Hi, everyone. Yes, you're not mistaken. This is a new chapter of Sonic Blue Horizon. Months after I already said there wasn't going to be any more Blue Horizon. Which at the time was true. Back when I unleashed the first chapter of Scourge's intro arc, I was burned out. Not just on the series, but on writing in general. As well as having a quarter life crisis. Not sure what I should be doing with my life, where I should go from here, or if I should be writing some fanfic series when there were so many other things I wanted to do.
Since then I've done some thinking and have realized that I may well never be able to do most of those things. The big one is writing my own books. While my writing's not bad, I still don't feel it's really professional quality. Good enough for the internet maybe, but beyond that, I just don't think I'm ready. Or if I'll ever be ready. Which brings me back here. Of course I was also too burnt out to do any writing at all, but I think I'm finally ready to get back to it.
Of course, the other reason was that my initial plans for the series were far too expansive and daunting. If I tried to cover everything I originally planned, I would be probally be writing this series for years if not decades, and that's at the pace I started at. So. At the very least I want to finish up the original storyline covering Sonic 1&2+SatAm. But beyond that? Maybe I can do a timeskip every now and then. Jump ahead when appropiate so I don't have to cover every single part of the time. But we'll just have to see.
But for now, I'm back. Here's hoping it stays that way.
"Oh, Gaea. Not cool. Where the hell am I?"
Sonic awoke to find himself in a grey, dingy cell. The only thing about it that didn't look drab as hell was a blue forcefield in place of iron bars. "Great. Hell did I get into this mess?" He tried to remember, rubbing his little grey cells together as much as he could, but about all he got was a big resounding headache. But even as he cursed and kneeled to the floor in agony, a lone memory managed to reach the surface. He remembered. He'd just managed to make it to the, to the, actually he wasn't sure where he had made it to. What he knew was that he was trying to rescue Sally's (yes, Sally, that was her name!) father from near certain death. After all, he was the fastest thing alive. Saving some old fart would be easy-peasy!
As his mind began to sort things out, other memories resurfaced as well. Of acquaintances, family, of all sorts of places he had gone to. And yet among it all, one thing stood out. He was a hedgehog. Specifically a blue hedgehog. A very blue hedgehog.
"So why am I green?"
It was something that he had only noticed after he found there was a reason to, or at least it was only then that he cared about it. According to his memories, his quills were coloured a deep, striking blue. Always had been. And yet they were as green as grass. Which shouldn't have been possible. So what in the world was going on?
"I believe I can answer that if it pleases you." A large portly figure began walking down the hall. And Sonic knew him well. Or rather he remembered seeing him once before his memories reached a dead end. He stopped in front of Sonic's cell, poking the forcefield while chucking as he touched it, almost like a game. "Well, well! I suppose Grimer was right. That ought to keep anyone locked in there from getting out. Not that I'd suspect you capable of doing anything of the sort. Particularly seeing as it's your first day."
Sonic typically wouldn't give two figs, but for some reason, he couldn't laugh it off. As if something were drawing him in. Something he needed to know. Even if he didn't think he needed it. "Ol' buttnick, huh? Well, hey, it's been fun, but I've gotta try and find Sally and her dad. Wouldn't really care, but I guess I can't just leave them hanging."
"A noble sentiment. However, I'm afraid Sally had already been saved weeks ago.
Already saved? Weeks ago? That couldn't have been right. "You tryin' to mess with me?"
"Not at all. I'm merely informing you of what has transpired over the last month. Seeing as you weren't around for it."
Last month? Did he mean there was stuff going on before he got there? No, that wasn't right here either. He just knew it wasn't. So what was going on? "Okay buddy, normally I would've just tuned you out by now, but whatever. Just what's goin' on here? And why the hell am I green?"
Eggman held up a finger as if correcting him. "Oh, that one's simple. You were always green. Green as a wilted shrubbery."
Now this was starting to get annoying. "Okay, getting bored now. Seriously, you really expect me to believe I was green my whole life? I know my life. So I know that anything you're tryin' to do, it's all some sort of torture BS. By the way, pretty sure torture doesn't work I don't think that's gonna work either. Just saying."
"Careful now. After all, you can't really say it doesn't work when you've barely experienced it, can you?"
This was starting to get old. Sonic blasted into the forcefield, glaring at Eggman as the good doctor barely contained a chortle. "Okay, you don't start answering straight, I'm gonna slice you apart into ribbons. You get me?"
"Now that's more like it! Bit of fire in your stomach! After all, if you're ever going to match up to the fastest thing alive—"
That teared it. Sonic curled himself up and threw himself at the forcefield like a buzzsaw. He cut into it as best he could, sparks flying out as he tried to carve it up, but no matter what he did, it wasn't going to work. Not that he cared. "I'm the fastest thing alive! No-one else comes close! Ya hear me?"
"Oh, I can think of a couple. For starters, the one who gave you that lovely green hue. And the other, well, let's just say he's the reason you exist."
"Yeah?! Well if you're so smart, then come on! Who is he?!"
"Why, Sonic the Hedgehog. Who else?"
'Sonic' stopped dead in his tracks. He nearly fell on his behind as he backed away. As though some faint part of himself was finally starting to grasp the truth. "But, but I'm Sonic! Fastest thing alive! I've gotta be!"
"Oh, you are. 'A' Sonic anyway. Or rather, you're the original Sonic's genetic impression."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
Eggman sighed as he pinched his brow. "I suppose I'll have to spell it out for you. In layman's terms, you are a near-exact duplicate of the original. A copy. A clone."
That couldn't have been true. He was Sonic! The one and only! And yet, if he was telling the truth… "Hey, don't go messin' with me! I'm Sonic, I know I am! Fastest thing alive!"
"Except the fastest thing alive isn't green, either."
That shut 'Sonic' up. Though not for long. "Look, even if this is true, where's the proof? Because from where I'm standing, you've got bubkus."
"Ah. I was getting to that." Eggman pulled out a remote from his pocket. He pressed a small button near the end, causing a holographic monitor to pop up in front of 'Sonic' in thin air. The screen began to show footage from a couple months ago. Specifically of Sonic and co's break in to Robotropolis. At first it seemed exactly like 'Sonic' remembered. They break in, they split up, he goes with Sally to save her father. But that was as far as he remembered. For whatever reason, he didn't remember anything after that. And yet the footage appeared to know more than he did. From what he could see, it showed him fighting against Dingo until Eggman unleashed some kind of secret weapon, a forcefield or something. Something to keep the Robians in and everyone else out. And as far as he could tell, all of this had without a doubt happened.
So why couldn't he remember any of it?
He put a hand on his temple as the implications at least became evident. "No. No! It can't be."
"But it is. You are what we call in this business a test tube baby. There's a glass tube in the lab that was essentially your incubation chamber. You were grown over the course of two months, far faster than expected. And the true Sonic was used as a model. A template to properly organize the building blocks of life. A starting point to create a force to be reckoned with."
This was so much to take in. Part of him didn't want to believe it, even after everything he had heard and seen. And yet. What if they were right?
"So let me get this straight. You're tryin' to tell me that I'm not really Sonic? Even though I shared just about everything with him until recently?"
"That more or less sums it up, yes."
Part of him wondered if he should accept it. That maybe Eggman was telling him the truth. That he really was but a hollow copy of the 'real' Sonic.
Like hell he was.
'Sonic' charged once more into the breach, this time ramming the forcefield with his head like a battering ram as he shouted like a berserker. Unfortunately for him, it didn't end too well. He quickly rebounded against the forcefield and landed rear-up. Why he thought that would work he had no idea. Either way, he had been soundly trounced.
And he was still green.
"It really is sad. Why, if you truly were Sonic, I have no doubts that you would find a way out of this predicament in the blink of an eye! But I suppose that's too much to ask."
Okay, now he was pushing it. "Just shut the hell up!"
"Oh, did I touch a nerve? Good. Then perhaps now we can get somewhere. But if you're still not convinced, then I believe I have the perfect remedy. Because I know where you'll be able to find the real Sonic."
'The real Sonic'. But he was the real Sonic. Wasn't he? Still though. If there was even the slightest bit of truth, he had to meet him. If he was an imposter, fine. He'd shred him to bits. But if he was the real deal?
Then he'd shred him anyway. Because he knew that in his heart, he was the one true Sonic. No matter what anyone said.
Wasn't he?
"Come on, people! We don't got all day!"
Bunnie had been the last one to squeeze through the air duct when Johnny started barking orders. To be fair, it had taken her a bit to get on through. Nor did she have an excuse. But if she was a bit slow, she couldn't help it. A lot had been on her mind. Mostly concerning the reality of her situation. She had tried to push it aside. To focus on the here and now. But as her condition furthered along, that became harder and harder to do. She didn't want to think about it. She wanted to live in the now, like she always did. But could she really?
"Hey, you okay there?" Bunnie barely noticed when Chirps put a hand on her right shoulder from behind. For the record, that was the one that hadn't been robotized. And she still couldn't feel a thing. The only indication she had that anyone touched it was the sight of it from the corner of her eye, but even then it was hard to tell. But even if he had touched any other part of her that was flesh and blood, would she even have noticed?
No. Bad Bunnie. Couldn't think of that. Had to keep smiling. For everyone. For the mission. For herself. "I'm fine, sugar!" She gently removed his feathery hand, not even looking at him. "Just fine. Nothin' to worry about!" Of course, anyone with a half a brain could tell that was a load of bull. Even she knew it. Her voice despite her efforts to sound strong and confident was quavering, just the slightest bit. And while she was smiling as hard as she could, she still couldn't look Chirps in the eye. She wasn't sure why this was suddenly getting so hard to deal with now. She'd managed to keep it together up to this point. Even during the briefing. And maybe that was it. It was all there. Regardless of how much she tried to bury it. And after being submerged for so long, it was finally ready to explode.
No. She couldn't accept that. Everything was fine. Hunkey-dorey. Nothing wrong at all. Couldn't let them worry. Couldn't let them get concerned. Just needed to focus on the mission. Just do the job, get back home, live another day. That was it.
Or at least that was what she kept telling herself.
Johnny gave Bunnie a careful look before they all peered down the hall. The long corridors were coloured yellow and grey, much like the buildings and conveyor belts outside. And there wasn't a single soul in sight. They could thank Nicole for that. After the robots had dispersed enough to give some leeway, the others somehow managed to get close enough for Nicole to do her thing. As soon as she did, streams of chemicals began going haywire, flooding portions of the plant as the conveyor belts started zipping back and forth like crazy. And that was the least of it.
Still, they couldn't stick around to see the rest. Once they had ample cover, they made their way in. Lucky for them, the guards appeared to have thinned out inside the plant as well, likely as a result of sending everyone they could spare to deal with the malfunctions. That didn't mean it was a cakewalk, and part of Bunnie's group was to provide further distraction for Sonic and co. But they'd take what they could get.
Although throwing herself into a throng of waiting enemies was starting to sound like a terrible idea and not tempting at all BAD BUNNIE. She nearly slapped herself in self-contempt. Had to get herself together. This wasn't like her. She had always been about moving forward, staying strong. Not letting everything get to her.
I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't breathe, I can't cry, I can't even go to the bathroom! And I haven't aged a day.
And yet.
I'm becoming somethin' I never wanted to be. Hell, I'm not sure I'll even be fully Mobian after this. And I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to live with myself.
"Hey, what's the holdup?!" Bunnie heard Thunderbolt's voice crackle with vitriol as she was shocked (if not literally) out of her stupor. She and the others had already started to go on ahead, leaving Bunnie to sulk in front the air duct. Crap! She'd gotten so lost in thought that the others had begun to go on without her. She needed to get her head out of the clouds. Besides, her birthday was coming up next, wasn't it? That should've been something to be excited about!
And I haven't aged a day.
Wasn't it?
Bunnie snapped herself out of it again. By this point Jonny was right in front of her. Bunnie nearly blushed, but despite her uncharacteristic bout of anxiety and worry, Johnny didn't seem angry or anything like that. Instead he was more concerned than anything else. "Bunnie, are you sure you're okay?"
Crap. Well, this was it. The best thing to do was just tell them the truth. Be honest. Doing anything else would only make things worse.
"Just fine, sugar!"
Dammit.
Johnny sighed as he shook his head. Almost as if disappointed. "If you say so. That said, I'm keeping you in the rear with Chirps. You got that?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good, let's get moving, huh?"
As the group kept moving down the corridor, fists clenched as they waited for whatever lay ahead, Bunnie only picked up the pace when Chirps couldn't help but ask her a question. "So. Wanna talk about it?"
Of course he wouldn't let it go. "Nothin' to talk about. Like I keep tellin' ya all, I'm fine, sugar! Cross my heart."
"Really now. So does that mean you know I've been touching your shoulder or the last minute?"
Bunnie stopped in her tracks before slowly looking behind her. Just as Chirps said, his hand was right on her shoulder, clear as day. Again. And she still hadn't felt it in the slightest. She couldn't even bring herself to remove it if only because she was too gobsmacked to do otherwise.
"That's been sitting there for about the last minute," said Chirps. "And you're gonna tell me you didn't notice? Unless that's just how you feel about me, in which case I've got a bottle of champaign in the cupboard. But somehow I doubt that."
A minute. A whole minute. And she didn't notice. Not even feel it. It wasn't even the metal shoulder, it was the good one. And she didn't feel it in the least. She slowly, gently removed her hand before turning to face Chirps. She wanted to keep ignoring it. To just push it aside. After all, she didn't matter, did she? Not compared to everyone else. She couldn't go putting this on them.
Except if she didn't, she would fall apart.
"I—"
Just as Chirps seemed about to get somewhere, a barrage of gunfire and crackles of electricity could be heard up ahead. "Dammit!" Bunnie's thrusters booted up as she jetted ahead, with Chirps tailing behind. She hoped to the Abyss that she wasn't too late. Because if she was? Then what good was she?
She soon reached a fork in the road. She could hear the gunfire coming from the left end. No doubt that was where Johnny and Thunderbolt were. She started to head down the left fork. If she picked up the pace, surely she'd make it. She had to.
It was only when she heard a sudden burst of gunfire from her right that she realized she had more immediate concerns. She turned to face the source of the sounds and saw a group of Troopers storming down the hallways unleashing a volley of gunfire her way.
Only to get shot straight in the stomach.
Most upon receiving such a grievous injury would clasp their sides in pain, howling in agony and hoping they didn't go into shock. But Bunnie was a different story. She stood there for a moment before lowering her arm, slowing moving it closer to the wound and pressing her hand against it before turning it upward. It was covered with her blood, bloodied and drenched like sticking one's mitts in a paint bucket.
And she still felt right as rain.
The troopers halted after the shot, instead deciding to gauge the situation. Almost as though they could feel something in the air. Which was the last thing on Bunnie's mind. She knew she could no longer feel pain. Or just about anything. And yet, so far she had put off dealing with it every step of the way. There was nothing to be done, she thought. The lab had already tried cooking up various remedies or solutions. And yet there was no solution to what ailed her. So, with no easy fix in sight, she had attempted to struggle on as best she could.
Until now. Until now, she hadn't dealt with an injury of this scale. Of being shot just short of the stomach, bleeding into her shirt and perhaps onto the ground below her. And yet she still couldn't feel it. To her it was no different than a day of surfing at the beach or sunbathing. Maybe the blood loss would affect her eventually. Perhaps she'd start getting woozy. Assuming her body wasn't repairing itself at that very moment. Because apparently it did that now. It just wouldn't let it end.
And it was then and there that, in the face of everything she had to endure, everything the world had to throw at her, everything that was tossed at her feet, something finally snapped.
She began to chuckle. Even more so as the blood already began to stop, just as she thought it would. "Well now. How do ya like that?" She began walking forward, her gaze lowered as the troopers looked on out of some degree of morbid curiosity. "Ya know somethin', hons? I've tried. I've really, really tried. Tried to just forget about it. Let it go. Cause I didn't want anyone to worry. Or at least that's what I told myself. But now? Now I don't see a point. You want me?"
She suddenly stared directly at the robots. All warmth was gone from her eyes. In its place wasn't madness or revenge or the crushing weight of despair. There was simply nothing. Nothing at all. As though she simply no longer cared.
And perhaps at that moment, she longer did.
"YOU GOT ME."
