Sonic: Atonement

Chapter 1: The End Is The Beginning

Sonic was laying back asleep on the couch when he started to feel rumblings in the ground. He was fully woken up by his communicator going off. Half-asleep, he answered it.

"Mm, hello? Oh hey, Tails. What's going on, buddy?" He asked.

"Sonic! Eggman's attacking the city! You gotta hurry over here!" Tails exclaimed, causing Sonic to flail his legs as he turned to get off the couch. He fell onto the floor with a thud.

"Unh! You mean right now?! What time is it?!" Sonic asked.

"Time to get to work! I'll see you out there!" Tails said before abruptly ending the call. Sonic wasted no time in getting to his feet and stretching his legs out.

"Aw man. Why can't Eggman ever schedule his attacks in advance?" Sonic muttered aloud, taking a few moments to stretch his legs before hurrying out the door. He took a few more steps forward before breaking into a full sprint towards the city.

Sonic was staying at Vanilla and Cream's house; it was far outside the limits of Station Square, out in the woods where there were more animals and less noise. It was a beautiful, secluded place to live, but in situations like this, it forced Sonic to have to run a few extra seconds.

Sonic skidded to a stop at the end of a cliff where he could see the city in the near distance. Two large Eggman robots were attacking the city, fighting against Tails who was in his plane. Sonic pressed his fist into his palm and nodded to himself.

"Hang on, buddy. I'm coming!" He said, crouching down and getting ready to boost off the cliff, "You won't get a second chance this time, Eggman." He said to himself...

"Are you Sonic the hedgehog...?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Huh?" Sonic stopped and glanced over his shoulder. A gray hedgehog with black stripes in his quills was walking up next to him. Sonic nodded in his direction before looking forward again.

"Yep, that's me. The one and only Sonic the hedgehog." He confirmed with a smile.

"Everyone's been waiting for you, Sonic. I take it that you're getting ready to stop Eggman again?" The random hedgehog presumed.

"Absolutely! You just leave it to me, alright?" Sonic smiled and gave him a thumbs up. The hedgehog nodded and briefly smiled before speaking seriously again.

"And what will you do...when you catch him this time?" He asked Sonic.

"What do you mean 'this time'?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eggman's never gonna stop; surely you know that. You brought him down when he took over the world, and now he's trying again. What will his punishment be this time? How will he be brought to justice?"

"...what's your name, bud?" Sonic asked, glancing back at him again.

"It's...Zero. Everyone calls me Zero." Zero answered awkwardly.

"Cool. Well don't you worry 'bout a thing, Zero! I'll crack that egg and drop him right back in his carton where he belongs! The carton is referring to jail, in case you couldn't tell. It's an egg pun." Sonic explained his joke.

"I got it, thank you." Zero rolled his eyes a little, taking a step back and starting to make his way behind Sonic.

"Heheh, nice to meet you, Zero. Stay somewhere safe while I take care of this, alright?" Sonic said, turning away from him and getting into his running position.

"Nice to meet you too, Sonic...I'm sorry to do this but I wanted to hear your answer first." Zero formally apologized.

"Huh?" Sonic started to turn his head back towards Zero again.

A gunshot echoed through the forest followed by a long silence. All at once, Sonic found himself unable to get from the ground. His arms trembled and his knees dropped to the ground, leaving him on all fours with a wide-eyed expression.

Zero walked up next to him and placed his hand on Sonic's head, lifting his gaze back to the city where Tails was still fending off the two Eggman robots by himself. His vision began to blur to the point where the buildings became mere shapes.

"When you've been fighting a war for this long eventually death becomes the only outcome. It's...inevitable. Maybe you've lost people too...like I have." Zero quietly pondered the gravity of this moment.

Sonic let out several shallow breaths as his eyes began to dim. His ability to see and feel gradually diminished from him. The last thing he heard was Zero's voice still speaking to him soothingly.

"For what it's worth, you seem like a pretty decent guy. I hope you rest in peace."

Zero let go of Sonic's head, allowing him to fall to the ground. He put his gun away and took a moment to breathe before boosting forward towards the city. Once he was gone, Sonic's communicator began to go off again as Tails tried to call him.

"Sonic? Do you read me? Now would be a good time to show up! Come in, Sonic...can you hear me?!"