Chapter Text
The leaves under Sonic's feet crunched and scattered along the dirt path in front of him. The sun blazed into the jungle around them, peeking through the tall canopies. With a sticky feel to the air due to humidity, Sonic slicked his quills back, trying to gain some sort of breeze, but finding none.
Currently, Sonic found himself on the outskirts of his village territory (prohibited by the elders), in search of anything new that he hadn't discovered before. Though it was against his village's rules, that did not stop Sonic from sneaking out every chance he got. And this time, Tail’s had decided to accompany him.
“Sonic, are you sure we should go this far? I’m sure Knuckles is looking for us.” Tails walked a few steps behind the blue hedgehog, his paws coming together in a tight clutch from anxiety about leaving their small town.
Sonic waved his hand in the air in dismissal. “Tails, it’s fine. We will be in and out in no time. Besides, Knux is at the council meeting anyway. He won’t even notice we are gone.”
Looking up with a questioning brow, Tails ponders. “Aren’t you supposed to be at that meeting, Sonic?” His tone hinted with slight sarcasm at his brother's numerous attempts to avoid hero duties. Sonic kept his gaze on the path ahead.
It was true. Sonic should be with the other council members, discussing the sightings of weird lab-structured buildings in their territory.
The new buildings were quickly noticed by anyone with eyes. And not knowing where they came from or what their purpose was, caused a gnawing anxiety among the people. Knuckles, who basically ran their village, swore he would get to the bottom of it.
“Cmon, Tails, you know I hate that kind of stuff. I’d never leave the house if Knuckles could have it his way.” Sonic huffed out, annoyed at the current situation.
Sonic had saved their village time and time again from monsters and beasts, so he found the whole thing a bit dramatic.
A villain or monster would come and try to destroy everyone's lives, and Sonic would swoop in and save the day, like always. It was clear that everyone had faith in him, yet the fear of being attacked never left. The whole ordeal was confusing and almost cowardly to the blue blur.
Tails's steps picked up their pace, trying to keep up with his brother. His brown backpack made a small noise, swooshing against his fur. The jungle around them was filled with buzzing from bugs and little squeaks from the birds; the white noise of their surroundings left both of the boys to continue their walk to their destination in silence.
Ducking beneath some long-hanging vines, Sonic smiled at the huge building a few feet in front of them. It was just as he left it when he saw it previously on a late-night rendezvous. He assumed the construction was at least somewhat new because the paint still lingered along the doors, chipping only around the handles and hinges. Sonic looked back to smirk at his companion.
“Shall we?” he asked. Tails could only gulp in response.
The doors creaked and groaned at the intrusion, a soft breeze flowing into the inside, followed by dirt and dust. Tails swatted at the air before opening his eyes to check his surroundings.
Once inside, both Tails and Sonic gasped at the architecture. The ceilings were raised high with glass shards hanging down, covering the walls with light fragments that followed the small sunlight coming from the door they had just opened.
Two giant staircases swooped up on opposite sides, white marble covering the steps and walls. With a hand brought to his mouth, Sonic called out into the open space. “Echo!”
His voice carried into the room with a boom, lingering throughout the building. Tails jabbed at his sides, earning a grunt from Sonic.
“Shh! Do you want someone to find us?” Tails looked around for any movement, being the rational one of the two. Sonic laughed a bit, placing his hands on his hips as he watched his brother check for monsters lurking in dark shadows.
Rolling his eyes with a smile, Sonic began walking forward to get a better view of the structure. Tails tiptoed behind him, clutching onto his brother's blue fur for protection from whatever was ahead of them.
Their footsteps carried sounds with small taps and clacks. Sonic was simply awed at the paintings along the walls, tracing one of his gloved fingers around the frame.
Turning to face the painting, he looked up at a huge frame holding a man-filled boat. The brushstrokes wrote a tale of adventure and thrill. It sent shivers up Sonic's spine as he scattered his eyes over the artwork, almost losing his breath.
“It’s beautiful...” Sonic had almost forgotten Tails was behind him until the other spoke up a minute after admiring the painting himself.
“It’s definitely…dangerous.” Tails questioned the ‘beauty’ Sonic was speaking of.
“Tails, they are traveling the open waters for new land and promises of adventure. Doesn't the thrill of exploration just make you.. I don’t know, tingly?” Sonic's eyes had now moved onto the next work, which displayed a black hedgehog sitting upon a chair made of gold and red silk.
Tails gave his brother a worried look before attempting to sway his perspective. “I think the tingle you get and the one I get are very-uh, different, Sonic.” Tails shivered with fear at the idea of leaving the comfort of his home.
The painting Sonic was fixed on now was not like the others. More of a memorial piece, he assumed, having been the only artwork with a note resting on the frame. The gold-framed plate was written in cursive, “Prince Shadow the l, Chao Kingdom”.
Sonic couldn’t quite place why, but he lingered on the male's gaze in the painting for a minute. His red eyes were painted with dark ruby acrylic, outlining his winged eye shape. Hung around him, a white fur coat dallied in specs of silver thread to outline his broad frame. It was unusual to find other hedgehogs in their timeline, so he must be of high importance, Sonic pondered internally. He dropped his hand and walked further down the hallway.
Dust collided into the air as Sonic opened another door, swatting his hands in the air with a small cough bubbling from his chest. Tails lingered outside the door for a moment. Glancing back, Sonic placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Just wait out here for a moment. I’m just going to glance inside.” Tails brought a finger to chew on in thought before giving a small nod in acceptance.
Emerald eyes danced around the room, looking for more. His feet carried him to another area of the room that looked like some sort of study? He wasn’t entirely sure what anything in the building was, it looked straight out of a storybook.
With very little light coming from outside, Sonic had a hard time seeing anything in front of him. The matches he had brought from earlier were in Tails's bag, so he simply waved his hands around to make sure he didn’t bump into anything. Sadly, his attempt was in vain, and he yelped as he knocked his shin against a table.
“Sonic! Are you okay?!” Tails frantically called from outside, sliding his head to peek inside the room. Sonic looked over his shoulder apologetically.
He put a hand up in honesty, “I’m fine bud, just knocked a table or something-” Sonic froze, eyes landing onto a paper that sprawled out onto the floor. It had some sort of drawing on it, with the words ‘WORLD MAP’ across the top. Sonic reached down, tugging it up to his face.
The “map”, Sonic assumed from the title, was huge. It showed islands the size of the sun and oceans as big as, well, the ocean. Holding his breath, he trailed his finger along the old scroll, following the curve of the land masses and the currents of the sea.
Tails' voice snapped Sonic from whatever trance he was in before, making his hands go behind his back. “Did you find something?” The little fox asked curiously from the doorframe.
Sonic gave him a cheeky smile, rolling the paper behind him. “Nah, just some weird furniture”. Walking back to Tails, he quickly snuck the map into his quills.
-
Walking back outside, Sonic glanced up at the now greyish sky covered in clouds. The lingering smell of rain to come filled his senses as he reached out a hand to his friend. “We should head back before it starts to pour, bud”.
Tails grabbed Sonic's hand, and the two walked side by side back to their village, making small conversation about the paintings and construction they had just viewed. Tails's curiosity was growing stronger, but his brother's need for thrill-seeking adventure still greatly outweighed his own.
Their home village came into view, Sonic turned to Tails to go over their plan once more. “Okay, remember. If Knuckles asks where we were, we went out to collect more firewood for the new sector.” A finger came up under Sonic’s nose, a smug grin spreading across his face in confidence.
Tails sheepishly looked forward. “Sonic, I’m sure Knuckles isn’t that dumb...” The fox rubbed his arms before tugging his backpack to the front of his body in an attempt to hide it.
Sonic dismissed him, slowly walking into view of their home. Even with Knuckles keeping the elders busy, he still wanted to keep a low profile.
Tails followed behind the taller male, quietly following his movements. The two tiptoed back to their home, staying out of view from the other villagers in hopes of not getting stopped or reported by others.
The door to Sonic and Tails's home creaked, making both of the boys cringe. It was still a while before Knuckles was going to return to check on them, so they should be out of the clear-
“Where have you two been?” Knuckles' booming voice came from the living room. The red echidna sat on a chair, arms crossed in front of him. His gloves tapping on both arms, a scowl never wavering as he watched both of them attempting to sneak back in.
The lighting in the room was low, with Knuckles's face barely in view. Only the right side of his face is shown by candlelight on a small table next to him. The animosity of it made the boys shiver.
Tails was the first to flinch, waving his hands up frantically. “Oh! Knuckles! What a surprise! We just went out for some wood, you see, and Sonic got a little sidetracked, hah-” Sonic's hand came up to cover his brother's mouth.
“Tails, he caught us red-handed. Just accept your fate.” Sonic sighed. Other than the fear of getting lectured by Knuckles, he was just annoyed more than anything. Explaining once more why he hated staying put in their town was the last thing Sonic wanted to do.
Tails gawked at the older male, questioning his decisions as to why he even bothered trying to save their asses.
“Your brother is right for once, Tails. I saw you both leave hours ago. Attempting to come back even with scuffs and marks on you? Now that’s just idiocy at its finest.” Knuckles' tone was tinged with humor, but both boys knew better than to think he was joking.
A gloved hand came up to point at Sonic’s leg. “Did you think that mark on your leg would go unnoticed by Longclaw?”
Sonic flinched at the mention of his mother. “Knuckles, she doesn’t need more things on her plate to worry about. How about we don’t mention my leave to her-”.
A gust of wind came from behind Tails and Sonic in the doorway. Without turning around to see the person's face, Sonic groaned inside.
Of course, Knuckles already told her.
Slowly facing the figure, Sonic put on a cheeky smile. Tails simply stood frozen beside him in fear.
“I don’t need more things to worry about, huh?” Longclaw stood tall outside their home, wings cast behind her. Her face was stern, and there was a hint of anger in her dark owl eyes.
This would be the third time catching Sonic leaving the village and even going so far as to step outside their territory lines. With little to no knowledge from the outside world around them, Longclaw was the only one who truly understood just how much was out there. Too much to understand, according to Longclaw. The lack of knowledge was irritating and demeaning for the blue blur.
What could be out there that was so bad? Everything Sonic had seen with his own eyes was beautiful, new, and different. He had proven his ability to stand his own against strong opponents his whole life, so why did she still have this need to guard him from exploring the outside world? Anger filled Sonic’s chest as he thought about it.
“Worrying is all you seem to do nowadays. Was just stating the facts.” Sonic glanced at the floor, not wanting to meet his mother's eyes out of spite.
Longclaw snapped back at Sonic’s tone, kneeling her head down to meet his gaze but finding none. “Is there something you need to say to me, Sonic? Don’t be shy, we are all waiting on that sorry excuse of an apology as to why you didn’t make today's meeting. Again.” Her voice was laced with disappointment.
“Apologize? Who said anything about apologizing? I’m not sorry for wanting to leave this tiny town and explore things that actually matter.” Sonic spat out.
Tails’s eyes moved back and forth between the two, hidden behind his hands that covered his face. Another fight between the two only ever ended with him getting the blame for it.
Knuckles seemed to catch the boy's nervousness, standing up to move him out of the room. Grabbing Tails' arm, Knuckles guided him to the kitchen without turning back.
“Sonic, we have talked about this. We have rules for a reason. Rules that you may not like, but they keep us safe. I don’t know how many times we have to go over this-”
“You’re just scared! If you would go out and just see for yourself, I promise there is nothing bad out there. I’ve protected this village my whole life, I think I know how to handle myself!” Sonic was throwing his hands in the air, giving up on even having this conversation again.
“Enough. You need to take your responsibilities more seriously. What if we were attacked while you were gone? Then what? You have no sense of safety for yourself, and it’s rubbing off on your brother now.” Longclaw was straight-faced, never wavering. It made Sonic’s fist clench.
“Don’t bring Tails into this. He’s just following me-”
Longclaw cut Sonic off with a scratch of her claw against the wooden floor. “And that’s just the problem, isn’t it? Tails goes wherever you go, and one day, you aren’t going to be able to protect him. What happens then? That weight falls on you.” She pushed her talons into Sonic's chest, heightening her words. It was getting dark outside, casting a sunset glow on her feathers. Sonic swatted her away in acknowledgment.
While she may never understand his view, she was right about that. As much as Sonic wanted to bring Tails along on his adventures, he had doubts about his brother's capabilities sometimes. If Tails ever got hurt because of Sonic, he would never be able to live with himself, and that thought ate him alive.
Sonic glanced to the kitchen, sighing at the warnings his mother spoke of. It was true, and Sonic hated it. He had fought more times than he could count on his fingers, but the same couldn’t be said for the little fox.
“I know you have a good heart, Sonic. You are fearless, and it scares me, honestly.” A soft chuckle came from her heart, watching her son's face change into something filled with guilt and sadness.
As much as Longclaw hated using fear to control her son, it was the only thing that worked for the time being. She sighed, running her wing across his quills.
“Rest and think about what I said. I’ll see you tomorrow. Not covered in dirt or scuffs, ready to talk about the duties you have been blessed with.” She hummed her words, turning out the door and flapping her wings before soaring into the orange and purple sky.
Sonic watched his mom fly away, leaving him with a pit in his stomach. Lecturing him about his “duties” and “responsibilities” was never any fun, but this time, she even had the nerve to bring up tails. Draining was the only correct term Sonic could place on the whole thing.
Running a hand over his face, Sonic sluggishly walked into the kitchen where his friends resided. The two’s whispers could be heard from the entryway, causing Sonic to pause just for a moment to listen in.
“Of course I tried to stop him! You know I hate seeing Sonic in trouble…”
“Did either of you see anything? Are you certain nobody followed you?”
“Yeah, I made sure nobody was nearby at all times. As for seeing anything important, just some paintings and unique furniture scattered about.”
A sigh could be heard from Knuckles.
“Okay, I’m glad you both made it back safe. I’ll try to talk to Sonic tomorrow before the Vanguard meeting.”
Both of their voices trailed away as Sonic headed to the front door once more, making a quiet escape to anywhere but the stuffy house.
With his shoes plastering against the dirt underneath him, Sonic walked to the shoreline just outside the village borders. Only fishermen and hunters passed this point, but it was dark enough for Sonic to walk freely without being spotted.
His hands still clenched by his arms' sides, looming over the horizon was the last bit of sunset. The sun was just barely kissing the sea, leaving a dark hue of the moon visible from the beach. The sand wasn’t the most fun to walk on with shoes, so Sonic peeled off his red sneakers as he continued to the seaside.
Finding a nice spot, he sat down, immediately pulling his knees to his chest in an attempt to still his aching heart. Coming to the beach always helped him feel better, but now it just reminded him of everything he couldn’t see. Stuck behind the walls of duty, never getting a taste of what could be only a few miles south. Never knowing, always wondering what part of the world he was missing.
It was a longing unlike anything he had known. How come nobody else in the town felt this way? Was he really the only one in this world who wanted something… more?
His ‘world’ consisted of duties to uphold and smothering orders to keep him in check. Even knowing it was all for his safety, the hero still huffed in anger. Grabbing a handful of sand, Sonic chucked it out into the open sea in front of him. It landed in the water with a sad plop.
Sonic rolled his eyes. A moment passing with his hand resting in his palm, now still propped against his knees, a realization hit him.
Searching through his quills, he pulled out the map he had stowed away previously, back at the abandoned building he and Tails had discovered. It was still roughed at the edges, but Sonic could really see it now with the last bits of the sunrise he had.
With wide eyes, he took his finger once more and traced over all the lines done with a quill on the paper. Small writing scattered, labels everywhere, the islands and pieces of land that are all connected to one another by the ocean.
Sonic brought the map close to his chest, hugging the map as if it were his last ticket out of town. His last calling card to tell him he wasn’t crazy for wanting, needing more out of life.
The sea breeze sent chills down his fur, brushing through his quills. It was decided right then and there that Sonic would never, ever stop wanting more out of life. Even if it meant sacrificing his life in the village.
With his mind made up, he stood up to brush the sand off himself. His right ear was twitching at a sound coming from off in the distance. Looking up into the horizon, a small blur was very far ahead. Resting on top of the water, the blur was moving south.
Sonic brought a hand up to his eyes in an attempt to get a better look at the object coming closer and closer into view. With a short huff, he gritted his teeth while looking back into the forest one last time.
Well, no harm in getting a closer look I suppose.
He marched down the sand, hand still up to his face to make sure not to lose the now apparent boat that was racing down the waters. Sonic was sure that he had never seen one this big of size before.
The sails blew hard, catching every hint of wind. The boat itself looked to be made of a dark oak, bobbing up and down the waves in a fluid motion. It was definitely the biggest boat he had seen, and it made his stomach bubble up with excitement.
Sonic sped down the beach, now in a foot race with the incoming ship. It wasn’t long before he hit a scale of rocks that scatter up a mountain, leaving him no choice but to start scaling upwards.
Losing sight of the ship for just a moment, Sonic gripped onto the rocks to pull himself over the hill. It was with a last grunt that he managed to hoist himself over, placing his face onto his arms in view. Sonics' eyes blew wide at the now very wide view of what he had never imagined had just been right outside the outskirts of his hometown.
There, just a few miles from where he slept, was a massive port. Filled with huge ships carrying supplies, food, and other treasures from all over the world. People scattered along the docks, hoisting nets and reeling in barrels of who knows what onto the dry land. Sonic let out a breathy laugh, admiring the ones below.
“This was under my nose, this whole time?” Sonic voiced aloud, bearly a whisper. The whole scene almost made him want to sob with regret.
Many a time did he try and reach to find other people outside of his village. Anyone who would prove to him that there was more behind the walls that his mother put up around him. With no luck over the years, though, he had given up hope. It was clear to him that his village was the only population on the island.
It was clear now how wrong he was.
Excitement tumbled over everything else as the ship he had been chasing came into view once more, pulling into the docks. Sonic knew he needed to get a closer look.
Without sparing another moment, he crossed the wall. Slinking his legs over one by one, trying to stay low to make sure nobody saw him. With blue quills as bright as his, it was usually futile. But the sun had finally set under the sky, and now the moonlight was his only source of light.
Before he officially set off, though, Sonic looked back just once more at his home. The soft glow of the moon hid them well under the trees. It was no wonder nobody had found their people for so long. He smiled, just for a moment, and then scattered down the other side of the wall without a trace.