A/N- I can explain.
I know what you're thinking. "Writer's Domino, what're ya doing? Ya went from writing anime to Sonic? How could you go so low?" Just let me explain.
So I was never really a Sonic buff. I played, like, one of his games as a kid and saw a few episodes of a cartoon when I had the TV on for white noise in the background. Otherwise anything I knew was just general osmosis due to the fact he's so prevalent in internet and video game culture. So overall I had a pretty good gist of who he was.
Fast forwards, and the live-action Sonic movie trailer comes out. Me, being pessimistic due to the low success rate of video game films, ragged on the trailer like everybody else. "The Sonic model looks like a nightmare, movie'll sink, ha ha Gangster's Paradise," and that was that. Fast forward a bit more and the model goes from being a Lovecraftian abomination to something reasonable, and that spark of hope that the movie'll be good gets lit.
Movie comes out. A couple of weeks go by, I see the reviews, and I see that they're positive for the most part. So I decide to go see the movie despite not really knowing a lot about Sonic. Was pleasantly surprised to learn that the movie was decent, to the point I'd go as far as to say that it was good. Left feeling better than I thought I did.
More time passes afterwards, and as I'm watching more reviews on the movie the Unseen YouTube Algorithm Gods decide to pop a video in my feed that talked about the Archie Sonic comic series. Now, I'd heard whispers about the comic, but I didn't know jack about it. I watch the video, and thirty seconds in I begin to mentally tune it out and go to the comment section to look for funny comments, as is to be expected, when I notice one of the top comments talking about a character in the comic that died to a LCD-laced chili-dog.
"That can't be real," I think, "there's no way they'd put something like that in a kid's comic about Sonic the Hedgehog."
I do some research. By that, I mean I look up some stuff on Google Images. I'm scrolling through a bunch of Archie comic covers when one catches my eye: one of the covers for the Knuckles side series that went on for thirty-ish issues, and, due to me not having any context for what I was seeing, I immediately saw the cover as "Knuckles the Echidna and a ripped version of Bonzi Buddy fighting Kraven the Hunter from Spider-Man." It wasn't really that, but if you read it you know what I'm talking about.
"Okay," I say, "I gotta go deeper."
Now, it's around the same time quarantine due to the pandemic hits, so I'm stuck at home without much to do. That in conjunction to all this solidifies my decision to go ahead and read the whole comic series based on no other reason than I had literally nothing better to do, especially since I was close to finishing Monochromatic Ideals at the time.
So I read it. I go to a legally-dubious comic website and read it. The full 290 issues, all the side comics and series that are related to it, the whole shebang. And then I wiki-read the plot of a lot of the games so I had context to a lot of things.
Overall, it was... decent, I guess. Characters were kinda all over the place, plot was out there and really wild, and the first, like, whole quarter has that weird comic-humor thing that eventually gets completely dropped in favor of being a bit too serious for what the comic is, but for a comic series about Sonic it was decent enough.
But then 252 happens.
But then that damn Mega Man crossover happens and Eggman pulls a Pucci and resets the Archie Sonic universe.
You really get to feel what Emporio felt, too, because that's how bad the reset was. Whole characters are straight-up deleted from the story, whole plot threads, plot points, and story arcs are erased, issues upon issues of characterization are undone, whole new alternate histories that are almost never touched on replace the old, invalidating any time learning that, and some characters that did survive are replaced by alternate versions. It's to the point that I felt like Emporio at the end of Jojo Part 6, like I'm really in the back of the car along with these weird alternate versions of Sonic characters and as we're driving away I look up at the sky and ghostly apparitions of the previous characters are looking down at me from the clouds and are giving me thumbs-ups. This was done because the fine people at Archie wanted to incorporate the plot of the Sonic games in the story, so they decided to rehash the whole thing. This made it so that half of the whole story gets snapped out of existence, and the other half gets turned inside-out into an unrecognizable mess just to fit the plot of video games into the continuity.
(Edit: I was informed by a couple reviewers that the real reason for the reset was due to some legal issues Archie had, which I confirmed with some light research after the fact. It's way more understandable what happened with context, but my point remains the same.)
As a reader, I felt affronted. I felt like the extremely large time investment I just spent on this story was thrown out the window because the whole thing was reset and therefore completely invalidated. As a amateur writer I felt outraged, because it was such a nonsensical writing decision that was a single step away from destroying the story as a whole that I had to wonder what the hell the story writers were thinking.
But I mean, hey, I'm a fanfic writer, so what do I know?
Anyways, in response to my outrage, I decided that my next project was gonna be this. I'm writing this story more out of spite than anything else (a terrible decision, really, but I already planned the whole thing out and everything, so hey), but also to fix the story that I spent so much time on that got butchered while also writing something with an overarching theme of actions and consequences, 'cause, y'know, the meme (thanks Sammy), using the one method I do best: make a OC and write a story around him.
So this is that. OC-man and a theme, because themes are something I didn't really do that well with Monochromatic Ideals and am experimenting with, and OCs because they're my specialty. All together in a journey that'll span hundreds of thousands of words because I'm salty over a comic.
... Can't believe this is what it's come to. Sonic fanfiction. That thing everyone on the internet makes jokes over. I really am scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
P.S. There's never gonna be a A/N as long as this one. This is more or less me trying to make justifications to myself for writing this, because I'm still in disbelief that I'm going through with this. But a lot of books have that one page in the beginning that's basically just a author's note, so just treat this as that.
Recursion Error
Episode 1- Prologue
The Special Zone. A whole universe whose composition was in constant flux at the will of its one, singular ruler. There was no ground, sea, or sky, as in place of all that was an infinite abyss spanning in all directions that glowed a spectrum of colors beyond imagination. What structures did exist all existed at the whim of its sole inhabitant. A completely shapeless place beyond imagination, where the ruler was all but omnipotent. A true god.
That same individual, whose size rivaled mountains, was leaning against a structure of purple shapes piled onto each other as a mountain, his body littered in large, bleeding gashes. His body was completely still and lacked breath, was bled to the point that his wounds no longer bled, and his gargantuan left arm was missing entirely.
"God, huh? Didn't feel like it to me."
On a small, grass-filled floating platform below the god's body was a single individual that was looking up at the large body. His body was entirely covered by a red cloak, and a red hood over his head obscured any visible features. Over his shoulder he held a small duffel bad, which he threw on the ground under him. The top of the bag opened upon landing, and inside was a large, gray, diamond-shaped gem that glowed brightly inside the darkness of the bag.
The light it gave off illuminated the obvious bloodstains splashed on the gem, and the cloaked figure gave a sigh at the sight.
"I didn't wanna do this, Feist. Really. But you just wouldn't give me the damn rocks." The man looked to his side, where six similar gems, each glowing a different color, were piled next to him. Pale, human hands, the only visible feature on the figure, reached over to grab the gems and toss them all inside the duffel bag. "We just met, but... yeah, you didn't really seem like that great a guy. And I heard stories. But I didn't wanna kill you, damn it."
As if in response, Feist's body slipped off the makeshift mountain and fell into the endless abyss below. The cloaked man walked to the edge of the platform he stood on, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, and watched the giant panda's body fall far enough that it soon disappeared out of sight.
The second the body disappeared, everything shook. The platform, the rapidly-collapsing mountain, the ever-shifting structures dotting the distance, and even the space that comprised the world itself began to waver and shake. "Looks like the zone's disappearing due to his death. Sounds about right," the man muttered before turning around. "Well, whatever. Just gotta drop these things off. Then after that..." He paused, and began to walk forwards. "Yeah, and after that I still got a million things to do."
The shaking increased, and objects began falling all around. A particularly large piece of debris fell towards the grass-filled platform, but by the time it crashed into and destroyed the platform, the man had disappeared entirely.
And soon after, the Special Zone disappeared forever.
Shorty after the destruction of the zone, the man found himself sitting on a pipe with his legs dangling off the edge. In his left hand was the duffel bag containing the gems. In his right hand was a large claymore with a blade as long as he was tall, which he continually bounced off his shoulder in an almost anxious manner as he looked below him.
The room he found himself in was vast and dark, with metal walls found no matter where one looked. Metal pipes, large wires, and other loose electronics hung from every surface, and the ground below was so far down that it almost couldn't be seen. In the middle of this room was a large, raised platform with a walkway in its back that lead to a door at the back end of the room. This platform housed dozens of computer monitors, each of which were connected to cables and wires that hung from the walls and ceilings, and in front of those computers sitting in a large, round chair, was a man.
A creaking sound was heard as the cloaked man tightened his grip on his sword's hilt.
In front of those computers, in that chair, was a human man with wildly disproportionate appendages. His body was large and round, but his arms and legs long and spindly. His head was also rounded, with a pointed nose, a bald head that cleanly reflected the light of his computers, and a ginger mustache that was almost as wild as the manic grin on the man's face as he tapped away at his computers.
"Hey. Eggman. Up here."
The calling of his name caused the round man to sit up straight in his chair and look around wildly. His chair eventually swiveled around, and after some more looking Eggman looked up at the pipe that the cloaked man sat on. Though his eyes were hidden behind a pair of blue-tinted spectacles, Eggman's expression was easily readable as his mustache bristled and a pointed a gloved hand up at him in an overly dramatic manner.
"What the- hey! Just who are you!?" he demanded. His almost high voice that was roughened with age was enough to make the cloaked man twitch. "And just who do you think you are, sneaking into my perfectly-reputable secret lair without so much as a heads-up!? Do you realize just how discourteous-"
"You don't know how much I hate you, Eggman," the cloaked man interrupted, which quieted Eggman. "You couldn't comprehend it even with all your intelligence. I didn't even know it was possible to hate somebody this much until I started hating you. I can barely even think straight when I look at your face. Your voice makes me want to tear my ears off. You're the worst person that's ever existed, Robotnik, and I'll never forgive you for anything you've ever done.
"... Anyways, here, have all seven of the Chaos Emeralds."
And just like that, the duffel bag the cloaked man held was tossed down to Eggman's level. The bag bounced off the ground once before touching down and sliding to a stop near his feet. Surprise flashed through Eggman's features before his mouth pursed in suspicion, and his head bobbed up and down from the man with the red cloak to the bag a total of four times. Slowly, be bent down while maintaining his gaze on the hooded man while pulling the bag near him. It was only when he had both hands on the bag did Eggman look down and open the bag.
Surprise once again spread over his face as bright colors flooded out from the bag, all originating from seven gems piled right into the bag.
Eggman looked back up at the hooded man, who continued to silently observe him, and then scrambled back to his chair. He grabbed the handle of a small, rectangular device off his chair and brought it back to the bag, and then proceeded to wave the device over gems. The device soon let out a loud, whirring sound, and when Eggman turned it over to examine the glass screen on its front, he began to madly cackle as he carelessly tossed the device over his shoulder.
"I didn't believe you for a single second there, but these readings don't lie!" he gleefully exclaimed as he opened the bag further to examine the gems within it. "How in the world did you even manage to acquire these!? Last I checked six of these puppies were sequestered away in that infernal Special Zone, and one was locked away in Castle Acorn!" He paused, and then grimaced when he came to the gray, bloodstained gem. "Oh, what is this?" he asked, voice annoyed. "You couldn't have bothered to clean this one before delivering-"
There was a flash of metal, and the edge of the cloaked man's sword was pressed up against Eggman's neck. Eggman, who hadn't even seen the man move from the pipe to right in front of him, froze up and slowly rose up to his feet while raising his hands. Though the man was significantly shorter than him, the sword more than made up for it, and even as he rose to his full height Eggman found that the sword's tip was still pressed against his throat.
"It kills me that I could end it all right now, but can't. It kills me even more I have to give you these things," the cloaked man told him. "It'd be so easy, too. One cut and your head comes right off. How many people on this planet would praise me if I did it? How many problems would I solve at this very moment? It's the most tempting thing in the world, killing you right here and now."
As he talked, the hooded man pressed the tip of the sword harder and harder into Eggman's throat. The doctor, for his part, actually began to sweat but otherwise remained stoic at the sight of the blade pointed at him. He held his breath when the sword dug deeper, and then exhaled the breath when it was lowered away from him.
"Ah, well. It's all in accordance with His will, and it'll all work out in the end anyways. So I guess I can let it slide." The cloaked man's posture became more relaxed as he rested the large sword on his shoulders, and he went as far as to roll back and forth on his feet. "Congratulations," he said in a light tone of voice, "you get to get off scot-free. Enjoy."
"... Right," Eggman mumbled as he took a step backwards away from the other male. "I've eternally subjugated people for doing far less, you know," he threatened, one hand rubbing at the spot on his neck the sword had pressed into.
The cloaked man shrugged. "You could try," he agreed, and then bounced the claymore up and down off his shoulder. "Be a waste of robots, though."
"Hmph." The doctor looked down, and an interested hum escaped him. "Your hands," he noted. "They're human. Or are you an Overlander? So hard to differentiate the two, I tell you."
A bemused chuckle left the hooded man. "I'll be real. I don't even know anymore," he admitted.
"Huh. That's rather vague," Eggman commented. "Just what is it you're trying to accomplish here? I would say you giving me the seven most powerful items in the known universe is a sign you wish to join me all-powerful and illustrious empire, but that just isn't your intention, now, is it?"
"Pfft. Hell no," the cloaked man said. "I wouldn't be caught dead joining you. The fact we're both wearing red right now is purely coincidental." He gestured to his red cloak and the black and red outfit Eggman wore, and then spun on his feet and turned his back to the doctor. "Look, I just handed you over literally unlimited power with no strings attached," he told him as he began walking away. "Don't worry too much about the details. They're yours now, seriously. Now go build up your war machines so you can carry out your evil plans for world conquest or whatever. I don't care."
The distance between them began to grow, with Eggman clutching the bag of emeralds to his chest while the hooded man continued to walk away. It was when the cloaked figure was halfway down the walkway did the doctor choose to open his mouth and shout "Who are you, anyways!?" to the man, but he didn't so much as slow down when the question reached his ears.
Right as he neared the door leading out of the room, the door opened and a human even shorter in him scrambled through, with his long nose pointed downwards as he squinted at a small, digital screen he held in his hands. "Doctor, I really think we oughta discuss our production quotas at site C," he called out. "I've done a little resource inventory and after crunching some numbers-" He looked up, and then did a double-take when he saw the cloaked man right in front of him before coming to a stop. "W-who are you?"
Thwack!
Instead of answering him, the cloaked man punched the small man in the face. He cried out in pain and fell onto his backside on the platform, and the cloaked man released a satisfied sigh as he shook his left hand. "Never gets old," he said in a wistful tone before walking past the short man and disappearing through the open door.
All of this was largely ignored by Eggman, who continued to examine the bag of gems in his hands. He'd eventually glanced up at the bag to see if he could catch one last glimpse of the man, but by then he had already left. The shorter, long-nosed man on the ground and rubbing at the growing bruise on his face was still ignored.
"I'm not one to question a gift, but even I have to admit that this is too good to be true." He shrugged, and then turned around to his chair and began to climb in. "Well, doesn't matter now!" he claimed as his chair spun towards his computer monitors. "Pick yourself up off the ground, Snively! All the power in the world just fell into my lap and I aim to use it!"
A groan followed by approaching footsteps reached his ears as Snively stepped next to his chair, still rubbing at the bruise on his face. "So we're scrapping that plan, then?" he asked. "The big plan involving the whole fleet and the mechs and all the bombshells we just produced?"
"Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things now that all seven Emeralds are in my possession!" Eggman claimed with a wave of his hand. "Let that rodent continue his resistance in his cozy little kingdom. My ultimate victory against him will be all the sweeter if I conquer the whole of the world utterly and completely before ending him! It would be definitive proof of my victory against him, and it's only after I see the light of hope leave his eyes will I finally end him. And with these Emeralds, I can make it all possible." He smiled, and his fingers began to fly over the keyboard. "Time to draw up the battle plans, Snively. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
A/N- This is technically Episode 0, but if I do that then the episode numbers don't line up with the chapter numbers and it would drive me crazy. You know how it be.