Time for chapter 2 and the origin of Sonic the Hedgehog! Though that's not ALL we're going to learn in this tail—sorry, tale…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me
…
"How did Sonic get his super speed? Well that's a stupid question! He was born with it, obviously!" Knuckles said with a snort.
"Actually, Knucklehead, I WASN'T," Sonic said.
Most of the group did a double take. "Wait, what?!" Vector demanded.
Shadow narrowed his eyes in thought. "He wasn't born with it? But then how…"
"That's right!" Amy said, pleased that she knew something the others didn't. "My beloved Sonic was born with the same heightened jumping, running, and rolling in spiked balls ability as the average hedgehog, but he was nowhere NEAR as fast as he is now!"
"Well, I wouldn't say I had the same abilities as the AVERAGE hedgehog," Sonic corrected Amy. "I was always able to jump a bit higher and run and spin a bit faster than other hedgehogs, but you're right, I was nowhere near as fast as I am now. Certainly not fast enough to run on top of water or break the sound barrier."
"But… Then how did you become so fast?" Asked the baffled Knuckles.
Sonic grinned. "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about! We've known each other for ages, but none of you ever thought to ask me something like this! Well, I'd be more than happy to tell the tale."
"This is going to be good, I always love this story!" Tails commented.
Blaze nodded. "As do I."
"I know the story from my extensive research into Sonic's personal life, but I've never heard it firsthand! This is going to be incredible!" Amy said giddily.
"As well as informative. I'm rather curious to find out how a slightly above-average hedgehog could somehow acquire skills almost as great as mine," Shadow said.
Rouge raised an eyebrow. "'Almost?'"
Shadow crossed his arms in glared at her sternly. "Yes. Almost."
Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Shads. Anyway, it all started many years ago…"
The air around Sonic started wavering and shimmering. "Huh? What the heck is this?" The blue hedgehog asked in confusion, causing the strange visual effect to stop.
"Oh, sorry," Silver said apologetically. "It's a side effect of my recording device. Using incredibly complicated FYOO-CHUR science and mind reading technology, it's able to scan your mind while you're telling a story, so that it can project images from your memory that all of us can see as well as hear and give us a more complete experience."
"Oh. Cool," Sonic said.
"Wow! That's pretty impressive!" Tails said. "I don't suppose you could let me have a look at that?"
"No," Silver said. Tails pouted.
"Tell us the story! Tell us the story!" Charmy urged.
"Okay, okay," Sonic said. "It all began many years ago…"
The air began to waver and shimmer again. DOODLY-DOOP! DOODLY-DOOP! DOODLY-DOOP!
"Okay, what that was that?!" Sonic demanded, startled.
"Is that another side effect of your recorder?" Tails asked.
"No, I've no idea what's making that noise," Silver said in puzzlement, shaking his recorder.
"SORRY, THAT-WAS-ME," Omega apologized. "I-THOUGHT-IT-WOULD-ADD-ATMOSPHERE."
"Oh. Well, don't do it again. It's kind of annoying," Silver said.
"MY-BAD," Omega said.
"Can I start my story for real now? No more interruptions?" Sonic asked pointedly.
"Go ahead, beloved. If anyone else tries to interrupt, I shall burn them alive," Blaze said.
"…Isn't that a little excessive?" Charmy asked nervously.
"No," said Blaze.
"Right! Let's do this for real this time!" Sonic said, rubbing his hands together. "Okay! It all started many years ago…"
The air began to waver and shimmer, and as Sonic narrated, an image began to appear in the air…
…
It was a nice, warm, sunny day in the city of Southopolis on South Island. Sonic, a young, short, somewhat chubby brown hedgehog was currently making the most of his summer vacation by playing with his pet dog Muttski on the front lawn of his house, one of many nearly identical homes occupying a fairly standard neighborhood in one of the city's suburbs.
…
"Wait, why were you brown?" asked a confused Knuckles.
Blaze raised a hand, starting to form a fireball, but Sonic grabbed her wrist. "That's not necessary, Blaze. And it's a perfectly reasonable question. I was born brown, and I became blue later, as I'll explain shortly."
"Oh," Knuckles said. "Okay."
"Wait, you had a house? In the suburbs?" asked an incredulous Espio.
"Well, yeah, what'd you think, I was homeless or something?" Sonic joked. There was an awkward pause, and most of his friends wouldn't meet his eye. He frowned. "Seriously?!"
"Well, uh, it's just…" Knuckles fidgeted.
"You just seem like…that type…" Vector said.
"What type?" Sonic demanded.
"You know…a free spirit, wandering everywhere without a place to tie you down…always traveling, never staying in one place for too long…" Rouge said vaguely.
"Just because I like running all over the place doesn't mean I'm a homeless vagrant or anything! I'm fast enough that I can get home from just about anywhere I want if I want a nice warm bed or a roof over my head or a free meal," Sonic said, somewhat miffed.
"Or mine, if he's feeling lazy," Tails muttered, rolling his eyes.
"That reminds me, it's my mom's birthday soon, I should probably get something for her…" Sonic murmured.
"…You have parents?!" Knuckles yelled in disbelief.
"Yeah, why, did you think I was…oh come on, really you guys?!" Sonic asked angrily, seeing guilty looks on many faces. "Look, just because lots of heroes are orphans doesn't mean I am, too! That's an unfair stereotype! Not all of us get into the game because of an exaggerated feeling of grief or loss!"
"Should I be offended?" Shadow muttered.
"Mr. Sonic is right. I still have my Mommy, and Daddy's alive, even if he doesn't come over much anymore," Cream agreed.
"My dad's fine, though it's been a while since the last time I saw him," Tails said sadly.
"My parents are, too…maybe I should call them…" Amy murmured, looking guilty.
"It's been a while since I've talked to my dad…" Vector muttered.
"I never want to see mine again," Espio said flatly.
"I haven't seen my parents in forever, but I know they're out there somewhere, looking for me! And one day, I'll see them again!" Charmy said confidently, missing the uneasy looks Vector and Espio shot each other.
"I haven't seen my mom in a while… But I'm fairly certain we'll be meeting again soon," Rouge said with a fond smile. She sighed. "I really miss her…"
"MARIA!" Shadow shouted. Everyone stared at him. He flushed. "Sorry. Force of habit."
"MY-CREATOR-IS-DOCTOR-EGGMAN-AND-I-SHALL-ONE-DAY-DESTROY-HIM," Omega vowed.
Big said nothing, because he was still fishing and not paying any attention to what was going on around him.
"I've absolutely no idea who my parents, if I actually have any, are," Blaze said. "As far as I know, I was born in flame."
"'Born in flame?' What do you mean by that?" Rouge asked.
"You will understand once it is my turn to tell a story," Blaze said.
"I don't have parents…" Knuckles moped.
"It's been ages since I've seen MY progenitor… How I miss you, cold, unfeeling robot arm," Silver said wistfully. "But enough of this! Sonic, you must continue your story!"
Sonic nodded. "Right, right. Now where was I? Oh, right… I was playing with my beloved dog, Muttski…"
…
"Fetch!" Sonic called, throwing a stick past his dog.
Muttski sat in place, panting and drooling.
"Roll over!" Sonic commanded.
Muttski sat in place, panting and drooling.
"Play dead!" Sonic ordered.
Muttski sat in place, panting and drooling.
"Shake!" Sonic yelled.
Muttski sat in place, panting and drooling.
Sonic frowned, deep in thought for a moment. He perked up, getting an idea. "Sit!"
Muttski sat in place, panting and drooling.
"Good boy!" Sonic cried, rushing over and affectionately rubbing and scratching his pet, who barked and enthusiastically licked him back, causing him to laugh.
An elderly human with wild white hair wearing a lab coat, an ugly Hawaiian shirt, and goggles on his forehead poked his head over the fence separating Sonic's yard from the one next door. "Sonic! I hate to interrupt your bonding session with your lesser-evolved animal companion, but I was wondering if I could have your help with something?"
"Huh? Sure thing, Doc! What's up?" Sonic asked, reluctantly pushing his dog away, patting him on the head as an apology before walking over to speak to the human.
Sonic's next-door neighbor, Dr. Emile Blue, was a rather eccentric mad scientist whose inventions had a 50-50 chance of either vastly improving the lives of everyone in town by leaps and bounds or spectacularly blowing up in his face. (Sometimes both.) Sonic had known him for most of his life, and often helped the doctor out with his experiments when he had nothing better to do with his time. His parents allowed it, despite the not-too-slim risk involved, because they figured Sonic might actually learn more from the doctor than he ever did in school. (They were right, in a fashion. Sonic certainly learned more about how to make things explode than he ever would have from watching television!)
"I'm on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that could revolutionize the way we look at life itself!" The doctor proclaimed.
"You say that all the time," Sonic pointed out.
"Yes, but this time I mean it!" The doctor said.
"You say that all the time too," Sonic pointed out.
"Yes, but this time I REALLY mean it!" The doctor emphasized. "However, if this experiment is to have any chance of success, I'm going to need your help, Sonic. I don't suppose you could spare a few minutes to help out your favorite neighbor?"
Sonic thought about it for a minute. "Can we get ice cream afterwards?"
"Certainly!" Doc Blue said.
"Awesome! Oh, wait, I should check with my Mom first," Sonic said. He turned towards his house and shouted," MOM! Can I help Doc Blue with an experiment?"
One of the windows on the front of Sonic's house opened, and Sonic's mother, Bernadette, a very pretty blue hedgehog with blonde hair and a purple dress, poked her head out. "That depends, dear. Is he going to raise the dead again?"
"That was just one time! ONE TIME!" Doc said in exasperation.
"I don't think so," Sonic said.
"Is there a high likelihood of whatever he's doing destroying the planet, tearing open a hole in the fabric of space and time, or turning you into a human?" Bernadette rest.
"I cannot say with 100% absolute certainty that none of those events will occur, because nothing in life is ever completely certain, and any fool who says otherwise is either lying or an idiot," Doc said. "However, I am relatively certain that the chances of any of those eventualities happening are slim to nonexistent. ESPECIALLY Sonic turning into a human."
"Thank goodness," Sonic said with a shiver.
"Well, all right then," Bernadette said with a shrug. "Just so long as you're back in time for dinner, honey!"
"Sure thing, Mom!" Sonic said.
…
"So let me get this straight… You lived next door to a mad scientist, and your mom was okay with you hanging out with him and performing dangerous experiments?!" an incredulous Vector asked.
"Yep," Sonic said.
"Dang. My parents weren't nearly that cool…" The crocodile grumbled.
"Mommy is fine with me playing with the neighbors, but none of them are mad scientists," Cream said. "At least, I don't think they are."
"Wait a second… Mad scientist… Dangerous experiment… Sonic, is whatever you and Doc Blue did what led to the rise of Dr. Eggman?!" Knuckles asked.
Everyone stared at the echidna in confusion. "What? No, that's… where'd you get that idea from?" Asked the perplexed Sonic
"Uh… I just… Thought… Nevermind…" Knuckles muttered in embarrassment.
…
Sonic and Doc entered the scientist's laboratory through his garage, passing his vintage DeLorean in the process. (The Doc had modified and upgraded the car so many times, Sonic wouldn't be surprised if one day, it gained the ability to fly or travel through time.) As usual, the doctor's laboratory was full of fascinating and complex equipment and machinery the young hedgehog did not fully understand. There were consoles and panels covered in flashing lights and dials; monitors showing feeds from all over the world; bizarre devices crackling with electricity or glowing with a strange and eerie power; chemistry sets bubbling and steaming with mysterious fluids; and there was even a stuffed alligator hanging from the ceiling! (Sonic asked the Doc once what the alligator was for, and the scientist had confessed that he didn't actually remember, but kept it because he thought it 'looked nice.')
They were not alone in the laboratory, and the doctor's housemate trotted over to greet them on all four legs. "Hey, Miles!" Sonic said, picking up the small orange fox wearing a collar and nuzzling him. "How are you doing today?" The Fox yipped a few times, but did not reply in any intelligible manner, for he was just a simple animal, not a Mobian like Sonic.
…
Rouge blinked. "Miles? But…Wait…Isn't that…" She stared at Tails in confusion and disbelief, as did many of the others once they recalled that 'Tails' wasn't the fox's birth name.
Tails smirked and tapped his nose. "Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon," he assured them.
…
"He's been doing just fine, thanks. As you can see, all of his fur seems to have grown back from the last experiment," Doc said.
The Doc had found the young fox foraging through his trash one day and immediately took a liking to him, cleaning him up, getting him fixed up, and giving him a home. He also frequently used him as a test subject in his experiments, claiming that while Sonic was great, there were times it couldn't hurt to have an assistant who actually knew what he was doing. (Sonic was fairly certain he was joking. Probably.)
"So, what are we doing today, Doc?" Sonic asked.
"Come along and I'll show you. Oh, and bring Miles, he's absolutely crucial to the experiment," the Doc said.
Carrying the fox, Sonic followed the scientist deeper into the laboratory, passing through a decontamination chamber and into a small room with some kind of incredibly high-tech treadmill on one end and a large capsule of some sort on the other. Various cables and power cords snaked across the chamber to connect the two, all of them converging on a metal pedestal in the center of the room with a glowing blue gemstone secured by a metal clamp beneath a glass dome. Something deep within Sonic stirred when he gazed upon the blue jewel, and he felt mysteriously drawn to it. "Doc… Is that what I think it is?"
The Doc grinned. "If you're thinking that's a Chaos Emerald… Then yes, Sonic, that's exactly what you think it is!"
"Whoa!" Sonic said in amazement, staring at the gemstone in awe. "My dad said that the Chaos Emeralds are the things that created our kind! He's told me all sorts of stories about how lots of famous heroes throughout history have used their limitless power to save the world from countless villains! He even claims that a good number of them are from our family! How the heck did you manage to get your hands on one?"
The Doc looked rather uncomfortable for a moment. "That's… Not important, Sonic. But…ah… On a completely unrelated note, if some Libyan terrorists should ever come by asking for me or any uranium that I may or may not have stolen from them… You've never heard of me before. Understand?"
Sonic did not understand, but he nodded anyway. He knew well enough by now that it was a good idea to heed the Doc's directions, even if they didn't always make sense at the time. "So, Doc, is whatever experiment we're doing today involve this Chaos Emerald?"
The Doc nodded. "Precisely! Sonic, you mentioned that your father told you that the Chaos Emeralds are responsible for the creation of your species. Archaeological, historical, and scientific evidence all seem to point to this being the case. Mobians first appeared in the world thousands of years ago following the first recorded appearance of the Chaos Emeralds, shortly after a mysterious incident that those who study it call the 'Super Genesis Wave,' an event triggered by the Chaos Emeralds that somehow induced hyper-accelerated evolution in numerous animals around the world, leading to the rise of the earliest ancestors of the Mobian species as we know it. For years, scientists have attempted to replicate this event using Chaos Drives or genuine Chaos Emeralds so we may better understand the genesis of your species and gain greater insights into the workings of Chaos energy and the way it interacts with life itself, and maybe even figure out why Mobians are able to naturally harness it much more easily than humans can, but up until now, nobody's ever been able to get it right."
"And I'm guessing that you figured out a way to get it right?" Sonic guessed.
The Doc grinned. "I believe so. Tell me, Sonic, have you ever heard of the space colony ARK?"
…
Shadow stiffened at this.
Amy groaned. "Oh great, ANOTHER thing tying back to that?"
"I thought we were through with that for good after the Black Arms invasion," Knuckles complained.
"Shh! I want to see where this is going!" Charmy hissed.
…
"No, I can't say that I have, Doc," Sonic confessed.
The Doc sighed. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. The world seems to be doing its best to pretend that it never existed… It's like this, Sonic. Nearly 50 years ago, the government funded construction of a massive space colony for use in planetary defense and scientific and military research. Scientists from all over the world, the best and brightest our planet has ever produced, were selected to board the ARK so that they could develop all sorts of new and incredible technologies and innovations unlike anything the world has ever known out in space, for the benefit of man and Mobiankind. My grandfather, Professor Emmett Blue, was one such scientist. He was my hero ever since I was a little boy, and the first time I met him and he showed me around his laboratory, I knew that I must dedicate my life to science, just like he did, to use my great intellect to better the world and its people."
"So what went wrong?" Sonic asked, rightfully perceiving that if this ARK thing were such a big deal, and had done so much, then logically he should've heard about it by now.
The Doc's face fell. "That's just the thing. To this day, nobody's really sure. One day, all communications to the ARK ceased. There were rumors of some sort of outbreak. The military went up to investigate, and…"
"And what?" Sonic asked.
The Doc shrugged. "And nothing. That's it. There was a brief statement from the government afterwards that the ARK had been shut down, and that was that. All inquiries from the media or public as to what happened were answered with stony silence. My family got a brief and very impersonal message that my grandfather was dead, and nothing more. We weren't satisfied by this, naturally, and my father tried making inquiries, but…when he started asking too many questions, he was… Strongly encouraged to… Stop."
Sonic's eyes widened. "That's… Pretty damn creepy, Doc."
The Doc nodded solemnly. "Indeed. One of the driving questions of my life, another of the reasons I chose to dedicate myself to science, is to find out what really happened, all those years ago."
…
"Wow," Amy said as Cream sniffed and sobbed and the others looked solemn and deep in thought. "That's… pretty dark."
"We never really thought about that, did we?" Knuckles asked, looking upset. "We all know how Shadow was affected by what happened on the ARK, and the Robotnik family, and GUN Commander… But they couldn't have been the only people up there. How many other families here on Earth were affected by that horrible tragedy?"
"I never thought about that, either," Shadow confessed, enraged at the government and military for doing all this and at himself for not thinking about how others might have been affected by it. "I was too wrapped up in my own anger towards what happened to think about what might have happened to everyone else… It never even OCCURRED to me to search for the families of the rest of the staff and scientists up there!" He snarled and punched a nearby tree. "I'm such an idiot! Even now, despite knowledge of the ARK incident finally being revealed to the public, they're still probably waiting for answers… Answers only I could give them! Or, well, GUN Commander, except he won't, because he's an asshole."
"If you want, after this we can start tracking them down," Rouge suggested. "I'm sure there's a lot you can tell them about the people you knew up there that they'd love to hear about."
Shadow nodded. "I believe that would not be a bad idea, Rouge. But Sonic… Why did you never tell me that you knew someone who was descended from one of the scientists on the ARK?!"
"I tried to!" Sonic protested. "Lots of times!"
Shadow blinked. "You did?"
"Yeah!" Sonic said.
…
"You know, this space colony of yours isn't half bad," Sonic commented as he and Shadow ran across a collapsing walkway through space, heading towards the Eclipse Cannon pointed at Earth, each of them wielding a Chaos Emerald, though only one was real. "A good friend of mine had a grandfather who worked up here. I don't suppose you knew him? Prof. Emmet–"
"THIS IS THE ULTIMATE! CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, hurling yellow energy bolts at the blue hedgehog.
"Okay, another time then," Sonic said, dodging the spears.
…
"It's good to see you're still alive, Shadow! I figured it would take more than falling through the stratosphere to kill you, we super hedgehogs are pretty tough, after all!" Sonic said as he and Shadow exchanged Homing Attacks in the depths of Lost Jungle while their teammates fought alongside them. "Say, maybe after this is over, we can go see a friend of mine, I think he'd be pretty interested in meeting you –"
"DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!" Omega shouted, firing missiles at Sonic.
"Okay, another time then," Sonic said, dodging the explosive volley.
…
"So, Shadow, I hear you've been going around doing just about everything anyone tells you to do in some desperate attempt to learn more about your past," Sonic said as he and Shadow sped through the depths of the Black Arms base of operations, the Black Comet. "Well, it just so happens that I might know somebody who might be able to–"
"Not now, Sonic! I have to flip all the switches to activate the force field protecting the comet's core because Black Doom told me to, so that I can finally get that last DAMN Chaos Emerald!" Shadow said. Some of the alien invaders started shooting at him, causing the black hedgehog to scream, "WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING AT ME?! I'M ON YOUR SIDE, DAMMIT!...FOR THE TIME BEING!"
"Okay, another time then," Sonic said, curling into a Spin Dash to charge at the alien horrors.
…
"Wow, Shadow, this sure brings back memories!" Sonic commented as he and Shadow ran down a walkway through space, this climactic battle recreated thanks to the power of the Time Eater. "Say, while we're here, that reminds me, there's some guy I've been meaning to talk to you about–"
"THIS IS THE ULTIMATE! CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, hurling yellow energy bolts at the blue hedgehog.
"Okay, another time then," Sonic said, dodging the spears.
…
"And I guess another time is now," Sonic finished.
Shadow tried to hide the flush of embarrassment as several of the others, including Rouge, snickered at him. "Yes, well… I believe that I would like to meet your friend at some point, Sonic. I knew his grandfather. He and the Professor were colleagues, and I believe that they were close enough friends that they had no problem sharing each other's theories and work when either of them was stuck on something. In fact, I believe that some of the science that went into creating me was originally concocted by Prof. Blue."
"What happened to him?" Tails asked, looking oddly intent.
Shadow shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible he was killed during the attack, or perhaps he died in prison like the Professor." His face softened. "He was a good man. Maria… Maria liked him. His grandson was right to venerate him. He didn't deserve whatever happened to him."
"That poor man…it's so horrible!" Cream wept.
"Those GUN bastards… How could they do that?!" Amy snarled.
"WE-SHOULD-KILL-THEM-ALL," Omega suggested a little too enthusiastically.
"Sure, I'm game," Blaze said with a bloodthirsty grin.
Surprisingly, Shadow shook his head. "While I might have once wanted nothing more than to do just that… There is no point. Pretty much everyone who was involved in the ARK debacle is long dead or retired, so there is no point in seeking retribution any longer. While I am not exactly comfortable with GUN as it is now, nor am I exactly friends with its commander, I… Reluctantly concede that they are a better organization now than they were 50 years ago, and do not deserve destruction."
"Wow, Shadow," Vector said. "That's not something I thought I'd ever hear you say."
"I thought once you had a grudge, you never let it go," Knuckles said.
Shadow shrugged. "I have tried to move past that…and anyway, if I didn't feel that way about the current incarnation of GUN, why would I go on so many missions for them?"
"I thought it was because otherwise you'd be an unemployed bum and because you still need to pay off the MASSIVE amount of property damage and debt you owe them for wrecking all their stuff and nearly destroying the world twice over," Charmy joked.
Shadow's eye twitched. "There is that as well, yes. Sonic, where can I find this 'Doc' you speak of? Is he still in Southopolis?"
"He still lives there, yeah," Sonic said. "Unfortunately, he's not in right now, and I doubt he will be for quite some time. He's up in space at the moment, working with a bunch of other scientists to fix the Moon."
Shadow blinked. "The… Moon? Oh, that's right… We… blew it up…" He looked embarrassed.
"Oh, so that's why the world hasn't been destroyed yet due to gravitational shifts or debris from a shattered stellar object," Espio said. "I was wondering about that."
"What were you thinking anyway? Blowing up the moon?! That was just nuts!" Amy demanded.
"In my defense, I was trying to destroy the world anyway, so it's not like I really cared whether or not the moon suffered," Shadow said defensively. "And, ah, to be honest… We weren't TRYING to destroy the moon."
They stared at him in disbelief. "… If you weren't trying to destroy the moon, then why is half of it disintegrated?" Cream asked.
Shadow grimaced in embarrassment and Rouge chuckled. "What Dr. Eggman was TRYING to do was carve his face into the moon in a fit of vanity. However, he gave the cannon a little too much power, and, well…"
Despite the ridiculousness of this, and the consequences of such actions, they couldn't help laughing. "Yeah, that sounds like Egghead all right," Sonic chuckled, wiping away a tear.
"I suppose we should be grateful he didn't try carving his face into the planet instead, or Dark Gaia might have been woken up a few years too early," Tails joked. "Well, even earlier, anyway."
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, and I'll bet he'd be even crankier than he already was!"
"Hey, Silver, is the moon all right in your time?" Charmy asked.
Silver nodded. "Yes, the moon is fine, thanks to Doc Blue's work… But while all of this was well and good and informative, it's distracted us from the real topic: how Sonic got his speed!"
"Right, right," Sonic said. "So anyway…"
…
"So what's all this got to do with whatever we're working on today?" Sonic asked the Doc.
"Well, when the military covered everything up, they confiscated and/or destroyed most of my grandfather's work," the Doc said sadly. "However, through means I'd rather not discuss, I was able to obtain a few of his old research journals and notes. They were heavily encrypted, naturally, but I've been able to decipher some of it… And let me tell you, I was astounded by some of what he came up with! I always knew he was a genius, but my grandfather had ideas decades, if not CENTURIES ahead of his time." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, without the resources of a multibillion-dollar space colony, I won't be able to replicate most of his work for quite some time. However, I was able to find what I believe might be the key to finally inducing artificial Chaos Evolution in ordinary animals! And that key… Is you, Sonic!"
Sonic was startled. "Me? What are you talking about? I'm just a run-of-the-mill hedgehog!"
The Doc shook his head. "No, Sonic, a run-of-the-mill hedgehog is a small spiky creature that roots around in the dirt and eats grubs and berries. YOU, my boy, are a Mobian! A living, breathing, impossible miracle of evolution, something that flies in the face of most of what we scientists think we know about the universe! Mobians are capable of incredible feats, things which we humans are just unable to do on our own. Things that would seem to break the very laws which govern our universe! And I believe the reason for this lies within."
"Within? What are you talking about, Doc?" Sonic asked, looking down himself.
"When the Chaos Emeralds created your species, they infused a spark of raw Chaos energy into each and every single one of you," the Doc explained. "When any Mobian uses their special powers, they are able to tap into that spark, allowing them to accomplish feats which should, quite frankly, be completely and biologically impossible! I believe that if I can harness that spark, I can use it to jumpstart this Chaos Emerald here to trigger an induced artificial Chaos Evolution in any regular animal of my choosing!"
Sonic considered this for a moment. "That's… Pretty damn cool, Doc! So you want to use my spark? Is it safe?"
"It should be," the Doc said. "So long as nothing goes catastrophically wrong, that is… But I've double and triple checked everything, so I'm relatively certain everything should be okay and nobody will get hurt."
"All right," Sonic said, shrugging it off. He wasn't really too concerned about something going wrong. He'd survived enough of the Doc's experiments blowing up in their faces to not be afraid of a little malfunction or mishap. "So, what animal are we gonna test this on?"
"None other than my dear companion Miles, of course!" The Doc said, taking the fox from Sonic.
Sonic frowned. "Miles? Is that really a good idea, Doc?"
The Doc shrugged. "I don't see why not. We've tested him lots of times, and he's always turned out all right in the end."
"Well, yeah, but none of those times we've tried to make him SENTIENT!" Sonic pointed out. "Are you really sure this is something we should be doing? I mean, this is playing God levels here, and that usually doesn't turn out well."
The Doc sighed. "Perhaps not, but… Sonic, I believe you're familiar with the phrase that there are some things men or Mobians are not meant to know?"
"Yeah," Sonic said.
"As any real scientist would tell you, that statement is ludicrous," the Doc said angrily. "It is the job, nay, the DUTY of any respectable scientist to push the boundaries as far as they can and learn everything there is to know about the universe. While I am not as unethical or unscrupulous as to believe that there should not be some restraints in the way we pursue our goals, if we do not try every avenue available to us, how can we truly call ourselves explores of the unknown and seekers of truth? And in any event… Sooner or later, everything is discovered by somebody eventually. That's how science works. After all, I'm not the only scientist working on this problem, Sonic, and even if I turn my back on this research, I promise you that someday, even though it may be many years from now, someone else will eventually figure it out… And they might not be quite as nice about it as us." He smirked as Sonic considered this. "And besides, wouldn't it be nice to have another friend around? Someone to hang out and have adventures with? I for one wouldn't mind having another pair of hands to help out around the lab! Or to…talk to when you aren't around." He sighed. "While I don't regret choosing this path in life, there are times when it can get rather lonely around here…"
"… I guess so," Sonic admitted. "I'm just a bit worried that something like… You know, Frankenstein or whatever might happen? That we'll create some sort of horrible monster that will kill us and try to destroy the world?"
"You've been watching too many horror movies, Sonic," the Doc chided him gently. "That sort of thing NEVER happens in real life!"
…
Everyone pointedly looked at Shadow. He grunted.
"Hold on now… I thought we were learning about SONIC'S origins!" Knuckles spoke up.
"We are," Sonic said.
"Then why is it sounding like we're learning about TAILS' origins?" Knuckles pressed.
Tails smirked. "You're doing that, too. The story's a twofer!"
"Huh. That's awfully convenient," Rouge said.
"AND-CERTAINLY-SAVES-US-SOME-TIME," Omega said.
"But what does transforming Tails from a regular fox into a Mobian have to do with Sonic getting his super speed?" Cream asked. "And… were you REALLY made that way, Tails?"
"I was," Tails confirmed. "But you shouldn't treat me any differently because of it. After all, Shadow was created in the laboratory, but we treat him the same way we treat anyone else! Well, more or less."
Shadow grunted, but looked at the young fox with interest, intrigued that he was not the only artificially created Mobian present. Before, he'd regarded the young Mobian with bemusement, if not grudging respect due to his intellect and technical prowess… But only now was he starting to see him in a new light. He found himself more and more wanting to meet this Doc Blue, a man who more and more was starting to remind him of his own creator.
"What's it like having a human as a dad?" Vector asked, struggling to wrap his head around this.
"What's it like having a Mobian for a dad?" Tails countered. "He's my dad, just like yours is yours. That's all there is to it, really."
"Do you remember being a regular fox?" Rouge asked.
Tails shrugged. "Do you remember being a baby? It was like another life, really. I only recall some vague impressions…but aside from knowing instinctively that Sonic was my friend and Doc Blue was the closest thing to my dad, none of it was really important enough to remember."
"Guess that makes sense…" Knuckles muttered doubtfully.
"But if you were created by a Dr. Blue, why is your last name 'Prower?'" Espio asked.
"Shadow was created by Professor Robotnik, that his last name is 'the Hedgehog,'" Cream pointed out.
"No, it's Robotnik," Shadow said.
"Then why does everyone call you Shadow the Hedgehog, instead of Shadow Robotnik?" The confused Cream asked.
Shadow shrugged. "For the same reason most of us are known by our species instead of our proper surnames, I suppose. Isn't it some sort of Mobian custom? I was never quite clear on that, growing up on the ARK."
"It's something like that, yeah," Rouge said.
"'Prower?'" Espio prompteded.
Tails made a face. "It's one of those overused jokes that ceased being funny years ago. Back when I was just a regular fox, Sonic gave me the last name of 'Prower' as a pun, because I was always able to keep up with him when he ran. I'm still pretty fast, but not as fast as him anymore, but the name stuck anyway, even though on most legal forms I am, indeed, Miles Blue."
"It's still kinda weird…" Charmy said. "I mean, being raised by and MADE by a human? I mean, I guess it happens sometimes, but…"
"My father's a human," Cream spoke up.
Everyone stared at the young rabbit in astonishment. "Wait, he is?!" Amy asked in disbelief.
"Uh-huh," Cream said.
"I thought we were best friends! Why didn't you ever tell me this?!" Amy demanded.
Cream shrugged. "You never asked."
"Who's your father, Cream?" Blaze asked, interested, as Amy fumed.
"Someone all of us know, actually. You see, he's –" Cream started.
"NO!" Knuckles shouted. "No, no, no, NO! We already have TWO backstories going on the same time, we don't need a third! Whoever your dad is, he can wait until it's your turn!"
"As rude as he is, he kind of has a point," Rouge admitted reluctantly as Cream whimpered and cowered. "We do keep getting off track."
"Continue the story, beloved," Blaze said.
"Sure thing!" Said Sonic.
…
"So, what do you need me to do?" Sonic asked.
"Like most hedgehogs, your talent seems to lie in your speed," the Doc said. "Once I have everything set up, I want you to get on that treadmill and run. Run like you've never run before. If you go fast enough, it should cause the spark of Chaos to flare within you, making the Emerald react…"
"And evolving Miles?" Sonic asked.
The Doc nodded. "Precisely!"
Sonic hopped onto the treadmill. "Okay, then. Hook me up, Doc!"
The human scientists spent the next few minutes fussing over Sonic, attaching a series of electrodes connected by wires to the treadmill and to the Chaos Emerald. After he'd checked all the connections several times, he gently placed Miles into the capsule. "Don't worry, Miles," the Doc said to the curious fox as he strapped him into the cushioned seat inside and sealed the capsule. "This will all be over soon, one way or another."
"Want me to start running, Doc?" Sonic asked.
"Not yet! Hold on a minute!" the Doc urged him. The Doc left the room, and a few moments later could be seen through a plate glass window taking up most of one wall, along with various computer banks and instruments. "Just have to run a few diagnostics and systems checks, make sure everything's copacetic…" He murmured, his voice audible through a series of speakers set into the ceiling. "Okay… Everything looks great. You're good to go, Sonic! Start running!"
And run Sonic did. He ran and he ran as fast as he could. He wasn't sure why, but his whole body felt full of energy, something within him pushing him to go faster and faster than he'd ever gone before. It must be that Chaos Emerald, he thought to himself, seeing the gemstone starting to glow with a steady pulse out of the corner of his eye. If this thing really does have some sort of connection to Mobians, then it only makes sense that being around it would make me stronger than I've ever been before! I feel like I could run forever, and never stop!
"Good, good…" The Doc murmured, quickly glancing from his running protégé to his various instruments and back. "Everything seems to be working just right…Hmm? What's this?"
As Sonic kept running and running, the dial on one of the Doc's speedometers steadily creeping further and further to the right, the Chaos Emerald's glow grew brighter and brighter. Blue electricity started crackling out from it, lights flashing down the cables leading from its pedestal into the capsule, which began to glow as well, the light obscuring the form of the small fox sealed inside. However, the Emerald's power didn't seem to be simply flowing into the capsule, but the OTHER way as well, into the treadmill and up into Sonic's body. The brown hedgehog's aura, generated just like all Mobians did when they tapped into their inner power to perform incredible feats, started changing color from brown, like it's owner's fur, to blue, like the Emerald…
And slowly, Sonic's fur began to change color as well! "Great Scott… What's happening?" The Doc pressed a button on his console. "Sonic! You're turning blue!"
"Yeah, I noticed!" Sonic replied.
"I'm going to shut this down, this wasn't supposed to happen! I never factored for this!" The Doc said, reaching for the emergency shutoff switch.
"No, don't!" Sonic yelled frantically.
The Doc's hand froze. "Eh?"
"This feels great! Better than I've ever felt before!" Sonic said, voice filled with glee. "I feel like… Like I can run faster, jump higher, do things I could never even IMAGINE before! That Chaos Emerald's doing something to me as well, Doc… And we have to let it happen! I can't explain why, but… Something tells me that this is SUPPOSED to happen!"
The Doc frowned. "I don't like the idea of trusting the outcome of this experiment, let alone your LIFE, to some 'feeling,' Sonic."
"Doc, you said yourself that Mobians and the Chaos Emeralds work on ways that even smart guys like yourselves don't always understand," Sonic pointed out. "You said that we have a connection to them that humans don't… And I can't say why, but I think it's that connection that's telling me that this is the way things have gotta go down! This is what I'm MEANT to do!"
"To be blue?" The Doc asked skeptically.
Sonic grinned. "Nope! Well, yeah, that too… But also, to be the FASTEST THING ALIVE!"
And with that, he put on another burst of speed, his blue aura flaring and more and more of his fur turning blue to match it by the second. Worried, the Doc checked his instruments… And to his astonishment, saw that the speedometer was indicating Sonic was moving not only faster than he'd ever run before, but possibly faster than ANYONE had ever run before! He'd passed 88 mph long time ago, and was steadily climbing up into the hundreds! He wasn't sure if the speedometer would be able to fully measure the speed at which Sonic was running for much longer… He felt a sudden worry that the treadmill might not be able to handle it, either. "I hope you're right, Sonic…" he said worriedly, crossing his fingers.
Oblivious to his mentor's worries, Sonic kept running, faster and faster and faster. He'd always loved running, feeling the wind in his face and the sense of freedom it brought him. But all of his runs before felt like walking in slow motion compared to this! He'd never felt so alive, so powerful, so WHOLE before! He never wanted this incredible feeling to go away, not ever!
Unfortunately, all things came to an end someday, and so too did Sonic's euphoria, as well as the experiment. It ended not with a whimper, nor a bang, but rather a boom. A SONIC boom, rather, as, with a blinding flash of blue light from both Sonic and the Emerald, the newly colored hedgehog broke the sound barrier, as well as the treadmill, and the window in Doc's control room in a shattering explosion of sound, as well as glass, knocking out the scientist.
The Doc came to sometime later. Groaning, he struggled to pull himself up, pieces of broken glass sliding off his form as he got to his feet. There was a loud ringing in his ears, and initially he thought he'd been deafened by the sonic boom, but then he realized it was the alarm from his disasterometer device, which he had set up to monitor trouble of all sorts all over the island to better help emergency and rescue services do their jobs more efficiently. Deciding to table that for later, the Doc peered through the large hole that had once been a window into the experiment chamber…
And gasped when he saw Sonic lying against the wall, slumped down from an imprint shaped like his body, the treadmill a smoking pile of scrap and the glass case containing the Emerald shattered, sparks and jolts of blue electricity still snapping off of it, occasionally. The capsule, thankfully, was still intact, but he only had eyes for his assistant's still form.
"SONIC!" he shouted, racing into the chamber-grabbing a medical scanner and first aid kit as he went––and rushing to the young hedgehog's side, noting with no small sense of relief that he was still breathing.
Sonic groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. "Ouch… Not so loud, Doc, I've got a splitting headache!"
"Considering that you just ran into a concrete wall at faster than the speed of sound, I'm amazed that's ALL you've got!" The Doc said in relief, running the scanner over the blue hedgehog. "I don't believe it… Everything's green! Aside from a bit of cranial bruising, you've got a clean bill of health! In fact, I think you're healthier than you've ever been before!"
"Chalk that up to the power of Chaos, I guess," Sonic said. "And did you just say I ran faster than SOUND?! That's AWESOME!"
"I know, right?!" The Doc said giddily. "And that's not even what we were trying to do! Err… Your mother won't be too angry at me for this, will she?"
"Nah, she's always said blue was more my color anyway," Sonic said, admiring his new fur color. "Amazing… Doc, even though I'm not hooked up to the Emerald anymore, I can still feel some of its power… I think whatever we just did strengthened that spark of Chaos inside of me for good!"
"Yes, that would seem to conform to my initial scans…" The Doc mused. "Assuming this is permanent, that means that, aside from your new color change, you may be able to achieve such incredible speeds whenever you wish! Astonishing! This requires more tests!"
"If it means I get to run like that again, I'm all for it," Sonic said. He frowned and looked down at his feet. "Huh. My shoes are okay. I'm kind of surprised, I figured they'd have gotten shredded by me running so fast. I'm pretty sure they weren't meant to be worn by someone moving at supersonic speeds."
"It's probably due to an aftereffect of your enhanced bioelectrical Chaos field encapsulating your shoes due to their close contact with your skin to offer them the same protection that allows your own body to move at supersonic speeds without tearing your skin off or shattering your bones," the Doc said.
"Really?" Sonic asked.
"I have no idea, I made that up just now," the Doc admitted. "It's as good an explanation as anything else, but we're going to need to run more tests to be sure! Lots and lots of tests!"
"Sounds cool," Sonic said. He frowned. "Speaking of tests… Why do I feel like we're forgetting something?"
They both frowned and considered this for a moment. Their eyes lit up, gasping at the same time. "MILES!" They shouted in unison.
They raced over to the capsule, which had somehow not been damaged in the explosion, Sonic moving much faster than the Doc even at a walking pace, something he noted with delight. After a few moments of desperate fumbling, they managed to lever the capsule open, and inside found…
A perfectly normal, healthy looking young Fox. A MOBIAN Fox.
"It worked… IT WORKED!" the Doc shouted. "IT WORKED! IT WORKED! THE EXPERIMENT WAS A SUCCESS! HAHAHAHA! OH, GRANDFATHER, YOU BRILLIANT MAN! I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU! WE'VE JUST MADE HISTORY! THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH IN CENTURIES, IF NOT MILLENNIA!"
"Uh, Doc… Why's he got two tails?" Sonic asked in concern.
"Eh?" The Doc paused in his revelry and self-congratulation to take a second look at the transformed Miles. His brow furrowed in puzzlement when he noticed that the newborn Mobian did, indeed, have two tails. "That's… Unusual…"
"Weren't expecting this, either, huh?" Sonic asked.
The Doc shook his head. "Not at all." He chuckled ruefully. "Well, I suppose I should have known better than to expect something called CHAOS energy to conform completely to my expectations. We're going to have to run some tests on him, too. Most fascinating… If he obtained this unique mutation just as you obtained yours, there may be a connection between the two of you… Maybe some sort of special destiny?"
"Didn't think you believed in that sort of thing, Doc," Sonic commented.
"I think I might be starting to," the scientist said.
"So, think we could turn that alarm off now? It's starting to get on my nerves a bit," Sonic said.
"Oh, we can't shut off, that's the alert for the disasterometer. That means there must be something bad going on somewhere on the island," the Doc said.
"Oh, okay," Sonic said.
There was a moment's pause as this sunk in. "Should, uh, should we check it out?" Sonic asked.
"That would probably be a good idea," the Doc agreed, gently lifting the transformed, but still unconscious Miles out of the capsule.
They headed into another room, where the Doc again gently lowered Miles into a seat before fiddling with some controls at the base of a giant mass of monitors, all of which seemed to be showing what looked like an invasion of robots attacking towns and cities all over the island. "What movie is this, Doc?" Sonic asked. "Doesn't look like anything familiar to me."
"I… I'm not sure this IS a movie, Sonic," the Doc said in alarm. "I think the island actually IS being attacked by an army of robots!"
"Huh. Cool," Sonic said.
"No, not cool!" the Doc snapped. "People could get hurt!"
Sonic frowned at this, realizing how serious this was. "Well… who's behind this? They're robots, right? That means somebody must've built them!"
The Doc nodded. "A good question, Sonic. Let's see… Something about the design of those robots seems familiar… I know I've seen them before… They definitely aren't military, and they don't match most of the models currently on the market–" He froze. "No… No, it can't be… Not HIM…"
"Doc?" Sonic asked in concern.
"There's only one other man who… But no, it can't be him, not after all these years… Can it?" The Doc muttered to himself, looking more and more worried.
Suddenly, the images on all the monitors cut out and were replaced by the visage of a rather rotund bald man in a red and yellow shirt and black pants, dark blue glasses, and a very impressive brown mustache. "Greetings, citizens of South island!" The very round man said with an evil grin. "I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, your new Lord and master! Rejoice, for I have come to liberate you from the shackles of free will to live a life of rewarding servitude under my new Empire! If you surrender, submit to my rule, and serve me faithfully, you shall be allowed to keep your lives. And if you dare to oppose me… Well, let's just say you won't regret it for very long." He laughed maniacally before the feed changed again to a logo that looked like a stylized image of the madman's face.
"Whoa! What the heck was that?!" Sonic asked.
"No, no, no… Not HIM! After all these years, I thought he was gone for good!" The Doc moaned.
"You know that nutjob, Doc?" Sonic asked.
The Doc nodded regretfully. "Unfortunately, yes. That's Dr. Ivo Robotnik, an old colleague and childhood friend of mine. We knew each other growing up… Went to school together… In fact, he had a grandfather who worked on the ARK as well! We had big dreams, and wanted to change the world…"
"Certainly looks like he's trying to do that to me," Sonic pointed out.
"We never wanted to change the world like THIS! At least, I didn't…" The Doc said mournfully. "He was a brilliant roboticist whose innovations revolutionized the field. In fact, a good number of the advances in modern robotics were either pioneered by or inspired by him! However, one day he went too far… He proposed the use of live wild animals as a power source for his machines to save fuel costs!"
"What?!" Sonic cried, glancing in alarm at the still asleep Miles, who not too long ago had been one of those very same animals. "That's horrible!"
"Not to mention needlessly cruel and ridiculously inefficient. There are far more viable and environmentally friendly energy sources than live animals!" The Doc said, shaking his head. "I told him again and again, 'Ivo, you can't use live animals as a power source for your robots, it's not just unethical but extremely impractical!' But he would never listen. He became a laughingstock in the scientific community for his insane theories and his bizarre obsession with naming his creations 'Egg' something or other, and PETA vigorously campaigned against him. Eventually, he retreated from the public eye, vowing revenge against 'all those small-minded fools who could not see his brilliant vision.' But scientists say that sort of thing all the time, so nobody really thought much of it." He scratched his head. "Apparently, we should have."
"What do we do, Doc?" Sonic asked.
"I've already sent out a distress beacon, so the military should arrive to help shortly," the Doc said. "However… I'm not certain they'll be capable of fighting those robots. As odd and somewhat goofy- looking as they appear, if I know Ivo as well as I used to, he'll have made them stronger than just about any soldier or military mech currently available…" He frowned, looking worried. "And even when they show up…it might not be in time…after all, if he can power his robots using regular animals, what's to stop him from trying the same thing with PEOPLE?"
"Then… What are we gonna do, Doc?" Sonic asked, horrified by this mental image.
"I'm… Not sure," the Doc admitted. "I'm not positive there's anything more we CAN do."
"… What about me?" Sonic asked.
The Doc frowned and regarded the newly colored hedgehog in confusion. "What do you mean, what about you?"
"I'm fast now, Doc. REALLY fast. I'm pretty sure all my stats have been boosted exponentially. Maybe… Maybe I can do something?" Sonic suggested. "Maybe I can fight the robots and save the island?"
"Absolutely not!" The Doc cried, aghast. "It's far too dangerous!"
"I hang out with you," Sonic pointed out. "There's a lot of people who'd say THAT'S dangerous."
"… True," the Doc said grudgingly. "But there's a world of difference between helping me with incredibly dangerous and volatile experiments and going out to fight a robot invasion single-handedly!"
"Doc, if my dad's stories are anything to go by, members of my family have been fighting tyrants and despots and warlords and BEATING them single-handedly for centuries!" Sonic protested. "Heck, if it weren't for my dad, I'm pretty sure South Island wouldn't even be the nice place to live on it is now!"
"And how many of these legendary hedgehog heroes saved the day when they were at your age?" The Doc asked skeptically.
"Most of them, actually," Sonic said. "They tend to start out pretty young in my family."
"… Oh," the Doc said, nonplussed. "Well… Still… That doesn't mean it's all right for YOU to do it! It's too dangerous, you might get hurt!"
"Doc, in case you forgot, I ran into a concrete wall at faster than the speed of sound, and SURVIVED!" Sonic pointed out. "I'm pretty sure I can take a hit!"
…
"Then why is it that if you so much as TOUCH an enemy or hazardous obstacle, you lose rings and a second hit would kill you if you don't have any left?" Rouge asked skeptically.
"Because all of those things are made from special materials that can pierce the bioelectrical skintight Chaos field that protects Sonic from the more dangerous aftereffect of his own abilities," Tails said.
Rouge blinked. "Really?"
Tails shrugged. "I dunno. It's as good an explanation as anything else."
"I guess it explains why that sort of thing applies to all of us, too," Shadow said uncertainly. "Even me. For some reason. Assuming this explanation is legit, anyway."
"THEN-WHY-AM-I-AFFECTED? I-AM-NOT-A-SQUISHY-MEATBAG. I-DO-NOT-GENERATE-A-BIOLECTRIC-CHAOS-FIELD. IN-FACT, I'M-MADE-OF-METAL! I-SHOULD-BE-MORE-DURABLE-THAN-ALL-OF-YOU-PUT-TOGETHER! I-SHOULDN'T-EVEN-NEED-RINGS! WHY-CAN-I-ONLY-TAKE-TWO-HITS-BEFORE-DYING?"
"A riddle for the ages, I suppose," Espio said.
"…Yeah, no, I'm not sure I buy that," Vector said skeptically. "There's a lot of holes in that theory, Tails. Like for instance, how, that 'one-hit kill' thing applies for us sometimes, but not others? Because I could swear that we've been on lots of adventures where that isn't the case…"
Espio nodded in agreement. "Like how sometimes, when we fight each other, one of us can only sustain one hit with rings, while the other takes multiple hits to defeat. Or other times when we can just keep beating each other up without bothering with rings or losing lives. How do you explain that?"
Tails shrugged. "There's any number of possible explanations, really. Fluctuations in the global geomagnetic Chaos energy field? A unique interaction between our personal bioelectric Chaos fields triggered when we clash against each other? Radiation generated by whatever powers Eggman's robots? Some weird energy that only exists in some Zones, but not others? Really, there's still a lot we don't know about how our world works. A scientist could spend his or her entire life searching for answers, but still barely get past the surface. All the more reason for us to keep searching for the truth, though, so future generations can gain a better understanding of the universe we live in. That's what science is all about."
"And here I thought science involved building robot armies, airship armadas, and weapons of mass destruction," Rouge joked.
"That too," Tails admitted.
"Have they figured out the answers to any of this in your time, Silver?" Blaze asked.
"They have," the time-traveler admitted. "But I can't tell them to you because, you know, spoilers. That and I don't really understand all the science behind it myself…"
"Did that convince the Doc, Sonic?" Cream asked, trying to get things back on track.
"Well…" Sonic continued.
…
"Well…yes, I suppose that's true, but…but! Even so…even so, Sonic, I cannot in good conscience let you go and risk yourself like this," the Doc said.
"All of life's a risk, Doc," Sonic said. "And besides…I told you I felt like this change was something that was always MEANT to happen. Maybe this is why. So I can be the hero South Island needs!"
"Sonic…" the Doc whispered, looking pained.
"Doc," Sonic said softly. "If I don't go do something, then who will?"
The Doc bit his lip for a moment, looking uncertain. Finally, he sighed and said, "Go ask your mother for permission."
"Sweet!" Sonic said, knowing he'd won, for both of them already knew what Bernadette would say. In a blue flash, he ran off, returning seconds later. "She says its fine, so long as I'm back in time for dinner!" He frowned, a worried look, crossing his face. "Do you think I'll make it back in time?"
"With your speed? I don't doubt it," the Doc said. Now that he'd resigned himself to his young assistant putting himself in harm's way, his mind raced, trying to figure out everything he could do to make this feasible. "All right, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. For obvious reasons, I can't join you in the field, plus somebody needs to stay here to monitor Miles. I imagine he'll be incredibly disoriented when he wakes up, given that he went from being a perfectly average Fox to a sentient and self-aware Mobian in seconds. He's going to need guidance to help him understand what's happened to him."
"And what to do with that second tail of his?" Sonic asked.
"Quite. Gotta figure out what that's all about…" The Doc murmured. "Anyway, that doesn't mean I won't be helping you in any way I can. Here, take this."
He handed a small earbud to Sonic. "What's this thing, some kind of communicator?" The hedgehog intuited.
The Doc nodded. "Precisely. Once I've regained control of the security feeds – – it shouldn't take more than a moment, Robotnik's code has always been easy to hack – – I should be able to monitor everything that's going on around the island, direct you where needed, and provide you with guidance on how to fight whatever robots or death machines you run into along the way."
"So you're going to be my mission control? Cool!" Sonic said, sticking the device in his ear. "Just try not to be too obvious or obnoxious about it, I hate it when the 'helper' character in videogames is too annoying."
The Doc shuddered. "Don't we all? Whoever designed that horrible Omochao atrocity should be shot… Anyway, I'll do my best not to be as bad as all that."
Sonic grinned and gave his mentor a thumb's up. "Don't sweat it, Doc, I trust you! I know you'll pull through!"
The Doc smiled ruefully. "Let's hope your faith in me will be rewarded. Just give me a moment…" He turned back to his console and spent a couple of minutes typing, tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. With a final keystroke and a cry of exultation, the ugly logo filling all the monitors vanished and was replaced by maps of the island and footage of robots wreaking havoc and attacking or capturing people. "Aha! Same old Robotnik, as shoddy at coding as ever! Okay, let's see here… Oho, now THAT'S interesting!"
"What is?" Sonic asked.
"If these readings are correct… I believe all six of the other Chaos Emeralds are on this island!" The Doc said.
"What?! No way!" Sonic protested in disbelief. "How come we didn't know about that before now?!"
"It might be a recent development," the Doc mused. "The Chaos Emeralds have a habit of not staying in one place for very long, and where one is found, the others usually appear shortly afterwards. It's possible that our experiment with the blue Chaos Emerald somehow attracted or caused the other Emeralds to appear here on the island… Perhaps that might even be why Robotnik is attacking this place, out of all the other places in the world! The fact that the highest concentration of robot attacks seems to be clustered around where I'm picking up the energy signatures of the other Chaos Emeralds would seem to indicate that, or at the very least, that he's become as aware of their presence here as we have."
"We can't let him get the other six!" Sonic said. "If just ONE was enough to do this to me and make Miles a Mobian, what would he do if he had six, if not ALL of them?!"
"I shudder at the very thought," the Doc said. "You're right, Sonic! We must not let him obtain those Emeralds! Let's see here… The closest one seems to be in Green Hill Zone!"
"Green Hill? I go there all the time to run!" Sonic said.
"Well, this time you're going there with a far greater purpose," the Doc said resolutely. "Go, Sonic! Retrieve that Emerald, stop Robotnik, and save our island!"
Sonic nodded. "You can count on me!" He turned and ran off in a blue flash.
"Godspeed, Sonic the Hedgehog," the Doc said solemnly, unaware that behind him, Miles had slowly begun to come to, cracked his eyes open… And saw Sonic departing, the afterimage of the blue blur imprinting itself on his young, newly formed mind, and unknowingly shaping his future forever.
…
"Everything that happened after that is pretty much common knowledge," Sonic said to his enraptured audience. "I fought and defeated Robotnik for the first time, kicking him off South Island and proving myself as a hero. And the next time he reared his ugly bald head, I was there to stop him… But I wasn't alone, isn't that right, Tails?"
Tails shook his head. "Nope! By that time, I'd become smart enough to understand what was going on around me.… And I knew that I didn't want to let my best friend and big brother figure go off to fight the bad guys on his own! It wasn't easy to convince Dad to let me go, but by that point he'd pretty much resigned himself to the knowledge that there was no way whatsoever he could keep us out of danger."
"He even gave us a biplane to get around in!" Sonic sighed. "I miss the original Tornado…"
"The newer model's much better," Tails pointed out.
"Yeah, but you never really forget your first one," Sonic said wistfully. "So anyway, that's the story of how I got my speed!"
"And how I was born!" Tails added.
Amy applauded enthusiastically. "That was great! Well done! A wonderful story, Sonic! I didn't really care so much about all that stuff involving Tails, but you told, which automatically makes it perfect!"
"It was rather informative and intriguing," Shadow admitted.
"And here I thought you were an orphan that got picked on for having two tails and got adopted by Sonic or something," Rouge said.
"And wasn't there something about a bird armada or a witch in a cart?" Vector recalled vaguely.
Tails smirked. "Well, I HAVE had a couple of adventures on my own when Sonic was busy doing something else… Just because I'm his sidekick doesn't mean I can't have life of my own, you know!"
"It doesn't?" Charmy asked. Espio smacked him.
"There's one thing I don't understand, though," Cream said. "If your Daddy found a way to artificially induce evolution in animals, why aren't there lots and lots of new Mobians like Tails wandering around?"
"Just because Dad's found a way to artificially evolve animals that WORKS, that doesn't mean it's cost-efficient," Tails said. "It still requires a Chaos Emerald, a Mobian with a strong enough spark of raw Chaos inside of them, and certain other materials that aren't exactly easy to come by. He was able to evolve Sonic's dog Muttski and a few others before he had to give up his Chaos Emerald, and now he's trying to figure out an easier way, using Chaos Drives or other power sources. It's slow going, but he'll get there someday."
"He certainly will," Silver said. "I think I can reveal that much without spoiling."
"Wait, you evolved your DOG?!" Knuckles said incredulously.
Sonic nodded. "Seemed like a good idea the time. Since Tails evolved, the Doc couldn't exactly use him as a dumb lab animal anymore. Plus, now I have a little brother to keep Mom and Dad company when I'm out saving the world!"
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You consider your former pet your little brother now?"
"Well, what else would he be?" Sonic asked with a shrug.
"Speaking of your family, beloved, when exactly are you going to introduce me to them?" Blaze asked.
Sonic blushed. "Well, uh, it'll… Happen eventually…"
"Didn't you promise them you'd bring her over for dinner the next time she was in our dimension?" Tails quipped.
"Shut up!" Sonic hissed.
"Be thankful I'm not telling them your REAL name as well," Tails replied, causing Sonic to go white with terror.
"I would be honored to come to dinner at your family home," Blaze said with a warm smile. "I'm looking forward to meeting them. And no doubt hearing all the embarrassing stories about your childhood your mother will no doubt eager to share with me."
"Yeah, that'll be great," Sonic said weakly as the others snickered. "Way to go, buddy," he growled at Tails.
"You're welcome," Tails said smugly.
"Why hasn't he ever invited me over to meet his parents?!" Amy demanded.
"BECAUSE-HE-DOES-NOT-LIKE-YOU. NOR-DOES-ANYONE-ELSE," Omega said.
"I like her," Cream said.
"YOU-LIKE-EVERYONE," Omega pointed out.
"True," Cream conceded.
"Sonic, thank you for that story. It answered a lot of questions… Including pretty much all of the ones I was going to ask Tails," Silver said.
"Welp, guess that means I'm off the hook," Tails said cheerfully. The others glowered at him.
"Indeed," Silver agreed. "Which means it's time for us to move on to… Amy!"
Amy gasped "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is GREAT!"
"This is terrible," Sonic groaned. Blaze nodded sympathetically.
"It must be destiny that I'm going right after you, Sonic! Now I'll be able to prove once and for all why I'm the girl for you and that skank isn't!" Amy said, leering at Blaze.
The royal cat's claw clenched into a fist. "Beloved, are you SURE…"
"Getting less and less sure by the moment," Sonic grumbled.
"All right!" Amy said, clasping her hands together, stars in her eyes. "Ask me anything, Silver! I'm ready!"
"All right," Silver said. "Amy, how did you fall in love with Sonic?"
…
And that's a wrap! Wow, that story took longer to tell than I thought it would, but then again, because it was technically two origins for the price of one, I suppose it's to be expected. Hopefully, most of the future ones will be shorter, but given some of my other work, I can give no guarantees on this.
So, Amy's origin will be next chapter. Who do you think should go after her? Knuckles, Rouge, Cream, Big, or the Chaotix? (Or Blaze, if you don't want her to be last.)
Also, if anyone wants to see or has suggestions for origins for Silver or other Sonic characters, I'm all ears.