Hejji No

Alone, so alone.

And then a voice, cackling, behind me, rising.

"You lose."

And then…I die.

30 May, 2020 (by the human calendar)

The Hikari no Megami Festival in Soleana. Apparently, it's the event of the year. That's what drew my friends to it. A unique brand of fireworks that was 50% less harmful to the atmosphere, delicious imported food from the world over, wonderful fashion sense, and the need to get away from it all described this particular festival.

My friends were thrilled.

"C'mon, Sonic," Tails and Amy were on either side of me, stalking me, I assumed. I had slowed to a walk at the entrance of the Tornado, Tails' beloved biplane, but now I regretted stopping.

"This again? C'mon, guys. I've made up my mind not to go."

"You have to, Sonic!" Amy pleaded with me, her eyes full of emotion. "Think of the fireworks! And Princess Cosmo, the heir to the throne of Soleana, will be there, too! You know, she doesn't leave the palace much."

"Not to mention four different kinds of chilidog," Tails added, appealing to my appetite, which spiked immediately when I remembered I hadn't eaten for several hours. However, I was vehement in my decision.

"I already told you all that I'm not going!" I answered firmly with enough anger for them to get the message. My young friends whined in protest, but it was my older friend Knuckles the Echidna who understood me, perhaps more than I wanted, because he teased:

"Leave him alone, you two. Sonic doesn't want to go because he's afraid of water."

Ugh. Though it was true, I wondered why Knuckles had to say it like I was a wuss, and I turned a shade of pink. Sonic the Hedgehog—afraid of a little water?

Yes, yes I was. Soleana, the beautiful white marble town of royalty, was paved with both streets and canals. On any day but the Hikari no Megami, the whole city stank of water going bad, and garbage. Apparently, on the day of the Festival, flowers are thrown into the canals to greatly improve the smell. However, I was concerned at the depth of said canals, and not the smell. Which, aside from being unpleasant, didn't bother me as much as it should have.

Since I was now seventeen years of age, that meant that Tails was ten, Amy was fourteen, and Knuckles was eighteen. I probably should introduce them all quickly for you.

Miles "Tails" Prower is a golden-furred two tailed fox. We've been friends and brothers since I can remember, and have had all kinds of crazy, dangerous, and whacky adventures side-by-side. He's a genius, but years of being bullied for that has made him a little shy to show his smarts. His favorite food is mint candy, and he'll do nearly anything for it.

Amy Rose is a pink hedgehog who has had a crush on me since we were kids. Although she's backed off her pouncing, two years ago, she'd be all over me every time she saw me. She's a good warrior, wielding her piko-piko hammer with a confidence she probably learned from me, which does make me worry occasionally. Like Tails, I consider her my sister—one of my closest friends. Her favorite food is soft serve ice cream, which I love teasing her about on occasion.

Knuckles the echidna is the Guardian of Angel Island. He can be a bit dense on the brains sometimes, and he's short on temper, which makes him fun to tease. We've been friendly rivals for quite a while now, though we try to stay out of each other's lives as we perform our different duties. His favorite food is grapes, which are sort of good, I suppose. I like throwing the pits at him.

Finally, there's me. Of course, you should know me. Sonic the Hedgehog's the name, speed's my game. And heroics. But, y'know, that was given. I'm superfast, and I have quite a bit of strength when I can put my mind to it. Usually, because of my superpower, I'm hypoglycemic, which is a fancy word for "low sugar levels." It's okay with me. The worst is my hydrophobia, which Knuckles likes to make fun of constantly.

"Shut up, Knuckles," I threatened, shy in my embarrassment. Amy armed herself with her hammer and rose it over her head. Knuckles backed off.

"At least stop by," Tails suggested after some silence.

I took a deep breath, and turned around to look at them. "Okay," I conceded. "I'll stop by to watch the Princess' boat. And maybe I'll stick around for a chilidog or two."

"YAY!" The kids were ecstatic, hugging me until I couldn't breathe anymore. Knuckles looked smug with his victory, and I assumed he had something of a nasty joke planned for that night.

4 June, 2020

The night of the Hikari no Megami Festival found Solena full to bursting with people. I found myself weaving through massive crowds of people, tasting food here and there when I could. I had tried all four types of chilidog Tails had said would be there, each with a different spicy chili gracing its top, before I found them.

The three had found a good viewing spot for the entrance of the Princess Cosmo's boat on top of one of the flat-roofed houses common in Soleana. I used an awning to get up to where they were, and found them splitting a bag of kettlecorn, waiting for me, and the princess.

Once or twice, Knuckles tried to push me off the building's precarious edge (which, normally, would not alarm me in the slightest,) thus causing me to totter towards the water, which made me squeak in quite the unmanly way. This generated laughter from the three, and, indeed, anyone who heard.

Finally, just as the crescent moon was rising, the Princess' boat came along.

It was a marvelous white, trimmed with gold and real sapphires. Seven dancers in butter yellow dresses and strange, bird-like hair clips paraded the floor below, while Princess Cosmo, on one of the upper decks, alternated between smiling and waving, like a perfect sovereign should do.

Princess Cosmo looked, to me, no older than Tails. To think her coronation would be soon! I couldn't imagine being a King at that age! Or being asked to marry…bleck.

Cosmo was a Seedrian, a rare species. They were so rare, in fact, that all Seedrians now alive or in existence here were some relation to the Royal Family here in Soleana. She had green, leaf-like hair that drifted down past her shoulders and touched her upper back. She had a red jewel on her chest, and two blooming flowers on either side of her head. Her dress looked like a white flower about to bloom, still covered by its leaf. And her eyes, well…I only knew from being told that they were as blue as I was. Maybe bluer.

There were cheers from the crowd as Cosmo stepped daintily (with the help of her maids, cloaked in green with faces obscured) onto a great floating platform with the emblem of Soleana, with looked like two great white snakes had swirled up from the base.

Shyly, Cosmo took the flaming candle from one of her maids and bowed before the great statue. Her voice, as if amplified by the flames she held burning before her eyes, boomed over the whole entire city. Yet, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and I still jumped from rooftop to rooftop to get closer to her, seeing if we could get a better look.

"We give thanks to the blessed flames. May we always continue to have peace." Cosmo's voice was soft and fluent, beautiful in its innocence. Something in me stirred with her words, though I felt no affinity to her, or the theology of this canal city. "Daughter of Solaris, god of the sun, guide and watch over us

with your eternal burning flame. May it give life and light to all who see it." By now, the gang and I had found better seats. We settled in, uneasy with excitement that could burst our bodies as Cosmo walked, alone, towards the great statue. With ceremonial grace only a princess could posses, the girl touched her candle to the base of the statue.

As the clocks all over town rung midnight, the statue went up in flames, causing a great amount of awed noise from the crowd (myself and company included.) Great fireworks as blue as Cosmo's eyes created great booms in the night, amidst cheers and laughter, children below my dangling feet chasing mechanical toys through the streets and shouting 'good morning' to each other and to all they passed. Cosmo was waving to her people again, and I found myself shouting back to about one thousand 'good morning's from children and adults alike.

Despite my refusal to come, at first, I found I had—quite by accident, mind you—enjoyed myself!

5 June 2020

"Man, that was awesome!" Knuckles half-shouted as we walked back to the hotel where the three had rented a room for the night, amidst several thousand others who were not part of the cleanup crew, retiring as well. There were sudden cheers and shouts of joy as the Princess' boat rode on through the night back towards the palace, Cosmo calling goodbyes galore to thousands of people she'd never met personally.

"It sure was!" Amy agreed. "Aren't you glad you came, Sonic?"

"Hmm? Oh!" I had been thinking about the feelings that had stirred in me while listening to Cosmo's speech, and trying to sort them out. I guess I was as zoned out as Tails was, walking tiredly beside me, leaning on my shoulder from time to time. In response, I put my arm around his shoulder and roped him in, all brotherly love. "Yeah, I'm glad you guys practically dragged me here to see it! It was quite the show!"

Tails agreed from against my side. "Totally," he assented, yawning. I chuckled, giving him a quick noogie.

"You're fallin asleep,"

"Are not," he protested. I grinned.

"Bed for young pilots was four hours ago. Get yer ass in bed when we get to the hotel. Pronto."

"Mondo unfair, Sonic," Tails mumble-whined.

Amy and Knuckles shared a laugh as we entered the hotel and retired to our room. I felt bad intruding when they had paid for the room, but was happy when the clerk promised to give us a discount. Hey, it was me we were talking about, after all. It's not every night a legendary hero decides to crash at your hotel!

Tails and Amy took one bed, and I offered to sleep on the couch so Knuckles could save face. The kids went to sleep almost instantly, but Knuckles and I lay on our backs, chatting for hours.

"What are ya gonna do when the sun rises?"

"Probably head off south in search of more adventure—and Egghead. You?"

Knuckles' muted chuckling sounded frightening in the dark. "I'm just that predictable."

"Angel Island?"

"Hell yeah."

"Y'know," I yawned, concealing it pretty well, "Dunno why you guard that stupid gem. Ain't goin nowhere."

"Mmm, it might. Watching that thing is an excuse to sleep."

"Ah!" I chuckled, calling his bluff. "You don't 'guard' it, really, do you?"

"Hey, my ears are always open. Speaking of shuteye, however," I heard him shifting in the bed, "I suggest you 'shut eye,' Sonic. Your job actually keeps you occupied."

"Hmph! True, lazy bones. Night."

"Night."

I listened until I heard Knuckles' low snores begin. I chuckled, figuring I'd get to sleep before his snores became louder and more annoying to have to sleep through.

I couldn't help feeling, however, a sense of unrest brewing in the pit of my stomach. I chalked it up as one-too-many chilidogs, and comfortably fell asleep before the tree chipper began its work.

First Light, 5 June, 2020

I had been half-asleep for a while, running without direction and without purpose. Of course I was tired. I hadn't gotten much sleep.

Suddenly, I found myself in a secluded clearing, far from Soleana. I knew, because I couldn't smell the canals, or hear the water sloshing within its containment walls. It wasn't too far a cry from nine in the morning—judging by the sun—and I felt the need to catch some real zzzs before continuing my journey home.

I walked to about the center of the clearing, and I began to feel that unease in the pit of my stomach from last night. There was nothing in my stomach—no logical explanation for my feeling this way—not now.

Something was wrong. Something was up.

I was alone. Alone, so alone. I'd never felt so isolated in all my life. I heard something behind me, sort of like the noise a whirlpool makes at its peak, only the volume seemed turned down. And then, a voice, cackling, rose behind me. Probably from that whirlpool.

The person chuckled in a dark voice. "You lose." The deep voice chuckled simply.

The next thing I knew, there was a great pain right in the center of my chest, just where my heart would be.

I was dead before my body hit the ground.

In the hedges, I am watching.

Watching you, waiting for you,

To make your false step.