Old Knothole HQ, Great Forest, Acornia
The circulation of high winds thrashed around the area of the old headquarters of the Freedom Fighters, with Buzz Bombers and Egg Flyers being knocked either on away or other random trees before exploding.
Under Dr. Robotnik, the Egg Shooters, and the Freedom Fighters was a giant tree that was damaged by an earlier fight, with the trunk halfway nearly being timbered. However, the force of the winds was enough for it the upper half of the tree to fall.
"Agh! What's the meaning of this!?" Dr. Robotnik screamed, hanging on to his hovercraft while the other Freedom Fighters were either onto the ground or each other.
As the blue whirlwind subsided, a familiar teenage azure hedgehog wearing a necklace with a gray ring, white gloves, and red and white Power Sneakers stood on top of the tree stump with a bright grin. His green eyes darted at the sight of the Freedom Fighters, then at Dr. Robotnik.
"My! That's a pretty snazzy performance there." Sonic said, making his presence known.
The Freedom Fighters could believe their eyes as they gazed at their rescuer.
"No way!" Rotor said before smiling.
"Is that…?" Bunnie.
"Yes…! Yes!" Sally whispered, thanking the Walkers for the miracle before them. "He's here!"
"...SONIC!" Dr. Robotnik explained, enraged and unhappy to see his arch-enemy.
Looking around to see the Freedom Fighters and Robotniks' cronies, Sonic said, "Heh heh! I've made it just in time!"
He then turned to Robotnik, saying, "Yo, Eggman! Long time no see! Watcha doin' all the way over here? Out to conquer the world again?"
The mad scientists' blood began to boil at the sight of the snark blue teenager and his attitude. Especially regarding the hedgehog's nickname for him.
"You annoying little pest! Must you always get in my way?! EGG SHOOTERS, SHOOT HIM DEAD!"
The twelve Egg Shooters took at the hedgehog and began emptying their rounds. Fortunately for Sonic, bullets were too slow for him as he dodged and began his assault. As he lept in the air, he formed into a spiky ball and began bashing all twelve in a chain, performing the Homing Attack in succession.
"No!" Cried the doctor.
Finishing the last Egg Shooter, he stood in front of the Freedom Fighters before turning to them. While the others got up. Sally was still taken aback at the sudden movements of Sonic's attack. She was brought back to reality when a hand was extended to her while she was on her knees.
"Need a hand?"
Not trusting her voice, Sally took her old friend's hand as the other Freedom Fighters approached Sonic.
"Everybody alright?" Sonic asked, looking at Rotor, Antoine, and Bunnie. "No broken bones?"
Rotor shook his head, saying, "N-No! We're fine...but...you're-"
"-I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog! And I was sent here, courtesy of the general." Explained the Blue Blur.
"Quoi, my father sent you?" Antoine asked, surprised that the king sent his father, of all people, to escort the son of his rival.
Sonic nodded in a small smirk, "That's right! You and your group must be pretty incredible soldiers, managing to handle Eggman's posse for so long."
Antoine gave a small nod, content that his long-lost friend acknowledged him.
"Look out!" Bunnie shouted, causing the others to see a giant green fist heading straight at them.
Using his speed, Sonic pushed the Freedom Fighters out of the way, evading a punch that would have crushed them to death.
The others got up and realized that Dr. Robotnik's Egg-Mobile had been transformed into a cockpit for him to pilot the E-3000 robot.
"I will not be denied my power this time! I will have it one way or another! Even if I have to go through you, rodent!" Dr. Robotnik shouted with a sinister toothy grin.
"Sacre bleu!" Antoine exclaimed, pointing at Dr. Robotnik. "He can drive zat thing!? Zat man could very well wreak havoc in zhe city with it!"
Sonic continued to smile confidently as he walked forward, ready to face his arch-enemy like he always has done.
The princess' mind flashed back to a little light blue hedgehog that would mischievously sneak out of the playpen with the same smirk and glint in his eyes.
Coming back to her senses, Sally grabbed his arm to stop him, warning, "Wait, it's too dangerous! We need a plan!"
Turning back around, Sonic asked, "Hey, what's your name?"
"I-I'm Sally," She said, trying not to falter from her nostalgic memories.
Sonic stared into Sally's eyes and for a split second in his mind, she was quickly replaced by a smaller version of the girl wearing a golden tiara with a gem in the center, a light blue crop top with matching puffy pants, and cerulean curled shoes.
Sonic's mind quickly disregarded the image as the hedgehog gently removed the chipmunk's hand from his arm. He then gave Sally a small respectful bow before standing to flash a small but reassuring smile.
"No worries, Princess. I'm used to stuff like this," Sonic reassured as he started walking passed Sally casually.
"But,"
"Hey," Sonic spoke to the princess and her comrades, turning his head while giving them a thumbs up. "Don't worry. Leave this one to me, okay?"
Trusting in Sonic's confidence, Sally and the other Freedom Fighters fell back, going behind the fort of their old base.
"Insolent brat!" Eggman growled, watching Sonic casually stretch his legs. "This time, I'll surely send you to an early grave!"
"I'll send you flyin'! Come on!" Sonic spurred.
E-3000 went for a slam of its hand, which Sonic dodged by running through the legs of the machine. From there, Sonic used his Spin Dash to attack the machine's legs to disorient E-3000, causing Eggman to yelp at the shaking he was feeling.
"GUAAAH!" Eggman yelped. "C-Curse you!"
Sonic then capitalized on the situation and timed a perfect Homing Attack at the cockpit of the mecha, causing Dr. Robotnik to stagger a bit by taking three steps back.
While standing in front of E-3000, Sonic rubbed his nose with his left index finger.
"You seem to be a bit off your game, Doctor." Sonic playfully mocked before tapping at his temple. "Are ya' okay upstairs?"
"ARGH! ...Why you little-!"
Sonic lept at Dr. Eggman with the intent to silence the terrorist with another speedy Homing Attack. However, Eggman's mecha was advanced enough to predict and perceive the attack. This allowed E-3000 to roundhouse kick the teenager away, sending him through four trees before landing on a nearby boulder, and embedding him there.
"WOHOHOHOHO!" Dr. Robotnik cackled. "How do you like that!?"
The Freedom Fighters held their breath at the brutal strike, which nearly sent Sally on the edge emotionally.
Sonic bounced back, breaking out of the boulder while coughing up a bit of saliva and small traces of blood.
'...O-Okay, maybe Eggman hasn't lost his touch. I better not play too much.' Sonic gritted, standing up while feeling like he was hit by a large bell.
Sonic and Dr. Robotnik continued their intense battle, with the speedy hedgehog circling E-3000, hitting specific weak points with Spin Attacks, Homing Attacks, and Spin Dashes when the robot batted him or swatted him away.
Sonic dashed to deliver a devastating blow, only for Robotnik's machine to react fast enough.
"OH NO YOU DON'T, COME HERE!" Eggman screamed, using E-3000's right hand to grab Sonic from off the ground.
Sonic yelped as he was picked up, thinking to himself, 'Uh oh!'
Suddenly Sonic felt pressure being wrapped around his body and began to be compressed.
"UGH!" Sonic grunted in pain but kept himself from screaming.
"I'm going to crush you like a grape, nice and slow for all these pests to see!" Dr. Robotnik remarked with glee.
Sally, watching her childhood friend grunt as his bones nearly began to crack, stood up from where the others were sitting.
'I can't watch this anymore! I have to do something before he gets killed!' Sally thought to herself, readying to take action… only for Rotor to grab her arm and stop her movement.
"Sally, wait! You'll get creamed if you go out there!" The Mobian walrus warned her.
The Mobian chipmunk jerked her arm away, saying, "Oliver's trying to help us, and now he needs it!"
"But what can we do? We were overwhelmed by the madman's robot army!" Bunnie questioned, backing up Rotor's stance on the situation. "And none of us could lay a ding on that dawg on machine!"
"And what would your father say if you got hurt over zis, or worse?" Antoine posed.
"That doesn't matter right now! We've already lost too many people in the war!" Sally shouted before taking out her handheld computer with a special golden ring on top of the monitor. "I'm not letting him go…not again!"
Bunnie, seeing what Sally was about to do, smiled as she cheered, "Go git 'em, Sally-girl!"
"Right!" Sally said before sprinting near the E-3000 machine and opening up her computer. "NICOLE, materialize!"
The handheld screen booted upon command. From there, the space of the golden ring emitted a blue light that created a beam.
The beam, which was made up of small pixels and shapes, projected itself from the ground up, forming a holographic construct with mass.
As a result, what came to be was the projection of a Mobian Lynx roughly the height of Sally. The ends of NICOLE's ears were black, and her face featured a stripe along the bridge of her nose as well as one under each eye. NICOLE'S eyes were green and she had medium-long black hair with splits at the ends that she wore down.
For attire, NICOLE wore a shoulder-less, sleeveless purple dress with split tails, decorated with a small golden broach with a purple gem. She also wears black pants, black and white gloves, and shoes, the gloves featuring round purple cuffs while the shoes have white cuffs with a small golden broach with a purple gem and white toes.
Turning to Sally, NICOLE asked, "How may I assist you, Princess?"
"NICOLE, is it possible for you to scan for the configuration of Dr. Robotnik's machine?" Sally inquired.
"Affirmative." NICOLE nodded as her eyes peered towards E-3000 for five seconds and glowed a bright blue.
"What do you see?"
As she finished her scan, NICOLE said, "The machine may seem complex by the exterior in its configuration on the inside, but the material that it is composed of is quite basic. In fact, the robot is twenty percent copper."
Hearing the word copper, Sally immediately got an idea.
"NICOLE, how'd you like to try out the potency of your Data Bolt Attack?" Asked the chipmunk with a smug grin on her face.
NICOLE smirked as she raised her right hand with blue energy that materialized a construct similar to a lightning bolt.
Meanwhile, Robotnik was busy slowly taking in his so-called victory as he was going to squeeze the life out of Sonic.
"I believe it's time that we wrap things up here, Hedgehog. I'd say we had a blast these past eight years, but then I'd be lying. Farewe–ARGHHH!" Eggman spoke before shouting in pain.
Robotnik's goodbye speech was cut off by E-3000 being short-circuited as a result of being struck by a bolt of electricity, making the machine twitch and stutter. The grip around Sonic's body loosened, causing him to fall back to the ground on his knees, catching his breath.
"NO! W-What's happening!? E-3000 isn't responding to any of my command inputs! It's short-circuiting! Blast! I was so close! NO! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" Robotnik shouted, trying to touch the controls of the machine, only for the console to flash and explode out of malfunction.
"Data Bolt Attack was one hundred percent successful, Princess," NICOLE announced with satisfaction in her voice before dematerializing.
"OLI–" Sally called before correcting herself. "SONIC! Now's your chance!"
Hearing this, Sonic got up and said, "Gotcha!"
He ran a few yards back and then raced back to the fight, jumping on a nearby tree trunk. Using the force of his speed to bounce off of the tree, Sonic spun into a ball while surrounded by blue electrical energy, hitting the midsection of the robot right after Dr. Robotnik ejected from it.
However, E-3000's explosion came into direct contact with the Egg-Mobile, sending Dr. Robotnik flying back to wherever he came from.
"I'LL GET YOU YET, HEDGEHOG!" Dr. Robotnik screamed as his figure left the view of the Freedom Fighters and Sonic until there was a twinkle in the sky.
Sonic waved mockingly, shouting, "Have a nice flight, Eggman! And don't hit the moon on your way out! I just fixed that two months ago!"
The Freedom Fighters (except for NICOLE, who returned to her handheld) surrounded Sonic, giving thanks and praise for his work.
Rotor, being the first one to approach the hedgehog, slapped Sonic's back as he said, "That was wild, man!"
Sonic winced while yelping, "Ow!"
"Ooh! Sorry about that…" Rotor said, chuckling sheepishly.
Antoine nodded, saying, "I wouldn't have done it better myself. Très bien"
"Darn right, sugar! You showed that slimy ol' snake what for!" Bunnie said, adding her two cents.
Sonic chuckled shyly, rubbing the back of his quills before looking at NICOLE and Sally.
Sonic said, "It was nothing. Your leader saved me, you know."
Turning to Sally, Sonic said, "Thanks a lot, Princess."
Everyone smiled at Sonic's honesty and modest gesture, showing them that the adventurer wasn't self-absorbed in his own deeds.
"It's not a problem, Sonic," Sally said with a smile on her face while approaching Sonic. "We appreciate your assistance here."
Sonic gave her a thumbs up with his right hand again.
"Sonic!"
The other Freedom Fighters turned around to see Tails descending from the sky with his twin tails spinning, who came using the route that Sonic arrived in.
"Yo, Tails!" Sonic said as he walked over to him.
The fox looked around to see the Freedom Fighters in good shape and the remains of E-3000 still smoking from the explosion.
"I take it that everything went well?" Tails asked, already knowing the answer.
Sonic brought his fists to his hips, retorting with his question, "You surprised?"
"No way!" Tails answered, prompting him and Sonic to high-five.
"We should head to the castle," Sally advised, causing the two friends to listen. "My father is expecting you two, so we should return to the city as soon as possible."
"Is there a shortcut we could take or something?" Tails questioned.
"I may know a few," Sally confirmed with a smile.
Tails and Sonic nodded with the blue hedgehog saying, "Sure thing. Lead the way."
Sally nodded, directing the two to a shortcut back to New Mobotropolis with her friends and subordinates surrounding them. Although she was happy that her long-lost friend returned in her kingdom's time of need, she still couldn't shake off the feeling of grief given that Sonic didn't seem to remember her or anything regarding his life.
Castle Acorn, Royal Hills, New Mobotropolis
Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters made their way back to New Mobotropolis within a ten-minute walk thanks to a shortcut near the old Freedom HQ. From there, they met Armand, who was glad that his son, the princess, and the rest were safe thanks to Sonic's aid.
Together, Armand and the Freedom Fighters escorted Sonic and Tails through the streets of New Mobotropolis. Sonic and Tails were given a tour of the various streets and districts of the metropolis provided by either Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, or Rotor.
For Tails, it was like going to an amusement park to him. Sure, it didn't seem as advanced or futuristic like let's say Grand Metropolis (before the Nazo Incident), but he loved exploring and seeing new things like any other child.
But for Sonic, there was this vague sense of familiarity with the city. Not exactly because he had been in the city, he hadn't before, but the air smelt familiar, the structure of some of the buildings was familiar, and he swore that he saw the way the roads looked from somewhere. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
Sonic snapped back into reality when he heard cheers from the nearby civilians. This included the swooning of nearby young Mobian females roughly his age to about eighteen years old.
"Hey, look! Princess Sally and the Freedom Fighters made it back!"
"Hooray!"
"...Oh my Chaos, it's Sonic the Hedgehog!?"
"It is him! He's even brought Tails with him too!"
"Oh wow! He looks so handsome in person!"
"...I hope he's not taken."
"Are they joining the Freedom Fighters?"
Sonic lightly blushed at the attention he was receiving from most of the citizens (namely the girls' comments) and wearily chuckled, earning a wholehearted laugh from Tails and most of the Freedom Fighters' mild amusement except for Sally, who rolled her eyes lightly while shaking her head.
Tails said, "I guess the letter wasn't kidding when it said that people knew about us."
"That is correct, Mr. Prower," General D'Coolette confirmed. "While the kingdom has been dealing with our own issues, which will be revealed soon, your battles and endeavours on the other side of the planet have not gone unnoticed. You'll soon find that your adventures and efforts for peace have inspired millions of Mobians around the world, giving them hope. It even influenced a change in the Overlanders' view on our kind."
Tails' eyes widened in awe.
"Wow, we really did all of that?" The child asked.
Bunnie answered softly with a wink, "Ya'll sure did, Sugar."
Sonic remained silent but smiled at the conversation, which hadn't gone unnoticed by Sally. After another twenty minutes, the group approached a large castle on top of a large hill, taking Sonic and Tails by surprise.
"Woah...! Cool!" Sonic and Tails said together.
The group walked a single flight of stairs and stood in front of the gate where two Royal Guards stood in front. The guards ordered Sonic and Tails to halt, only for General Armand to intervene.
"Let them through, these two young men saved New Mobotropolis and will have an audience with His Majesty." General D'Coolette commanded.
"We'd appreciate it, boys," Sally said with her hands on her hips.
Scrambling to fix their mistake, both guards moved out of the group's way, allowing them to pass through after the gate was lifted.
When the group went inside, Sonic and Tails glanced at their surroundings in awe. Within the lobby, they stared at the area which was decked out with old portraits, ancient statues of past kings and heroes, pieces of medieval armor and weaponry, furniture for those who visited, and other ornaments that were hanging on the wall for decoration. From there, they walked further down, crossing a hallway until the group made it to the waiting room where behind the corridors was where the king sat on his throne.
"Eggman's got nothing on this place." Tails said, comparing all the bases and parks he made during their past incursions with the scientists.
"Yeah…" Sonic said, just as impressed.
"I will be having words with His Majesty before you meet with him. For now, please wait here." General D'Coolette said with a stern look.
Sonic and Tails nodded, understanding the situation. Sally invited them to sit with her and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, which both boys accepted wholeheartedly as they waited.
"So Sonic, Tails," Rotor spoke, getting their attention. "Do you guys mind telling us more about yourselves?"
Tails obliged with a smile, "Sure! What do you guys want to know?"
Beating Sally and Rotor to the punch, Bunnie questioned, "How about tellin' us where ya'll come from? How did you two end up meetin'?"
Sally gave her best friend a thankful nod, already knowing the intentions of the conversation unbeknownst to the Blue Blur and the two-tailed fox cub. Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then nodded to the Freedom Fighters.
"I guess it can't be helped… I'll start," Sonic declared. "The early days for me are hazy. I spent a long time on Christmas Island by myself, tryin' to survive. But that changed when I saved an old man's life one day."
"An old man?" Sally mimicked, suspecting something. "Could you tell us more about him? Like a name?"
"He was an old owl. Eh... Hm... I think his name was Henry. No, …Harry? Ugh! That's not it."
"Harvey." Tails answered.
"Yeah!" Sonic said, snapping his middle finger and thumb from his left gloved hand. "That's it! I just called him Old Man Owl."
Sally and the other Freedom Fighters looked at each then back to Sonic and Tails while she allowed them to continue.
"I managed to save him from gettin' crushed by a falling tree with my new powers. So, when he realized I was alone, Old Man Owl took me in to live with him and his wife, Grace, on South Island."
"We called her Granny Owl," Tails added. "Hey, Sonic. Didn't you say that you were born on Christmas Island?"
"I think…? They told me that I may have been, but I could have been left there. I try not to think about it, much." Sonic answered awkwardly.
"Hey, it's fine." Rotor cut in, trying to keep the conversation from getting depressing. "But why did the owls take you over to South Island? Was it because it was neutral territory?"
"I don't know about this territory stuff, but Old Man Owl owned shelters for families and other folks that were strugglin'. But Granny wanted to keep me, so both decided to adopt me. So, I spent the next four years with my new family." Sonic explained, smiling at his childhood.
"Interesting..." Antione said, stroking his chin. "So what happened next?"
Sonic's brow furrowed as he simply stated, "...Eggman happened."
"Eggman?" Rotor asked, recalling Robotnik's being called as such by Sonic. "The guy you fought that blew up half the moon a few years ago?"
"That's right," Tails answered. "Eggman is an insulting nickname that Sonic calls Dr. Robotnik. He and Sonic have been arch-enemies for a long time."
"What in tarnation did he do to you, Sugar-hog?" Bunnie asked with a frown.
Sonic then explained, "Eggman came to South Island one day in search of ancient relics called Chaos Emeralds. He wanted them all to harness their power and take over the world. But he couldn't do it alone. And since he's not much of a team player, he decided to use his machines to do his dirty work for him."
"But wouldn't he need a factory to mass produce an army of robots?" Rotor questioned.
"Yes. And he picked my island to set up base, which would have polluted the whole island if left alone." Sonic explained. "And to make matters worse, Eggman began usin' machines to round up all Mobians and Mobinies and placed them in capsules for transport."
The others besides Sonic and Tails began to feel uneasy about where the story was going.
"W-What was zis man planning to do with zhem?" Antoine stuttered, having not done so in a long time.
"He was going to use them as a power source for his robots." Tails answered.
"And two of these many victims were my grandparents," Sonic added, scowling at the memory.
The Freedom Fighters gasped, with looks of shock and disgust washing over them.
"...That's just sick!" Rotor wretched, imagining being used to power a machine like any of the E-Series robots he encountered.
Sonic nodded in agreement.
"Did anybody do something about that man?" Bunnie questioned.
"I had to step up," Sonic answered.
"What? Weren't you only eight? Even with your powers, that would have been dangerous!" Sally stressed.
'...Especially without any formal training!' Sally thought to herself.
Sonic shook his head, saying, "It was dangerous, but I didn't have a choice. My island doesn't have a military force nor allies to call on for help."
"But you were but a civilian child!" Antoine reiterated. "You were not trained to be a soldier!"
"You're right, but our grandparents helped Sonic control his super speed when he was adopted." Tails mentioned. "Eggman may have had numbers on his side, but he could have never foreseen someone like Sonic gunning for him. Right, Sonic?"
"That's right! So I raced across South Island, freein' folks, collecting the Chaos Emeralds, and kickin' Eggman's tail every chance I got. Once I confronted and defeated him in his base over at Scrap Brain Zone, he fled, and then I made a wish on the Chaos Emeralds to undo the damages he did, saving everybody on South Island."
Sally and the others smiled at the end of his story.
"Man, we've been through a lot of things in the war. But I can't imagine single-handedly stopping a hostile takeover of an island as a kid." Rotor said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have the stones for that at that age."
"Oui," Antonie agreed. "It must have been a terrifying experience."
Sonic said nothing, chose to only nod in agreement to Antoine's specific comment.
Sally lightly sighed, then smiled as she said, "Regardless, what you did was very brave of you."
Sonic smiled sheepishly and averted his eyes, not used to all of the praise he was receiving.
"It's great that everything worked out in the end, Sugar-hog." The female cyborg rabbit said.
"It did for a while…" Sonic trailed off.
"...Until Eggman returned to his old tricks elsewhere," Tails dryly commented.
"Are you serious?" Rotor complained. "What did he do this time?"
"Well, let's say that Eggman found a means to control time. And when he found out where that power could be found and used effectively, he had that place chained down to Mobius. Literally." Sonic answered, causing the Knothole Freedom Fighters to look at him sideways.
"What?" The Acornians said simultaneously before
As Tails facepalmed at Sonic's nonchalant attitude on his answer.
"Anyway, I stopped Eggman from taking over Little Planet and chased him away six months after kickin' him out of my island." Sonic continued. "But that second journey convinced me of something. Eggman wasn't gonna stop tryin' to conquer people."
'A genius conqueror.' Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, and Antoine shivered.
"I wasn't plannin' on playin' the hero, but I wanted to at least keep an eye out on the so-called "good doctor" in case he was about to pull somethin' again. So I chose to begin my journey on my own." Sonic said.
"Interesting, and I'm sure that conversation went lovely with your caretakers," Sally said, crossing her arms with half of a glare and a knowing smirk.
Sonic scratched his cheek warily, recalling how distressed and furiously his late foster grandmother reacted to his decision.
As Tails sighed, Sonic uttered, "...I did convince Granny, eventually."
"Give or take a few scoldings and several smacks upside his head." Tails muttered, prompting Sonic to glare at him and some chuckles/giggles from the Freedom Fighters.
"Anyway," Sonic concluded, frowning at a cheeky-looking Tails. "Once Old Man Owl pleaded my case that I was responsible enough to fend for myself, my grandparents gave me the Tornado as an early birthday present, and I set off to see the world and what lessons it had to offer like they wanted me to. And so, I've been explorin' new places and kickin' Eggman's tail whenever I get a chance." Sonic finished
Sally took in almost every detail of Sonic's story and stored it in her mind like she was taking notes. She and the others listened for more considering who went up next.
"...And that's where my story begins!" Tails chimed in. "I was told where I was born, but I can't recall where specifically, but I grew up at a small orphanage at Emerald Hill."
"That's on Westside Island, right?" Sally inquired.
"Uh huh!" Tails answered positively before chuckling. "It's kind of funny. Like Sonic, was also looked after by an owl."
"Huh. What are the odds," Rotor commented. "Did she adopt you?"
"No, she couldn't. Not only was she a part of an indigenous culture with responsibilities and restrictions, she was one of the matriarchs of the place. And they wouldn't have me taken by her."
Expressions of pity were exchanged by the militia, with Bunnie lamenting, "Aw, you poor thing. It must have been hard growin' up like that."
Tails scratched his head, replying, "It was…rough. I wasn't looked at fondly as much by the grow-ups or the kids my age. Sometimes, I was bullied because I was…different. That's where the nickname "Tails" comes from."
Pity fell on the Freedom Fighters when Tails curled his two tails to his body and touched them consciously.
Sonic frowned at this but remained silent for a moment.
A bittersweet smile formed on his as Tails stated, "...But what made it bearable was my caretaker, Longclaw."
"Longclaw? Was zis person the native you were talking about?" Antoine queried.
"Yeah," Tails nodded, letting go of his twin tails. "That's her!"
"Who was Longclaw to you?" Asked Sally.
"She's like the nanny I never had!" Tails answered fondly. "She treated me like any other child and was the first one to notice how I thought different from other kids."
Sonic chuckled and said, "You mean she recognized how smart you were."
"Stop it," Tails said with a smile.
"What? It's true, buddy. That's why she gave you all those science and automotive books to study." Sonic mentioned. "And didn't she inspire you to fly with your tails?"
"I-I mean, that's all true, but–"
"But nothing," Sonic said, smirking at his best friend. "You're awesome, Tails. And Longclaw saw that. Without her influence and guidance, you wouldn't be building mechs, artificial Chaos Emeralds, or stuff that teleportation transporter today."
Hearing that shocked all of the Freedom Fighters.
Sally smiled and said, "He's right. Being different isn't a bad thing. It makes you unique."
Tails quietly said, "...Thanks."
Taking a deep breath, the fox continued, "I ran away from the orphanage because of problems there."
"What!?" Sally and Bunnie shouted in horror.
"All by yourself?" Rotor questioned.
"Hey, It's okay!" Tails reassured with his hands up defensively. "I read all the survival books I could find while in the orphanage. So, I knew how to take care of myself out in the wilderness."
"That iz still unacceptable!" Antoine snapped, catching Tails and Sonic off guard. "You were a toddler without a home! Did nobody come to look for you?"
"Hey, easy…" Sonic said to Antoine, coming to Tails' defense.
"...I don't know," Tails answered honestly. "I didn't look back when I left. I just remember wanting to get away from everything."
Everything calmed down after a moment of silence as Tails worked up the nerve to continue his story.
"About three months later, I made a hut to live in and survived off of fruit and fish." Tails continued. "When I traveled to a trail to clean myself in a nearby pond, a pair of older fox kids came to pick on me."
"Oh, wait…those jerks?" Sonic recalled, looking at Tails with a knowing glance.
Tails responded with a grimace.
"What did they do to you?" Rotor questioned.
Tails did not answer out of shame, but Sonic responded, "I caught 'em tuggin' at his tails when I was passin' by one day."
"That's horrible!" Sally voiced with disapproval while the others frowned in a similar expression. "Were these kids your age?"
"...They looked five, maybe six years older than me." Tails answered in discomfort.
Before anybody could react any further, Sonic crossed his arms with his eyes closed and said, "Relax, guys. I took care of them the moment I caught those brats."
This caused the tension to de-escalate the situation.
But Sally thought to herself, '...If only Tails stayed in Acornia with us, we could have looked after him at Knothole.'
"It wasn't all bad," Tails said with a hopeful smirk. "Like he said, that was the first time I saw Sonic. But to me, it was just a blue blur."
"I wasn't even that fast at the time, though," Sonic commented.
"Yeah, compared to now." Tails sassed before moving forward with the story. "Anyway, I got curious as to how something sentient could move so fast. So, the next time I spotted the blur, I followed it as best I could. I tracked it to a campsite, and that's where I first laid eyes on the Tornado."
"Sonic's plane, right?" Antoine questioned.
"The first Tornado is my plane. All other planes built onwards are Tails' inventions." Sonic clarified.
"Sonic, stop bragging about me!" Tails playfully scolded as he was eight years old again.
Sonic stuck his tongue out and said, "...Nope!"
The Freedom Fighters chuckled at the exchange for a moment.
"I saw that the Tornado needed some maintenance done on it, so I waited until Sonic left and used his toolbox, and got to work." Tails said before glaring at the older hedgehog. "And I would have finished if you didn't scare me!"
Sonic shrugged and told the Freedom Fighters, "I caught him by my plane with my wrench behind his back. You shown have seen his face."
"What did you say to him then," Rotor inquired.
"Nothing much," Sonic answered. "I just looked at my plane, saw he did a better job workin' on it than me, and gave him my thanks."
"But Eggman came to my island in search of the seventh and final emerald." Tails responded, catching the others off guard. "I saw that everybody was getting captured by machines and put in capsules. And since I had no one else to turn to, I decided to track down Sonic again."
"And you allowed this?" Sally questioned, with her hand on her hips
"Hey, it's not like I knew where he came from or if he had anywhere else to go" Sonic testified. Besides, I quickly found out how handy Tails' smarts were on my third adventure. If it wasn't for the little guy, I wouldn't be standing here right now."
"Needless to say, after Eggman was beaten, Sonic brought me back to South Island. Granny Grace and Grandpa Harvey adopted me into their family and I've been living with Sonic ever since." Tails said, ending the story.
"That was a cool story!" Rotor said, now excited that there was another inventor and engineer he could talk to. "Do you mind if we collaborate on a project sometime? I could use a hand with a few things in the lab."
"Sure thing! Uh...I didn't quite get your name, sir."
"Oh, right. It's Rotor Walrus." Rotor greeted, shaking Tails' hand.
"Nice to meet you, Rotor!"
A smile formed on the hedgehog's face as he got lost in his thoughts again.
'I see that Tails is makin' new friends. Good, the kid deserves it. ...Why do these people seem so...familiar? I swear, it's like I've been havin' deja vu all day. My head's killin' me with all these images runnin' wild.'
General D'Coolette then returned from conversing with the King of Acornia and looked at Sonic and Tails.
"His Majesty will see you now. Come this way."
Sonic and Tails got up and nodded. He turned to the Freedom Fighters, with Sonic asking, "Are you guys stickin' around until we get back?"
Sally replied, "I will. The others might have other things to attend to, though."
Tails said, "That's okay. We'll see you soon, Your Highness."
Sonic and Tails then followed Armand, closing the corridors behind them. The two walked through a short hallway until they ended up walking into the throne room. It was here that the general announced the king's presence to Sonic and Tails.
"Presenting His Majesty, King Maximillian Acorn, 12th patriarch of the ruling Kingdom of Acorn!" General D'Coolette announced.
While getting closer to the throne room, Sonic paused as his eyes moved over to the man sitting on the throne.
The Mobian squirrel that sat on the throne of Acornia bore a striking resemblance to Sally. The difference however was he was male, slightly taller than her, and had auburn eyebrows and a goatee. He wore the blue Acornia Royal Army uniform with gold epaulets, red boots, and a red cape. Upon his head was a golden crown adorned with green gemstones that seem to emanate a mystical glow to them.
This was King Maximillian, or Max for short, the current ruler of Acornia and father of Princess Sally.
Whether it was out of instinct or a command that came from his subconscious, Sonic immediately kneeled before Max while whispering Tails to do so.
While Tails listened to his older brother figure, to him, this was unlike Sonic given how he acted informally around important figures such as the current President of the United Federation, President Langston Arbuckle (or Arby for short).
Sonic awaited further instructions from the king until the king spoke to him and Tails.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, I thank you both for saving New Mobotropolis from the robotic forces of Dr. Robotnik." King Max spoke in a formal but warm tone.
Sonic and Tails got up, with Sonic replying, "It's no problem, Your Majesty. Sometimes, I just gotta do what I gotta do. That's all."
Tails then said, "We've got your letter in the mail today. You said you had something to discuss with us. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?"
"Yes, I did." King Max replied as he cleared his throat. "I don't believe I have to explain to you both what the Great War was, do I?"
Sonic and Tails shook their heads negatively, already aware of the tragedy that was the Great War.
"It was about a year after the Great War had finished, Acornia was still rebuilding and recovering from the aftermath, leaving our forces weakened and in disarray. Then one day upon the horizon was an army from a far-off kingdom, their warriors clad in what looked like dark crystals oozing with malicious intent." King Max explained.
"A crystal army?" Tails echoed, wondering what kind of power this army possessed.
Sonic remained silent, saving his questions for later.
"Suffice to say, the Royal Army was still suffering from the consequences of the Great War and was not prepared to go into battle with this invading force. It seemed as though we would be wiped out by these crystal knights until he arrived." King Max continued.
"Who's he, Your Highness?" Sonic asked, still remaining as respectful as possible.
"A single man, wearing the garb of a sorcerer, stood in front of this crystal army and annihilated it with nothing but a snap of his fingers. His name was Walter, Walter Gaunsun. He was a sorcerer from the kingdom of Soleanna." King Max stated.
Sonic then said, "...Soleanna? That's a place I ain't ever heard of before. Tails, do you know anything about the place?"
Tails shook his head, saying, "Not a clue, buddy."
"Soleanna was a kingdom on the continent of Guardia, a neighbour of the country of Apotos." King Max explained to Sonic and Tails. "The kingdom had advancements in magic and science with many of its people following the practice of Solarism."
"Hm...This place sounded like a cool spot for a vacation." Sonic commented.
"So they followed a solar deity?" Tails asked. "Could you tell more about it?"
"Yes, they worshiped Solaris, an ancient god who according to Solarism had power over light and time." King Max replied. "The people of Soleanna referred to Solaris as the Flame of Hope, seeing his power as a beacon for their people to live by."
Sonic nodded, saying, "Alright if this Soleanna place was so cool, why did Gaunsun leave?"
"Because nearly thirty years ago, a great catastrophe engulfed the kingdom of Soleanna, turning the once-powerful nation into a barren wasteland." King Max replied in a solemn tone.
Sonic and Tails immediately were taken aback by the king's words, internally imagining how many lives were lost during that apocalypse.
"That's no good," Sonic muttered while Tails looked down, averting his eyes.
"Because of this, Gaunsun had no home or people to call his own." King Max explained. "So he wandered Mobius, ending up on the continent of Grandia where he used his sorcery to defeat the crystal army. We were grateful, to say the least, and Gaunsun offered his mystical knowledge and power to the kingdom of Acorn, and he became my court wizard. We learned a great deal from Walter, about the nature of magic and various mystical forces within our world."
Tails commented, "This Walter fellow sounds like he was very knowledgeable and wise."
"...I don't know," Sonic retorted while crossing his arms, "This seems too good to be true. This seems suspicious."
King Max looked at Sonic, pausing for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"You aren't the first to think so. I was warned by an old friend about Gaunsun, and did not listen at the time. When I learned the truth, it was already too late. Gaunsun had revealed himself as the Ixis Warlock Naugus, a conqueror who laid siege to many kingdoms in the past." King Max stated.
Tails gasped at the information, covering his mouth with both of his hands.
Sonic, meanwhile, felt a large pit of dread in his stomach building up from the sound of Naugus' name. Sweat poured down from his face, his breathing slowly became irregular as he was caught in a trance. He could hear, no, almost feel the malicious presence send a chill down his spine as a demonic laugh echoed from his mind.
"-nic? Sonic! SONIC! Snap out of it!"
Sonic came back into reality with Tails shaking him awake.
"Huh?" Sonic said, waking up. "What's up?"
"I can see that you still don't remember what happened that fateful day." King Max said with a sigh.
"Remember? What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Tails asked, confused at his comment.
"I don't... I don't understand what you're talkin' about." Sonic said, clutching his head. "What are you tryin' to say?"
"You are not just Sonic the Hedgehog, savior of the planet Mobius and the fastest thing alive." King Max replied. "But you are Oliver Maurice Cobalt, son of Sir Jules Hedgehog and Queen Aleena Cobalt IV, and Crowned Prince of the kingdom of Azuron."
"What!?" Tails shouted, looking at the king incredulously then turned to Sonic. "Sonic? What is he talking about?"
"I...I don't..." Sonic staggered before trying to recollect who he was based on what he knew. "With...all due respect, Your Majesty, but I don't believe that. I'm Sonic. That's what Old Man Owl called me. I didn't even have a name before we met."
"You are referring to Harvey Who, am I correct?" King Max asked.
Sonic took a step back, asking, "...How did you—"
"–Harvey Who was the advisor to my father, King Frederick. He was a pilot serving under the Acornian Covert Operations before becoming their spymaster before the Great War." King Max explained.
"...That would explain a lot, considering Sonic's interests in traveling and his knack for easily learning how to drive aircrafts." Tails said thoughtfully.
Sonic shook his head, saying, "Look, I'm no royal! I'm as common as the air we breathe. Unless you have some proof, there's no way I can accept this."
King Max sighed as he lifted his arm up and pressed a button on a small device attached to his wrist.
"General, bring him in."
"Yes, Your Majesty." General D'Coolette said on the other end.
Tails and Sonic looked at each other with bewilderment as they turned to King Max.
"Your Majesty, who is coming to the throne room?" Tails asked politely.
"You'll see." King Max replied.
A few moments later, Armand greeted the newcomer to the throne room. The person's appearance shook Sonic to his very core, with Tails' eyes also shrinking in shock.
This person stood, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Sonic, albeit much older and mature, having light blue fur and possessed baby blue eyes with silver-colored eyebrows and mustache. For his attire, a brown coat over a green turtleneck sweater, brown gloves, brown, laced-up boots, and glasses.
"Oliver, meet your father's older brother and your last living relative." King Max said. "Your uncle, Sir Charles Hedgehog."
The uncle of Sonic waved at the teenage hedgehog, saying, "It's been a long time. Hasn't it, eh Sonny-boy?"
To Be Continued...