The ride back home was silent and grievous. What was once a cheery, active hedgehog was now quiet and still. The dramatic change of character worried me greatly. I refused to leave his side, even if he didn’t address me. I hardly slept, and I don’t think he did either. I could only imagine the whirling thoughts in his head.

.

I eventually had to spill to Natalie and Ayanna who Sonic really was, and why we asked to be brought way out there. For the most part, they took it well. Ayanna was a little miffed I didn’t tell her sooner, but understood. She asked me what I planned to do now that Sonic had nowhere to go. I told her I didn’t know. I was going to leave that up to him. 

.

Sonic and I exchanged no words in the car ride home.When we got home, we both threw ourselves into bed. All I knew was that Sonic was likely the last of his kind; and that put him in even greater danger than before. What would he resolve to do?

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

I felt groggy and on-edge the next morning. I made some coffee and decided to sit out on the porch. It was a good thing I did. A few minutes later, Sonic made his usual quick dash to the door. Thankfully, he was slow to close it behind him so I could catch him.

“Sonic-“

Sonic glanced at me and paused. He didn’t look at me. He was droopy, and pale. I frowned.

“Sonic…I know the grudge you hold against me and my grandfather from holding you here. But…I just wanted to say, you will always be welcomed here. My home is your home.” 

.

“It’s not my home…” 

I lifted my head. Sonic still wouldn’t look at me. His fists tightened.

“It’s not home, and it never will be…” 

I didn’t know what else to say. I was in no position to defend what my Grandpappy had taken part in; and because he was of my blood, I was in no position to defend myself. 

“I…I don’t know…where to go…or what to do…I…I need to think…” 

.

And with that, he took off.

“SONIC!”

But he didn’t stop. The wind blew coldly from the sea. I was alone. He didn’t come back. 

“Surprise!”

“Aww, you guys!”

“It’s really hard to surprise you”

“Well, you got me this time!”

“Happy birthday, Sonic!”

.

There was a tree by a little beach. I had been sitting in it for…I don’t know how long. I watched the sun and clouds through the trees, aimlessly, as they floated by. I kept picturing them in my head. Everyone I knew on South Island, all my friends, those I considered family. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened, why South Island was gone. Was it Eggman? Probably. Regardless, I wasn’t there to save them. They were all gone because what humans had done to me. Who knows how much they suffered…because I wasn’t there. 

.

I wondered what the outcome would have been if I was there to help. It would have likely been no issue to stop whatever it was, then everyone would’ve kept on with their happy lives. What  would’ve happened as I got older…? Would she and I…had been together after all? 

.

Nothing I thought about changed the fact they were gone. Suddenly I felt like I had no purpose. Who was I…if I couldn’t have helped them. Who am I now? What do I do? Where do I go from here?

.

Then I thought about Luana. She didn’t have to be kind to me. She was the granddaughter of one of the scientists who captured me. She could have easily kept me in that tank, and never let me out. But she chose to let me out. She didn’t have to let me go, but she did. What did that say about her? She wasn’t like them. She wasn’t like those humans. She gave me freedom, when they didn’t. She let me run, they kept me in a box.

“I have to go back…”

.

As dusk began to cover the land in darkness, I heard a rustle. Normally it would be a woodland creature, but the sound was all wrong. It was slow and calculated, and it was many. I turned my head to see black vans drive up on the street up the hill. I stood up on the branch. My eyes furrowed. Humans in black with guns lept out from the vans. I could even hear a helicopter warbling close by. How did they find me?

.

I heard one of them say:

“Search the area! That thing is very fast and will easily try to escape!”

“Yes sir!” hissed another.

“Boy, am I glad now that I’m here and not at Luana’s house…” I thought. 

I had two options at this point: Climb further up the tree, or try to climb down. Either way, I would be making some noise. I winced. Slowly, I resolved to climb further up the tree. For a while, it was working. The wind began to blow aggressively from the sea, which masked my movements as I climbed higher.

. 

However, that all ended when I accidentally hit a baby branch. I almost tripped but managed to get onto another branch. It crashed to the ground, and the men got excited.

“A tree branch fell” said a guy, who now had a flashlight turned on, “either that thing jumped out of that tree, or he’s still hiding in there.”

He pulled out a bullhorn and shouted:

“Come down from that tree peacefully and no harm will come to you!” 

I scoffed. I called out:

“Is that really necessary? Man, you guys are excessive!”

“He’s in the tree Commander.”

“I will say again: Come down from the tree peacefully and no harm will come to you!”

.

Finally, I sighed and lept down. The men in Black seemed startled, as they all pointed the lights from their guns at me. I put my hands on my hips and glared at them. 

“You…You look like a hedgehog!” One closer to me observed, “The Blue Blur is a blue hedgehog!?”

“Yep! And proud of it!” I announced, “So, which one of you guys wants to have their butts kicked first?” 

Half the lights turned to laser pointers, and instantly pointed at me. Then, they fired. Normal ammunition is about one of the most ineffective ways against a speedy hedgehog. So of course, I avoided every single one. I realized they weren’t bullets however. They were tranquilizer darts. How they were able to load so many, I don’t know. I think I would have preferred them being bullets. 

.

They continued to fire. It went on for about five minutes. It was getting sad.

“Is that really all you’ve got?” I taunted.

I probably shouldn’t have entertained them so long. A brighter light shone above me. It was not one, but two helicopters. 

“Surrender, Blue Blur!” The leader shouted, “This is your last chance!”

“No way!” I exclaimed, “I would rather die!”

.

The soldiers fell back and retreated back up the hill. I thought it was because they had given up. However, suddenly, the helicopters, who had lowered very close to the ground, shot down some kind of bomb. It was fast, and when it hit the ground, thick, black smoke bellowed from it, like retardant from a fireplane. 

“Whoop, time to go!” I cried.

When I took off, I didn’t notice that the smoke had already gotten into my lungs. As I ran, they began to close up. I coughed. I kept going. I ran miles from the beach, and into a wooded area. I hacked, and coughed even harder. My eyes were watering, and it was getting harder to see.

.

“What’s…happening to me!?” I thought. 

Was this something like pepper spray? I had seen that on television. It’s what some victims in crime shows would use to get the bad guys away. It would make you cough and eyes water. I had never been hit with pepper spray before, and I certainly never wanted to after this! 

.

Finally, my vision was so blurry, I had to stop before I ran into a tree. I slowed to a halt, clenching my eyes. Rubbing them was making it worse. My coughing grew worse and my throat swelled. I walked clumsily through the dark. I heard rustling behind me again. I shot up and straightened. There were more. Through my impaired vision, I spotted a clear opening out of the woods. I was about to take off once more, hoping whatever happened, I could hide. My eyes…It wasn’t because it was getting dark outside, it was because my vision was fading. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to run, but I felt my heart was going to burst from my chest. I fell to my knees, squeezing my eyes, gasping for breath. 

    “Lu…”

I collapsed into the wet grass, and lost consciousness.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

I was lying down, strapped to a bed. My vision was blurry. I could hear explosions, crackling fire, and distant screams. Many faces stared at me. 

“Who…who are you?” I asked, “where am I?” 

“What is this thing?” asked one of the faces. 

“It’s just like the legend. It’s from South Island! It’s an intelligent animal life form who thinks and speaks like us. This one is faster than the speed of light!”

“Yes…He’s very special.” 

“How?”

“I don’t know yet. But if we can find out how it does what it does, we can end this war with our victory.” 

Then, a guy came towards me with a needle. 

“Where am I?” I demanded.

I began struggling against my bonds. He grew closer. My heart began to race, and I was afraid. 

“What are you doing!?” 

Suddenly the needle went through my arm. I winced. I turned my head. I could see red liquid filling up into the vial. He was extracting my blood. It hurt. 

“Who are you!? Where am I!?” I began shouting.

Again, the men said nothing. The man took the needle out of my arm and walked away. Then, another guy came towards me with another needle. Except this guy looked more familiar. He had a big orange mustache, wore black shaded glasses, and had a white, buttoned up coat, instead of a red coat. 

“Eggman?” I asked. 

“Sweet dreams, Sonic the Hedgehog.”

He thrusted the needle into my arm. My eyelids felt heavy. I struggled, struggled with all my might to get free, but my arms and legs grew limp like noodles. I got one look at a symbol on the wall: An diamond-cut emerald, one face had the red silhouette of a lion, the other was two guns crossed with each other. Then, I passed out.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

I began hearing the piercing sound of an engine whirring. I opened my eyes. They were blurry. My head throbbed, as if I had been bashed in the head with a Piko-Piko hammer. I looked down. My legs and hands were latched together with some kind of thick, steel bars. A red light was blinking on both of them, like the bracers Luana put on me. I glanced around. Soldiers sat around, all tightly around me. Once we rattled back and forth a bunch, I realized we were in a helicopter. As my eyes finally began to adjust, I noticed each soldier had a patch on their shoulder. I squinted to look closer. It was a picture of a diamond-cut emerald, with one side a red lion, and the other criss-crossed guns. It hit me: These were the people that captured me before.

“I have to get out of here!” I thought. 

.

I closed my eyes. I thought of South Island, its steep, green, round hills. I thought of my friends, all whom I held dear now gone. I thought of the wheat fields of Lorhen County, the salty breeze filling my senses. I thought of that big house. I thought of Luana. The last friend I had; and how I had to protect her. 

“W-What’s it doing!?” one of the soldiers exclaimed. 

I heard frantic shuffling. I opened my eyes to reveal electric blue eyes. Electricity simmered in my quills, and branched out throughout the hold. I heard the backfiring of the helicopter’ engine. Then an explosion. I heard the cries of the soldiers. 

“Mayday! Mayday!” a muffled voice shouted, “he’s tearing the chopper apart! He…He changed form!”

.

The cuffs I wore short-circuited and quickly released. The helicopter suddenly tilted downwards. Soldiers tumbled out into the darkness, releasing the string that unfurled their parachutes. The copter began to whirl, around and around. I gripped the edge of the opening. The chopper grew closer, and closer to impacting the ground. Finally, I lept out, curling into a ball, and rolling safely off the helicopter and to a safe enough distance before it hit the ground, engulfing in flames. 

.

I remembered this power. It wasn’t just my speed. It was also for another power I possessed. I ran to the scene, looking for survivors. I found the leader, a cut on his leg and head, scrambling to get away from the flames. When he saw me, he rolled onto his back, and froze. I slowly marched over to him. I leaned over him.

“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten you,” I said, “I’ll give you one warning, and one warning only: This is my power, and I won’t let you use me for it! Stay away from me, or I’ll wreck more than just your fancy choppers…!”

.

And with that, I walked away, leaving the humans to fend for themselves. I took a deep breath, and sighed as the power in me subsided, and my eyes returned to green. I ran into the darkness, and took off into super speed. I knew where I had to go.