Secret

Yep, it was me. I killed him. My best friend.

Kintobor: a doctor – said so on the name badge. No idea where he came from but I trusted him. I thought he knew what he was doing. Turned out I was wrong.

Others look up to me as some big hero, someone to depend on. What they don't know, is that the troubles and chaos are actually my bad. I took the gift he gave me and failed him in the most spectacular way possible. You can say what you want: I was just a kid; I didn't know any better. But I just don't buy it. I wanted to please him. I searched for that power of my own free will. Should have stopped and thought for a sec. Then maybe he'd still be here and I wouldn't have these endless nightmares.

It was impossible to find it in time, the grey emerald I mean. I wasn't smart enough. I wasn't fast enough, which is ironic for someone like me. And every time I came back a failure, he said it was okay. He'd find a way to compensate. I didn't get it. All I knew was the crackling green glow was getting bigger and brighter. Every instinct's telling me, hey, you know, this is a really bad idea! Did I speak up? Nope, I don't know jack about machines.

I get told am brave quite a lot. But the truth is, when I woke up after the explosion, I wanted to hide. Me, the guy who jumps head first into tornados. The one that explores haunted pyramids and chases down robots in asteroid belts.

Anyways, back then, the energy in the lab was so heavy I could barely move. My head throbbed. As I coughed through the smoke, all the beepy monitors and flashy buttons were dead. I spotted some twisted springs and frowned. The sorry corpse of the old sofa I used to read comics and nap on. Damn, that was a comfy sofa. One of the perks for being a test dummy, I guess. Weird as it sounds, the whole experiment thing was a sweet deal. Running on a glorified treadmill didn't hurt. Well, apart from that one time. How was I supposed to know not to break the sound barrier? I got some cool kicks afterwards though, power sneakers to deal with my speed. I got faster and stronger. I could have as many slushes as I wanted, even though he said the nutritional value was negligible. He always used big words like that and letters. Letters to stand for other things. Sometimes, it was like he spoke a different language. His favourite technobabble was about the R.O.C.C.

"It stands for Retro Orbital Chaos Compressor, my boy."

"Uh huh." For me, it stood for cuckoo. Who tries to seal evil into a bunch of Chaos Emeralds and rings? But he believed in his plan so badly, he wouldn't shut up about it. If you listen to something enough times you start to believe it yourself.

"Doc?" I called out.

It was weird creeping around. I half expected Kintobor to leap out as a joke. He was such an oddball, doing goofy stuff to make me laugh. I mean, I only had to picture those milk bottle glasses… and his ginger moustache? Well, I swear it had a life of its own.

"I'm going to kill you."

That was the time to run, like one of those horror movies, you ever seen those? Blood on the door but the victim goes in anyway? If I could literally slap my past self I would. I'd say, 'Don't. Just go. You ain't getting an explanation. Just run and get the hell out of there.'

I didn't run. I nosied. Bad habit, still haven't managed to kick it. So, I saw him. Except, the Doc wasn't the Doc anymore. The letters on his name badge were jumbled up. They read – Robotnik.

I dunno how many volts of chaos energy got zapped into him. His mutated body bloated into a gross egg shape. His clothes, shredded strips of red and white cloth. Something went crunch under my feet and I stared dumbly at the broken lenses on the floor.

"Die."

Looking up, the kindly blue irises were gone. Hollowed sockets of darkness bored into me. My body shook. Manic laughter echoed around the lab until I covered my ears. In the end, I bolted into the sunlight and kept running. Abandoned the newly created monster in his hellhole. What kind of hero does that?

I ran for a long time. Explored every green hill and snow-capped mountain. Smelt the flowers, grinded on rails and stayed away from water. I just needed a moment to get my head together.

Then the whispers started; people went missing. Just the odd one at first. I ignored it. Then entire families. Weird bug bots took over and it didn't take a genius to make the connection. I smashed one open once, didn't expect a squirrel to pop out! The machines were using the locals as living batteries. I knew then I couldn't look away anymore. I had to clean up the mess I'd made. The rest as they say is yesterday's chilidog leftovers.

So, when I get clapped on the back for a rescue, it doesn't really mean anything. I'm just relieved I stopped him. The only problem? He keeps coming back – with bigger and meaner ideas for world domination. And because I don't have the guts to kill the megalomanic, it never ends. I know it ain't me setting fire to forests or turning people into robots, but it wouldn't be happening. Take him out the equation and there's no drama lama.

The dumb thing is, I want to turn him back. No, I have to turn him back. Maybe if I collect enough rings or learn enough about the Chaos Emeralds, there'd be a chance. Even if it's nada, I'll take it. I have to fix him. If anyone found out, they'd probably pluck my spikes out one by one. Would my friends get it? Dunno. It'd be pretty hard to believe Sonic the Hedgehog is a two-faced traitor.

And as for those Chaos Emeralds. Yeah, they might look all innocent; twinkly little rainbow gems hovering in the sky. Take all seven, and you got a power boost to knock your socks off. Saved me more times than I can count. Turning super is a riot. It's just I lose control sometimes, get blackouts. I'm not the type to think too hard about it. Look ahead to tomorrow and move forward - that's my way. You don't have to worry about me though. I'm a hero. I know what I'm doing…