"Yeah! I mean, Katara was like the mother of the group. You think they would have made it without her?" Asami added.
"What about Sokka's comedy and strategic abilities? That dude was the man with a plan!" Bolin said, smiling.
"Can't forget about Zuko, Toph, or Suki. Suki was a really skilled fighter, Toph was the best earthbender in the world, and Zuko became Aang's firebending master! He needed everyone to succeed in stopping the 100 year war." Mako told her. "What we're trying to say, Korra, is that we've got your back."
"Heck yeah we do!" Bolin shouted.
"One hundred percent." Asami smiled.
"Whatever the heck you guys are talking about, we agree!" Knuckles yelled, earning a laugh from the group. Korra tried to laugh, but it just couldn't come out. The closest thing to it was a small smile appearing on her face.
It was only then that a figure appeared on the street, still kinda woozy from recent events, and you could tell by his walk. When everyone looked forward, they squinted their eyes. "Hey, is that-" Before Blaze could finish, Korra's eyes lit up, jumping off of Naga and ran towards Sonic. She may not be as fast as Sonic, but boy, she was running really fast in this instance. When she was within striking distance, Korra immediately hugged Sonic, being absolutely relieved. "You're okay!" she exclaimed in pure joy, Sonic closing his eyes and hugging back, having a smile on his face.
"Hey, suffering buddy." Sonic sweetly replied. They pulled away from the hug and looked at each other.
"Are you hurt? Did that creep do anything to you? I swear, when I see that white haired freak again, I'm gonna-!"
"Korra," Sonic interrupted, laughing a little bit. "I'm fine."
"Note to self, physically fine but not mentally fine." Sonic thought to himself. Korra smiled at him, both of them staring at each other. The moment wouldn't last too long, though, given that Knuckles and Tails would tackle him. Seems like his two best friends have a habit of doing that.
"We knew you'd be okay!" Tails told him, Sonic still keeping his smile as he ruffled up his hair. He looked over to Knuckles, giving him a fist bump. Blaze came close to the group, as she couldn't help but to smile either.
She put her hand out to help Sonic up, to which he definitely accepted.
"Good to have you back, Sonic." Blaze told him.
"Good to be back." He replied, then feeling Pabu climb up his shoulder. "What's up, Pabu?"
That's when he would feel a pat on the back from Bolin, with Mako and Asami being happy to see that Sonic was alright. He would also receive a lick from Naga. "Mission complete! Sonic has been found!" Bolin said.
"Where did you go anyway?" Mako asked.
"Yeah, you, the clones, and the actual guy that did all of that just vanished." Asami added, Sonic shrugging.
"Eh, ended up on a rooftop. Nothing too special."
A lot of stuff has happened in this one day, and it was well late into the night. You'd think everyone would be sleeping by now, and quite frankly, almost everyone was.
Almost.
The search for Sonic was complete, so that means everybody was sleeping peacefully, right?
Wrong.
Korra was isolated from everyone during the night, sitting on a cliff as she just looked at Avatar Aang's statue for a long period of time. Tears were streaming down her face, the people's words still getting to her.
"If she were a fully realized Avatar, she would have beaten Amon by now and that new freak who attacked us!"
"She will never be Avatar Aang! She will forever be in his shadow!"
"Avatar Aang would've stopped all of this because he actually knew what to do!"
She continued to cry to herself, fully expecting to be alone.
Except she wasn't.
She felt a finger wipe away one of her tears. When she looked to see who it was, it was Sonic, who apparently couldn't sleep either given the conversation he had with Infinite.
"Sonic?"
"At this point, who else could it be?" Sonic slightly joked, sitting right next to Korra. "I guess recent events made us not really sleepy, huh?"
Korra was listening to Sonic, but didn't respond. She turned back to Avatar Aang's statue, still being lost in everything. It would take her awhile to open up, but eventually, she did. "Sonic, do you ever feel so helpless that you don't know what to do? Not only because you've never been in this situation before, but it's like no matter how hard you try, it seems like nothing changes?"
Obviously, she was describing her situation. Sonic continued to look at Korra, knowing that feeling all too well. That's the burden of heroes, I guess.
"I'm trying to learn everything on the fly, but I've been beaten in the head more times than I could count."
Sonic listened to Korra's explanation, one part catching his attention. Though, it would be up to Korra if she wanted to expand on it. "What do you exactly mean when you say that you're trying to learn everything on the fly?"
Korra remained silent, looking at the water below them, seeing her reflection.
"I heard stories about Aang, about how he never really wanted to be the Avatar because his life changed so quickly. I'm the complete opposite. I've always wanted to be the Avatar, but even as a little girl, I got a preview of how things would turn out for me."
The History of Korra
We go back in time to when Korra was a kid. Once the word got out that she was the Avatar, she was immediately put to training. At such a young age, she was truly a prodigy, already being able to bend water, earth, and fire.
She was practicing on a training dummy, the White Lotus watching her intently. She's been going at this for hours, the sweat dripping from her forehead as she panted heavily. She fell down on her butt, clearly being tired. "Am I ever going to get out of this place? When am I actually going to talk to people instead of being stuck training all the time?"
"Korra, your training is of the utmost importance. You don't have time to socialize." A White Lotus member told her, making the girl frown.
"But how can you expect me to be some great Avatar when you won't even let me talk to the people?" Korra asked, but the White Lotus wasn't trying to hear it.
"That's enough, Korra. No more backtalk. You must continue your training how we see fit. We were tasked by Avatar Aang to keep you safe, and that's exactly what we're going to do."
"Wow, they really didn't let you do anything else but train, huh?" Sonic asked.
"That was only one part of it." Korra confirmed.
BGM: Naruto OST - Loneliness
We transfer to another scene where a young Korra was walking in the snow, currently being alone and looking sad. When she continued to walk, she saw some kids that were having a snowball fight. Smiling at the thought of playing with them, she ran to where they were. The kids were having a good, fun time until Korra showed up, the kids now being quiet.
"I wanna play too!" Korra said, full of energy and ready to jump in, having a wide smile. That wide smile would soon go away, though, as she noticed that they weren't saying anything back. "What? What's wrong?"
"It's just that…" a kid paused, not sure how to say this. That's when another kid would come in and finish the statement.
"You're the Avatar, Korra. It would be unfair for you to play on either team, because most likely, the team that you're on is the one that would win."
Korra looked saddened by this. "But it's just a snowball fight. It's no big deal." She said, but the silence from the other kids told the whole story. A young Korra still wasn't getting the message, unfortunately.
"Right?"
The kids looked down, then back at Korra. "Sorry, Korra. You not being on any teams is the only way we can make things fair."
Korra looked down, now coming to grips that she wasn't going to play with the kids anytime soon. "Oh, okay…" She looked down, her body becoming slouched as she walked away.
Even when she tried to socialize, it never worked out.
"A snowball fight? They wouldn't let you get into a snowball fight? That's so stupid! Did Aang go through the same thing?!" Sonic sounded frustrated, even if this happened years ago.
"Yeah, but the difference with him is that he actually played with his fellow Air Nomads before the news broke out that he was the Avatar. He was considered young to already find out that he was the Avatar, but that was because the 100 year war was on the horizon. Even with that being said, I was even younger than Aang when I found out I was the Avatar. He knew the feeling of having friends… Aside from my parents and Naga, I never knew the feeling."
Korra could be seen alone again, but this time, the little girl was crying in the middle of the snow. Nobody to comfort her. No friends that'll tell her everything will be alright.
She had no one.
Back to Reality
Korra was back to looking at Avatar Aang's statue, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. "That's what I mean by learning everything on the fly. That's why I lash out at the worst possible times, like when you went through those airbending gates and I yelled at you. It's why I banged my head so many times when I first entered Republic City. And even now, my past continues to hurt me, because since I'm the Avatar, the people look at me for answers, waiting for me to give them some inspiring message like I always know what to do or say. They don't realize it, they don't realize the truth that I'm completely new at this, but they want a fully realized Avatar now."
Her tears were dropping to the ground.
"I just want to let you know, Sonic, I apologize for any pain that I may have caused you in the past, and I apologize for my future actions. I'm trying so, so hard to get better. It's one of the reasons why when I helped you, Tails, and Knuckles out after hearing your story."
Hearing this made Sonic look down, his face looking blank as Infinite's words went through his head.
"In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you."
"That might be the only thing I've done so far that's had a positive effect. Not only did I help you guys out, but we're all becoming good friends, especially me and you. I feel like I can talk to you about anything." She slowly looked to Sonic, the two now staring at each other. "I hope you feel the same way about me."
"I do." Sonic said, not hesitating on his answer. "Especially since now that I know some of your history. It… It…" Sonic couldn't get the words out, Korra noticing that he was getting a little choked up.
"Sonic?" she said with concern.
Sonic closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had just said that he felt like he could talk to Korra about anything.
He meant what he said, so there was no reason for him to hesitate.
"It makes me realize how similar we really are."
The History of Sonic
BGM: Avatar: The Last Airbender – Zuko Beach Flashback
We go back to years ago when Sonic was just a young lad, rolling around at the speed of sound. He had places to go, and he had to follow his rainbow, right?
Well, he was only able to do so at times.
Sonic never knew his parents. It's unknown if they're dead or alive, but nonetheless, they've never been in Sonic's life. He didn't have any friends, at least none that weren't related to him. Apparently, he has a brother and sister, but he's never met them either. The only friend he's ever had, his best friend, was his Uncle Chuck. He looked like an older hedgehog version of Sonic really, making it really obvious to tell they were related.
Uncle Chuck himself had no idea where Sonic's parents went, but he promised them that he would take care of him.
That was the last time Uncle Chuck ever saw them.
With Sonic speeding back home, he saw that Uncle Chuck was looking for him. He smiled, his eyes representing that innocent kid joy that everybody has in their lifetime at least once. "Here I am, Uncle Chuck!" he said, making his presence be known.
Uncle Chuck immediately turned to Sonic's way, picking him up before he sped off again. "Sonic, what did I tell you about running off on your own like that? You know it's dangerous to leave the house, especially without me knowing where you are."
"Aww come on, Uncle Chuck, you don't have to worry about me. You know I'm too fast for anybody to see me anyway." The young Sonic smiled, Uncle Chuck now sighing.
"We can't risk that chance of you getting found out, though. That's my concern. Sonic, you were born with extraordinary powers, the gift of speed. It's the type of speed that everyone wishes they could have. Because of your gift, people will always be after you. That's why it's safe to just stay at home." Uncle Chuck told him, being very protective of Sonic. This protectiveness of Uncle Chuck would usually clash with Sonic's naturally rebellious attitude, and it didn't help that Sonic was essentially not allowed to go anywhere.
Uncle Chuck wasn't only trying to honor Sonic's parents wishes in this particular instance, though. That was only half of the reason. The other half was with him losing his wife and son in a pointless battle that they had no business being in. He had lost two of the most important people in his life to needless violence, which is similar to what Infinite already explained in his speech.
"Cause the death of innocents in our selfish battles again, again, and again until we're both dead! Is that what you want?"
You could say Uncle Chuck was never really the same after losing them, but him taking care of Sonic, especially as the years went on, it's like Sonic became his son.
"Okay, okay, Uncle Chuck, I hear you." A little Sonic said, Uncle Chuck smiling.
"Good. Still, I'm not gonna let you get off easy for sneaking out." A smirk appeared on Uncle Chuck's face, setting Sonic down but immediately tackled him afterwards.
"Hey, no fair!" Sonic said, the both of them laughing as they enjoyed their play time.
"I didn't have any parents. Never knew them. I would try to ask Uncle Chuck about them, trying to find out where they could be, but even he didn't know."
We move to another scene, where Uncle Chuck was sitting on the couch when little Sonic came out. Uncle Chuck saw that something was on Sonic's mind, so he asked, "What's wrong, Sonic?"
"I was just wondering if… If you knew where my parents were."
That question made Uncle Chuck look down, wishing he knew the answer to that. There was a silence for a long time, until he finally decided to speak.
"I wish I knew too, Sonic. I wish I could tell you, but I'm as clueless as you are."
That's when Sonic started to get a little sad. "They didn't want me, did they?"
Uncle Chuck immediately came closer to Sonic, kneeling down to him so they could look eye to eye. "No, that's not it! Don't speak like that! I'm sure if there was any way they could have taken care of you, they would have!"
As Uncle Chuck was explaining this to Sonic, he could sense that the young one was on the verge of tears. So, he decided to do something about it.
"One thing about Uncle Chuck that still baffles me to this day, is how he knew what to say or what to do at any given time. He was the smartest, wisest man I've ever known. He was more than my best friend, it's like he became my father. His actions taught me that there was no greater thing than helping and inspiring others. It's why I try to help so many people today."
"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow… Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam."
As soon as Uncle Chuck started to sing, Sonic's forming tears suddenly went away.
"Little soldier boy, come marching home… Brave soldier boy, comes marching home."
At the end of his song, Uncle Chuck and Sonic were smiling at each other. Sonic got closer to Uncle Chuck and hugged him tightly. Uncle Chuck would do the same, embracing Sonic like he would never let him go.
"I wish I could say the story ended there. You know, those typical happy endings in stories where it makes you feel good? Unfortunately… this story continues."
Throughout the years, Sonic grew older, and thus, he became more difficult to deal with. There's always a certain point in a kid's life where they think they know more than their parents, or in this case, their uncle. Sonic was already rebellious when he was really young, and him getting older only made one of his signature traits worse.
And that was mainly him due to never being allowed to go anywhere. If it wasn't within five feet of the house, he simply wasn't allowed to go there.
Sonic not being able to socialize the way he wanted to, along with staying at Uncle Chuck's house for God knows how long at this point, it was driving him crazy.
It's one of the reasons why their last conversation together is a heartbreaker.
"I was growing up, and as the years went on, I couldn't stand to be in one place any longer. I'm a guy that's always about freedom. Looking back on it, I think Uncle Chuck was the same way once upon a time, but the loss of his wife and son, along with the fact that apparently the last thing my parents told him to do was to take care of me… It wasn't a good combination. It was brewing for years, but it would finally explode in this very moment."
"Sonic, get back here! You know tha-!"
"Know that I shouldn't be going out? I've heard that a million times. I can't continue to stay here and do absolutely nothing for the rest of my life!"
"Sonic, you know that you shouldn't be going out because of your powers! We've already discussed that it's too dangerous for you to go out!"
Uncle Chuck rubbed his head, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm only trying to protect you, and I know I'm not your father-"
Before Uncle Chuck could even finish, Sonic interrupted him.
"Then stop pretending to be!"
There was a silence between the two for a long while. For the first time in a long time, Uncle Chuck was left speechless, and Sonic, still in the heat of the moment, didn't realize what he said. He would speed off, Uncle Chuck yelling, "Sonic, wait!"
"I was an idiot. That was our last conversation we had together. He was only trying to protect me, and here I was, disrespecting the man that raised me. I said that he wasn't my father, but he was the only father I've ever had."
Hours would pass after that not so good conversation. Eventually, Sonic would return home like always, but when he did return home…
It was like he was living a nightmare.
Everything around Uncle Chuck's house, and Uncle Chuck's house itself, was on fire. Sonic's eyes were turned to shock, but as soon as they did, that's when they turned to fear.
In front of the house was Uncle Chuck's body in a pool of blood.
"UNCLE CHUCK!" Sonic shouted at the top of his lungs, running to his side and continued to yell his name.
Uncle Chuck's eyes would flutter, seeing Sonic, but his vision was blurry.
"Sonic…"
"I'm here, Uncle Chuck."
Sonic held Uncle Chuck's hand. Uncle Chuck was beginning to cry tears of joy, because he saw that Sonic was still alive.
Even with death knocking at his doorstep, he was still only concerned about Sonic.
"Sonic…" he began, but he could feel himself slipping away. Sonic could feel it too. Uncle Chuck's grip on Sonic's hand was staring to get weaker and weaker.
Uncle Chuck only let go because his body forced him to.
His eyes would close, his breathing stopping as his hand dropped, getting away from Sonic's hand.
He was gone.
Sonic looked at the lifeless body of the man that raised him, the man that gave him advice whenever he needed it, the man that swore his life to protect him. The man that taught him the lesson that there was no greater joy than helping others.
He could no longer talk to him.
Sonic began crying as hard as possible, his tears dropping on Uncle Chuck's body as he let everything out.
He wasn't there to protect to him.
End of Flashback
BGM: Continuing with Avatar: The Last Airbender – Zuko Beach Flashback
After Sonic told his story, Korra was left speechless. She had absolutely no idea that Sonic went through all of that. No parents, missing brother and sister, and how his rebellious attitude got the one man he loved the most killed.
Without question, this was the saddest story that Korra has ever heard.
Sonic had a blank expression on his face, the events of that night replaying in his head over and over again. It was hard to tell if he was feeling any emotion by the look on his face. Maybe he was trying to hide it?
Korra didn't know what to say, the silence only being broken by Sonic.
It was actually broken by a little laugh.
"You know, it's funny… It's actually Uncle Chuck's birthday today, by the way."
Yep, that's the part that absolutely broke Korra, her worry in her eyes being evident.
"I wasn't expecting to explain his history along with mine, but I guess that's what happens when you start talking."
Sonic was definitely hiding his true emotions, now looking at his reflection in the water. All he could see was his reflection forming into Uncle Chuck.
He looked up at the sky, almost acting like he was looking up at Uncle Chuck watching over him.
"All I hope is that I've made him proud."
Yep, that was it. Korra couldn't allow herself to not do anything any longer.
She grabbed Sonic's hand, their hands now being intertwined with each other. After that, Korra hugged him tightly, Sonic returning the gesture with a hug of his own.
Throughout his entire life, Sonic was seen as this independent boss who loved adventure and freedom. That part of him was still very much true.
However, there was another part of him, a deeper part of him that he really didn't show too often, but he's struggled with the fact that there was a possibility that he would always be alone. It's gotten better, due to him making friends on all of his adventures.
But the death of Uncle Chuck still haunts him.
Time passed, and after Korra comforted Sonic the best way she could, her body finally won and forced her to go to sleep.
This left Sonic alone, getting closer to the water as he looked up at the night sky.
He thought back to one of the most important conversations that he had with Uncle Chuck.
Flashback
"Sonic," Uncle Chuck began, grabbing the little Sonic and putting him on his lap. "There's no greater joy than helping and inspiring others. If you can inspire them to be great in whatever they want to do, there's nothing greater than that."
At the time, the little Sonic didn't fully realize what he meant, but in innocent kid fashion, he gave a nod. "Right!"
End of Flashback
BGM: Avatar: The Last Airbender – Leaves From The Vine
A small smile appeared on Sonic's face, continuing to look up at the sky.
"Happy Birthday, my Uncle."
This is when the tears came, closing his eyes as he began to break down, the events of that infamous night replaying in his head over and over again.
"If only I could have helped you…"
His tears started dropping into the water below him, still never taking his eyes off the sky.
"Leaves from the vine… Falling so slow… Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam."
Sonic's voice started to break, continuing to cry as singing his Uncle's song was getting tougher and tougher for him.
He would try his best to push through.
"Little… soldier boy…" His voice broke again, but he wouldn't stop, even with all the tears.
"Come marching home… Brave soldier boy, comes marching home."
End of Chapter 8: Not So Different
BGM: Sonic R – Number One
Blaze: Mako, the only thing that's blocking you is your mind.
Mako: What do you mean my mind?! My mind is as clear as ever!
Blaze: Yeah, sure.
Mako: So, you don't believe me?
Blaze: Of course I don't!
Next time on Don't Think Twice!
Turmoil
Sonic: Wasn't this chapter sad enough?
Author's Note: Oh man, we tackled a lot of topics in this chapter today, huh? This was tough to write, and as you guys know, this story is mainly powered by Sonic's and Korra's friendship. I wanted this chapter to be similar to The Storm, which is one of the best Avatar episodes ever. A deeper look at their histories allows the reader to really see where the characters are coming from, and why they are the way they are. This isn't stopping anytime soon, either, as Mako is now going to get this treatment. As always, if you guys like what you read, leave a follow and favorite. Finally, don't forget to READ AND REVIEW! See you guys next chapter.