Chapter Text
Rainy days on Bygone Island were rare, but sadly, not impossible. Though Sonic bets Amy would have a whole bunch to say about how rain is actually necessary for the ecosystem and blah blah – anyway, there’s nothing Sonic hates more than getting wet, so he’s opted to spend time indoors. And as the only building in town that won’t kick you out for not buying stuff is the library…
Sonic’s been wandering through the shelves and pulling out every book to read the first and last page of each for enough time to get through three hundred books when he bumps into Amy.
“Sonic!” she beams at him instantly, hugging a stack of books close to her chest. “Wow, what a happy surprise seeing you here! Have you found anything good?”
“Not yet,” Sonic opts for saying, rather than confessing his habit of spoiling all the books for himself. But they’re just so long; who has the patience to read every single page?
“That’s too bad,” says Amy sympathetically. “Hey, hold these – I’m going to go ask Fastidious Beaver if he can recommend any books for you!” And before Sonic can protest Amy’s already shoved her stack of books onto Sonic and is walking off towards that infuriating beaver who always shows up when he really shouldn’t.
Really? Sonic groans and starts tapping his foot impatiently.
Time passes. Endless time. Perhaps even a whole 30 seconds.
Sonic leans against a shelf and starts going through Amy’s books to stave off lethal boredom, and whoa, Amy’s taste in books sure is… something. That twist really came out of nowhere! And what’s with all the character deaths?
“Sonic!” Amy calls, and Sonic looks up just as Amy brandishes an ornate, gold-patterned book to him. “Beaver gave me this; said it’s a classic hero story and you’ll love it!”
“…The Epic of Gilgamesh?” Sonic makes sure to let his skepticism positively drip from the words.
“Oh c’mon!” huffs Amy. “It’s a classic! At least give it a chance – I’ll buy you lunch if you can summarize chapter one to me tomorrow, how’s that?”
Does Sonic care for Amy buying him lunch? Does Sonic care at all about reading some book page by page? No. Obviously not.
But it’s a dare, so Sonic immediately says, “Hah, you’re on!”
That night, curled up in his hammock with a flashlight and that stupid book, Sonic curses himself for wasting daylight by playing video-games. This is such an annoying way to read. And man, whatever that beaver told Amy he was 100% lying – this book’s a chore to get through, badly translated and written in some sort of verse which makes no sense. Who the hell would enjoy reading this?
Still, a bet’s a bet.
The rainstorm’s stopped by now and Sonic’s floors are drying from where the rain was blown in by the wind. It’s an unexpectedly chilly night, too, so Sonic brought out his one blanket from where he’s usually got it stashed under the floorboards and cozied up. From outside the sounds of the waves and crickets playing in the jungle float in.
Sonic stifles a yawn.
Just a few pages more…
Gilgamesh dreams about a meteorite falling next to him, too heavy for him to lift or budge, and all the people of Uruk gather and marvel around it. In the morning the mother of Gilgamesh tells him that a man like that will come and that Gilgamesh will love him, will embrace him as a wife. “May I have a friend and adviser!” says Gilgamesh.
Heh, thinks Sonic, smirking a little. Good for them.
He turns another page and then-
The book begins to glow. So bright Sonic’s forced to close his eyes, ow, what the hell, and he tries to raise his hand to shield his eyes but it’s glued to the book. It feels like he’s falling. Everything’s so bright it burns even beneath his closed lids and everything around him seems to spin – is he falling out of his hammock? And then-
Wham!
He’s lying on the ground. The light fades. Sonic raises his hands to rub at his eyes and this time his limbs obey, so he struggles to sit up and whoa, he is definitely sitting on the ground. As in, not his floor.
Cautiously, Sonic opens his eyes a crack. Normal daylight. Sonic opens his eyes fully and stands up to look around at the marvelous landscape suddenly surrounding him, nearly blinding in the light of the midday sun and the hot pinkish sky.
He’s on a vaguely sloping plain, grassy but dry, with small trees and bushes that are ever greener and bigger and lusher the closer they are to the river – a huge river! Meandering through the plain, the rushing water putting Sonic on one side and the only buildings he can see on the other. Where in the world is he? He can’t see the ocean anywhere – rather, some hills in the distance, all brown and green. The air tastes different.
Sonic gazes at the landscape in stupefaction.
Is this a dream? No, it’s too… real. He can't say why, but it just is. “Damn,” he says to himself. “Who knew books could do this, whatever this… is…”
Out of nowhere, a voice suddenly says, “Noble traveler from another world! Please, listen to what I have to say.”
Sonic spins around so fast he hears his neck crick. And there, floating in the air, is a… human? A human with brown skin and long, long hair in a really intense maroon color with some lighter strands – or wait, is that grass woven into her hair? She’s swept up in a purple dress with a red shawl around her, hiding her left arm, and is looking down at Sonic with intent eyes.
“Where did you come from?” Sonic mutters underneath his breath. “A little warning next time, maybe? Ugh.”
“Please, this world needs you,” says the human. (are humans capable of floating? Egghead sure isn’t) “Won’t you help me?”
“Did you bring me here?”
“Yes.” The human ducks her head briefly. “I summoned you into this world, because I have urgent need of you – a brave warrior, stronger than any other. A calamity has befallen this world; won’t you hear me out?”
Not much different from saving Hedgehog Village from Dr Eggman, eh? Though this world promises new places to explore, if nothing else. “Sure. Hit me.”
The human stares flatly at him. “Why would I hit you? No, I need you to fill the place of another, for this story must go on. The Epic of Gilgamesh cannot continue – the hero has departed from this world, and you must fill his place!”
“What? Like – replace Gilgamesh?”
The human stares intently at him. “Yes.”
“But I haven’t actually, y’know, finished the book?” Sonic frowns at her. “Also, how come you know that you’re in a book? Which character are you even supposed to be?”
“My name is Ashnan, the goddess of grains,” says the hum- er, goddess. “We gods are blessed to know the flow of the narrative, the weave of time and fates. That is also why we had to summon a champion from another world – if the story does not continue, this world will collapse!”
“Oh, damn. I mean, I guess I can see why you need the story to continue.” Sonic mulls over her archaic words, turning them over and trying to put them together for himself. “So, basically I just need to take the place of Gilgamesh in your story, and then your world will be fine? That’s it?”
Ashnan seems to take a moment to parse his words in turn. “Yes,” she eventually says. “In essence, that is so. Will you lend us your assistance?”
“Sure.”
It’s not like he’s got anything better to do, anyway. And if he goes through the book like this, he bets it’ll be faster than reading.
“Then come with me,” says Ashnan. “We must make for the palace. A new chapter is about to start.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Sonic grins. “Be there in a flash!”
Ashnan fades away, leaving a red glow in her place. That light zaps off towards the horizon, and Sonic runs after it.
Along the riverbank he runs, following Ashnan’s light. Tufts of reeds taller than Sonic himself in reds and greens and blues line the riverbank and Sonic swerves around them easily – until one of them explodes in front of him, a… sort of creature emerging. But what it is, Sonic has no idea whatsoever. It could’ve been a bird if it weren’t for the fact that it’s made of metal, has enormous glowing green eyes in its tiny head and razor blades for wings, and also seems to be distorting the very air around it.
“What the hell is that?” Sonic exclaims as he leaps away, not even expecting an answer – but Ashnan materializes again, floating just above him.
“It is a wicked creature from your world,” says Ashnan. “It was one of their kind that killed our Gilgamesh. We gods suspect someone from your world is trying to destroy the world of our story, but-“
“What? Someone can do that?”
“Possibly,” says Ashnan. Her voice sounds tight, stressed. “In any case, those creatures are extremely dangerous, so it’s best if you-“
-but Sonic has stopped listening, because actually, if he squints, that thing looks an awful lot like one of Lyric’s robot henchmen. And he’d smashed more than enough of those to not be worried about a clunky ol’ metal flamingo of all things.
The bird wobbles towards him and flaps its wings, and Sonic curls into a ball and dashes into it. With a crash it collapses, screws and bolts spilling out of it as the whole thing seems to crumple.
Sonic, already uncurled from his spin and dusting his hands off, grins at a shocked Ashnan.
“Yeah, I think I can deal with them alright.”
“Because you are of the same world,” Ashnan mumbles to herself. “Yes, that might be enough to counter them. Let us make haste, then. To reach the palace we need to go through the marshes.”
Sonic doesn’t exactly love the sound of that, but- “Lead on, then.”
Ashnan turns into red light again and darts off down the riverbank, and Sonic hurries after her. Swerving past colorful bursts of reeds, vaulting over rocks, jumping on top of more of the metal flamingos and leaving them to explode in his wake – it does not take long for them to leave the riverbank and arrive at the marshes.
The whole atmosphere seems to change once they’ve arrived in this new area: the sky turns as blue as a robin’s eggshell and the heat at once seems to seep away. So does the noise of the river – everything becomes quiet apart from a breeze and soft chirps on insects, a sound so soft it’s nearly making Sonic fall asleep on his feet. He stops on top of a small hill overlooking the marshes to survey the area and a dragonfly buzzes past him, unhurried.
Ashnan appears again, her long hair swaying in the breeze. Another dragonfly lands on a small flower woven into her hair next to her ear. “These are the marshes. Beyond them lies Uruk and the palace of the king.”
“Now how to get across…” Sonic says under his breath, surveying the green-blue plain below. Reeds grow thickly enough to create whole chunks of green dotting the water, but in other places, open water stretches out as thick as rivers with only a few tufts of reeds and cattails sticking up. On a few small isles are wiry willow trees.
There’s a herd of water buffaloes near one of the isles, standing in the water, so maybe it’s not that deep… but then again, what if it is?
Sonic cautiously approaches the water, ready to leap back at any moment-
-and a huge robot shrimp surfaces from the water, with another one behind it, and then another… and hey.
“Alright, now we’re talking,” Sonic says and jumps on top of the first one, using it as a springboard to fling himself at the next, and the next. He’s gonna gain a new appreciation for seafood at this rate.
Smashing through the string of shrimp-bots, Sonic reaches one of the isles. There Ashnan appears again. “I am glad you seem able to handle yourself,” she says.
“It’d be bad if your replacement for Gilgamesh just died, right?” quips Sonic.
“Indeed…” Ashnan gazes into the distance. “I am glad.” Then, she turns back to Sonic and out of thin air pulls out a beautiful reddish-orange gemstone hung on a string. “Here, take this necklace. If you have need of me, grip the carnelian gemstone and say my name.”
Sonic looks up at her. “Wait, does that mean you’re leaving?”
“Yes. We gods have much yet to do, especially as these wicked creatures are trying to sabotage the story…”
Sonic contemplates the necklace. Well, it’s not like Sonic won’t be able to find his own way through this place – probably – he just didn’t expect to be left alone so soon. Adventuring with friends is more fun than without, but-
Ashnan really looks worried, gazing into the distance with a tense frown.
What does Sonic know of her struggles? She might’ve been forced to drop something important in favor of guiding her hapless hero from another world around – so it’s a good thing Sonic’s so awesome he’s managing fine on his own, right? Yep.
“Hey, no worries,” Sonic says and takes the necklace. He slips it on and hides the stone beneath his bandanna. “I get ya. I’ll head to Uruk and then I can call you to see what I should do next, alright?”
Ashnan’s gaze returns to him, and for a second, she seems just a little bit happier. “Yes, that sounds like a working plan. I will depart.”
A red light shines down from the sky and in a flash, Ashnan disappears.
Alright then.
Looks like he’s on his own.
The marshes are lush and green and absolutely rife with shrimp-bots. Sonic bounces from isle to isle, using bots and rocks and the occasional water buffalo as steppingstones. The dreamlike air from earlier persists, and all the time that Sonic spends in the marshes the sky doesn’t change one bit.
Storybook world, huh…
When Sonic at last reaches the other end of the marshes, the sky changes in a snap, and now it’s sunset. In front of him’s a bunch of fields, but not for long: a massive city wall blocks out the horizon, towering over the flat landscape.
That must be Uruk, alright.
Sonic sneaks a hand under his bandanna to grip the stone, then pauses.
Maybe he should actually head inside of the city before calling her?
Yeah, that’d probably be best. No need to waste her time. And to check out Uruk unsupervised…?
With a grin, Sonic sets off running.
He runs in a circle to build up speed, then blasts off up along the city wall. In a flash he’s at the top and skidding to a stop, and wow. He stands there and just takes in the view for a minute – it isn’t like there’s anyone around to look cool for, anyway, so who cares if he’s gaping like a fish at this?
Uruk is massive. Compared to Hedgehog village Sonic’s occasionally thought that Eggman’s lair used to look pretty huge, just a huge chunk of a lair, all even uniform lines- well, scratch that. Egghead’s lair would look like an itty-bitty toy next to this.
The city walls run on and on, enormous and yet perfectly flat and even – and inside of them, like hundreds of giant square blocks of stone piled together, is the city. Dividing the city in sections are broad streets and canals. All the buildings are made from the same bricks and stones and everything’s been cut into perfect square blocks, no unevenness or mess anywhere. It must’ve taken ages and ages to build all of this.
It’s so perfect and impressive it really does look like a legend.
Amy would love this. Too bad she isn’t here.
Anyway, the people who Sonic can spot from up here all seem to be humans, dressed much like Ashnan. Unsurprising, he supposes.
There’s a few particularly huge and impressive buildings Sonic can see – so which one is the palace?
…Eh.
He grips the stone and says, “Ashnan? You there?”
Yes? rings Ashnan’s voice in Sonic’s head. He leaps almost a foot into the air.
“Man, warn a guy,” he grumbles. “Well, I’m at Uruk now. Where do I go next?”
You travel swiftly, hero of another world, says Ashnan. Wait but a moment.
“Wait? Yeah, just what I’m great at…” Sonic lets go off the stone and is about to drop into a few stretches to pass the time when again, there’s beam of light- and then Ashnan appears, floating there in the air as if she never left.
“That was quick,” Sonic finds himself saying.
Ashnan’s mouth quirks as if she’s about to smile. “Likewise, hero of another world.”
And about that- “You know, I think I never actually introduced myself.” Sonic bows his head in a proper bow, throwing his arm out with a flourish. “Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service.” He straightens up. “But, uh, just call me Sonic. Obviously.”
“Obviously.” Ashnan repeats, in a quieter tone. “Well then, Sonic – I shall guide you to the palace, so that the story may accept you taking the palace of Gilgamesh. Come.”
In the city there are more robots, disguised as pottery or hiding underneath the stone blocks making up the streets. Sonic smashes a pot-bot (hehe, oh he’s definitely calling them that) to save some civilian, and the woman looks at him as if she’s seen a ghost or perhaps Eggman in a bathing suit. “My king! You saved me?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I have?” Sonic flashes her a peace sign before running off again.
-then he says to Ashnan, “So they already think I’m the king?”
“Because I am with you,” says Ashnan. “Watch out!”
Sonic narrowly dodges as a market stand selling fruits explodes, a long and segmented robot bursting out of the wall, fruit juices dripping from the spikes on its back. “Nasty!” Sonic exclaims, then kicks it into a wall where it’s smashed to pieces against the solid stone.
Sonic resumes running. “So I still have to reach the palace if I really want to take Gilgamesh’s place?”
“Yes, it is as you say.”
And what do you know, there the palace is. Sonic blasts up the stairs and through the gates and emerges into a long hall full of pillars, where he starts to slow down. “Well then, Ashnan. Am I supposed to do something special or…?”
A flash of lightning strikes him, and Sonic’s mouth opens to scream-
-and then it’s gone.
He feels as if all his fur stands on end, as if the world has suddenly changed directions, as if…
“…am I wearing a crown?”
And some sort of decorative sash looped around his torso and over one shoulder with a matching skirt. Thank god it’s not trousers.
“Yes,” says Ashnan, completely serene. “That is the king’s crown. As long as you wear it, you will be recognized as Gilgamesh.”
-so, he can’t take it off. Great.
Well, at least he got to keep his own clothes underneath that.
“Alright,” Sonic says, clapping his hands, deciding to ignore the outfit. “I’m in, I’m ready to go, so now… what?”
“If you would let me speak for a moment,” Ashnan says, and Sonic waves for her to continue. “Gilgamesh is known as the strongest man in the world. He is wise and beautiful and king of Uruk. But he is not well-liked by the people, for he orders them to work for him and struts around holding his power over them.”
Yeah, Sonic remembers something like that from the little he’d managed to read. “And then there’s someone who’ll challenge him, right?”
Ashnan frowns at him for interrupting; Sonic smiles sheepishly. “Yes. The people of Uruk heard tell of a man from the wilderness with enough strength to rival Gilgamesh, and his name is Enkidu. Gilgamesh sent people to fetch Enkidu, so that Gilgamesh may defeat him and prove that he is the strongest of all. The people will cheer for Enkidu, however.”
“So… I’m waiting for Enkidu?” Sonic frowns. And Gilgamesh being an asshole – well, Sonic can definitely understand the urge if this were the residents of Hedgehog Village, but… oh, who is he kidding. He’s not going to be a dick to anyone for no reason.
This must be why that woman he rescued looked so confused.
“Yes,” says Ashnan, and then somebody runs into the hall Sonic’s standing in.
“My king!” cries the man, kneeling on the floor in front of him. “It’s him! The man from the wilderness has come!”
Sonic looks at Ashnan.
“It is up to you now, Sonic,” she murmurs. “Please, play the part of Gilgamesh.”
Sonic looks at the kneeling man. The crown feels uncomfortable on his head, but well – no backing out now. And Sonic was born to play the main character.
“Alright,” Sonic says. “Let’s go meet Enkidu.”
Sonic missed it earlier, but of course the city’s got a gate. It’s a massive thing with towers on both sides of it, and Sonic stands on top of the wall above the gate and gazes out at the fields stretching onward to the horizon. On the road leading up to the city gate walks a lone figure, too distant to really see any details. But it has to be Enkidu.
Next to Sonic floats Ashnan. She’d told him she’s invisible to regular people of this story, so no one has asked about her. And if the king’s talking to himself, everyone ignores it. Hah!
“How long is this going to take?” Sonic turns to Ashnan and asks.
“Watch,” says Ashnan, unusually curt, and when Sonic looks back down they must’ve skipped a page or something, because there Enkidu is. Right at the gate. And if all Sonic does is stare at him open-mouthed for a few seconds then c’mon, because that guy down there is so obviously Shadow.
“What the hell…” Sonic says distantly.
Shadow the Hedgehog, as black-furred and red-striped as ever, but without his shoes… without his gloves… wearing a similar sash and skirt combo as Sonic and most of the other men in the city, all red and patterned with black, of course, because this isn’t completely ridiculous at all-
“Ashnan, what’s Shadow doing in here?”
Ashnan gives him a befuddled look. “That is Enkidu. The man you were waiting for.”
“No, it’s not-“ but then Sonic stops, because the people around him have started shouting for Enkidu, and Shadow looks up as if that actually is his name, and-
“You know what, forget it,” Sonic says. Maybe it’s just a look-alike. A faker. “So. Enkidu?”
“Yes,” Ashnan says. “You will now challenge him to a battle, and-“
“You!” Shadow shouts, looking right at Sonic. Man, this is so outlandishly weird. “You are unfit to be king! Come and face me and I shall show you who really is the strongest man in the world!”
-oh, it’s on.
“Nevermind that, Ashnan,” Sonic says, getting in a ready stance. “I’ve got this.” Then he leaps off the city wall, curling into a ball just in time as he hits the ground hard enough to create a small crater.
Uncurling and getting to his feet Sonic then strides out of it and towards Shadow – Enkidu, whatever – where he stops and smirks. “You want to see who’s the strongest? Let me show you.”
Shadow smirks back and cracks his knuckles – and yeesh, why do his hands have to be so distractingly bare, it’s weird, Sonic’s not supposed to know that the red stripe on his arm extends all the way down his two middle fingers or that he’s got claws-
“I’ll be the one showing you,” Shadow purrs, and leaps at him.
As Sonic goes to check out the book – and they must’ve gotten in a new edition of it, because Amy didn’t recognize that cover – Amy turns to Fastidious Beaver and asks, “Why did you want him to read that book so badly, anyway?”
“N-no reason!” says Beaver. “I just thought that if anyone would have use of that book, it’d be him. I dare say no one else would even be able to read through the whole thing!” Beaver chuckles nervously.
Okaaay…
“Well, Sonic will definitely make it through the first chapter on sheer spite alone.”