5 Years Ago

Syeed the Hedgehog, 14 years old, burst out of his home and onto the front yard. His emotions fuming with rage and sense of betrayal. He had just began his career as a crime fighting "superhero", and his father, who took the same career route before him, was not supportive of the idea. It didn't matter. What did he know? He's retired. A new generation of heroes is bound to rise. Syeed wanted to be the forerunner of that new generation. He couldn't sit back while the streets of Central City were being victimized by those damn.. humans. Syeed needed to get out there and protect the people of Mobius. And no jealous, disgruntled parent was going to stop him. As he approached the edge of the yard, he heard the door swing open behind him, followed by his fathers voice.

"Syeed, wait." Syeed's father, Okura Senpai the Hedgehog, said in a calm, but leveled voice. "Let me explai-"

"NO!" Syeed fired back, turning around and cutting him off. "The least you could do is be supportive of my-my God damn crusade! Instead you...you..you're JEALOUS, aren't you?"

"Jealous" Okura started, sighing. "Listen, I just don't want you getting hurt. This road...it's not a safe nor easy one. I've lost a lot in this line of work..I don't want you to have to go through the same troubles as me.."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Syeed crossed his arms, snickering. "Besides, I can do what I want with my life now. You don't control me anymore."

"Did I ever control you?" Okura asked, taking a few steps in Syeed's direction. "You were always stubborn. You never really listened to me. But you're my son. I care. I can't lose..."

"Lose me?! After all the years of training grandpa has given me?! And you're afraid I'll DIE?! You don't..you don't have any faith in me at all! So much for a FATHER, huh?"

"No! It's not like th-"

Before Okura could finish his sentence, Syeed was running down the hill. Gone. Out of sight. He didn't care about the explanations. Or the excuses. It was plain and simple: his father didn't believe in him. You'd expect to have the support of your parents, huh? It didn't matter, anyhow; he was going to do this, father be damned.

Syeed made his way to Strife's house, who he found in his backyard looking through a microscope. Strife seemed focus, so Syeed opted against bothering him. Instead, he sat down on a chair near Strife, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He recalled the words he and his father shared the first time his father figured out what he was doing.

"What, do you want to get KILLED?" Okura's voice rang throughout his head. So did Syeed's reply.

"If that's what it takes."

Present Day.

"One day, they're going to ask you, 'where were you when they took over the world?'" This exact sentence wondered around Nathan Storm's head for the fragment of the day. The sentence bothered Nathan to an extent he tried to block out the vexatious question by watching the news broadcast. You'd think it help him get over the tension he's feeling over the bothersome question, but that didn't help at all; in fact it caused greater stress. The next thing he knows, he was forcefully removed from his home by this weird barbaric group of aliens, got caught in the crossfires of a gun fight between the aliens and the G.U.N, and he somehow retreated with no harm done to him. Nathan Parker, a 21 year old black, human male and aspiring comic artist, was now finding himself caught in a sticky situation, located at the G.U.N quarantine zone with over 200 other Mobians and Humans. As Nathan stood there with an impatient look on his face, he sighed. There were never any 'peaceful' days on Mobius. There was always something causing mayhem. A few years ago, it was a civil war between Mobians and Humans. Shortly after that a government-funded organization that went completely berserk and attempted to destroy Mobius from the inside out. The only benefit Nathan could possibly see to this everyday-issue was it brought opportunities to create interesting and creative stories for his comic book series. With all this mayhem maybe he'd be able to create a comic series that would make him a billionaire, give him his big break, make him a star? Or would he just simply get blasted to shreds by some horrendous looking futuristic alien? The latter seemed like a very lame way to go out of this world. Nathan always figured he'd go out with a bang. Go out meaning something, you know? Not like the generic crowd of people who get killed by the villain in a typical comic book story. But if he was going to use this as an opportunity to make some kind of comic book, he might as well start now. (0)

Nathan pulled out his sketch pad and a ton of mechanical pencils from his backpack, which he managed to grab before being basically forced out of his house. Which still frustrated him. He'd rather be home, cuddled up in bed, drawing in his own space. Instead he was forced into this...conflict. He had to turn this into a positive thing, fast. This sketchpad might be the answer. Imagine it, a first hand comic detailing the events of himself and others in this Mobius Invasion. Become a billionaire, live the rest of his life in solitude! It would be...amazing!

Nathan was pulled out of his array of thoughts when he heard a loud noise, similar to a sonic boom in the sky. He looked up, along with dozens of other people in the zone. He saw a red hedgehog, his body completely covered in some kind of exoskeleton suit, but his face completely open for everyone to see. The exosuit looked heavy, equipped with a lot of weaponry and machinery, which you didn't even need the specifications to see. Nathan observed as the very important-looking Hedgehog trotted his way over to a couple of G.U.N agents. He felt like he'd seen this guy somewhere before. Maybe in the news? He didn't watch the news a whole lot recently, besides for this morning. Nathan needed to hear what was being said, but he couldn't. He slowly crept his way through the quarantine zone until he was at a close enough distance to hear.

"Right, we're working on that. So how's everything going on this side of the pond?" The red hedgehog asked, crossing the metallic arms of his suit over his chest. Nathan watched in amazement. How did he manage to hold himself up in that thing? Nathan felt like he would shatter every bone in his body just by moving in it.

"Pretty good. The aliens have steered clear of this area...so far." One of the G.U.N agents replied.

"Right, I'll be around here for a short time. Just flag the signal when I'm needed, m'kay?" the Hedgehog replied. He spoke so clearly, so charismatic. Nathan knew he was important; the aura that surrounded him made it so.

With that, the hedgehog nodded and flew off into the skies above. Nathan watched, his mouth hanging open.

One of the G.U.N members turned around and looked at Nathan with a smile on his face. "You interested in that hedgehog?" He asked. "Ehh? I-I...A little.." Nathan mumbled to himself. "That my friend, is Syeed The Hedgehog, a well known hero here in Mobius. Whenever there's danger afoot Syeed will risk his life for the mere protection of the planet's citizens." The G.U.N agent explained. Nathan's expression suddenly changed to a shocking one. Had he really been that disconnected from the world to not know who the red Hedgehog was? He couldn't believe that someone would risk their own life for the protection of this planet without getting something in return. It didn't make sense to him. "D-does he get paid for his deeds?" Nathan asked. "Not at all, which is surprising. People have offered to do things in return for Syeed; He doesn't accept the offers, I guess it's because he enjoys protecting the citizens living under Mobius." The G.U.N agent nodded. Another member suddenly walked into our conversation. "I guess he doesn't want to foolishly sit around while people need defense and protection." The second member stated. That statement brought that once annoying question Nathan was grieving about to play again in Nathan's head, but this time Nathan wasn't grieving; he was thinking about what if he became a hero like Syeed. Would he be able to answer that question without having to worry about others judgment? Would that also bring some creative ideas for his comic series? Before Nathan could even say another word, the sky's clear blue color changed to a dark horrifying color that caused citizens to bring their attention to the sky. Above them was a weird skin-like aircraft that started to slowly descend. (1)

"Everyone! Find shelter! The aliens have arrived!" A G.U.N member shouted. As the G.U.N member yelled for others to find safety the Mobians and humans ran in a frenzy. Nathan was panicking, he couldn't find a good location to hide. As the aliens landed they quickly pulled out their weapons and started shooting at the citizens running. Before Nathan knew it an alien spawned right beside him.

"Surrender now and I'll take you as a prisoner, if not I'll end you right here." The alien said. Nathan tried to back away slowly, but tripped on his feet. "Help me!" Nathan shouted. He held his sketch book to defend himself from the upcoming attack. He was wondering why the alien hasn't blasted him into small pieces, he slowly opened his eyes and saw the red hedgehog pounding the alien with massive effect. "Yo-you saved me...?" Nathan mumbled. "Of course! It's my job to protect everyone here!" He said as he brought a smirk to his face. "Why? Why do you defend us useless citizens? We don't even give you anything in return..." Nathan replied, his eyes wide in amazement.

"Hmm.." Syeed the Hedgehog shrugged. "I guess it's like a civil duty. I mean, we all need a place to live, right? And we'd like to live with peace, prosperity...what's a world without peace? The opposite. Chaos."

Nathan nodded in agreement. He stood up slowly, regaining his posture. "But...what about yourself? Would you give your life for the continued safety of Mobius?"

Syeed looked down for a moment, before looking back up and boldly stating, "If that's what it takes."

After that small discussion, Syeed had offered to fly Nathan to close by safety, which Nathan agreed to. Nathan watched on the top of a hill as the heroic Hedgehog fly back to the scene of the alien attack.

"Syeed the Hedgehog..." Nathan said to himself silently, looking at his sketchpad. It's as if the ideas were all coming to him today. He began to draw, but before doing so, wrote at the top of his pad:

"What does it take to be a hero?"

Post Author's Notes:

(0) - This chapter was meant to show a regular citizens view on the "Mobius Invasion" event. Nathan was the character me and ParodyPen decided to showcase in this chapter, as he is ignorant to the current struggles in the Mobius society, and is still trying to find meaning in life.

(1) - This chapter also expresses the views that (some) government officials have on Syeed the Hedgehog. It's mostly the lower-level G.U.N "rookies" that view him as a symbol. As will be revealed in later chapters and stories, Syeed's history with G.U.N isn't swell.