Chapter Text
An 11-year-old Sonic the Hedgehog was pacing through the confines of the forest. As he continued to run, the hedgehog would periodically gaze at the familiar landscapes surrounding him—the clouds in the sky, the fallen trees and branches that lay on the ground, and the unsettling atmosphere he felt navigating through the woods.
Fortunately, he wasn’t completely alone. In his arms, the hedgehog carried another Mobian—a young fox cub, yet somehow gifted with two tails instead of one. He was the only other person Sonic had managed to find in the aftermath of all the chaos that had begun so long ago.
The two of them were returning from their latest foraging expedition, currently making their way back to their shelter. Sonic certainly wasn’t keen on bringing the fox with him during these scavenges—the kid was still so young after all. Not to mention all the dangerous animals they could run into. Chaos forbid they ever encounter one of Robotnik’s machines.
Still, the only other alternative would be to leave him alone at their shelter, and Sonic wouldn’t ever forgive himself if something were to happen to the fox. In any case, all he could do was keep him close by and look out for any potential dangers.
As the hedgehog settled into the familiar route, he eventually caught sight of their shelter ahead; A small cave hidden away deep in the forest, far away from the dangers of Station Square.
It was no 5-star hotel, but it kept both of them safe, and that was more than enough considering the current state of the world.
The sight of the cave brought a small smile to the hedgehog's face. He extended his arms in front of him and turned the fox in his arms to face him before saying, “Heh, looks like we got here in one piece. Nice job out there, bud!”
The fox didn’t say anything back, but his face practically lit up with the smile that formed on his face, which in turn caused Sonic to smile back. He had to give the little guy credit. They had only been traveling together for a month or so, but the kid had proven himself to be remarkably efficient. He could seemingly understand everything that was relayed to him, and already he was figuring out which fruits and mushrooms were safe to eat on their expeditions.
With the visual reassurance that all was well with the two of them, Sonic turned toward the cave and carried his companion inside. Once there, he stopped near the front and took a few moments to take in the scenery. Always there to greet him was the dark and dreary landscape of the cave, only illuminated by the glowing moonlight from the outside world. Some items he had managed to recover in the aftermath of everything, like a few blankets, some clothes, and other small resources, were scattered around the area, but it was pretty barren for the most part.
Home Sweet Home. Well, as sweet as home could be when you were hiding from a dictator trying to take over the world.
With the fox still in one of his arms, Sonic used the other one to pull out the saddlebag he’d been wearing on his shoulder, setting it on the ground so he could dig through their earnings that night. It didn’t seem too bad—a handful of mushrooms and berries—they’d probably be able to last a day or so, though he would keep most of the rations for his younger comrade.
Worn out from the exhausting fruits of his breath-taking labor, The hedgehog let out a heavy sigh. He turned again towards the fox and said, “Well, I think that’s enough adventure for one day. What do you say we get you to bed?”
The fox simply nodded at the question, which once again brought a sense of happiness to the hedgehog. He never really understood why he often found his companion so endearing at the slightest things. Then again, maybe just having someone else with him through this crazy journey was enough. If nothing else, it just provided a nice distraction from…
No, not right now. It was not the time to be thinking about the hells of the outside world.
With nothing else to say, Sonic slowly carried his companion over to his bed. Well, bed wasn’t exactly the right word. It was more like a pile of bulky shirts piled together as a “mattress” with a blanket strewn on top of the…invention. Still, it was better than the little guy sleeping on the cold hard floor.
The hedgehog gently laid the fox onto the bed and promptly tucked him in. While it didn’t usually take long for the fox to fall asleep, Sonic always made sure to sit beside him until he did manage to sleep as a show of protection.
Once he finally dozed off, Sonic stood up slowly and made his way over to the area where he kept all his books stacked in a pile, just another one of the few things he’d been able to grab before fleeing his home. There were only three books grouped there, and he had already read each of them about a dozen times. Even still, he always ended up going back to them on nights such as these. Nights when he needed to distract his mind with some words on a page.
Yeah… another distraction. Just another way to cope with the pain.
The hedgehog momentarily shuffled through all three of the books as he tried to figure out which one to read, eventually settling on The Legends of Chaos: Powers Torn Through Time. For some reason, it always seemed to be the one he came back to the most.
He then sat near one of the walls of the cave as he opened the book and flipped to his favorite entry. The entry on the Chaos Emeralds.
Chapter 5: The Chaos Emeralds
As mentioned in previous passages, each Mobian possesses their own unique form of chaos energy. A connection is formed with this energy to access a special ability specific to that individual, such as increased strength or agility. However, there exists a hidden artifact that has the potential to amplify this chaos energy. It is called the Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic hesitated as he noticed the illustration of the Chaos Emeralds on the page after the last sentence, the same emerald that allegedly had the power to save the entire world. He continued reading after a few moments.
The Chaos Emeralds are seven supernatural gems that hold unlimited power. Individually, they are strong, but it is only together that their true potential may be unleashed. Any Mobian in possession of these emeralds would gain an inherit connection to them via their own Chaos Energy, one that would allow them to fulfill their greatest wishes. As such, these are artifacts that can be wielded for good or evil purposes.
There have been rumors a plenty on where the Chaos Emeralds gain such power from. Some say they were descended from the heavens as a gift to mankind, while others assert that they were once ordinary gems enchanted by a group of dedicated researchers. However, there is one theory that stands above the rest, and it involves the emeralds being powered by an even greater source called the Master Emerald. This object is said to possess secrets and capabilities that go far beyond the feats of the seven emeralds. However, unlike the emeralds, many sources cite that the Master Emerald cannot be used by most Mobians. No definite answers have been given on who exactly can use the emerald, but legends say that only the will of a true guardian would be able to do so.
Unfortunately, the true origins of the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald have never been fully discovered, and even finding them today is an incredibly difficult task. The only things that can be inferred are that the Chaos Emeralds are scattered in different locations around our world, as well as the possibility that they may play a part in helping to locate the Master Emerald.
Sonic slammed the book down in frustration. He always found himself a bit exasperated once he came across the final passage on the emeralds, but the recurrent dead end seemed to be making him considerably agitated tonight. How could he feel anything else when the answers to everyone’s problems were within his reach? When finding the emeralds could mean putting an end to Robotnik’s Empire for good?
Of course, every time he read this book, he was forced to face the bitter reality that no one knew where the emeralds were, not even Robotnik himself. Heck, they might not even exist for all he knew. This book might just be some fake legend to trick desperate people like him.
No, it couldn’t be that. If this really were some trick, she wouldn’t have carried it. She wouldn’t have urged him to grab this book if it didn’t have something useful. Though, It wasn’t like that mattered anyway… she was long gone now.
Sonic could feel his agitation and anger turning into full-on distress as his breathing started to come in short bursts. He knew he was losing control, he knew he was back to playing the dreaded game of what-ifs and self-loathing, but he was just too angry to care.
This wasn’t right. None of it was, and he hated every damn second of it. He despised everything about Robotnik’s Empire. Everything Robotnik had done to him and all the other Mobians he had under his control.
Taking over the world, turning everyone into his mindless slaves, murdering people for his own sick amusement.
He had turned society into his own personal playground, one where he could grace everyone with his twisted, demented hell of a nation.
Sonic had lost everything because of Robotnik. His home, his life… Longclaw.
The memory of his long-gone parental figure caused what was left of the hedgehog’s resolve to come crashing down. Sonic’s eyes instantly began to grow blurry with tears as he finally lost the battle of emotions.
Longclaw was gone. Just one of the many victims of Robotnik’s reign. Now, Sonic was all alone.
It took some time, but the hedgehog was eventually able to get himself back under control. After taking a few deep breaths, he managed to cast aside his negative feelings and shove them back down to his darkest depths, effectively rebuilding the wall he always put up against his emotional problems.
Good. He didn’t need to be feeling sorry for himself when there were other people begging, practically pleading for a way out of their terrible lives. Even if he hadn’t asked for it, he was the only person that could help them. He was a leader now. He had to stay strong for all of them.
Suddenly feeling overburdened by the isolation that had started creeping up on him since he started reading, the hedgehog glanced over to the fox sleeping soundly a few feet away. It was only him and that little guy now. In a way, the only ‘family’ the two of them had now was each other.
Family…
Yeah, Sonic could definitely get used to the idea. He’d already made a promise to be the little guy’s protector and all, might as well go all the way and become the fox’s… brother?
Okay, yeah, brother. He could work with that too. The little guy would also need a name, though. Fortunately, a quick glance at the fox’s strange anomaly provided Sonic the perfect name: Tails.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the perfect name, but he thought that it was cool, so that’s what he was sticking with. Maybe he could even teach the kiddo to fly one day.
And just like that, Tails was Sonic’s new brother, and by extension, his new family. For once, the hedgehog couldn’t be happier.
He had somebody to bond with and keep safe from the dangers of the world. Somebody he could support whenever things got tough. Somebody he could inspire to keep hoping for a better tomorrow.
Because somehow, someway, Sonic was going to fix all of this, Robotnik be damned. He’d find a way to take down the empire and save the world, no matter what it took.
He would do it for his brother… he would do it for everyone.
With his spirits finally lifted at the prospect of his new goal, Sonic allowed himself at last to head to bed for the night, grabbing another spare blanket nearby and lying himself down on the ground as he drifted to sleep.
The final thought that passed through his mind before drifting off was his own reassurance that he would one day make everything right again.
8 years later
“I’m not leaving without the emerald! You better give it up!”
“Hmm, I’d love to sweetie, but I’m afraid a prize like this is just too valuable to give away for free!”
It was the middle of the day, and Sonic the Hedgehog was in hot pursuit of the Chaos Emerald that had just been swiped from right under his nose.
The thief in question was none other than Rouge the Bat, a regular nuisance toward the efforts of him and his team. In hindsight, he probably should have been wise to the bat possibly trying to snag the emerald at the earliest opportunity, but he’d been too distracted, and got blindsided as a result.
In his defense, however, it wasn’t like his distraction was without merit. The mission had already been complicated enough as is. After Tails had finally managed to locate one of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic had insisted on going to retrieve it and reporting right back as soon as he got the gem (he’d specifically promised Tails he would actually do that last part). Of course, it couldn’t actually be that easy. Not that things usually worked out as planned for their little group, but of all the times for them to get an easy win, one that involved the Chaos Emeralds would have very much been appreciated.
Well, it wasn’t all lost yet. He just needed to take back the emerald and rip Rouge the Thief a new one.
With a start, Sonic quickly spun himself into a ball and shot straight towards Rouge like a rocket, but Rouge managed to swing herself away from the incoming attack as soon as she noticed it, leaving Sonic flying harmlessly by.
As the hedgehog landed, he suddenly found himself running ahead of his opponent and used that to his advantage, springing himself back into the air towards the flying bat in the sky. He then turned towards Rouge and threw his leg towards her in a sturdy kick.
Rouge parried the blow with ease, throwing out her own kick and causing both combatants to collide. While Sonic would normally be able to shake off such a hit, the Chaos Emerald in Rouge’s possession was evidently making her attacks that much stronger, and Sonic ended up flinching back from the force of the blow.
Seeing her opponent's hesitation, Rouge laid down another hard kick toward Sonic’s chest, sending him spiraling right back down to the ground. Fortunately, the hedgehog was able to recover quickly, curling into his ball form to soften the blow before springing back to his feet and resuming his ongoing chase.
Sonic tried to leap back into the air to continue his onslaught, but found himself scowling as his once clear view of the bat was instantly overcome with dozens of branches and bushes from above. Rouge had led him to a more crowded part of the forest, making any attempts to attack her a futile effort.
As the woods around him finally began to subside, Sonic turned his attention to his front view, trying to find anything that could possibly be of use. However, he audibly gasped as he saw that he was rapidly approaching a nearby cliff.
The hedgehog instantly skidded to a halt, barely stopping himself from falling to the bottom. He looked over the cliff to gauge how far of a drop it would be. It looked pretty deep from where he was standing. Not nearly enough to kill him, but enough to be a considerably painful meeting with the floor.
It was weird. He’d never seen this part of the forest before. It looked like his little quarrel with Rouge must have taken him farther than he thought.
The sound of the bat’s laughter in question brought Sonic back to the task at hand. He snapped his head towards the sky to see Rouge floating right over the edge, too far away to attack without falling.
“Well now,” Rouge said slyly. “That was quite a show you put on back there, but I'm afraid we’ll have to postpone this appointment for another time.”
Rouge then turned away from the hedgehog and continued to make her escape, but Sonic wasn’t finished just yet. If she really thought she’d be getting away with that emerald, she had another thing coming. Sonic would see to that.
Sonic rapidly sprung up into the air before curling into his ball shape. He took a few moments to build up some power by spinning himself in mid-air, but then shot himself straight towards Rouge with his reliable homing attack.
Sonic hit his target with pinpoint accuracy, striking Rouge right in the back and causing her to cry out in alarm. As soon as he made contact, Sonic retooled his momentum and angled himself downwards, sending both him and Rouge spiraling to the grassy fields below.
Unfortunately, It was only then that the hedgehog remembered the very dangerous cliff he had been standing over a few short moments ago. The same cliff he had just fallen under in his mad dash toward the emerald.
…shit
With no way to escape the drop, Sonic simply braced himself for the inevitable impact. When that impact finally came, every part of his body flared up and roared in pain from their newest encounter with gravity, and Sonic himself was quick to cry out in barely concealed pain. Luckily, his ball form was able to cushion the impact somewhat, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.
As Sonic lay sprawled out on the floor, he could do nothing but wince and moan as his body refused to move an inch, barely even conscious and still in complete agony from the landing. He couldn’t even tell where Rouge had gone off to in all the chaos. Right then, he just wanted to crawl somewhere nice and quiet while he withered away.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too much longer before the hedgehog managed to recover. After about ten minutes or so, he was able to bring himself back to his feet with some difficulty. He wasted no time in searching for the Chaos Emerald, and to his everlasting relief, he found it lying near the grass just a few meters away from him.
Without missing a beat, Sonic walked towards the emerald and picked it up from the ground, feeling the power pulsing through his hand as he held the green opal.
That was one problem down. Now he just had to take care of Rouge, the same person who was now suspiciously absent in contrast to the Chaos Emerald she’d stolen.
Sonic began to search the area to see if he could spot the thief, but found that she was nowhere in sight. There was no way she would have managed to stumble away so egregiously from the fall, so the hedgehog assumed that she had probably escaped shortly before he woke up. However, even his efforts to scope out potential hiding places proved to be fruitless. It seemed like the bat had all but disappeared.
Talk about missions gone awry. Getting into a chase with a rotten thief and bruising his everything just to get an emerald back was definitely not on Sonic’s bucket list, that was for sure.
In any case, now probably wasn’t the time to sit around waiting. Sonic glanced back towards the wall of the cliff. It was definitely too high to try and climb back up, and there wasn’t much he could magic up with just one emerald. He’d need to find another way back.
He turned back to the rest of the landscape and started making his way through the area. All the while, he was sure to keep an eye out for any more of Rouge’s tricks.
The minutes continued to tick by, and Sonic’s irritation seemed to tick along with them. Every direction he went in just seemed to lead deeper and deeper into the forest, and he had to be careful not to get even more lost than he already was. Not to mention the constant fear of getting jumped by a certain Rouge the Bat.
It only took a few more moments of searching before his impatience got the better of him. He let out one final groan of complete exasperation before deciding a short rest was in order. He retreated towards a nearby wall that was covered with some vines and propped himself against it, giving himself time to collect his thoughts.
As he continued to ponder in silence, Sonic suddenly realized that something felt odd about the wall he was leaning on. He focused on the texture of the wall against his back, expecting to feel nothing but vines and stone. However, it felt like he was leaning on some kind of metal.
Confused, he spun himself towards the wall and tried to tear away the vines, but was shocked to find that the image he was staring at started to fizzle away once he made contact with it, like some kind of hologram. Through the illusion, he was able to make out what appeared to be a large metal door before the mirage of vines returned.
So… something was definitely being hidden there.
“Maybe it’s some kind of hideout?” the hedgehog thought to himself. “Heh, maybe this is where ol’ Rouge is hiding. Seems like I might have found her after all.”
Too curious about this hidden passageway to ignore it, Sonic prepared himself to try and break the door down. It seemed pretty sturdy, but not exceptionally durable. Probably something he would be able to smash open with a little help from his Chaos Emerald.
Focusing in on the energy force of the emerald, Sonic rolled up into his ball form, revving himself up to boost his strength. With one quick dash towards the wall, he managed to tear right through it in one fell swoop.
Once the job was finished, the hedgehog unfurled from his ball shape to find that he was standing at the entrance of a cave system of sorts. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the direction it went in was leading quite a ways away from the route he had previously been on. Almost as if it wasn’t supposed to be connected.
Sonic briefly hesitated at the sight. This whole situation felt obnoxiously sketchy to him when he actually stopped to think about it. He’d ended up finding some kind of super secret base of operations in this area he’d never even been to before, the warning signs couldn’t have been more obvious. Even if this really was where Rouge had gone off to, all signs pointed to him skating on some pretty thin ice without any preparations. Who’s to say there wasn’t a trap waiting for him at the end of… wherever it was this led?
At the same time though, who was to say that this couldn’t also lead to something good or useful? Maybe he would find some kind of refuge that had long since been vacated? Better yet, he might find things like weapons that could help with their efforts against Robotnik’s Empire. Maybe even some resources that be a massive blessing for Tails’ engineering.
…Yeah this was probably still a bad idea, but the idea of collecting some benefits through the end of this passage seemed far too good for the hedgehog to pass up. It wasn’t like he was typically one for playing things safe anyway. Not when playing by Robotnik’s rules meant you were either a dead man or one of his pawns. Plus, Sonic had the emerald to help him out of any sticky situations. What was the worst that could happen?
After making his decision, Sonic started to walk deeper into the cave. It was dark and dreary the whole way through; not exactly his favorite thing in the world, but the potential fruits of his labor were more than enough to keep him striding along.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the end of the path. Once outside, the hedgehog stopped right in his tracks as his eyes fell on the very large sight in front of him. Sitting there in the middle of this desolate patch of forest was an enormous island buried deep into the ground. Even from where he was standing, Sonic could see all of the mountains and other terrain decorating the topography. It looked absolutely breathtaking.
“Hmmph, jackpot,” Sonic remarked to himself.
Knowing now that he was definitely on the right track, Sonic sprinted the rest of the way to the island. Once he was close enough, he vaulted himself right up to the top of the island. The hedgehog’s agility was impeccable, and he landed gracefully on the grassy fields of the isle without much trouble.
Keep your eyes peeled, Sonic reminded himself as he began to inspect the area. Don’t want to run into any-
No sooner had the thought entered his mind when he was suddenly assaulted by electrical spikes penetrating his entire body. Sonic screamed out in agony as every part of him felt like it was set on fire with the constant jolts of pain. He tried to grit through the torture and fight back against whatever was attacking him, but couldn’t find the strength to retaliate. It wasn’t long before he completely blacked out, his last memory being the distant sensation of the ground coming up to meet him.
Once they had finally passed out on the floor, he stared silently at the hedgehog for a few moments, still in shock at the sight of another person on Angel Island after all this time.
This intruder definitely had some nerve trying to break into his home. They should’ve counted themselves lucky that it was just him there right now. His father wouldn’t have been merciful in the slightest.
Then again, he would be lying if he said he fully approved of his father’s methods. As far as he knew, the hedgehog probably would've been killed without a second thought, and something that cruel just seemed… unfair to him, even if they were trespassing. On the other hand, maybe he just felt pity for them because of how desperate he was to see anyone from the outside world. What would his clan think of him now?
Kill him, came a voice from inside his mind. He is of no use to us.
No, no just shut up, he thought, trying to pull his attention away from the irritating voice that always seemed to pop up at the most inconvenient times.
Wait… the intruder was holding something. He moved closer to them to see what they had been carrying, and nearly jumped back in alarm as he saw the Chaos Emerald clutched in their arms.
A Chaos Emerald… this intruder had a Chaos Emerald. His father had been looking for the gems for ages, and now there was someone here with one of them in his grasp! If they had one, maybe they would know how to find the rest of them. Maybe he could use them to help his father find the other emeralds!
It was a ridiculous idea, a naive desire for him to be relying on. There were dozens of ways the intruder could have found that emerald. The chances of them knowing where the rest were located were slim.
But… this wasn’t something he wanted to give up on. If there was even the slightest chance he could find a way to prove himself to his father, he’d be a fool not to take it. Maybe after all was said and done, he would finally get his father to say yes.
Upon making his decision, the echidna walked over to the intruder, grabbing the emerald they had been carrying in one arm before grabbing them in the other. It was then that he started making his way back to the center of the island, mentally preparing himself for what would be his first conversation with a Mobian in ages.
When Sonic finally came to, he found himself completely dazed for a few moments as he tried to remember what had happened to him. However, once the memories finally started flooding back to him, the hedgehog’s eyes shot wide open.
He wasted no time in trying to get back to his feet, but that unfortunately proved to not be the best idea as his still aching muscles screeched at him from the sudden movement, causing him to let out a yelp as he collapsed from the pain.
As he tried desperately to tend to his sore muscles, Sonic slowly became more aware of where exactly he was, or rather, where he was trapped in. The moment he shifted his gaze away from himself and towards the outside, he was suddenly bombarded with a bright green hue coloring everything he looked at. What with him getting knocked out and all, It didn’t take a genius to realize it was likely a forcefield that was encasing him, probably something his aggressor had pulled out of their little bag of tricks, right up there with whatever power they’d used to knock him out.
From where he was sitting, he was able to make out the structure he was currently sitting on—some structure made out of stone—as well a staircase nearby leading down to Chaos knows where. Out in the distance stood a few small ridges and boulders scattered about, along with the same colossal-size mountain he'd seen before resting at the center. It certainly was an interesting view, but Sonic quickly decided he would put a pin in the sightseeing until after he dealt with whoever knocked him out and put him here.
Experimentally, the hedgehog reached out one of his arms toward what he assumed to be the barrier that was painting everything green, only to be met with that same electrical sensation from before as his arm was hit with yet another jolt. He quickly tore his arm away, wincing once more from the new source of muscle ache.
“Shit! What the hell was that? What is anything of this?” Sonic muttered to himself. This was just what he needed right now. An emerald retrieval mission turned into his very own kidnapping.
Wait… where was the Chaos Emerald?
Suddenly realizing that the gem was no longer with him, Sonic started frantically searching his confined space in the vein hope that it hadn't been stolen by the maniac who had concocted this entire scheme. During his short-lived searching effort, he'd ended up noticing even more things about this place. Like the dome-shaped ring planted in the center of the stone structure that was probably meant to hold something important, or the seven large pillars that were also surrounding him from a distance.
So, was likely dealing with a very sacred, very powerful person here. Good to know.
Sonic eventually ceased his pursuit as he finally accepted that the emerald had been taken from him once again, silently cursing himself for being so reckless. What was he thinking trying to thrust himself into this embarrassingly suspicious situation? Getting captured after not even five seconds on this island was just the icing on the cake, wasn’t it?
There had to be a way out of this. He could probably let Tails know where he was, send him the coordinates even. He’d have the others here in no time at all, and they would clobber the guy like he was nothing. But then, would they even make it in time? Whoever this person was might not be keen on waiting around for very long, not to mention he didn’t even know how strong they really were. For all he knew, the others would be walking right to their doom.
The sound of footsteps lumbering up the staircase caused Sonic’s heart to skip several beats. Whoever had captured him was coming back now, and it didn’t look like he had much time left. Sonic tried one more time to find anything that could help him escape, but once again proved to be unsuccessful.
Once the Mobian finally reached the top the the staircase and Sonic was able to see what they looked like, he was surprised by who he actually saw. Staring back at him was a red male echidna, seeming about as old as Sonic himself. However, despite them falling in a similar age bracket, he could see that the echidna had an incredibly toned physique, immediately noticing how pronounced his muscles were. His hair was quite long, with lengthy dreadlocks that hung freely across his face. Perhaps the strangest of all were his hands, both of which adorned white gloves with two spiked knuckles sticking out on each end.
Though, If Sonic had to be honest with himself, the guy actually looked, well… kind of stunning in a way. At least until he remembered this was the same person currently holding him captive. That made him a lot less stunning.
“You have something that I’ve been looking for, and I want to know why,” the echidna declared as he met Sonic at the top of the staircase. He pulled out an object from behind him, and sure enough, it turned out to be the same emerald Sonic had lost. “What is this? And how did you find it?”
Sonic, of course, responded tolerantly. He twisted his features into his signature cocky grin, giving off his most sincere of appeals towards his captor’s authority. He never was too big on obeying people with power, for obvious reasons. And that was especially true for hotshots like these.
“Heh, hate to break it to you buddy, but your guess is as good as mine,” Sonic replied with a chuckle, still grinning wildly at his captor. “Found that emerald lying just a ways away from here. Didn’t know I’d be taken hostage just for grabbing it.”
The hedgehog watched as the echidna narrowed his eyes back at him, clearly not amused by his smug attitude. “Well then, what’s to stop me from doing away with a trespassing troublemaker like you?”
That statement was sure to knock down Sonic’s confidence by a few pegs. In hindsight, maybe trying to pester this guy wasn’t the best idea.
“W-well, okay, I guess you could say I had a little direction on where to find it,” the hedgehog stammered, trying desperately to save himself from getting murdered. “See, I’ve been… interested in those emeralds for a while now, and I’ve only now just managed to actually find one of them.”
The echidna’s glare didn’t let up upon hearing this, though he seemed satisfied with his answer so far. “So, I take it you know what these Chaos Emeralds can do,” he concluded. “Why exactly have you been looking for them?”
Again, Sonic paused for a bit as he contemplated what to reveal and what to omit. He was still very much at risk of setting this guy off if he wasn’t careful with his words, but he certainly didn’t want to give too much away—the echidna could’ve been another bad guy for all he knew.
In the end, he decided to go for a happy medium of sorts. “Let’s just say I’ve got some issues back where I'm from. Been looking for a way to make things better, and the Chaos Emeralds seemed like a good option.”
Okay, the lie wasn’t a particularly misleading one, but thinking on the spot had never been the hedgehog’s strong suit. He preferred to leave that kind of material to Tails.
However, despite it being far from a compelling story, Sonic was surprised to find the echidna’s expression had morphed into one of fascination. Maybe he should give himself more credit.
“What… problems have you facing?” he asked slowly.
Or maybe he just didn’t know about Robotnik’s Empire at all. But still, that didn’t make much sense either. Surely anyone could have guessed what he was talking about, the doctor had basically gone on to take over the entire world for crying out loud! You’d have to be living under a rock not to-
…Oh
This place being guarded by a large metal door of all things suddenly made a lot more sense.
In spite of this realization, Sonic wasn’t quite ready to make any conclusions. There were still a lot of gaps to be filled in here—maybe he was wrong and this person had a believable explanation for not knowing about all this.
He decided to leave some hints and see if his captor would take the bait. “Oh, just this rotten guy with an insane thirst for power and control; not to mention hurting people. He’s a person I and many others have grown to despise in recent years. A real pain in the neck, if you ask me.”
The echidna only looked even more interested now. Sonic was beginning to like some sort of psychic with the way he stared at him like a terrible future had just been forecasted.
“You mean there’s this person out there… hurting other people?”
He really didn’t know, did he?
“Well, to be honest, just hurting people is one of the least terrible things he’s done,” Sonic sighed. “Look, I don’t know where the hell you’ve been for the past few years, but I can assure you; there’s been some bad stuff going on in the world for quite a while now. The man behind it all is a guy named Doctor Robotnik. He and his little empire have been ruling the world with an iron fist for ages.”
For a few moments, the echidna didn’t utter a single word. He simply stared vacantly with an unreadable expression. Sonic briefly considered trying to say something to break the uneasy silence, but ultimately decided against it.
Eventually, he recovered from his trance-like state and shifted his focus back to Sonic. “And how do I know you’re not lying? You could be trying to trick me just to get the emerald back!”
“Hey, if you’re having doubts about me trying to help you open your eyes, feel free to waltz into the city yourself!” Sonic snapped in anger. “I’m sure you’ll still be calling me a liar when you’ve got six robots gunning you down in all directions!”
Despite his aggressive response, the echidna did not retaliate. He only glared back at the hedgehog for a few moments before his shoulders finally slumped in defeat. He remained quiet for some time before responding with, “I… can’t.”
“Um…. can’t what?”
“I can’t leave this island!” he snapped back, causing Sonic to flinch back in surprise.
Well, that was one question answered…and a few more added.
“Wait, what?” Sonic asked. “Why exactly would you not be able to leave this island?”
“My… my father doesn’t allow it,” the echidna clarified, for some reason believing that to be an adequate explanation. “He doesn’t want to see me get hurt by the outside world.”
Ugh, give me a break, Sonic thought silently. He could feel a headache forming as he tried to decipher the nonsense that had just been spewed at him. Ignoring the fact that no sane parent would forbid their kids from ever leaving their home, was rebelling against parental authority some kind of foreign concept to this guy? Was he seriously willing to stay cooped up here until he was old and grey because Daddy said so? There was also something else that specifically bothered him about this whole family conflict, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Okay, uh, dude? May I just ask why you absolutely have to obey this parent of yours?” inquired the hedgehog. “I mean, I’m pretty sure that you’re about my age, which makes you at least eighteen years old, so you’re probably an adult. Did it not occur to you that you should start, I don’t know, making your own choices instead of following every little order your dad gives out?”
The echidna’s anger flared up once more. “It’s not as easy as you think, hedgehog,” he responded, though Sonic could’ve sworn that was also a hint of sadness in his tone. And sure, he couldn’t blame the guy for being upset about the situation. Chaos knows he wouldn’t have been a very happy camper if he’d been subjected to conditions like these.
But still, that was all the more reason for this person to just leave. If he wanted to do something, he could just do it. Why did he have to be such a suck-up to whoever this dad of his was? Since when was it a crime to want to actually live your life?
After taking yet another deep breath (how many had he taken at this point? He wasn’t sure), Sonic addressed his captor again. “Listen man, I didn’t mean to go trespassing on your island like this, but I think you can see that I’m one of the good guys here, and I’d really appreciate it if you could let me and the emerald go. I’ve got an empire to take down and friends who are probably worried sick about me, and I needed that Chaos Emerald to help me out with that.”
The echidna didn’t respond right away. He instead kept his gaze focused on the hedgehog, clearly in the middle of some sort of internal debate. Sonic just stared back in silence, hoping against hope that his captor would just let him go free.
Fortunately, it wasn’t much longer until he finally got an answer. “My father is also looking for the emeralds. He also says that he needs their power to do something important,” he hesitated briefly. “Maybe… we could strike a deal of some sort.”
“Sorry, pal, but that’s probably not gonna happen.” Sonic quickly rebutted. “See, I know next to nothing about this father of yours, much less his plans for the emeralds once he actually gets them. I don’t think I should even have to mention the whole kidnapping stunt you pulled. As far as I know, you could very well just be a liability to my efforts.”
“I still have you trapped here,” the echidna pointed out. “I could keep you here until you comply.”
Sonic laughed harshly in spite of the implied threat. “Nice try, Knucklehead, but you don’t scare me. I’m the only lead you have on the other Chaos Emeralds. If you try to kill me, you’d be squandering your only chance of ever finding them. And don’t even think about trying to keep me here as a prisoner. Like I said before, I have friends who are going to notice my absence after a while, and it’s only a matter of time before they start searching for me. It’ll be fun to see you try to subdue them the same way you did to me.”
Ooh, Knucklehead. That was a good one. Note to self: save that nickname for future reference.
“I-I wasn’t going to kill you!” countered the echidna.
“Oh, really? You seemed pretty hellbent on doing just that when you talked about ‘doing away with me’ not even five minutes ago!”
The echidna opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated as he seemed to think it over. After some time, Sonic noticed that his expression actually soured a bit. “I… I’m sorry, alright? I swear, I wasn’t going to do anything. I was just desperate.”
The echidna looked away from Sonic as he continued. “My father… for years I’ve wanted to find a way to help him while I’ve been stuck on this island. I’ve wanted to do something to pay him back for everything he’s done for me. I thought that if managed to help him find the Chaos Emeralds, he would…”
He let the thought hang in the air, but Sonic thought he had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about.
After a while, he turned back to face the hedgehog and resumed his speech. “When I saw that you had one of the Chaos Emeralds, I thought you might know how to find the rest of them.”
“Interesting story,” Sonic said indifferently. “Still don’t feel comfortable making a deal with you, though.”
For a short period of time, neither of them spoke a word. The two of them just stared silently at each other, both of them coming from completely different circumstances, with completely different goals.
The echidna was the one who broke the silence at last. “How did you end up on this island anyway? I know you’ve been trying to find this Chaos Emerald, but what led to you finding this place after you accomplished that?”
“An annoying bat who tried to make away with the emerald,” Sonic scoffed, recounting the events that led him here in the first place. “She’s been a thorn in our side ever since we started our little group, should’ve known she would have the nerve to go swiping something as precious as a Chaos Emerald. I got it back from her in the end, but ended up getting separated from my team. When I tried to find my way back to them, I came across this island, and the rest is history.”
“I see,” the echidna muttered. Before Sonic could ponder on what exactly that meant, he was caught off guard by what his captor did next. He extended one of his arms outward, pointing it directly at the hedgehog. Just like that, the barrier that had been holding Sonic disappeared in an instant.
Sonic raised both eyebrows in surprise at the echidna’s action, but he then made his way over to the hedgehog, emerald in hand, and dropped it right beside him, effectively forfeiting it to him.
He was letting him go just like that? What sort of game was being played here?
“I shouldn’t have taken that from you,” the echidna said simply. “I know you said you didn’t want my help, but I want to make up for my actions before. You clearly didn’t deserve it,” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “This is my new proposal: I can go with you and help find the other emeralds. I can also help with taking care of the bat who's been hurting your efforts.”
“And what exactly is the catch here?” Sonic inquired, still a little apprehensive about his captor’s sudden change of heart.
“All I ask for is that I be allowed to come back to this island on occasion to meet with my father whenever he returns, and that we be permitted to use the emeralds under your supervision. If he wants to use them for something that doesn’t align with your goals, you don’t have to give them to him.”
That… was an interesting deal. Certainly more than he’d expected from someone who had just kidnapped him. Now, that same person was basically just letting him get off scott-free, or take his offer of course.
Maybe it was his sudden interest in helping him get the Chaos Emeralds and saving the world, or the reassurance that his dad wouldn’t be using them unless he approved, but Sonic was actually inclined to accept the offer. Of course, there would still be a risk involved; he’d likely need to keep an eye on this new recruit for at least a little while, but when hadn’t taking risks been a part of the job? Even today, when he’d initially believed that a big mistake had been made coming here, now he was getting a whole new member to add to the group. If his skills were any indication, it seemed like he would be a massive help for them!
After taking a few more moments to think it over, Sonic finally looked back at his former captor and declared, “Alright, I think I can work with that. You really wanna get into this? You’re in. It’s a deal.”
“...Thank you,” the echidna muttered. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you and the others.”
“Better not try anything, though,” Sonic warned, pointing a finger warily at his newest recruit. “Wasn’t kidding about the other members. We’ll be ready if you use any tricks.”
The echidna seemed a little uncomfortable with the accusation, but eventually nodded his head and said, “Understood.”
“Good, glad we’re on the same page! But, uh,” Sonic chuckled a bit, finding their first order of business to be pretty ironic in the grand scheme of things. “If we’re gonna start working together, it might be helpful to actually know your name.”
“Knuckles,” the echidna answered. “My name is Knuckles.”
“Alright, cool,” Sonic threw out a thumbs-up and gave a wide grin. “I’m Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!”
Rouge was hidden behind a faraway tree in the distance, gazing silently at the scene unfolding in front of her. She wasn’t able to hear what the two were actually talking about, but it seemed like a partnership of sorts was being formed between them.
This would certainly be trouble. Her first try at taking the emerald had already gone swimmingly, and now she had someone else to deal with. In hindsight, She still wasn’t quite sure why she had willingly ditched the emerald and fled the scene once she realized she had woken up faster than Sonic had. Perhaps it was just instincts, not wanting to get caught taking the emerald right as the hedgehog did recover. And indeed, he had woken up not too long after, so maybe she had been right.
Even still, she wasn’t about to give up the chase. She just had to play her cards right, outwit the boys and steal her prize while they flailed about. In fact, now that she thought about it, them getting caught by some robots in the middle of their retreat would be quite unfortunate. It would be the perfect opportunity for them to get double-crossed.
Yes, Rouge would have the emerald back in no time at all.