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Sonic the Hedgehog: the True Power of Music

Chapter Seventeen

"I went over to Maylee's the next day and once more apologized for the wrong attitude I had been having for some time, even as far to tell her that I'd make it up to her somehow. She accepted my apology without any remorse, smiling that cheerful smile of hers, and ever since, I've cared for her like a sister and treated her with respect that she merited.

Now, I know you'll be asking this: Whatever happened to the gang?

Well, against my better judgment, I decided to pay them a little visit. I had to deal with them, but alone. I was strictly against the idea of anyone joining me, especially Maylee, knowing how these crooks deal with newbees.

I made my way towards the warehouses on the borders of the city. You better not think that this was something delusional. I wanted to prove an important point to them, and there was nothing exciting about this at all. The fact that I wanted to get to them made me both angry and anxious. They had played me for a fool, and I wasn't going to tolerate that kind of treatment. However, I was anxious about their reaction. Would they be surprised to see me, or would they just remain the way they were, snobbish and all? Or might they have a different reaction?

I had considered all possible thoughts, and though some appeared to be intimidating, there was no turning back now. I was determined to see this through. Even if I had chosen to bail out now, I was bound to meet up with them, sooner or later – it was only a matter of time, and I wanted to get it done and over with.

I marched along a narrow street that deviated from the main road, and followed it until I arrived in front of a huge section of warehouses ten minutes later. Though being proud, a shiver ran down my spine. That place gave off a bad ambiance with its lurking shadows and nigh inaudible silence. It was even spookier when you were aware that someone was here, keeping a watchful eye on you, and waiting until the time was right to meet you.

Thankfully, a strong laughter eradicated that silence. I was almost too surprised to hear it, but I was more hoping than expecting a voice to guide me to its source. It's not like I didn't know my way to get there, but I think you'd agree with me when I say that I prefer hearing something else than this stillness.

I turned around the corner from where I saw the group of Leatherheads, sitting on crates and a couch that I hadn't noticed before. They were using pocketknives, tearing at the furniture's leather and ripping it off while laughing and talking with each other.

Before I had time to think about this, the same guy who knocked me into the water, that rebel who had now a couple of new blue streaks amongst his purple hair, forced himself into laughter when he saw me. 'Oh, man, check it out! The runt really did survive!' he cried in mirth, pointing at me with his lime-painted fingernail.

The whole gang turned their heads at me, almost indifferent if it weren't for their cheap smiles. Walking boldly towards them, I glared at that punk who nearly cost me my life. 'Yeah, and I've got a bone to pick with you!'

The Nigerian stepped in front of me. 'Woah, cool down there, kid.'

'He's right. Ya don't need to get worked up over a little accident.'

I recognized the voice of the Leatherhead leader, Dave, from behind me. I tried to hide my surprise, following his movement as he walked past me to join the other members.

'Accident? Your little accident nearly killed me!' I roared.

'It could have killed you if you didn't fight to survive.' Said Pete, still flipping his silver coin in his hand, 'And yet here you are, standing before us and having completed the challenge.'

I was never as confused as I was at that moment. The words slipped out of my mouth. 'I don't get it…'

Dave laughed. 'Ya ain't too bright, Mike. Dontcha see? Ya gotta look at this whole accident the other way. The fact that you'd dare the challenge, that you'd fall in the water, that you'd survive it and come back here was the test.'

I was entirely shocked and enraged. 'What?'

'Face the tiger, strip his skin and tie it proudly onto our heads.' Sherah uttered, 'That's the Leatherhead motto.'

'We ain't a bunch of cool-looking and cool-actin' people. We're made of sterner stuff. We're survivors.' Said Joe, tightening the band of spikes around his wrist, as if his collar was more important to focus on than me.

'Ya see?' Dave continued, 'We've faced similar things just like ya, bested all obstacles. Ya didn't need only courage or physical strength, but sheer will-power as well. Ya proved ya had all that stuff in ya, and it wouldn't be fair rejectin' ya.'

And stunningly, he held out his hand. 'Welcome to the club.'

It was hardly believable. Were they really serious? It seemed so, because, compared to other times, Dave's face wore a different expression, one that I hadn't seen yet. I thought it appeared to be pride, but it was also that of honesty.

There was just too much to digest, and a lot to think about. To imagine that after all I had gone through, they were ready to give me the title that I had come here for in the first place. I was going to be a Leatherhead!

I held out my hand, but didn't shake it. Instead, I dropped something in his hand that I had been holding onto. The red ribbon.

Dave looked down at his hand and back up at me in confusion, hinted with a touch of fury. 'So, is that what ya doin'? Rejectin' a generous offer?'

'Generous is way overrated.' I told him, 'I really wasn't expecting this generous offer. You got me there. You've got at least the decency to propose me a membership after what I had to go through. But I'm not stupid enough to join a group who just played with my life.'

'People play with other people's life, kid.' The Nigerian said, 'That's how it always has been.'

'You can take your philosophy and shove it!' I snapped back at him, but I regained quickly my calm, 'On the other hand, I have to thank you. You made learn something, and without your test, I wouldn't have realized it. People like you are bad news, and I don't need to prove anything to know I'm great the way I am.'

Joe pounced up from the couch, throwing his wristband that he tried to tighten before my feet. He glared at me in-between his long strands of hair that covered his face, a rage visible in his azure eyes. 'You wanna know something?' he said in a grave, edgy voice, 'There are only two greatnesses that are respected in this world: strength and survival. Without 'em, you'll be treated as dirt, non-stop used and abused and you won't get anywhere. It's a sad truth, but we make of it what we can. There's nothing else that's respected, nothing I tell ya, and you know it.'

This was the first time I saw Joe, a guy who had probably more bones than flesh, looked anything but fragile and gave off an image of a furious, craving black wolf. I should have been intimidated, if I was not already. But I couldn't agree with his argument, so I summoned all the courage within me and struck back. 'That's where you're wrong, Joe. Not too long ago, I looked at life the same way you did. That's why I wanted to join the gang, to get that greatness and to make everyone see that I had it in me. But a friend of mine taught me that forcing others to respect you means nothing. In fact, respecting others is what makes you great. Even greater than this gang.'

Laughter erupted from the mouths of the gang members after letting that statement sink into their heads, but none of them was as intense as Ricky's. 'Woah, that's just priceless!' he declared, 'But I got a little question for ya, Mike: think you can back up that little theory of yours?'

It was when that laughter turned into whispered chuckles that I noticed how dangerous the situation got. Everyone had stood up, and I gulped when I heard someone crack their knuckles. They all began to approach me in slow, small steps. And again, I tried to remain calm. Showing any signs of fear could affect my pride for one thing, but could also provoke them into attacking. I wasn't scared of fights, quite on the contrary, a fight against one of them would be one of the main reasons I had gone to the gang's den. But I knew how they were; they take on any obstacle together as a pack, and me dealing with everyone at the same time would definitely spell defeat for me. I did, after all, come here to show that I'm a winner without them, not a loser.

'Like I said before, I don't need to prove anything to you, and I don't care what you think. I nearly lost what really mattered to me. Friends and family, something that you guys don't have. Yeah, respect and power, my eye. They don't matter at all if you end up being alone, and I'd gladly give them up anytime if it meant to have loyal friends who accept me for the way I am.'

I turned around and pushed Dave out of my way. But another obstacle quickly ran before me, blocking my leave. He smirked at me with that snobbish grin, standing there with folded arms.

'Out of the way, Rick.' I demanded.

'Or what? Ya gonna call that family of yours?' he sneered, 'Or why dontcha make me.'

'Dave, call him off.' I commanded.

I should've known better than to hope he'd listen, but instead, the leader just chuckled. 'If there's one thing I'm going to do, it's following his idea. That's how we are. We think alike. And I say that when I propose a membership to someone, then it's gotta be either accepted or the guy's gotta be dealt with.' And I knew that it was him who had cracked his knuckles before, since he did the same thing in the same way again. 'Ya just made the big mistake.'

Yeah, he wasn't kidding. I was foolish enough to think that things could be so easily solved, and I realized how dangerous this situation had gotten, especially now that every member was equipped with metal bars, baseball bats, a cane(yeah, the one in the Tux had one), or just tightening their fists. But I noticed that everyone except one was present.

'Look, fellas, we got ourselves a snoop!'

'Ow! Let go, that hurts!'

In shock, I pivoted my whole body around when I heard that familiar voice shrieking out, and I froze in place when I caught a glimpse of Maylee being held by the Nigerian's arm around her neck. But things went too fast, and got too quickly out of hand, and I couldn't even cry her name when Dave's fist connected to my right jaw.

Upon the hit, Maylee's sobbing cry resonated in my mind, and I constantly kept fading in and out of reality. I staggered to the left, trying to uphold my stance, but each arm was caught by a gang member. I tried pulling my arms to me, or to rip myself from their grip, but they forced me to their leader, who now wore an angered frown on his face.

'You're nuthin' but an ungrateful brat.' He snarled quietly, as if he was restraining his fury, 'Ya had yer chance to join the Leatherheads. Now, to make up for that letdown, me an' my boys are gunna have fun.'

I couldn't think about myself that moment. Sure, my jaw was aching, but I had to put that pain aside. 'Okay, go ahead an' beat me up all ya want, just let the girl go! She's got nothing to do-'

I was silenced by another hard blow in the stomach. It was moments later that I succumbed, still held by the Leatherhead members' strangled grasp, coughing. I could feel the aching pain beyond that flesh of mine, distorting and twisting my interior organs. In my suffocating, pitiful choke, I tried looking up, only to see the butt of Dave's fist brought down on my face. The wranglers who held me released me immediately upon the strong impact, and I crumbled to the ground, like any naïve fool would, overwhelmed by unstoppable spasms from my anguish. I wasn't given a chance to get up, since the soles of Dave's robust military boot came down on the side of my face, crushing my head against the ground. I gave my all to get up again, I really did. I couldn't be in this shape in front of Maylee, but she saw and heard everything. My swollen face, my choked groans, and then the assault of kicks from the gang when I was still lying on the ground, as expected from those low-life scums, who cursed at me, spat at me like trash. God… I thought I had become stronger, but in the end, I was too much of an overconfident school kid, dealing with dangerous thugs. And I dragged Maylee into that mess.

Her scream reached my ears once more. I didn't want to imagine the horror she felt for the violent scenery before her eyes. It was a torment. I had sworn myself to protect her… And I couldn't even help her get away from here, let alone move. I would've preferred losing her friendship than involving her in this; being with me had only put her in a far greater danger than it was ever possible.

The boys' attack suddenly ceased, and the leader's boot was shoved aside. My raspy breath was the only sound in this death-like quietness, causing all other LH members to laugh at my pitiful state.

Dave's hand came down to the back of my neck, and he pulled me up, forcing me onto my knees while keeping an eye-level to mine. His eyes were narrowed in boredom and annoyance, and he sighed to himself as he shook his head. Then he stared me straight in the eyes.

'You're just all-talk.' He grunted, 'I was expectin' a lil' fight from ya, with all that bravado of yours, but that whole thing was nuthin' but a sham. Or the fact that you'd survive could've been just dumb luck. I can't tell, 'cause the kid that came up to me yesterday and the one here are two different people. I dunno what that friend of yours did to ya, but he made ya all soft. Huh, I guess there is a bright side to all of this: if ya hadn't refused my offer, I would've let in a weak, pathetic kid in the gang.'

'Maylee… Let her go…' I muffled through gritted teeth, unsure if I was trying to scare him or flinching at the spreading pain on my bruised face. I groaned bitterly when Dave squeezed harder at the back of my neck, and grabbed his shirt as what seemed to be an effortless, last resort. I had my opportunity to hit him straight in the face. I had the strength. But I couldn't fight back.

'So, that's her name, huh? Seems like ya got a lil' soft spot for our damsel in distress.' Dave smirked, 'Ain't that cute.'

The Tuxedo-clad walked up next to the leader. 'What should we do wit' her, boss?'

'Let her stay. I want her to see how I take care of people who mess with us. That'll give her an idea of what she would become if she were ever to brag out on us.'

'Ya hear that, girl?' Maylee's captor whispered, 'You talk, you'll end up like him. Now be nice.'

Maylee attempted a run, but released a loud shriek in result of her captor's scrambling grip.

I was getting desperate and angry. I wanted to call out her name, and to tell them to lay their hands off her, but I never got that chance. I groaned as a powerful knee-kick shot right up into my stomach, and I crumbled to my knees, coughing, gasping.

I focused hard on my breathing, trying to repress all the dizziness that could have taken over me. I wasn't allowed to pass out. Yet my whole body trembled.

All of a sudden, a strong blast of wind tampered the unfair brawl. It blew with such force, unbalancing several people, and when I looked up to see the captor, I smiled and eventually chuckled.

'The girl's gone!' the Nigerian cried, awestruck.

'Whadaya mean she's gone?'

It was exactly like Sherah said. Maylee had disappeared in a split second along with that strong gust. And in a time like this, I believed that opportunities were meant to be. With a force I've never experienced that pulsed through my veins, I rose up to my knees and concentrated all my strength into my fist and connected it with Dave's face.

The impact caught him completely off-guard, and he stumbled back to his little mates. One was there to catch him around his shoulders, but he was immediately rejected with a rough push from the leader. Dave eyed at me with such raging hatred.

'Huh, you finally get what you deserve…' I said, panting from my hit, 'The only reason why I didn't attack wasn't because I was afraid of your meaningless punches. It was because you were holding Maylee captive. I couldn't risk her safety for my own selfish revenge, but now that she's safe, I'm free to take you on.'

The leader removed the trace of blood that poured from the corner of his mouth, and as he looked at it on his hand, he balled his fist and smirked at me. 'Not bad, kid. You got me there, but you only got lucky.'

The rest of the gang assembled to his side, and he was confident enough to offer a smug grin. 'If ya take on one of us, you gotta deal with everyone else.' Sherah avowed, standing right next to the leader.

What could've been a fight between Dave and me was nothing more but a petty wish, because the deeper I was involved in this situation, the stickier it got. I couldn't have hoped to get a better turn.

'Now that hardly seems fair.' I said, trying my best to stand still, 'I'm hardly in good shape to fight all of you.'

'Well, that's too bad.' Rick derided, 'Life ain't fair. Deal with it.'

I strengthened my position, pulling my fists up to me. 'Fine. Come on, then.'

It wasn't a command, but a dare, and for them, it all seemed like a game they were about to play and win. They paced to me, eager to do with me as they please. I told myself I could do this, convinced myself to have it under control. But as hard as I tried, I knew I was lying to myself. I barely kept still as my body quaked in ache, and my body would kip on each side. That weakened I was, and the tuxedo-wearer, who was strangely more moderate than aggressive like his teammates were, shook his head. 'Look, don't do this to yourself. You've got no chance to win.'

'If that's the case, then I'll make sure you guys'll remember this.'

Yes, that was the sad truth. That night, I was beat up unfairly and was brought to the hospital when the police discovered me.

I'm just playing witcha. Here's how it went.

I couldn't do anything else but stand still, waiting quite impatiently for them to leap up at me. It felt like my feet had roots that went so deep underground, I couldn't budge. I didn't want to, anyways. I was convicted for defying their laws, and the price was being beaten into a pulp. But if that's the price to pay in exchange for a few punches here and there, then it might as well be worth it.

They circled me, to make sure I wasn't going to run off. 'Are you guys kidding? I'm not going anywhere… Not after what Maylee had to go through because of you.'

'Boy oh boy, you can't shut it when it's about her.' Dave said, 'You've really changed since last time. Tell me your little secret before you go down.'

But the reply never came. What happened instead was Ricky skidding over to the leader's side and tapping on his shoulder. 'What?' Dave asked furiously.

'Boss, do you hear that?'

It was then all of us paid closer attention to a sound that we didn't take notice of before. It had this buzz-saw sound, and ground thundered along with it. We felt the vibrations that rapidly turned into minor quakes, and as we tried to pinpoint the origin as the sound increased, one of Dave's men was first to spot behind me an odd activity in the distance.

Indeed, it was odd to see a blue, ball-shaped object heading towards us, tearing through the ground with spikes in the process. It left a thick dust-trail behind it, and approached even faster when we became aware of its presence. Dave and his men, standing there agape, moved away as they realized the 'weird thing' was after them, so they broke the circle and backed far away from me. There was a frightening force at play, but I didn't fear it, because I knew the one behind the momentary disguise. So I waited till the saw-like ball came to me, and at first, it turned around me in circles, and I saw how the dirt and little debris shot up into the air and out of the sharp-toothed ball's way. The boys thought it was after me – one of them even said it was going to eat me – that's how frightening this buzz-saw ball was. But they understood how wrong they were when the ball revealed its true form as it stopped in front of me.

'Mike, you all right?'

Recognizing the voice, I looked up. 'I knew you were behind this, Sonic. What are you doing here?'

'Helping you out. How're you doing?' he asked again.

'Huh, I've had better days…' I replied back, clenching onto my sore stomach, 'How's Maylee?'

'She's had her moment of shock, but she'll be fine.' He answered casually, 'I brought her to the hospital to get her treated. She rebelled at first, thinking it was a bad idea leaving you back here alone against those thugs. Good thing we think alike.'

I breathed out the remaining air I had held back, relieved to hear the news. I sure was glad as heck that she was safe and sound, and that Sonic had come to my aid. Nevertheless, I was too preoccupied with that desire of mine to accept any further help from him. 'Thanks for the help, buddy.' I said, looking over at the gang absentmindedly, 'But I gotta handle these guys on my own.'

'What…?'

'Don't get the wrong idea; I'm really grateful for what you've done so far for me. But these guys threatened Maylee, and I'm not gonna let that go.'

The hedgehog scoffed. 'Mike, be reasonable: look at yourself and look at them. You're too worn out to handle all of them.'

'I don't plan on handling all of them.' I argued, glaring at the leader, 'I've got only one person in mind. The others, I don't care. I want to face off Dave, the leader of the Leatherheads. I need to. It's something I must do.'

I laid my eyes once again at the hedgehog, and caught him facing me with that sly grin of his, preferring to lean forward and keeping his hands on his hips than kneeling down. 'And you need someone to make sure the others don't get involved? I see what you want.'

With a swift move, the hedgehog pivoted around and strafed his nose. 'Well, looks like Mikey wants to fight with you, Dave. Alone. Either this, or you and your partners are gonna deal with me. The choice is up to you.'

They were all still hesitant to give a reply. It wasn't surprising to me. They were as thrown off as I was when I first saw a talking, blue hedgehog. Joe, however, laughed in response. It felt forced, as if he was nervous. 'Deal with you? And you're supposed to be…?'

'I'm Mike's friend, Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog.'

There was a minor, confused silence before the first reaction came. 'Hey, hey hey! I know that dude! He's that game character from the Sega console!' the punker Rick laughed.

But the hedgehog only chuckled at his response. 'You're talking about the one from the Sega console.' he said, 'Ya almost got it right. But that's not me.'

I was confused that moment. Back at our time, we knew Sonic as the iconic Sega hero on the Sega Genesis. Who else could he have been? None of us understood what he meant.

'So, you guys agree on this?'

'Didn't ya get the memo, ya lil' twit?' Sherah shouted, 'We've already said it before: you mess with-'

'Hold it. I've had a change of mind.'

Dave pulled the black guy back by the shoulder and stepped up. 'But boss…'

'This is actually gettin' interesting…' he said, 'You must be that infamous friend of Mike.'

'Oh man, this gets better every minute. To think that Mike does hang out with crazy costume-freaks.' Was Rick's further attempt of ridiculing me.

'Seems like you guys have a hard time believing what you're seeing before you.' Sonic confirmed, 'But I guess it takes its time.'

The leader rolled his shoulders back a couple of times, and jiggled with his head to get it as loose as possible. 'Real or not, that don't matter. We've got a fight goin' on, and I prefer starting it as soon as possible than wasting time on boring talks.'

Sonic glanced back at me. 'Are you really sure about this?'

'I am. These guys got a lot to learn about me. But for what it's worth, Sonic, you're a great friend.'

The hedgehog offered a proud, playful grin, and stepped aside for me so that I could head for the battleground. I couldn't be any happier than I was at the moment. I had feared that Sonic would stop me, and deal with the trouble himself. He is a really trustworthy friend.

But I'll be honest with you. It's true, I've had some doubts of the outcome of the battle, especially in the shape I was in. But there was a deep force that pounded in my chest, and that practically drove me into taking further steps towards Dave. On his side, the leader walked with a cocky ease, titling his head to every side to get a good crack. He thrust his arms forward and bared his teeth into a creasing grin. His left cheek was swelled into a light-purple bruise, but that didn't seem to bother him. He was rather looking forward to this battle.

'Y'know, since you asked for it, I'm gonna make sure it'll be a long, painful match for you.' Dave snickered, 'You might have the guts to entertain me.'

'Or to bring you down.'

Our eyes remained connected in an intensive spark of rivalry, and we walked around in circles, awaiting a great motivation of fighting to flood into us. Dave's eyes flared with anticipation, envy, and as he scrutinized my shape, he taunted me. He was enjoying it. I, on the other hand, found nothing enjoyable about this. Before, I was looking forward to it, now was I wishing to avoid at all cost. But it had to be done.

I wasn't calm, but I was serious about this fight. I was limping my legs as I took sidesteps, and things got more uncomfortable as my bruises prickled like ants crawling around. I had to stay focused. I had to ignore my well-being, and concentrate harder. And finally, I grasped onto my determination and sprinted to my opponent.

And so, the battle began. Fearsome fists were thrown at one another, kicks were exchanged. Each got his own beating, each displayed the strength he got, but I've never thought that fighting was as tough as this. Avoiding hits could have been easier if I weren't in such a bad shape. Hitting became as tiring as supporting the hits. Every harvested energy was slowed drained, bashed cheeks blushed into purple, and limbs were more of a burden to drag than an aid. Fatigue hit at us, and our focus was beginning to sever so badly that we began missing the thrown hits.

'You… don't fight so badly… for a kid…' Dave panted, smirking with an unstable stare.

Things were turning all around me. What I visualized was not blurry, but highly embossed, small details. The eyes of the opponent were either hardly distinguishable, or were fused into one blurry color, just like that normally multiple spotted military shirt blended into a kaki-color.

'You've got some nice moves for an snobbish person.' I wheezed.

The last comment set him off. He came running at me, his speed matching up with that of a provoked bull. I was on the brink of sinking to my knees. I was too badly hurt to carry on the fight, but I knew this was my moment. I sucked in a huge amount of air, stood my ground, and waited with a clenched fist. When he was close enough, I launched my balled hand.

The clash of two opposing forces drew gasps from the bystanders. We stood in front of each other, pressing his own knuckles against his opponent's cheeks, glaring at each other with fierce stares that displayed the strength of our own will. The effect of the punch slowly seeped into my flesh, and rushed sooner than I had expected into my head, detonating a powerful of headache. I've had my moment, but I had to recognize my limit. I was the first to fall. Only thing I'd consider lucky was that I blacked out before I could feel any hard hits when my body collapsed to the ground. But I do recall seeing a blurry background of grey sky, and that blue blur set in the middle of my view. Yes, I could see those emerald eyes that sparked up out of concern.

'I gotcha, buddy.'

And I faded away."

So, enjoyable? Too much? Criticism, please, no flames! And no, there is still one part left to go on this testimony. I think it's pretty important, since it will affect the story.

So, stay tuned for Sonic the Hedgehog! See ya!