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Chapter 7 What it Takes to Be…

Everything felt like time had slowed down, Sonic continued to scream watching the man that had taken up the responsibility as a father to him be ripped apart just as a blinding light ran him through. Sonic felt himself convulse under the pressure of being kneed in the face, within him, he felt a pulling sensation when everything erupted in white. Everything was silent, aside from the ringing that begun to befall his ears. When the whiteness started to fade, the constriction within him completely disappeared.

Sonic winced, feeling an overwhelming presence pulsing in the air. His eyes widened, finding the source of the power – Izuku floated inches off the ground, his skin glowed with energetic green sparks that occasionally licked the air, his hair stood on its ends with the electric energy rushing through the area around him. Sonic held his breath recognizing the sparks, But the crystals are within me –.

"You are not ready to harvest the full power. In order to protect you, a substitute had to be made." A voice whispered in the hedgehog's mind, he stared at Izuku recognizing his voice through the eerie voices underlying his own voice.

Izuku opened his eyes, the same divine color glowed within his green eyes – his gaze settled on the three boys, in a blink of an eye the agents that kneed them down were shot off the highway bridge. The agents snapped out of their hypnotic stand-still trance with the threat before them and in one quick motion they opened fire.

Izuku seemed unfazed with the bullets rippling into metal dust from the suffocating aura surrounding him. His gaze stayed on his boys taking in their condition to ensure their safety before the glowing eyes shifted towards the desperate and horrified agents. The power the crystals had were overwhelming – everything seemed so much brighter and slower, his eyes understood everything around him as if every secret and knowledge of the world were known to him. The green divined eyes stared deeply to each person's soul on top of the bridge – only seeing suffocating evil and greed.

The crystals surged in a similar emotion that could be defined as disgust and rage, "No more would we be used for evil!" Izuku felt the energy coursing within him, stretching his skin and muscles into overdrive – he moved faster than the eyes can see, slewing through drones and agents.

The Eggman studied intently on his reading, the energy signatures spiking to nuclear levels. No mere human eyes can keep up with the power that seemed to ripple through time itself as their target, Izuku Midoriya, literally appeared in a blink of an eye to only be gone the next blink – leaving behind exploding carnage on the ground and vehicles from unfortunate agents.

He watched in utter amazement, the power itself wasn't just electricity – but much more. Bodies erupted into different fatalities – just being near Izuku Midoriya's presence, one's body erupts into flames, burning straight to the bone. Others were diced into pieces leaving evidence of there once being a body from the mere amount of blood spatter.

Eggman awakened more of his battle bots, infusing their power system with the electrified quill his robots obtained. If his creations can tap into just a fraction of that power, perhaps they stood a chance to inflict damage onto that creature that was suffocating all of them by his mere aura.

His battle bots charged up with the similar energy from the quill, activating them all at once to make sure at least some foot soldiers were still standing to witness the world-changing energy that is ripe for the taking.

Eggman smiled largely as the battle bots honed in on Izuku Midoriya, matching his speed and successfully landing a hit onto the energized human. His slight glee was short lived when he noticed no evident injury falling onto the human from the initial blows, No matter, eventually he will tire and the blows will hit!

Izuku felt as though his body had a mind of its own, it would crackle in such speeds that shocked him – the agents that threatened him and his family literally erupted away, diminishing the threat from this world – a complete slaughter, the horrifying numbers of agents and their weapons meant nothing to him in this state of mind and body. The slight subconsciousness to cringe and vomit from the carnage he had inflicted were overridden from the need to protect – to eliminate the evil.

His mind was overcome by the consciousnesses of the entities that were the chaos crystals, willingly allowing himself to be their tool to protect, to ensure they will never be forced to succumb to evil. His attention and that of the crystals were focused on the advancing robots – feeling the metal breeching through and landing a hit onto his body.

Izuku was slightly unfazed, merely caught off guard by the fast movements of the robots. Charging up a mighty fist, Izuku smashed through the robots – creating a sonic boom that shattered through the first wave of robots.

His electrified green eyes shifted across the blood-stained road, littered with body parts and mechanical pieces. His eyes moved passed his cowering boys that huddled onto each other while Knuckles watched intently with the two younger ones shielded behind him. Izuku's gaze settled onto a man a couple of yards from him who was feverishly commanding the robots to execute the job at hand. Izuku charged up, flashing towards the next threat that laid in front of his boys.

The information flowed through Izuku's mind as he spoke with the crystals speaking with him as one, "Ivo Robotnik, that power does not belong to you."

The Eggman flinched as the energized quill within his custody evaporated underneath the suffocating energy – as though it had returned to its origin. Eggman faltered back horrified as his robots began to be laid to waste by a mere wave of a hand that crumbled the metal with the sheer force of kinetic energy. Eggman broke out into a run towards his mobile lab, Izuku stared after him to only flash in front of the fleeing man and smash his head in one quick motion.

Izuku glanced down at the spazzing doctor until his feeble attempts of life succumbed from the blood oozing out of his skull. The resolve to eliminate everyone that had come into contact with the chaos crystals began to subside with the pleased emotion ruffling within him due to the crystals, "All that had yearned for our power has been eliminated…" Izuku shuttered from the intensity of the voices within his head.

His gaze settled on the boys again, noticing their heads turned up watching him with teary eyes. He heavily took a step towards them, feeling the power of the crystals still throbbing underneath his skin. "It's all right now, you are all safe." Izuku croaked feeling his voice had become raspy from the overload of emotions and knowledge that had befallen him as his gaze stayed on them.

Sonic and Tails wiped their eyes feverishly to prevent more tears from being shed as they smiled back at the adult that was slowly making his way to them. "Dad!"

Izuku smiled at them warmly, his smile faltered slightly hearing more sirens in the distance as well as helicopter wings closing in on their location. The destruction and massacre cannot go unnoticed for long. He winced slightly as another assault of voices warned him, "Your time is spent… Do what you must to ensure our avatar's survival."

Izuku reached the boys brushing their fur back from their ears as he poured power over them that closed up their minor wounds. Sonic and Tails clung onto him, burying their faces into his clothing. Izuku sighed heavily as he returned their hugs, "I'm so sorry you had to see that –."

"Don't say that! You were protecting us!" Sonic protested clinging onto Izuku tightly.

Izuku smiled warmly down at him then to Tails who nodded in agreement. He could feel the crystals continue to pulse through him as the sirens continued to draw near, Izuku shuttered as the toll of the energy was starting to get to him.

Knuckles observed intently, noticing the subtle changes – the slow deterioration, Izuku Midoriya cannot withstand the power, he was an unsuitable host, "Why would you do this…?"

Izuku gazed towards Knuckles knowingly, "You were all in danger, I had to protect all of you. Sonic is still too young to use the full extent of the crystals – they couldn't risk their avatar from coming into danger and I agreed to fuse with them in order to protect all of you, but at a price."

Sonic whipped his head to Izuku, "W—What are you talking about?!"

Izuku gave a sad but reassuring smile to Sonic, "It isn't your fault, this was my decision." Izuku's appearance paled as the divine glow slowly begun to seize. The adult closed his eyes mustering the fleeting energy for one final wish for their protection. Within his hand a cloth bag appeared out of thin air, in it were dimensional rings to ensure where ever they are, they will always continue to be safe. Izuku reached in and grabbed a ring, pleading with it to his desired location for them. He flickered his wrist as he threw the ring – creating a portal to another dimension.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" Sonic pleaded feeling the gravity pulling onto him towards the portal.

Izuku hugged Sonic and Tails heavily, holding back a sob as he felt the strength leaving him. He dropped the bag into Knuckles' hand as he let go of the boys. Knuckles held his footing, resisting the gravitational pull of the portal, Sonic and Tails clawed at the ground as they were dragged closer to the portal.

Sonic and Tails were pleading and screaming towards Izuku to come with them. Izuku glanced at them with a sad, reassuring smile, "I will catch up – remember that I will always be with you. You were the best things that have happened to me." Izuku felt tears running down his face, he felt a burning sensation running through him as his skin started to wither and peel.

Knuckles lost his footing as he crashed into the other two boys, he exclaimed as he punched through the asphalt ground, to anchor himself before he could touch the portal. The two boys grabbed onto him, Tails clutching onto his leg while Sonic gripping onto his shoulder. They screamed in horror watching in despair as they witnessed Izuku age rapidly with his skin turning wrinkled and ashen. Flecks of skin and muscle peeled off simultaneously. The three boys lost their battle with gravity, as they were sucked into the void to another dimension. Just as the first set of responders came onto the scene, the remains of a skeleton looked back at where the portal had just vanished into oblivion, the remanence of tears leaked from its empty sockets as the bones evaporated into the wind…

Years Later…

Sonic was perched on a mountain cliff gazing down towards the city below him. Absorbed in the silence with just the breeze, he had become accustomed to solitude. Solitude from people that is, on that horrible day watching Izuku sacrifice himself to save them – those loathing gems returned to Sonic. He wanted to be unaware of them, but the gut-wrenching feeling fell upon him because he knew they desired him to be their avatar. That the old man was just a stepping stone – a tool for them to exploit just to save him.

Sonic had even loathed himself – everything that happened was because of him, his inability to follow the rules, the blasted power that was within him, not being able to use that power to protect them and forcing Izuku's decision – it was all his fault.

Sonic had tried to move past it, but he always came back to that one definite. After the three of them had been forced into the portal, they attempted to rehabilitate themselves from the horror they had witnessed. Tried to make a life for themselves to ensure Izuku's sacrifice was not in vain, Sonic tried to put on a façade to reassure the others. But he had learned that he had become a magnet for despair and misfortune, the crystals will always draw on one's lust for power – people seeking them out just by brief interactions with him. He had subconsciously pushed away Knuckles and Tails for that very reason, worried that they too will succumb to the temptation that mere people had fallen under.

Tails had attempted to get through to him, to reassure it wasn't his doing – but the claims fell on deaf ears. After years of trying to convince him that it wasn't his doing, Tails couldn't find a way to reach him. The fox had tried everything he could think of but fallen under the reasoning that Sonic needed space and time to think.

Sonic was so fed up with it all, he had begged the Echidna to take the crystals out of him for years. Knuckles tried, but the crystals resisted to return to their sacred ruins imbedding themselves into Sonic's very soul to not achieve the separation. Much to Knuckles' dismay, the crystals will ultimately stay with the hedgehog.

Out of the three of them, Sonic had stayed in the dimension Izuku wanted them to start a new life in. Tails and Knuckles were accustomed to hopping into different worlds with the bag of rings Izuku left behind, but Sonic had no desire to leave the world. Izuku believed this world would be their future and he'd be damned if he soiled Izuku's wish. But Sonic noticed with time things change, this dimension Izuku wanted them to be in was ordinary – none of the people that resided here had powers, they were all like Izuku. No one had extraordinary powers, everyone was normal and it had become aware to Knuckles that they would need to stay out of sight if they were to live in a world that didn't have creatures like them.

Sonic knew it had been a very long time since he had set foot in this world's civilization. He was aware the crystals had kept him alive more than the average years one should live, their claim of reasoning was to wait for a new avatar to appear that would embrace them. He didn't fully notice the slight changes of the civilization; his real dismay of that realization was seeing Knuckles and Tails age quicker than him when they decided to visit him. Out of spite, he kept the crystals hostage, denying them usage. After all the misfortune and the crystals being the destroyer of lives, Sonic had made it a life mission to prevent their influence from further ruining other's lives.

Sonic had gone through the different stages of grief in this solitude, he ultimately lost Tails and Knuckles to old age. Those two that had become brothers to him tried to quench the awareness of what the crystals had done – alienating him with the divine powers that were unworldly that would one day leave him alone. Even his brothers' children and their children's children started to forget about him, him becoming nothing more than a ghost practically an entity out of everyone's reach. He didn't mind it; it was his punishment for everything that had transpired – for unintentionally resulting in many innocent people's deaths throughout the years in the pursuit of the crystals' power.

But what had brought him here, what made him contemplate this final decision to end this crusade with the chaos crystals was seeing how much this place had evolved. It was his last straw; it must have been eons to explain this development of society. Only what he felt was sadness and rage that even Izuku's ordinary world – the world he sacrificed to send them to, was now experiencing the phenomenon known as quirks. Sonic realized that powers have yet again found their way into all dimensions, that even Izuku's sacrifice was not even worthy of sparing a world that was extraordinary through time… The evolution even slandered Izuku's memory – because there were people that looked similar to Sonic. There were humanoid creatures and they had mistaking him of being seen as one of them, one with a "Mutated quirk" and it drove him to insanity and heartache.

Sonic closed his eyes taking in the nice chilling breeze that ruffled his blue fur. It has been nearly ten thousand years, after much thought and resolve, Sonic had decided he needed to finally forgive himself… Every now and then he would tamper with the cyan crystal that governed over the spirit and would have long talks with the embodiments of his fallen family. Sonic never had the guts to call upon Izuku, fearing to endure the pain all over again. But today he will go through with it, he needed to… just this once. His heart wrenched when he finally came face to face to the apparition of Izuku, he felt like a child again seeing the vivid green of Izuku's irises and that warm smile of his.

"Sonic… look how big you've grown." Izuku smiled at him.

The hedgehog gave a sad smile, "Nah, I barely aged in appearance. You should have seen Tails and Knuckles; all of their fur went white, they were more older than you, old man." Nostalgia hit him with him falling back to one of his normal responses to Izuku fussing over him.

Izuku gave him a sober gaze, "I missed a lot huh…"

"You shouldn't have missed any of it, if I hadn't come into your life with the crystals, you would have still been alive to see us grow up." Sonic feverishly held back sniffles and tears.

Izuku frowned at Sonic, reaching out to him to only have his hand go through him, "No, what happened wasn't your fault. It was my decision, mine. And my life would have never felt as complete if I didn't have you within it, do you understand that?"

Sonic choked on tears, rubbing his eyes and nodding frantically. "I just wanted to let you know, you were the person I wanted to be like – you showed me what a hero looked like… And I'm going to follow you in your footsteps."

Izuku smiled at him, his image going in and out of focus with Sonic's uncontrollable sobs to focus on the cyan crystal. "All I ever wanted was for you boys to find a place to belong –."

"You did that! We wouldn't be where we are without you. And I want to let you know, your sacrifice wasn't in vain. We became stronger and went on our own paths and I know where my path led… I forgive you… I forgive myself for what had happened, no one is to blame but one thing." Sonic looked at the apparition determinedly, allowing himself to stand tall, "I'm going to make sure no one else will endure what we had."

Izuku gave Sonic a sad and loving smile, just before he shimmered away. Sonic closed his eyes stirring up the Chaos Crystals, finally willing to use them much to their delight. He jumped through a portal to a dead world that had once known great evil from the influence of the crystals. No one will be harmed by the likes of you again. Sonic released the energy within him, "You all do not want to be used for evil right? Aren't you just as tired as I am to be seek out by your power? Well, how about we end it all here so you will never have to be used again. Allow me to be your last avatar!"

Sonic willed the crystals to do his bidding as he exposed them to their cores, enacting each and every one against the other to degrade their abilities to a subatomic level where no one and nothing would ever be influenced by the Chaos these crystals brought. Never in the eons where the crystals have inhabited, was there a single soul who would decide to forfeit the power that can alter universes to ultimately ensure that power can never fall into the wrong hands – the crystals were moved by this will and courage that was displayed. Sonic released all of the energy, a cosmetic of light erupted everywhere – painting everything white.

Sonic smiled softly, opening his arms as his soul was finally released from its cage. The dull thuds of the depleted gems were beautiful music to his ears, the brightness within the crystals darkened – rendering them to mere paper weights. No more can they be used to cause chaos, and no more will a new vessel be sought out… The price to be paid to wipe out an immense power from existence. Sonic's conscious was free to roam the multi-universe for eternity, to be able to endure the lives that were spared – he can forever live through others experiences. Ensuring the life of others over one's own self is the greatest sacrifice, that is what it takes to be a hero…

The end, thank you all for reading this story and thank you Samuel Dudek for requesting me to write it. I hope you all enjoyed this Angst/Hurt Comfort story. If you like Angst and Horror, check out my profile for more completed works. (: