Author's Note: Sorry that this is a bit late, but here's chapter 2!
I hold no rights to Sonic the Hedgehog. All properties of the franchise belong to Sega. I only own the OCs(including the titular character of this story).
Chapter 2: Dangers up Ahead.
Professor Amathyst Amantha, known for studying astrology as well as genetic materials, was pacing back and forth in his lab nervously as the issue of evacuation was ordered throughout Clocksworth Town due to the unsuspected attack of unknown people. The aging dark-grey hedgehog, unable to leave since he wanted to help, but he had no idea who these men were, and more than that, he worried about his daughter. Last he heard of her, she was coming home for a visit so they would spend time together for the Clocksworth Festival, but was either late or worse, she had been hurt, kidnapped or dreadfully killed by the invaders.
Suddenly the door and ceiling blew open, making him nearly jump out of his skin as he spun around and saw, to his horror, the invading men in helmets come crashing down and surrounding him with their weapons to prevent his escape.
"W-what? What is this?" Amathyst demanded, before he heard an evil chuckle and looked up, his eyes widening in shock as a Mobian Platypus, white in fur/feather colours, his beak black and narrow, having three long strains of hair, wearing a pair of glasses and black garments descended with a black glove with red tips and landed safely on the metal floor. "You!?"
"Hello, Amathyst. It's so nice to see you again." The Platypus greeted with a wicked grin.
"Starline...! You're behind this!?" The grey hedgehog exclaimed, narrowing his eyes angrily as he recognized the figure of Dr. Starline, a sadistic Platypus from their childhood.
Dr. Starline chuckled again. "Yes, indeed. I'd say that you haven't changed a bit, but that would be a lie, now would it?"
"Whatever you want with me, I won't allow it! I'd rather be dead!" Amathyst growled, standing his ground despite that he had no fighting skills, but he knew that whatever the evil Platypus had in mind it was cruel.
"Dear Andrew, or else you don't go by that nick-name anymore, hm? You have no choice for that matter. What I require is your help in learning of the true orgins of the stars...and the Princess freed from the Twilight Cage." Starline responded, shaking his head as though what he heard was the saddest thing in the world.
"Princess? Twilight Cage? What are you talking about?" Amathyst, who went by his childhood nickname Andrew, asked while raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Oh, come now. There's no need to be in denial. I know you hold the child, and once I collect her, I will gain access to the Twilight Cage, and form an army to alliance and surpass and work with the most greatest and billiant genius Dr. Eggman, so he can rule Mobius!" Starline grinned, spreading his arms out.
"Why would you want to work with Dr. Eggman!? He shattered the world a month ago, and Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends worked hard in restoring the planet!" Andrew protested angrily, having heard stories from his daughter in her letters not long after Sonic, Sun and Light Gaia restored Mobius.
The platypus scoffed, frowning at the mention of the blue hedgehog's name. "Ah yes, Sonic the Hedgehog, the hero of Mobius and the little nuiscence. That boy is always on the good doctor's case. Unfortunately, that child is not here now and is unaware of what is happening."
"No, but his friends are!" An unfamiliar voice shouted from above, confusing the enemies and the kind scientist as they looked up, only to see an orange blur Spin Dash across the room and knocking down a couple of the men, the tight ball uncurling itself, revealing as Sun who then punched and kicked several more, using his gripping hooks to swung around the lab and knocked down more.
The orange hedgehog was soon followed by Espio's invisibility attacks, added by Vector coming in and knocking the daylights out of the stunned men who, under Starline's orders, attempted to attack him and soon Charmy came in with a Sting-dive-bomb attack. Despite Starline's orders, Sun and the Chaotix easily dodged most of the attacks and took out virtually all of them save for five who stood protecting the unamused evil Mobian who frowned at their appearances, while the four heroes stood protecting the stunned Andrew.
"You ain't goin' nowhere, beak-head!" Vector growled angrily.
"Bad guys always lose and you're one of 'em!" Charmy added, glaring at the Platypus.
"So you are the one behind the Hybrians. That explains everything. You will be punished for the evil deeds you have committed." Espio hissed.
"Ah, the lowly ranked Chaotix. The preschool detectives, I assume." Starline scoffed. "You three are more pathetic than I thought you would be."
"Hey, who're you callin' lowly ranked preschool detectives!?" Vector and Charmy exclaimed angrily, insulted.
"You know, I kind of thought you would be like these mutant creeps, but seeing that you're normal, I'm guessing you're just an insane scientist who's a number 1 fan of Ro-butt-nik, which is disturbing and disgusting, by the way." Sun commented to Starline, glaring furiously at him.
Starline scoffed at the unfamiliar hedgehog. "You dare to mock Dr. Eggman's original name, boy? What do you know?"
"My friends and I overheard the part where you mocked Sonic!" The former Werehog snapped angrily. "Nobody taunts him! Not on my watch!"
"Oh? And who are you? I never heard of you before, child."
"My name is Sun the Hedgehog, and Sonic is one of my best friends! I won't let you hurt or kidnap anybody, especially this guy behind me and the Chaotix!" Sun responded.
'So this is Sun the Hedgehog my little girl's talked about. He's everything Staria has said.' Andrew thought to himself. What were the odds of Sun the Hedgehog being here in Clocksworth Town? Also, from what he heard, he was horrified by the name of the Hybrians, the full realization that Starline was behind this.
"Sun the Hedgehog, you say? Oh yes, I heard from my assistant Grotto of a small orange hedgehog causing problems with my Hybrians." Starline remarked, smirking.
"Assistant? He's a monster like the rest of these guys!" The former Sonic clone shouted in disbelief.
Starline just chuckled, "That is where you are wrong, boy. The Hybrians are superior to normal Mobians and humans, who are all pathetic weak little creatures of the world. The planet deserves better. It's bright, glorious future is that of Dr. Eggman."
Sun's eyes narrowed while the Chaotix were just as furious. "What, you mean turn the whole world into a giant Iron ball? Who the heck are you anyway, Bill-boy?"
"I see that you are quite rude. Very well, I am Dr. Starline, the leader of the Hybrians and top future assistant of Dr. Eggman." Starline explained.
"WHAT!?" Sun exclaimed, horrified as his eyes widened in disbelief. He heard that name before; one that he, Sonic, Chip and Star were told of by Gaiver. "You-You're the one who forced Gaiver to turn into a giant gorilla!? I thought you were dead!"
"Ah, so you have heard of me from my failed experiment. Quite fascinating as I heard nothing of you, not even when I have recaptured him." The evil Mobian sounded quite flattered. "I have however escaped my death and watied patiently and I am quite pleased that my prototype, Gaiver, has been a successful after all, but it's not yet perfect. I just need Professor Amantha to help me with my goal, and the power of the Princess of the Twilight Cage."
When he heard of Gaiver being recaptured, Sun was even more horrified; he remembered Gaiver mention about what happened, but now he was confused on what Starline meant, and shocked that the half-giant was still growing and had been captured by the insane Mobian.
"Where's Gaiver!? Let him go!" The orange hedgehog demanded.
"You hold no power over me, child. Seeing how you are a very troubling hedgehog, I will be back for Professor Amantha...and the Princess he has been hiding for years." Starline grunted, backing away while gesturing his men to follow him, before he held up his hand with the unusual glove which began to glow red.
"Hold it!" Vector shouted as he, Espio and Charmy charged to attack him and Sun followed, but to their and Andrew's shock, Starline and his remaining men vanished in red particles, causing the four Mobians to crash onto the ground and piled on top of each other. Even the defeated men who'd been unconscious were gone.
While the crocodile, chameleon, young bee and hedgehog struggled to free themselves, Espio muttered in disbelief. "He's gone."
"How did he do that!?" Vector exclaimed, bewildered.
"Where'd he go? He just disappeared like a ghost." Charmy muttered, very confused.
"Just great...Not only this guy is insane, he can teleport himself and his army anywhere they want." Sun grumbled, tapping the floor with his fingers, his chin resting underneath his other hand.
"Here, let me help you." Andrew spoke up, approaching the slightly crippled younger Mobians, helping to get them to stand up and untangle each other. "Are you boys alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Are you?" The younger hedgehog replied.
"Yes, I'm alright. I can't thank you enough for saving me." The older hedgehog replied, smiling softly before saying to the orange hedgehog. "So you're Sun the Hedgehog. I've heard quite a lot about you, young man."
Sun blinked, before realizing what he meant and shrugged. "Yeah, that's me. You must be Professor Amantha, Star's father."
Andrew chuckled, "Yes, that's right. I must say, you really are a handsome hedgehog, just as my little girl has said in her letters, and very brave and daring."
"Uh...Thanks?" Sun muttered, feeling rather embarrassed by the compliment, his cheeks going slightly pink. Sure he did like Star a lot, and she liked him too, but that didn't mean they were like...in that sort of relationship. They only just met a month ago!
In fact, Sun met everybody just a month ago...given that he was still very new, but he couldn't let anybody else other than his friends know that. It was a secret that shouldn't be let out in the world.
"Looks like Sun's blushing." Vector couldn't help but tease.
"Didn't he do that when he talked to Star though?" Charmy pointed out, only to have his mouth covered by Espio and held by the Mobian Crocodile, hoping that both Andrew and Sun didn't hear the six year old say that.
When the two hedgehogs glanced at the trio, Vector nervously said. "Uh, don't pay any attention to him. He's just being a kid that he is."
Sun raised an eyebrow skeptically, then decided to brush it aside and turned to the professor. "Anyway, we're glad that you're safe and all, but...what's going on here?"
Realizing that, seeing that Espio has come, the group needed answers on what was happening, Andrew sighed and gestured the younger Mobians to follow him. "I'm afraid the situation is worse than we thought, with information even I'm unaware of."
In an unknown location, half an hour after Starline and his remaining men and those who were knocked out returned, the evil scientist was in his huge massive lab, over-seeing the progress of his experiments, many people, humans and Mobians changed up inside tubes full of liquid and undergoing process of being transformed, walking past the lined up capsules.
"Such a failure to retrieve Professor Amantha, and yet Sonic's friends have proven to be just as meddling as he is. Especially his new friend, Sun the Hedgehog, who bears a much more powerful resemblance than Shadow the Hedgehog. Then again, what good would humans do for mistaking them both by mere face appearance?" Starline muttered to himself, frowning in disappointment.
As the evil platypus walked, heading towards the largest cage of all, he couldn't help but be quite annoyed with Sun's interference. "The boy lacks speed, yet he gains such impressive strength, I must admit. But why have the name Sun? Surely his parents would have come up with a better name than that. Then again, I suppose some male hedgehogs of the new generation go for names that suit them; Sonic for his speed, Shadow because of colouring and lurking in the shadows, and Sun...he is similar to the colour of the sunlight."
This needed to be further investigated. Surely there was more to the orange hedgehog than the boy was letting on. His connection with Sonic must be more than just a close friendship. Until now, he knew all of the blue hedgehog's family and friends.
Sonic himself, obviously, Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog, the little two-tailed fox boy Miles Prower who everyone calls Tails, the Sonic-obsessed fan-pink hedgehog girl Amy Rose, the guardian of the Master Emerald and last echidna in existence Knuckles, the little rabbit girl Cream and her Chao pet Cheese and her mother Vanilla, the bat thief and GUN agent Rouge, a human boy who now resides in Westopolis, the Chaotix of course, and the ultimate life-form Shadow. He knew of this because he spied on them while learning more of his idiol and rival Dr. Eggman, who hasn't been seen for a month since the Dark Gaia incident.
But Sun...he is a special case. New to the group, unheard of until now. The young Mobian was quite skilled, perhaps he was a secret agent, a member of a secret resistance against Eggman, or a freelance picked up by Sonic and the two bonded to be close friends, considering they looked alike and were, obviously, hedgehogs. Yet where did the tangerine Mobian come from?
"I need to look further into Sun the Hedgehog's little history. Perhaps...a little persuasion or a difficult choice is in order." Starline decided, grinning wickedly as he approached a sealed up door leading into one of the larger parts of his lab.
After typing down the password on the keyboard, the door slid open and the evil Mobian stepped inside, revealing it was a gigantic room with wiring, several Hybrian soldiers working on computers and such. In the far end and middle of the room, was a giant cage-sphere with chains and hooks attached to the walls and ceiling, and within it was the trapped Gaiver the Gorilla, now at the increasing height of 89 foot tall, having his hand-made clothes taken off during his capture from Adabat's jungle and was wearing a white jump-suit made out of a material with the same genetics as his body so that it would grow as he grew bigger and bigger. The cage was used to keep his growth under control for the time being.
Given the state the Mobian Ape was in, Gaiver looked utterly exhausted and drained.
"Good evening, Experiment #21. How are you?" Starline greeted his captive, resulting in a earning an angry glare from the trapped Gorilla. "Oh, don't look so miserable, my friend. I did you a favor in saving you from the life out in the jungle to rejoin civilization."
"I'd rather be in the jungle than being your lab rat, you filthy platypus...!" Gaiver growled darkly.
Starline frowned. "How rude. You people really have no manners, do you? Perhaps Dr. Eggman and I should teach you discipline."
"I've heard of him. That human is what caused such terrible events a month ago." The giant gorilla grunted, recalling how Sonic and his friends told him of how evil Eggman was.
"Let me guess; you heard of him fron Sonic the Hedgehog and his little friends."
Gaiver's eyes widened at that. "How did you-?"
"Oh, please." Starline smirked, shaking his head. "You have been living under a rock-almost quite literally, I should say-not to know much of the hero of Mobius. I am quite curious, though. Would this include an orange hedgehog that bears a resemblence to the boy?"
While he hasn't seen Sun more than a couple of weeks ago, with Sonic also visiting to check up on him and the two hedgehogs had been quite shocked on how much the gorilla had grown with a promise to try and find a cure quickly, Gaiver had been just as surprised to see the former Werehog having changed fur colour, and when he found out part of what happened, the giant Mobian agreed to keep Sun's past and his connections with Sonic a secret.
"I don't know any orange hedgehog. If I did, why would I tell you, Starline? You ruined my life! You captured me, injected me with the serum that made me slowly grow into a giant, forced me to live in the jungle of Adabat, and now you're using me again? I would rather be dead then to serve a monster like you!" Gaiver growled furiously.
"You're lying. I can tell in your voice and see it in your eyes." Starline remarked, his smirk only growing as he took a couple steps closer. "Do you foolishly believe a great scientist such as myself will fall for tricks? You know Sonic, you know his new friend. I've met him; he goes by the name of Sun the Hedgehog. And you, my old friend, will be helping me to learn more of his past and obey my every command."
"You can't prove anything, monster...!" The giant gorilla hissed.
"Oh-ho. Well, if you won't cooperate willingly, then I'll need to do this the hard way." The evil platypus declared, holding up his red and black gloved hand which the red fingertips began to glow, causing Gaiver to suddenly wince and feel woozy. "With my brilliant invention the Tricore, I can control your mind temporarily and make you obey me. As such, my little minions have already visited the good doctor's base and yet he is away until his latest plan comes to fruition in one month. Now, Gaiver...bring me information...on Sun the Hedgehog."
Gaiver couldn't fight the power of the mysterious Tricore, feeling the overwhelming wooziness and tiredness take over and before he knew it, his world went black and his eyes became somewhat blank, overcome by the hypnosis.
By then, the doors opened up behind Starline and one of his assistants walked in; it was a human woman with black hair, but was also a Hybrian, having a long dragon's tail with a matching tongue and eyes, wearing a red and black Chun-ese like leather outfit.
"Ah, Ceilia. You're just in time." Starline greeted with a cold, charming grin. "I have a new order for you."
"I'm all ears, Dr. Starline." Ceilia, the Hybrian woman, grinned coldly.
"You are to secretly follow Gaiver, command him to attack the Unnamed Village of Seaside Island(1), lure an orange hedgehog who goes by the name of Sun the Hedgehog, a close friend of Sonic the Hedgehog, into a trap. In the meantime, see if you can bring me either Professor Amantha, or better yet, his daughter." The evil scientist responded.
"Oooh...A new hedgehog? And the little girl? Do you believe she is the one?" Ceilia asked, feeling excited. "Do I get the pleasure in making a coat out of the new hedgehog's fur?"
"We shall see. The boy, Sun the Hedgehog I mean, and not Sonic, has proven himself to be meddlesome and yet he is a mystery. I would like to do a little bit of research on the child, while we search for the Princess and enter the Twilight Cage." Starline replied, turning his gaze to a piece of paper safely wrapped in an lamenate to prevent it from aging and the words fading away. "It's been fourteen years coming, but finally, the solid plan is fool proof. Dr. Eggman will soon be thanking me for helping him come this far."
"You can count of me, doctor." The Hybrian Woman cackled darkly, grinning madly.
Starline smirked, chuckling himself. "I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear."
After Sun and the Chaotix helped to fix up a bit of Professor Amantha's lab before they returned to town to help clean up the mess the Hybrians left behind, the Mobians lead the rest of the people to evacuation centers. This included Star's father, which in hindsight, the orange hedgehog and the grey hedgehog couldn't help but began to grow worried for the female lavender hedgehog's safety, even though the former Sonic clone couldn't help but notice that, despite having heard of the kind scientist, there was no resemblence to them.
Then again, Star once told him, Sonic, Chip and Tails that she had been adopted ever since she was a baby, and neither she or her father knew who her birth parents were, if they were still alive, or where she came from. But that was a worry for later. Right now, the two hedgehogs, Vector, Espio and Charmy held a private conversation in one of the bunkers.
"So, you going to tell us who those aliens were and when did that Starline guy team up with them or whatever?" Sun questioned, lying on a couch with his arms behind his head, while Andrew, Espio, Vector and Charmy seated in either chairs or in the oldest Mobian's case, on the edge of one of the spare beds.
"I'm afraid they're not aliens, Sun. Those men were once people; either human or Mobian. From what I have discovered a week ago during an investigation of Dr. Eggman's sudden disappearance, I found a base that belonged to our enemy, Dr. Starline." Espio explained, making Sun and Charmy begin to turn pale at the thought.
"Wait, what?" The orange hedgehog sat up slightly, feeling rather sick in the stomach. Then, remembering what Gaiver told him and his brothers and Star earlier, he groaned. "Oh, don't tell me. Starline experimented on them and turned them into his freaky army, didn't he?"
"If anything, he mutated them, brainwashed them somehow to do his bidding. From that point from the report I found in Chun-Nan when I went to check up on Master Koga, it was Starline's idea in calling them Hybrians, mixtures of humans and Mobians." The purple Chameleon explained. "However, I knew very little on this, so I returned to inform Vector and Charmy of my concerns, and given that Professor Amantha's name was on the list of people he intended on kidnapping and seeking revenge on, I knew there was a connection."
"Which brings us the important that of this investigation." Vector spoke up, turning to the aforementioned elder hedgehog. "You know anything about this Starline character?"
"I'm afraid so. Starline and I were once classmates in our childhood, bitter rivals on different ideas. I was more interested in astrology, and hopes in finding cures in genes of all life-forms to prevent diseases such as NIDS and what-not, and perhaps even mutation. Though between me and Koga, who happens to be my best friend, we weren't very good in our history lessons, and I'm afraid while I have correctly informed Espio of how Aspirin can cure swelling of many things, Koga incorrectly assumed it was an ancient remedy from the times of Apotos and ninjas organized there." Andrew explained.
Sun looked at both the older hedgehog and the Chaotix ninja with a deadpanned expression, saying flatly. "I'd better tell Sonic that it was you guys that told Espio of the wrong history lesson, even though it did work on Vector."
"Sonic told ya' that?" The aforementioned crocodile asked, eyes wide in shock.
"When Gaiver told us, Chip and Star about what happened to him, Sonic mentioned you guys were up against some Mobian-Hater group who had a ridiculous name that ended up being short for S.O.N.I.C.X which sounded like his own fan-club." The tangerine hedgehog confirmed.
"I heard it was that Jerome Wise guy's idea and he didn't even know it." Charmy perked up, before sticking his tongue out in disgust. "But I didn't think that Narasu guy or even Eggman had a fan like that platypus guy. Bleh!"
"That makes the both of us, Charmy. But we're starting to get off track here." Vector quickly reminded.
"You're right." Andew nodded in agreement, renewing his monologue. "For years, while I wished to do research for good, Starline wished for more...destructive methods. He first came up with an idea merging a human and a Mobian together. Or better yet, have them bred together to produce a newline of lifeforms. He was even fascinated in the early research from Dr. Eggman, who back then as many of you would know, was known as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but both of their researches were far too dangerous and posed as threats against Mobius."
"I'd say I can't tell who's worse, but I'd be lying." Sun commented, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Ro-butt-nik was bad enough, given what Sonic and the rest of us have been through. But do you think he's behind this new situation for another evil plan to try and take over Mobius? I first thought this was his attack, but then I realized he would go for robots, not people."
"Perhaps, but the doctor is unpredictable. You yourself along with Sonic have not seen him since your battle against him before Dark Gaia emerged, correct?" Espio pointed out.
Sun shrugged. "Well, yeah. Like Sonic and Knuckles mentioned, Dark Gaia immediately didn't listen to him and just sent that fat lard flying-literally."
Flash-Back: During the events of "Sonic and the Werehog"...
Eggman raised an eyebrow, but as he looked, to his horror and dismay, one of Dark Gaia's tentacles came straight towards him and his robots in high speed. They all screamed in shock and terror while the robots ducked under their seats while bracing themselves for impact as the tentacle hit the Egg Mobile and sent them flying far, far away.
"Why meeeeeee!?" Eggman screamed as he and his lackies were flown into the distance and vanished in a blink like a star yet again.
"There goes Beach-Ball-Man." Chip couldn't help but comment as he and his friends had watched their enemy blast off again with somewhat wryly expressions.
"Why am I not surprised?" Sonic asked sarcastically, his finger on his forehead in exasperation.
"When you and Knuckles said that this plan would back-fire on Ro-butt-nik, you guys weren't kidding." Sun muttered. "At least he's dealt with."
End of Flash-Back:
"But, we haven't even seen any robot attacks lately since that happened." Charmy pointed out in realization.
"Unless Sonic's already dealing with him back in Station Square or somethin'." Vector stated, his hand under his chin.
"This soon? Even after what that jerk did to Sonic? Everything he put him through?" Sun asked incredulously.
"Sonic isn't one to stand still for long. Regardless of what has happened to Mobius, he tends to recover even from traumatic experiences in the past." Espio reassured, though he could tell that the orange hedgehog was very concerned for his brother's well-being. "Besides which, Sonic could already be on his way with Tails to stop Starline at this very moment."
To everyone's surprise, the orange hedgehog sternly said. "No. Sonic can't get involved with this. Not with what he's been through. I don't care if he's the hero of Mobius and this may be Eggman's doing or not, this is something we have to figure out for ourselves unless the situation gets too much. If Sonic finds out about the Hybrians, he'll..."
Sun trailed off, lowering his gaze in grave worry. Even after the last time he saw his brother before departing Station Square, even after a month, the former Werehog could tell that the cobalt speedster was still blaming himself for the terrible actions Eggman had caused. Once or twice he thought of checking up on him, or even ask Tails how the blue hedgehog was doing, but each time he hesitated. Sonic did open up a bit more since last month's adventure, but even Sun could tell that the fifteen year old just wasn't...fully ready to move on yet.
Seeing the state of the Hybrians would only make the teenager flip, and all of the recovery progress the hero of Mobius had managed to accomplish would cause him to fall right back to square one; the unbearable guilt of failing. Sun felt bad for not informing Sonic on this, but while he wasn't a hero, he had to at least try and help as many as possible. Frankly, his own problem was nothing compared to the horrors Starline had caused.
"But why not? Sonic always saves the day, except that one time when Shadow saved the world from those nasty aliens." Charmy asked, confused.
"If Sun doesn't want anyone else to get involved with this, then we should at least respect that, unless the situation accelerates out of our control." Espio, sensing why Sun refused to let Sonic get involved so soon after his dilemma with the Dark Gaia crisis, said firmly.
As the Chaotix talked and Andrew looking confused, Sun said nothing, his gaze still low as all thoughts of the current situation were put aside automatically. Instead, he was thinking about Sonic, and how he was really faring. Sure the blue hedgehog was optimistic in nature, but even people like him had their limits and break-downs.
Flash-Back: During a visit with Sonic's parents...
Sun wasn't sure why, but he felt so uncomfortable. Seeing Sonic breakdown like that in his father's arms, witnessing it with Tails and Sonic's mother Bernadette, plus Jules being so much like the teenage Mobian, the orange hedgehog felt like an outsider despite being welcomed into the family as a new son. But it just...didn't feel right. Sure he was a Mobian now himself, having been so for a week, and since his birth almost immediately, he could eat, he could sleep...he could do everything everyone else could do.
But there was one thing that made the former Werehog feel a bit left out. Seated on the couch and unable to sleep, Sun nervously gazed at the family photos in small frames of the living room. Some were from Sonic's childhood, which seeing the hero of Mobius as a little hedgehog made Sun thought his brother being cute. Some with his parents, others were with an unfamiliar hedgehog with a grey mustache, that he correctly guessed was Uncle Chuck.
The rest were from Sonic's four years of herosim with his friends; with Tails as a little four year old, Amy eight, Knuckles twelve, and through out the years the group grew older into the age they were today, even Cream, and human people that the orange hedgehog was unfamiliar with. All of this, and Sun knew he was different.
Unlike everyone else, he wasn't born as a baby.
"Can't sleep?"
Blinking in surprise, Sun looked up to see Sonic stand in the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a knowing soft smile.
"Could say the same about you." Sun replied, scooting over a bit to give his brother a bit more room, inviting Sonic to come over, which the blue hedgehog took and sat next to him. "Nightmares again?"
"Nah, not really. Well, sort of." Sonic answered, sighing. "Recovering from this is harder than any other times I've been through. I thought almost losing Shadow forever was bad enough, but this...this is unlike any I've ever been through."
"Well, at least everything's back to normal, so to speak." The tangerine Mobian shrugged, sighing. "But with me and Shadow...it's different."
At first Sonic was confused, but then realized what his brother's problem is, especially when he caught Sun gaze at the family photos and looked at him sympathetically. "You feeling uneasy, bro?"
Knowing that Sonic caught him, Sun sighed. "How can I not? I wasn't born like you or anybody else. I'm basically like Shadow, except I'm made a real Mobian now. Except...I can't live through the same childhood like you and almost everybody else did. I'm not a baby learning new things, I can't grow up from being a kid to a teenager that I am now since the beginning...what kind of life is that?"
"Hmmm...well, unfortunately, bro, I'm the wrong guy to ask about such questions. The only person who could give you an idea would be Shadow, despite his losses and everything." Sonic replied, running a hand through his quills. "My suggestion would be is to ask him. That'd be the best way to go."
"Yeah, I guess. At least I'm not a robot." The orange hedgehog shrugged.
Sonic nodded, before smiling reassuringly at his brother. "But what I can tell you is that it doesn't matter if you're a kid or not. Even grown ups still have to learn new things everyday, and you can only learn what the world has to offer, because new things happen everyday and new generations learn and adapt in those environments."
"Is that why you go on adventures? To learn new things as much as you can?"
"That's one of them." The blue hedgehog replied, staring up at the ceiling as he continued. "I just like to live my life the way I want to; go wherever and whenever I can, experience new and unexpected things every day, hang out with my friends and family, always excited to see what tomorrow brings, cautious on the dangers up ahead even though it makes adventures more fun, and just letting the wind guide me anywhere and everywhere."
"That explains everything. You're kind of like the wind; really unpredictable." The orange hedgehog smirked teasingly.
"Never denied that." Sonic chuckled, prompting his brother to join in.
As the laughter ceased, Sun sighed once more, and asked. "Sonic? Will I...ever be part of the family?"
"You're already part of the family, Sun." The cobalt speedster reassured, placing his arm around his friend's shoulders, pulling him a bit closer. "Family isn't just about sharing your blood with relatives or others. It's the bond people share; loved ones, and friends, and even pets are family. Besides, Dad thinks you're cool and caring, and Mom adores you already."
The former Werehog blushed a little. "They're...really nice people. You dad looks just like you, or rather the other way around and your mom's beautiful. Can already see where you got your eyes from."
"Guess that just makes me even more handsome since I got the good looks from my folks." Sonic said teasingly.
"Whatever you say, Prince Charming." Sun teased back, prompting another soft laughter from the two hedgehogs. The two sighed before the orange hedgehog said, smiling a little. "So, I guess this means like Tails, I'm adopted?"
"Yep. Welcome to the family, Sun." Sonic replied.
Sun smiled back, before asking, somewhat hesitant. "So um, are you feeling okay?"
Having sensed and thought his friend would ask that, the fifteen year old sighed, and shrugged a little. "I'm still feeling guilty for everything that's happened, and, to be honest, it's a lot harder to move on than I thought. But I'll get there eventually. I'm not gonna give up and there's no way I'm going to quit in being the hero of Mobius."
"You could take a bit of a break from being a hero, you know? Especially since Ro-butt-nik is out of the picture for now." The former Werehog suggested.
"Yeah...you're right. After saving the world and putting it back together, I could use a vacation." Sonic agreed. "We all do."
"I hope you'll feel better soon, Sonic. You earned it." Sun said, shrugging. "Maybe let other people save the world for a change, just this once."
Sonic nodded, "Even though I'd feel bad for missing out on the action, even I can't save the world all the time. Me and Shadow aren't the only ones in saving Mobius. Not long after we met and stopped Egg-Belly for the third time, Knuckles stopped him and even joined up with the Chaotix at one stage(1)."
"I'd like to hear everything."
"Got plenty of time in the world. Maybe telling the story of the adventures of me and everybody else will put us to sleep." The blue hedgehog chuckled, "Better than reading fairy-tales like Cinderella since we're not little kids."
"That sounds girly." Sun stated.
"The story is about a poor girl who lived with her evil step-mother and step-sisters who were jealous of her kindness and beauty." The hero of Mobius smirked. "Short version, after her father died not long when he re-married with said evil step-family, they made her do chores like she was their house-made, wasn't allowed to do anything she wanted to do but she had big dreams. When she got left out on a royal ball, she cried until a fairy godmother came and-"
"Maybe tell me a story that doesn't sound like something a little girl would like?" The tangerine hedgehog somewhat pleaded. "I'm a guy, you know?"
Sonic smirked and teased, "How 'bout Pinocchio?"
"Very funny, wise guy." Sun deadpanned, but with a smile. Before asking, "But you got me curious. Who's Pinocchio?"
"Well, it's another kid's fairy-tale, but it proves that appearances doesn't mean everything and anything that's impossible is possible. It's one of the stories Mom used to read to me when I was very little, and even though Tails is highly intelligent, I even told him that story he never got the chance to hear from his parents when we first met." The blue hedgehog replied.
A moment of silence.
"As embarrassing as this is, I'd...like to hear it. But don't tell anybody about this." The former Sonic clone replied, blushing a little.
"Sure, bro. No problem." Sonic replied, the two making themselves comfortable as he began to tell the story to his newest brother, and as he did, Sun, secretly and admittedly stunned by the story was somewhat similar to real life, a mixture of himself with how he was born and made a real Mobian, and how Shadow's life started out, could see that his heroic brother was looking better.
But there was still the signs of guilt and hurt in the blue hedgehog's emerald green eyes. It was going to take Sonic a very long time to recover from their adventure.
End of Flash-Back:
"Sun? Sun?"
"Huh-what?" Sun blinked, brought out of his reminiscing and looked up to see Andrew sit next to him, shaking his shoulder gently to get to snap out of it and realizing what happened. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"Forgive me for invading your private thoughts, but you seem to be quite concerned about Sonic. Did...something happen to him?" The older hedgehog asked, hesitant.
"Sorry...it's a private matter." Sun replied apologetically, shrugging. "I can...I can at least say that he hates seeing other people hurt or tortured. Like I do."
The orange hedgehog then hissed softly in disgust, the very thought of Starline not only ruining Gaiver's life, but also transforming innocent people into hybrid monsters all so he could join forces with Eggman who would probably find this as a new opportunity to defeat Sonic and rule Mobius.
"What kind of guy would go and turn people into monsters like that? This is unforgivable!" The former Werehog grunted angrily.
"I know. More than anything, Starline has gone too far, and I fear he has discovered something that he thinks I have information of that could help him with his gains. What it is, I don't know." The grey hedgehog sighed, before suggesting as he briefly heard the Chaotix now beginning to argue despite the lateness of the hour. "Perhaps we should get some sleep. I have a feeling Starline and those Hybrians are after something far beyond the comprehension and this isn't going to be over in one day."
Sun couldn't help but groan. "Ugh...Starline is Eggman's number 1 fan, because that fat guy tried to do that with Dark Gaia, and even other forces before I met everybody else. Not to mention the Chaos Emeralds."
"You're a very brave young man." Andrew admitted, admiring how the younger Mobian was scared, having faced danger without second thought. "You're not afraid of anything, are you?"
"The only things that scare me are Ro-butt-nik taking over the world, losing or hurting my friends and...that's pretty much it." The orange hedgehog shrugged.
"No! I'm not tired! I wanna stay up and go out and find that Starline!" Charmy's whining brought the two hedgehogs out of their conversation and made them both look up to see that the young bee was being restrained by Vector, while Espio was facepalming himself.
"You're goin' to bed and we're going to continue this in the morning, Charmy! End of discussion!" Vector declared firmly. "As much as I wanna keep going, we can't do our job while half-asleep!"
"But we take naps all the time and we spend three days finding clues in stopping Metal Sonic!" Charmy pointed out, pouting.
"Charmy, off to bed, now!" Espio said firmly.
As the Chaotix argued, Sun and Andrew watched on with deadpanned or uncomfortable expressions.
"Okay, maybe there are other things that scare me. Like those guys right now." Sun admitted, grumbling. Andrew just chuckled nervously.
"Well, children are hard to look after. I learned that the hard way." The older hedgehog stated. "But I think that boy is very energetic."
'I think very energetic is an understatement.' Sun thought to himself.
Still, there was a lot more mysterious going on, and the orange hedgehog had a feeling it was only going to get worse. Not only that, he was unaware that he just put himself into grave danger, unknowingly becoming a target for Dr. Starline's evil schemes. That he was about to launch himself into the dangers up ahead.
A/N: Yeah, not the best of all chapters, I'll admit it, but I did the best I could. I tried my best to make use of Starline's power similar to the Tricore from the IDW comics(which I'm hoping to get the first volume of the STH the IDW Collection book for my birthday this year). Hopefully the next chapter will make it up for it.
(1) The un-named village(aka: Hedgehog Village) of Seaside Island is a location seen in the Sonic Boom series, even though some episodes were funny, I just didn't like how they designed the Sonic characters or portrayed them(especially Sonic having blue arms, or Knuckles' entire change design and...how dim-witted he was in that universe), but that's just me.
See you later!