Chapter 1: Clash of Realities: Awakening of an Unwilling Hero
Something that really sucks about going to sleep late is that oftentimes you don't even remember when you closed your eyes. Thing is you usually remember where it is you went to sleep. Even at my most tired I can drag myself out of a chair and tuck myself under my bed sheets. I don't usually make a habit of falling asleep outside in a field. At least, I'm sure I would remember finding something so extraordinary in the middle of December.
The bright sun, calm breeze, and warm weather was a far cry from the cold, snowy winter that should have greeted me. Well, that and the complete lack of clothing. To say I jolted awake would be an understatement: I'm sure anyone would have acted the same had they awoken to being in a completely different body.
White gloves, white socks, and red sneakers being my only clothing were the least of my worries. No, the biggest standout was the black quils that seemed to surround my body. Patting myself down, I examined the new fur that surrounded a circular sized shape of skin. My body shape was vastly different, but I didn't quite feel out of place. Of course, if this was a dream I'm sure I wouldn't really feel anything similar to the harsh growing pains of middle school (or would it be shrinking pains in this case?). Of course, if it was a dream I probably would have woken up with the initial surprise.
Standing to my feet and looking out towards my surroundings, I ran a newly gloved hand through my hair (or quills?), while trying to make sense of where I was.
There was nothing in sight. At least, nothing notable. In the far off distance I could see nothing but lake water and mountains, and the other was all but an open field of hills, dotted with trees, flowers, and the occasional lifted land mass. It was practically the textbook definition of nature. Deciding to take my luck with the forest over diving into the lake for a swim, I started walking while taking note of the sun. It was "rise in the east", right? Then at the very least I know that I can always backtrack west if this decides to be fruitless.
But why did this place feel oddly familiar? I had the feeling that I had been here before, but ultimately decided that thinking while walking was probably better than thinking while sitting still. I'd probably hit a recognizable landmass if I kept moving after all.
With that thought in mind, I racked my brain while heading towards what I hoped was east.
0.0.0
If you asked Sonic how his day was going, he'd probably glare at you while looking tired. Ok he'd probably actually give you a funny quip with a smile, but he certainly felt like snapping at someone. The current reason as to why his day felt ruined? None other than one Dr. Robotnik. At least, that was his best guess. Flickys can't quite speak, but a quick game of charades after busting them out of some oddly animal shaped bots and it wasn't hard to make assumptions. And he had just gotten back from the gaudily named Robotnik Island. Getting kidnapped by him once was bad enough, but now it seemed as if he'd rotated to going after the ones who can't quite fight back.
Honestly Sonic couldn't blame him. If he was evil and kidnapping people, he'd probably be mad too if his whole plan was stopped by three total strangers. If ol' Robotnik wanted to show his face again after he blew his own island sky high, then Sonic was all for it. He was looking for an excuse to get some exercise today, and nothing was more healthy than a calm sprint and some robot destruction based therapy.
Taking directions from the previously captive animals, Sonic broke off into a light jog (for him of course. To everyone else it seemed as though he was less of a hedgehog and more of a formula 1 car), intent on crushing robots and stopping another evil scheme.
0.0.0
After walking for what seemed like hours, the lack of any sort of civilization was starting to get to me. Of course, while being seen as an anthropomorphic animal might get me bisected by the government, I'm sure it was probably a better fate than starving in the woods. Today was just way more than an off day for me at this point. Waking up in the middle of nowhere with no clue as to how I got there, waking up as a different species, and worst of all, walking in a completely deafening silence. I swear, all the little minor things were really irking me. With nothing but the breeze in the air, and the light motion of the lake that seemed to be ever present in the distance, the nature that initially felt calming now only felt off putting. Not even a bird chirp in the distance and I was starting to feel extremely on edge.
But of course as soon as I think about it, something that sounded out of place for the otherwise picturesque look of nature reached my ears. It sounded sort of like an engine, and it was getting closer. Looking off to my right in hopes of seeing maybe a car, I was surprised to see what looked like… bees? And weirdly enough they were getting bigger.
And bigger. And bigger.
Those… those aren't bees.
I broke off into a sprint in the opposite direction. Because worst of all I recognized those drone like robots flying in the sky. And the weirdly patterned grass that was below me. And the checkered dirt that I could see creeping through some of the hills that I had passed on my way here (wherever "here" was). This wasn't just some liminal space bullshit. And honestly I should have made a guess based on the whole animal with shoes and gloves thing. I was in what I could only assume was Green Hill Zone (and really the green hills should have also given it away). It was then that I slowed. Why was I even running? This was like a dream come true! I'll just turn around, smash the robots, and everything will turn out fine.
That stupid thought went out the window when they started shooting at me. I promptly broke into another sprint, glad that whatever copious amount of adrenaline was flowing through me, my breath never ran short.
And also kept me from being caught. And apparently gave me the ability to greatly out-speed these jet propelled robots. I mean, I knew I was fast, but faster than a Buzzbomber? All the confidence in the world at my own speed, but I wasn't exactly outrunning cars back at home. Hell, I was just barely in the top three fastest people at my school. And yet here I was, outpacing a group of robots that were most certainly as fast as your average soccer mom van.
Of course the literal bullet hell made enjoying my new found super speed hard. Ducking, bobbing, and weaving, I felt like I was balancing on a metaphorical tight rope. Swerving to the left and right, moving like a snake in grass, I tried my hardest to avoid what was firing my way, with no hope in finishing out just how lethal their shots may be. One close call too many, no place to hide, and no help in sight, I made the executive decision to put on the jets, so to speak. I might not be able to enjoy my new speed, but I could certainly stress test its limits.
Pumping my arms as hard as I could and focusing on my legs, my speed picked up and the sound of the trigger happy, "shoot first then shoot again" robots started to fade further and further behind me. Risking a peek behind me, I could practically hear the heartbeat in my ears slow as they had seemingly fallen far behind me.
That would be the least of my worries, however. Turns out the phrase "keep your eyes on the road" doesn't just apply to driving. Turns out running faster than humanly possible means that your surroundings catch up faster than you're used to. Barreling down a sharper hill than what I had already seen before running into those buzzbombers was sure to keep that thought in mind, as the change in incline has sent me into an ungraceful tumble. And as if to taunt me, I tumbled damn near headfirst into an oddly out of place, old tv monitor.
If the evidence that I had already seen before wasn't clear enough for me, the display showed nothing but a blue sphere which I could only assume was a shield. As the screen crackled in and out of clarity, I felt as though the rhythm of the screen's fuzz only seemed to laugh at my misfortune.
If asked what my top ten fictional universes to live in were, I don't think that the world of Sonic the Hedgehog would have cracked it for me. Much too dangerous, and way too much frequent danger for my liking. Maybe in a world where Eggman wasn't evil, or at least didn't make a habit of attacking every other week. That being said, I'm certainly stuck with it now. Cracking open the monitor through the glass with a snap of my foot, my vision tinted over with what looked like a mix between glass and a bubble. Turning around and tightening my new gloves, I took a deep breath to steel myself. Usually to get out of these self insert, isekai type situations, you had to defeat the demon lord. If those badniks were any indication, then I've got a pretty good guess at what direction I've got to go if I was looking to scramble one, egotistically spoiled egg. My only hope was that I wouldn't be experiencing death around 90 years earlier than I had already planned.
Climbing up the incline, and seeing not a robot in sight I broke off back the way I came. I could feel the sweat drip down the side of my head, as I ran off into what could only be the dumbest situation I could possibly put myself in.
Making my way back up the path I had come from, I could see the same drone-like robots that were chasing me before. Knowing that, I moved in a straight line, blowing right past them. Chances are, Eggman was in the direction they came from, and if I wanted to minimize danger to myself, and get home ASAP, my best chance was to go straight for the man on top.
Only sparing a glance at the robots who couldn't quite keep pace with me, I focused on the scenery in front of me. As if to prove my point, a familiar looking style of bridge seemed to cross over a lake in the distance. More badniks, albeit of the Crabmeat variety, were scattered in front of me, menacingly shaking their claws in my direction. Prepping myself for what I could only assume was coming, I weaved in between the least memorable badniks name wise, before leaping clear over the bridge; and well over the fish shaped badniks that would have made mincemeat of me if I was grounded.
Counting myself lucky on both keeping my limbs, and my shield, I sped off even further, following the trail of robots to what was hopefully their leader's little base.
0.0.0
Curling out of a ball, and landing rather roughly on the ground, Sonic made count of just how many robots he had broken through on his way towards Robotnik. And frankly he was starting to get just a tad bit angry. He just couldn't look away from South Island for even a minute; apparently Robotnik worked about as fast as Sonic could run, what with how many shells he's been able to pump out for these little animals to get shoved into. Speaking of little animals, it couldn't hurt to get some better directions
"Hey little guy, can you redirect me towards the one who did this?"
With a point of its wing, Sonic was off with a renewed vigor. This wasn't Robotnik's little death trap resort; once Sonic had him cornered, there was no weaseling his way out of punishment this time. With a victory lap already being prepared in his mind, he beelined right towards the next set of robots, rolling through four of the crab shaped ones before uncurling and diving at another. Pulling one of its claws out, he flung it like a slingshot towards another set of bee robots, and hit his mark with surprising accuracy.
"And score!" Sonic cheered, practically dancing out of the way of more shots with a grin on his face.
The buzzbomber he hit spiraled out and crashed head first into the side of one of the more elevated hills. Or at least it would have, had it not collided with something else beforehand. That something else being another, camouflaged robot. To make matters worse, spurned on by the forced reveal of its compatriot, several more revealed themselves as well.
Spluttering out a curse, Sonic dove clear to the side and barely avoided an onslaught of bullets and kamikaze-esque robots. Making several more well timed dives, he just barely righted himself while avoiding more shots. Quickly returning his attention to where the chameleon-like robots had initially presented themselves, he was greeted with absolutely nothing. They had once again disappeared from view, most likely hiding in an attempt to stage another surprise attack.
"Ok, long haul it is then." With sweat on his brow and a clear focus in his eyes, Sonic prepped for another attack, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Feeling his quills practically standing on end as his heart beat calmly, a faint shimmer from where the robots had initially appeared from gave him the only hint to move. Dashing forward he avoided another hailstorm of energy as he dove for one of the blue ones that hadn't caught the memo on repositioning. Curling himself up for a spin attack, he tore straight through its head, before rebounding off of the wall it had hid itself on. With well placed aim and a not so surprising show of agility, Sonic flipped clean through another set of projectiles, and smashed through a set of the green ones. Landing in the same curl he used to make mincemeat out of the robots, he drifted around on the spot and pushed himself after the last one before it could even take aim. With a crash and a small explosion, another animal was freed. Taking that as his queue, Sonic was on his way again.
"Camouflage tech? Robotnik isn't pulling any punches." Hoping he doesn't run into anything else unsavory, and making his way through one of Green Hill's various loops, Sonic only wishes that he can stop Robotnik's assault before the day is up.
0.0.0
Passing through a loop was something I'd never thought I'd be able to do. And something I now hoped I could avoid in the future. The sense of vertigo I felt sort of sucked the childlike joy I initially felt out of the situation. Slowing down from my run I took a break next to a tree. I wasn't exactly a distance runner, and even with whatever increased stamina came package deal with the super speed I was still far too likely to blow chunks if I kept at the pace I was going.
I took a chance to catch my breath next to a raised chunk of ground before heading towards what seemed like the source of the robots. It was then that a hum of metal caught my attention. Turning my head, the only emotion in me was shock as a badnik that wasn't there a second ago looked me dead in the eyes. Tossing myself to the ground, I just barely avoided a chameleon shaped badnik smashing into the space where I was just standing.
Picking myself up, two more chameleon-like robots made themselves known. Unlike the last one that was blue, these ones were green. Faintly I tried to recall these. I think they were called Newtons or something similar? But more importantly one color flew at you while the other ones shot at you. I jumped back again as their shots hit where I was previously standing.
Getting ready to run again, I stopped myself. What would I do when I inevitably ran into Eggman? I can't exactly spin dash, and I wasn't in any hurry to try it and knock myself out. I certainly wasn't going to be able to talk him out of his plans of world domination. No, I'd have to resort to kicks and punches. Taking note of the shield that still surrounded me, I prepared myself for something that I could only try to convince myself wasn't a stupid idea.
I waited for the chameleon badniks to reappear before I dashed right in their direction. Leaping above them and aiming myself side first, I twisted my leg forward in a crescent like arc, and braced myself for contact that I was sure would be painful. Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth, I held in a cry as my leg surprisingly cleaved right through the robot I aimed for. Landing butt first, I rolled up and avoided another shot from the other badnik.
Rubbing my leg, I was rather surprised at how little pain I felt. It stung a little, but no worse than kicking a sandbag back home. Shaking the pain off because I wasn't done yet, I turned my attention towards the badnik that was left. Jumping at the leftover badnik, I grabbed hold of it before it could disappear. Deciding against the brilliant plan of attempting to punch it, and being restricted in what I could do anyway, I treated the chameleon like a pair of monkey bars. Shooting at me as I swung myself back and forth, one of its tiny beams punctured my shield, shaking the grip I had with my left hand and nearly flinging me aside in the process. I focused hard on regaining my grip, and grabbed hold of the robot tightly. I once again made an effort to swing myself forward, and this time I was able to toss myself above the chameleon bot. My momentum carrying me into a flip as I gained way more height than I thought I would have, I twisted myself to correct my aim. Spinning more than I ever had in my life, my leg crashed down on the badnik who could only attempt to flicker out of existence again. Landing softly, I looked toward the freshly destroyed shells. The shells that were freshly destroyed because of me.
You know, maybe I could do this. I mean I got pretty scared when it broke the shield, but I still won, right? I'll find Eggman, I'll kick his tiny little ship into submission, and I'll be home safe by the end of the day.
Ok maybe I'd have to keep all this kicking down to a necessary minimum, my shins were KILLING me as I started running again.
With a leap over another set of hazardous spikes (and why the hell are those just sitting around!), I made my way towards another field of trees. So far I hadn't seen any sight of Eggman, and had been able to stay clear of any more encounters. The greatest thing about being fast was how quickly I could run away from any danger, but more importantly, avoid even being in a badniks line of sight.
Walking forward into the clearing, past the trees and through a brush, I could make out what appeared to be a giant capsule.
Well I guess expecting a sign post might have been a little presumptuous, but there wasn't even anyone here. No Buzzbombers, no Crabmeat, no Motobugs, and not a body of water for the fish ones to hide in. Hell, I was at least expecting to have to crack an egg before I'd get a chance with the omelet. Peering from right to left before leaving the bush I was behind, I cautiously approached the Capsule.
Taking extra precaution I made sure that I kept my ears peeled too. Hoping to catch even a chameleon robot before it could get me off guard, I rubbed at my leg anxiously. Thoughts of my last encounter in mind, and expecting a rough encounter with Eggman, I wanted to make sure I was ready for anything.
Looking deeply at the capsule, it seemed like nothing was behind it. As I approached, I began to hear the capsule itself. It didn't really grow in volume; Rather as I got closer its sound became a lot more obvious. Like the ambient sound you might hear in a factory, or the whir of a computer in an otherwise noiseless room, I was at least certain that the capsule was in use. As if to prove me right, even from a distance I could faintly see what looked like silhouettes inside of the capsule. Knowing that this only meant I was closer to my goal, I approached the capsule with the intent to pop it open from the top. It was only as I got close that I heard what sounded like a chain dropping before something round crashed into me, and hard.
Author's Note:
I was struck with inspiration, and an actual plotline finally broke through the years of writers block I had. I promised someone I would update the story so decided to do even better and remake it. Don't expect consistency, but do expect this one to actually end properly. And also actually be written well this time.
