Chapter Two

Mobotropolis, The Golden Age.

Sonic sat on his bed in his room at the castle feeling rather guilty.

After his parents marched him back to their quarters and given him a bath, they had lectured him about his reckless behaviour and how he could have caused more damage than just causing a mess in the dining room.

"You have a unique power my son." His mother Bernadette said, "One you are proud of, and I know how much it thrills you when you run, but you must be careful with your friends, as well as respectful when we stay here in the palace."

"Your mother is right Sonic; you could have put Princess Sally in danger." His father Jules said stroking his quills "You must be responsible with your speed, responsible, and careful."

Sonic sat there and listened to his parents, nodding in agreement.

It was true, he was born with the power of speed, and not just being able to run more than just a few miles per hour, but faster than the speed of sound, thus why he had been given the name Sonic.

It was a mystery to how the young hedgehog had acquired such a power, but his parents loved him all the same and told him to embrace his power, but he had to be careful with it.

Of course, like most children, he didn't always listen to his parents, and he was often told off and lectured, yet this conversation made him feel more guilty when they commented that he put Sally in danger.

That hit the hedgehog like a lightning bolt, and he said in a panicked tone that he never wanted to hurt Sally, as she was his best friend.


After the conversation, Jules and Bernadette said that he was confined to his room until the evening when the party was to take place, much to Sonic's dismay, but he understood he had to be punished for his reckless behaviour.

Sonic had tried to remain in his room, yet that niggling guilty feeling in his stomach wouldn't go away. He wanted to see Sally, and make sure she was alright, as well as find out what her parents had said to her regarding the incident in the ballroom.

Sonic got off his bed and over to the window.

Looking out outside, the palace gardens were in full bloom and the sun was shining brightly. Part of him regretted that he and Sally didn't go running outside, maybe they would have gotten into less trouble.

He looked to the east side of the castle, and he could see Sally's bedroom window and balcony.

Biting his lip, the young hedgehog wondered if he could quickly sneak out of his room, run up the wall to the balcony, check on his best friend, then sneak back to his room without anyone knowing he had left.


Looking down in the garden, seeing there was no-one about, not even the gardeners, he climbed out the window and climbed down into a tree before dropping to the ground, then revving his feet up, he shot up towards the castle wall to get to Sally's balcony which he succeeded and flipped onto it.

"Piece of cake!" he grinned to himself then looked to the window where he saw Sally laying on her side with her back to the window.

Sonic lifted his hand and gently tapped the glass.

At once, the ground squirrel looked up and turned around to see Sonic standing there.

She rolled off the bed and opened the window, as she did, Sonic could see tears in her eyes and her cheeks were wet and his heart sank.

"Sonic!" she said in a loud whisper "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you!" Sonic replied.

"How did you get up here?" Sally asked.

"I climbed down from my window then ran up the wall to get here!" Sonic answered "What happened? What did your parents say?"

Sally looked down sadly.

"They gave me the whole riot act, saying I was acting reckless and that I'm supposed to be a princess, and a lady!" she sighed "Daddy was angry, and mother…well she was just disappointed."

Sonic looked down.

"I'm sorry Sal!" he said, "I didn't mean to get you into trouble."

Sally shook her head.

"It's okay." She said, "I should take my duties as a Princess more seriously, but if I'm honest, I sometimes wish I wasn't a princess."

Sonic's eyes widened.

"You don't want to be a princess?" he asked.

Sally shook her head.

"Well, yes and no, I am happy with my life, but all the pressures than come with the life most of the girls my age in the city wish to have, it's hard. I can't tell you how many times girls look at me and think I've got the perfect life as a princess, but it's not perfect, it's difficult, and I wish I had a freer life, almost like you Sonic."

Sonic was surprised yet he smiled within at his friend's honesty.

"What did your parents say to you about what happened?" Sally asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Pretty much the same." Sonic reported "Yet, they didn't shout, they just told me firmly about using my speed responsibly and also that I could have put you in danger."

"You've never put me in danger!" Sally reassured the saddened hedgehog "You'd never hurt me!"

"I could have though!" Sonic replied, "I guess I should be more careful."

"Not too careful though." Sally said smiling through her tears "It may just save your life, or other people's lives!"

Sonic cocked his head on one side.

"You really believe that?" he asked.

Sally nodded in agreement.

"All heroes have a special power!" she winked "Just like in the games we play!"

Sonic chuckled.

"I'll keep that in mind!" he winked.


The Present

Sonic arrived back to Knothole after seeing Big and if he had caught any fish for the village.

Upon approaching the higher river where he knew there was a lot of fish, the large purple and white cat had shown him a large basket full of fish which pleased the blue hedgehog.

Big was a very good fisherman and had a kind heart, but he wasn't the cleverest Mobian, and he often got mixed up with chores and remembering the names of everyone.

He had lived on the outskirts of Mobotropolis and when the war against Robotnick started, he proved himself a help when it came to living in the forest as well as providing brute strength in building the huts and showing the Freedom Fighters where to find the best fish in the river.

Sonic picked up the full basket saying he would return with it empty so Big could catch more fish to which Big agreed gratefully.


Sonic wasted no time speeding back to the village where he saw Sally was with Rotor at one of the outdoor tables deep in conversation.

He could already tell they were planning their next mission to Robotropolis and he was eager to know what move they were going to make, but first he decided to get the fish to the kitchen area where a couple of Mobians were preparing some vegetables.

As Sonic entered, their eyes lit up at the basketful of fish.

"Curtesy of Big!" Sonic grinned as he poured the fish into a crate.

"Bless that Cat!" smiled the first cook, a female brown mouse "He may not be the smartest guy, but he's a good fisherman!"

"Agreed!" the other cook commented, this one a green frog.

Sonic nodded at them both and left the kitchen area to return the basket to Big.

After completing that task, the hedgehog decided to have another run through the west part of the Great Forest before returning to speak with Sally and Rotor.

He was surprised that Sally hadn't remembered her own birthday, that was a lie, he wasn't that surprised, as Sally never really liked a fuss being made of her, and she was too busy thinking of others than to think of herself.

Thinking back to the years before Robotnick, he remembered the extravagance the King and Queen would go through for their daughter's birthdays, and as Sally had gotten older, she started to not like the huge gatherings as much, as so many people fussed over her, not just her parents, but the servants, from the nannies to the cooks.

He remembered their secret conversations after many gatherings and schoolings and how Sally had confided that she didn't like all this pressure and how she wanted more freedom like him and how she didn't like the snide remarks from the girls during school hours and finishing school studies about the fact she was a princess.


Flashback

Mobius, The Golden Age.

Sonic sat under a tree staring at the sky, he kicked his foot up and down as he studied the clouds in the sky, he always found it fascinating that the clouds made such interesting shapes, and he loved to point them out to his parents and friends.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard footsteps and he sat bolt upright to see Sally walking over to him.

He grinned seeing his best friend coming over, but it soon faded when he saw Sally's face, she was looking rather pale and sad, and her eyes were red.

"Sal?" he asked concerned.

Sally walked over and lowered her head, her long auburn hair covering her face like a curtain, trying to find the fact that tears were streaming from her blue eyes.

Sonic stared in worry as the ground squirrel sat next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Sal?" Sonic placed a hand on her shoulder "What's wrong?"

Sally turned her eyes to him, half covered by her hair.

"Nothing…" she said in a small voice.

Sonic frowned.

"Sal, come on!" he said, "Something's obviously wrong, you're crying." He pushed her hair back so he could see her face.

Sally sighed and looked back to her knees.

"Please Sal!" Sonic begged "Talk to me."

Sally looked at the worried blue hedgehog and sighed again.

"I was in class today, and some of the girls I attend finishing school classes with kept making cruel remarks." She whispered.

Sonic glared.

"Did they?" he growled.

Sally nodded.

"They kept saying I was such a privileged girl with everything handed to her and that I was being ungrateful because I wish I wanted a less restricted life!" she sobbed softly "And that I was too common to be a princess as I prefer to wear street clothes than silks and satin!"

Sonic glared harder.

"Shame on them!" he hissed "They shouldn't speak like that to you Sal! One day you'll have to lead them, and they'll be grateful to have you!"

Sally looked up at she listened to Sonic.

"Trust me Sal! There's no-one I know who is smarter and cooler than you!" he grinned "If anything went wrong! They'd turn to you for help!"

Sally was silent for a second as she listened to Sonic.

"You…you really think I'm smart?" she asked.

Sonic nodded.

"Uh huh!" he said "And more way past cool than any other girl I know!"

Sally smiled through her tears then before Sonic knew what was happening, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"Thank you!" Sally said gratefully.

Sonic sucked in a breath, feeling awkward at Sally's affections, but he smiled and patted her back.

"Anytime Sal!" he said.

End Flashback


After a few minutes Sonic made it back to Knothole where Sally was looking at a map with Rotor the Walrus.

It was the same thing, Sally and Rotor coming up with plans for their next mission into Robotropolis, whether it was to free prisoners and slaves, or to disrupt Robotnick's next plan of attack to buy them more time into winning the war.

Seeing the ground squirrel so focused as she spoke to Rotor, he sighed sadly.

"You deserve something Sally." He thought "It's sad you didn't remember your own birthday, and it's your most important one as well, I know you don't like fuss, but I will make sure you have a day to remember, you deserve it, more than anything, you've done so much!"

Sonic is concerned for Sally as he has always been for her on her down days.

I wonder what he wants to do for her. Well we shall find out soon enough hopefully.

I bet a lot of you saw some foreshadowing in the Flashbacks.