G E N E S I S - Ch 2 -

Chapter 2

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Even though the citizens of Green Hill took precautions, moved higher and higher above ground, and even went as far as to strictly forbid anybody from leaving their small, drenched houses – the flood’s water levels continued to rise, without any hesitation. And after weeks and weeks of continuous flooding, it soon became rather apparent to the folk of the Green Hill Zone, that they did not have long at all before their very escape would finally be swept away.

But that didn’t happen.

Perhaps somebody who was in control of the situation had taken pity, and decided to let the poor folk off. Perhaps the skies over Green Hill had run out of water. Or perhaps, the dreamed-of hero that many civilians had fantasized about, had finally arrived, performed his heroic deeds, before vanishing once more into the unknown.

Whatever the cause, it came to be that the Green Hill Zone was receiving less and less rain, over the days that followed the flood’s highest peak. The weekly floods were still feared, however, and not one Mobian budged from their position up on the higher grounds of Green Hill.

Yet in the end, the grey, overcast skies began to clear up. Nearly one year had passed since the blue skies had been lost to the Zone, and as patches of sunlight slowly began to seep back into the area, many of the Mobians slowly, but surely, began to leave the safety of their houses.

Rain occasionally returned, but never in the same ferocity as it had done so, in its past year. Though the idea of rain alone was enough to keep some citizens of Green Hill back home, others continued to move back down to lower ground. They recovered the debris of old houses that had been swept away. They found a few of those unfortunate enough to have been swept away, and fewer of those who had still lived under these circumstances.

Though that didn’t stop them.

Green Hill, despite massive damage, was slowly beginning to rise back on its feet, once more… little by little…

But a certain little Mobian, situated inside a certain laboratory, was already miles ahead.

____


“It’s STOPPED! It’s STOPPED, Doc!”

Robotnik flinched, pliers in one hand and several delicate wires being finely pinched by the other. With the fragile machinery, and the highly reactive (but otherwise safe) elements he’d incorporated into his newest invention, he knew that it was necessary to keep his focus, no matter what.

However, the loud voice was enough to break his concentration, and the small contraption he’d been hunched over and finely tuning, promptly exploded in his face.

It wasn’t a large explosion – not large enough to burn the good doctor’s moustache. Yet as the grey smoke cleared, he realised that his newest invention would need more fine-tuning than he’d first intended. Plus, the wires and circuitry were fried – he would need to replace them… and the metal had been scorched, too…

A rather frustrated sigh emerged from Robotnik, and he swivelled his chair around from his steel, working table, to face the culprit.

And that culprit - the owner of the loud voice - was currently standing a metre or so back from the doctor. And, judging by the rather wide-eyed and sheepish expression upon his features, he was… well, more than aware of his current error.

“… Uh… I’m…”

The hedgehog’s shoulders slumped, though his wide-eyed gaze remained fixed on the scientist, with an added sheepish smile.

“I’m… uh… Sorry, Doc.” He mumbled, quietly, his gaze finally astray.

Robotnik opened his mouth, decided against scolding, and closed it, again. Sonic had only recently been well enough to walk around the laboratory without encountering dizzy spells as he did so. Though it was all too evident that the hedgehog had mountains of energy brimming inside him, he’d had to endure the unbearable task of sitting down for hours and hours on end.

The constant yelling, wandering around without falling over, and constant jogging every so often on the spot, could only mean that the Mobian had almost fully recovered.

“What’s stopped, Sonic?” Robotnik asked, a smile reappearing on his features. At this gesture, the hedgehog’s sheepish expression melted into relief, and he faced the doctor again, his jade eyes gleaming with energy.

“The rain’s stopped.” He said, his voice shaking in excitement. “All the flooding’s stopped, too…”

The scientist blinked, then rose from his chair, glancing out one of the circular windows that neighboured his workspace. Sure enough, patches of sunlight were streaming though the glass, further illuminating the dimly lit laboratory. What remained of raindrops was slowly fading away, trickling down the glass, their trails drying up soon after.

Robotnik gave a smile.

“It’s nearly been six months since you’ve been outside, am I right, Sonic?”

An eager nod was seen out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Regardless of the rather large size of his dome, which housed all of his machinery, supplies and inventions, the scientist had noted two things that had posed a problem for the young hedgehog.

One: he bored easily. Very easily.

And two: in recent days, his claim of being able to run like a ‘sonic boom,’ as ridiculous as it sounded, was slowly, but surely, beginning to come true.

____

It had happened when Sonic had managed to recover from the dizziness. (which, he identified as fatigue, heavy malnutrition and a mild case of hypothermia, all combined.) The hedgehog had begun to pace back and forth through the lab, steadily building up speed as he did so. And the agreeable sound of ‘tmp, tmp, tmp’ echoed through the lab and reached Robotnik’s ears. That pace seemed fast enough. A hedgehog couldn’t reach the speed of sound. Not could he reach halfway, for that matter…

“Tmp, tmp, tmp…”

“Tmp tmp tmp…”

“Tmp – tmp – tmp”

“Tmp-tmp-tmp-tmp-“

“Tmptmptmptmptmp –“

When the scientist glanced up from his working table to identify the source of the sound, he realised that Sonic was racing back and forth, back and forth – clearing the total length of the dome in almost 20 seconds at a time. And considering the dome was fifty feet at least, in diameter…

Robotnik had worked out a few mathematics and formulae in his head. A small, possibly formerly malnourished hedgehog, running nearly 4 metres per second -   

That couldn’t be right. Had there been a miscalculation?

He shook his head, swallowed hard, then glanced back up at Sonic, who was still racing back and forth, through the dome, and even going as far as to perform laps around the inside of the entire dome – a perimeter of 129 metres…

The hedgehog – this little hedgehog… could run nearly… dare he say it?

216 kilometres per hour.

The conclusion sunk in, and his mouth went dry. No. There was no way. It couldn’t be possible. Sonic… was living up to his name. He could run. He could run fast.

Not fast enough to create a sonic boom. Nor break the sound barrier. But the hedgehog had been running on steel, slippery grey floors, without the use of any shoes.

This factor soon came into play, as Sonic’s speed suddenly began to grow unsteady. Whether it was the slippery floor, lack of shoes, or momentary fatigue, the doctor did not know. But the hedgehog had tripped over one of his feet and landed backwards, hard, upon the steel floor with a loud BONG-G-g-g, which had echoed all around the dome.

Regardless of the possibility of the Mobian having a concussion, it took a few moments for Robotnik to snap out of his daze.

For all he knew, Sonic the hedgehog could potentially –…

…perhaps-

…maybe-

- break the sound barrier.

Dr Robotnik was interested – very interested – in that possibility.

____


“I think it’d be best for you to get some fresh air.” The scientist said, nodding. “You’ve been cooped up in here for too long, and being stuck in here the rest of your life won’t do you any good, BUT- “ Robotnik raised his tone at the Mobian, who had a foot raised in preparation for dashing to the doorway. Grumpily, Sonic returned his leg to his side and looked up attentively at the scientist.

“But…” The doctor said, his tone softer this time, “… I think you’ll be better off if you actually had some shoes. You had a few blisters when you first came in…” His voice trailed off into another smirk, as Sonic’s eyes lit up, once more.

“So… I’m quite sure these will come in handy, for now.” Robotnik fished out a pair of pale blue shoes from his lab coat pocket – a little worse for wear, due to exposure to several violent experiments in the past few days. They had yellow buckles on the outside, and even the inside was already lined with a sock – like material.

The hedgehog sat down, taking the shoes and studying them for a few good moments. He did not move an inch. Just stared, his jade eyes wide in fascination and excitement.

“They’re a prototype for a new kind of shoe I’m working on, Sonic.” Robotnik explained, with a nod. “These shoes have a greater grip on the ground – so you can go even faster. And when your foot leaves the ground, the friction vanishes almost instantly – you will not stick to the ground. These will wear out after a while, I’m afraid… but hopefully by then, I’ll have finished the final version…” The scientist debated the possibility through the back of his mind.

It had taken nearly a month to work out how these friction-less shoes could work without slipping their owner up. He knew it would take even longer for him to develop a more durable material – especially at that speed.

And especially with his main project overshadowing everything…

“…Thanks, Doc.”

Robotnik glanced down at the hedgehog, who was staring up at the scientist in touched amazement. Despite the foreboding thoughts that had clouded his head moments before, the scientist couldn’t help but smile back.

“Not a problem, Sonic.” He reassured as the hedgehog slipped on both shoes in impatient anticipation. Pulling back his legs and throwing himself back up on his feet in one (awkward) motion, he pulled back his new gloves, (which had been gifted to him a few weeks earlier) before his gaze rested on the steel door.

Robotnik gave a nod, understanding of the impatience that the Mobian was becoming known for. He walked over to the mechanised doorway, tapped a few keys upon the neighbouring keypad, and the steel door responded. Despite its hulking appearance, the whole thing pushed back, before sliding upwards into the roof of the dome.

To be honest, Robotnik himself was tempted to take a step outdoors.

Green Hill Zone was steadily brightening as midday approached. Raindrops sparkled amongst the cool green grass that stretched on for ages, over hills, before reaching the small villages almost miles away. From their position on the plateau, the two of them overlooked the surrounding forest and stared into the clear beyond.

The scientist turned to speak to Sonic, only to find that the young Mobian had found the scenery far too inviting to stay put. His brown fur standing on end, the hedgehog threw himself forth, over the edge of the plateau…

_____


The surrounding winds rustled through Sonic’s fur as he descended, a fresh burst of adrenalin spreading outwards from his chest and throughout his whole body.

His jade green eyes looked upwards, towards the blue sky, towards the sun – and then focused back down onto the approaching forest.

Sonic drew in a breath.

Run.

A smile appeared on his young features.

Run!

The treetops passed him by, revealing the dirt ground they concealed.

As fast as you can!

The hedgehog landed hard on his feet, though did not wait for the shock to impact him. Upon landing, he’d quickly ducked forward, performing a few rolling somersaults upon the ground, before managing to rise back on his feet and breaking into a run – all in one swift motion.

Sonic felt a little dizzy, but his senses sharpened to the world around him as he pelted through the forest. He wanted to get out of here. The trees were scattered all over the place, and he couldn’t run at his full pace without crashing into one of them.

Besides, that field that he’d seen from the Doc’s base had looked mighty inviting.

The sun’s rays flickered above him, as the hedgehog dashed through the forest, jumping to one side, minding several bushes and leaping over a fallen log or two. But since the flooding had continuously struck the area, over and over, the undergrowth hadn’t had much of a chance to block the pathways.

Needless to say, Sonic had hardly anything to trip over.

And as the trees grew sparser, and the green fields came in view, the temptation grew far, far too great.

Bowing his head forth in his run, he began to break into a full, uncontrollable sprint. His arms swung quickly back and forth, trying to keep up with his legs. And in a way, they did. But at the same time, the hedgehog felt slowed…

So as the forces of the wind pummelled him from in front, his arms were forced back, straight behind him. His head bowed down further, his eyes firmly fixed straight ahead. He could not see it himself, but his legs were ever so slowly becoming a blur.

Distinguishable, but hardly.

And Sonic the hedgehog was hardly ten metres from the forest’s exit. Yet his mind was not quite out there – it had just dawned on him that he’d never run so fast in his life. The realisation sent another untamed surge of energy down his spine, and excitement fizzed up in his brain.

Needless to say, in this moment, a few things led to his crash.

For one, he’d lost focus on the speed of his legs.

Secondly, his euphoria had caused a loss of coordination.

And thirdly…

Something…

Two things…

… had crashed into him first.

“…atch where you’re goING –AAAH!”

A flash of yellow first swept past his vision, before something red collided into him, and his spell, under the thrill of running, was broken. Sonic was suddenly thrown clear off his feet, through the air, and headfirst against a tree.

His vision blurred and his mind rather disoriented, he registered another two flashes of red and yellow appearing in his vision, before being pummelled in the stomach by something hard, and just for a change, something soft landing hard upon his head.

Soft, but heavy… the hedgehog’s head drooped forth under the weight.

“…dead… we’re so dead, we’re dead, deadeadeadwe’regonna DIIEEE…”

Sonic blinked through his blurred eyesight, in confusion. He’d never heard that voice before… and it sounded rather distant. The tree had been tougher on his head than he’d first thought.

Suddenly annoyed at his swimming vision, he shook his head sharply, causing the thing on his head… well, whatever it was – to fall forth with a loud cry.

“We’re not gonna die, Ray. See? Look… he’s waking up.”

The weight that had hit his stomach had left – and now Sonic realised he could hardly breathe. He heaved in a breath, though hardly managed to fill his lungs. Confused, and slightly panicked, he breathed in again, and only a slight bit more air managed to pass through.

“Ah… No, no, no… I’m really sorry – I got you good… Uh… Just - keep breathing, okay? Uh… Ah, man…”

Sonic took the new voice’s advice, also noting that his hearing was starting to recover. And as calm and collected as the second voice had sounded earlier, it seemed as if he, too, was slightly panicked.

Not nearly as such as the first voice, who spoke again, rather loudly.

“Nice goin’, Mighty. You windund him… What if our folks find out?!”

Sonic’s expression scrunched in confusion, and his gaze finally managed to clear. It rose to meet the one of the culprits of his crash, who stood over his form, still sprawled back against the tree.

“W… Wind… und?” He asked, his voice a little raspy. Though he was quite relieved that his breathing was growing regular, once more.

And the concerned Mobian who had crashed into him seemed rather relieved as well.

“It’s ‘winded.’” He corrected, shaking his head with a small smile. He was an armadillo, his protective back shell a dark red (The ‘red flash,’ he’d realised). His belly and facial fur was tan, much like Sonic’s own, though the rest of his visible fur was black. As the Mobian knelt down to face the hedgehog, Sonic could see that his eyes were a clear turquoise – and still rather concerned.

“Are you okay?”

The hedgehog gave a nod, and the armadillo stood and backed up enough so that he could stand. As he did so, he learned that the ‘yellow flash’ also had a Mobian form, standing a few metres away.

It was a bright yellow squirrel – a flying squirrel, Sonic had realised, upon seeing a flap of yellow-furred skin below the cautious Mobian’s raised arms. Like the hedgehog and the armadillo, his face and stomach fur were tan, but considerably darker than that of the other two. His wide eyes were fixed on him, and a deep amber brown.

He was a little small, compared to the armadillo, and certainly a deal jumpy. Though right now, he mostly looked as if he was recovering from a panic attack.

“You gotta be more careful.” He said, shakily (and even a little crankily). “Ya almost ran us over, y’know?! And Mom doesn’t like it when we run inta’ people – we get in loadsa trouble! If we get in trouble it’s your faul – “

“Ray, quiet.” The armadillo interrupted, when Sonic’s expression grew somewhat confused and a little frustrated. “Listen… uhm… We’re really sorry. I mean, you should be more careful, but we were kinda running too, so…” He shrugged, with a small chuckle. “Guess we both messed up, a little, huh?”

There was a small silence. The hedgehog’s gaze passed into its stoic mode, focusing on the squirrel (whom he’d now assumed was called “Ray.”) and he drew in a breath.

“It’s okay.” He said, relaxing. Truth be told, he was ticked off at the fact that his fastest run ever had been interrupted. Regardless, it felt wrong to be mad, right now…

This guy was cool.

“I’m Mighty.” The older Mobian introduced himself with a small bow. “Mighty the Armadillo.”

The hedgehog gave a smile. “I’m Sonic the Hedgehog.” He said, jerking a thumb at his chest. “You can call me Sonic, if you want.”

Mighty glanced back over his shoulder, to spot his younger companion, sulking a little, head down and appearing slightly upset.

“Ray…” He sighed. Sonic stared after, the earlier frustration that he’d felt starting to fade away. It had been upsetting, being stopped in mid-run and getting hit by both him and Mighty, but it was over now. There was no point in still being upset.

The hedgehog blinked in confusion, and walked up to the flying squirrel, who quickly glanced up at his approach, his stare still slightly hostile.

“You won’t get in trouble if I’m not hurt anymore, right?” Sonic asked. It was serious question – and Mighty, a year or so his elder, couldn’t help but smile.

The hostility faded out of the younger Mobian’s eyes, confusion following. He quickly shook his head, earning a relieved grin from the hedgehog.

“… Sorry for… for… y’know, crashing inta’ you’n all…” The flying squirrel mumbled, his gaze astray.

“Sorry for running into you.” Sonic said, his gaze astray, as well.

One thing that had sometimes bothered him (as much as he hated to admit,) was admitting that he, too, was in the wrong.

“…I’m Ray… the Flying Squirrel.” The hedgehog’s glance returned back to the young Mobian, who was staring up at him, all negativity gone. Truth be told, he seemed a deal more upbeat and calm whenever he wasn’t panicking – almost like Mighty’s composure.

“Man… that was a tumble…” The armadillo glanced at the patch of disturbed dirt that marked their collision point. Sonic realised that the two had hit him side-on from the trees, and as he was thrown into the tree first, the other two had followed soon after under the force.

“Still, we only just got you.” Ray added, his eyes wide in mild shock. “Sonic, you were runnin’ real fast! I only just saw ya.”

Mighty glanced over at his younger companion in confusion. “I didn’t see anything…” He stated, crossing his arms. “You sure it wasn’t just you?”

Ray quickly shook his head, a stubborn look dwelling on his features. With a resigned smile, the armadillo looked over at the hedgehog, who looked only vaguely insulted.

“Did you see it?” He asked, now genuinely curious.

Sonic’s jade eyes became rather fierce.

“That was me.”

Mighty uncrossed his arms, his laid-back expression now cautious. He didn’t really understand how, or why, but he knew the hedgehog was definitely serious. And for some reason, it seemed wrong for him to ridicule Sonic. At least, with those eyes.

The armadillo gave a sigh, then smiled, scratching the back of his head.

“Okay… okay. That wasn’t fair of me. Sorry.”

And suddenly, his turquoise gaze gave a sharp gleam, directed at the hedgehog, causing Sonic to abandon his fierce look entirely.

“Show us.”

The hedgehog blinked. Hard.

Mighty was dead serious. Suddenly, the laid-back armadillo seemed like a distant memory. His relaxed outlook had morphed into stone. Even his voice had grown firm, and unwavering. But, much like Sonic had attempted to stare him down, he was doing so even more harshly.

Ray was staring over at his older companion in what seemed like a mix of shock and admiration. But as he glanced back to Sonic, he realised that the demand the armadillo had made had impacted the hedgehog far more than just inflicting fear.

Sonic was shaking. Not out of intimidation, but out of excitement. Adrenalin shot through his veins. His fur stood on end, his quills raising, ever so slightly. His jade eyes were alive with energy, and a small smirk had appeared on his features.

“… I’ll race you.” He said, only just keeping his voice under control.

“Fine with me.” Mighty smiled back, his gaze still cool and collected. “Where to?”

“End… of the field.” Sonic whispered, shakily.

Ray glanced back and forth, between the two older Mobians, his own excitement growing immensely. He’d seen how fast the hedgehog was. At least, he’d thought he’d seen it. But Mighty was pretty fast, too… both of them had been speeding through the forest before they’d run directly into Sonic…

And they got in trouble for running into people all the time. This hedgehog had just appeared out of nowhere, and crashed into them – so in Ray’s eyes, if he really did run so fast, and all the time, how come they’d never heard of him, before? Why weren’t people complaining of Sonic the Hedgehog crashing into them all the time?

He shrugged to himself. Whatever. If Sonic was really new around here (No-one had been talking about a guy named ‘Sonic’ beating everyone at racing) then he’d have a hard time beating Mighty…

The flying squirrel’s bets swung back and forth, from Sonic to Mighty…

Then his ears perked up. The hedgehog and the armadillo were still staring at each other. And, making a closer observation, Ray could see that the two of them were making occasional glances over to the open field that neighboured them. They were just on the edge of the forest. The seemingly endless field seemed to taunt them, especially Sonic, who seemed to be having a difficult time standing completely still.

The squirrel sighed.

The only way he’d know… would be to see these two race each other.

A new grin appearing upon his features, Ray leapt over the duo, gracefully descending on the other side, his back to the field.

Abruptly, he raised a hand.

“Ready…”

Mighty drew in a sharp breath.

“Get set…”

Sonic took in a deep breath.

“… Ready… Steady…”

Ray dropped his hand abruptly.

“GO!!”

The flying squirrel didn’t have time to register exactly what happened next. For one, the two clouds of dirt that had appeared on either side had obstructed his vision, causing him to cough slightly, in their wake.

And secondly, from what he could see –

Or thought he could see -

Sonic and Mighty had vanished.