I crawled into a fanfic-writing cave to finish a project, any project. I'm sorry I was gone so long, but I'm back, and with a Sonic fanfic!
It's AU, VERY AU. Mostly it's Genesis-era, but with elements of (decreasing importance) Archie, post-genesis, and a single OC added to the Archie cast for gender balance. Due to the alternate continuity, certain characters (read: all post-Genesis) have been altered to fit.
Anyway, due to real life constraints, I'm slowing down to once-a-week updates.
Without further ado: enjoy.
(Oh, and if I can't post non-MM fanfics, sorry... I wasn't aware.)
Chapter 1:
Through the lush area of Mobius known as Emerald Hill, there was a winding network of dirt roads, cut through the vibrant green grass for ease of travel. From an overhead view, it looked like a failed cat’s cradle, tiny threads of brown randomly woven across a canvas of green.
From an overhead view, there were three dust trails kicked up high into the air, moving speedily across the roads.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles veered from the clear-cut path and began tearing across the grassy knolls, towards some unknown destination.
“Hey, Sonic, you don’t look so good…” Tails, the farthest behind, had to shout to be heard. “I thought you’d be glad to see them again!”
The blue hedgehog didn’t answer his friend. He and his recently-formed crew of rebel fighters had received a message from the last place Sonic wanted to visit, a place he had tried so hard to force to the back of his mind, maybe even out of it entirely. But he, Tails, and Knuckles were the only ones who knew its location, so he had no choice but to leave the base in Amy’s care, and bring the others to tackle the problem themselves.
It had been a simple message – “Robotnik is recruiting from the north again, and he’s brought the Death Egg. I’m sorry, but we need your help, Sonic.”
It hadn’t even been signed, but the “blue blur”, as the oppressed public affectionately called him, knew all too well who had sent it and from where.
The side of the mountain they were swiftly approaching slid open, and the trio zoomed inside. Shortly thereafter, it closed.
The three screeched to a halt at the same time, leaving skid marks across the ground. They were before a tunnel, one they knew would wind its way deep underground.
They filed in, first Sonic, then Knuckles, then Tails. Curled up into neat little balls, they rolled their way down the twisting tunnel, emerging in a spacious cavern. As their eyes adjusted to the meager torchlight, a voice rang out from the shadows, one that made Sonic cringe.
“It’s good to see you again, Sonic,” said the feminine voice. “I’m glad you came. We need you.”
Knuckles looked impatiently at Sonic, his arms folded. He was deep in denial, and the red echidna could sense it. Though, of the three, he had been one of them for the least amount of time, it had hurt to leave this place, more because of what Sonic was leaving behind than his own reluctance to leave.
Finally, Sonic responded. It was a statement carefully devoid of feeling, though there was a deep-seated sadness he couldn’t hide. “I’m glad I could help, Princess.” He dared not say her name, lest it invoke feelings he’d tried so hard to bury.
The princess stepped forward into the light, one arm loosely grasping the other across her stomach. She was a pale-brown chipmunk with long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She wore blue boots and a matching vest. “I… I’ll take you to the meeting room. Follow me…”
As the princess silently led them down the corridors, Sonic closed his eyes to avoid the sight of her hair swishing behind her. Knuckles caught sight of this, and his jaws tightened. It was bad enough he hadn’t greeted her as the old comrade she was (at the very least), but he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her?
Tails was silent, uncomfortable because of his role model’s discomfort. He had always liked the princess, and thought she was a great person. She and Sonic deserved each other, in his opinion. But, after all this time, why did Sonic leave her? He had never understood it, and Sonic hadn’t said a word to him. Which was just as well, since he’d never asked.
Knuckles, on the other hand, had asked, on several occasions. And he had always been on the receiving end of a slammed door, or a cold, silent stare. But there was something he had gleaned from those encounters…
As the princess stopped to allow them through the door, Sonic and Tails entered first, and were met by enthusiastic greetings from the people within. Knuckles stayed behind.
“Princess Sally,” he said quietly, so Sonic wouldn’t overhear. “Deep-down, he still loves you.”
Sally smiled weakly. “I know. I can sense it; it hurts him to look at me…”
“Do you know why he left?”
Sally shook her head. “I have no idea. He’s only here now because it’s the Death Egg, that much I know.”
“Yeah… Sorry to bring it up.”
“It’s nothing. C’mon, let’s get the meeting started.”