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A few weeks had passed since the robo-tization incident. It was a horrifying experience for our heroes. Having one of their friends be turned into a killer robot, how dreadful. But thankfully, they were able to save Sonic, get rid of the virus, and everything was back to normal. How did this happen you ask?
I don’t know! The final issue isn’t out yet! This is a fanfiction of a fan comic! What a low point. And the writer is a stickler for accuracy, so she’s not going to make any big guesses! So just let her tell her stupid story she had stuck in her head to show her love for a fantastic comic!
…Anyways, the gang was at their usual beach spot outside of Sonic’s hut. They were having another volleyball match. Amy, Tails and Sticks on one team, with Knuckles and Sonic (not to be confused with Sonic and Knuckles) on the other. Sonic served up the ball, hitting it to Amy, and then spiked by Knuckles. Unfortunately, he spiked it too hard, sending it flying towards the shore line.
“Whoops,” the echidna bashfully spoke.
Tails gave him an encouraging thumbs up. “Don’t sweat it, Knux. At least you didn’t hit it all the way to the village like last time.
“I got it.” Sonic sped off to grab the ball. It was just out of reach from the dampened sand from the waves. He carefully approached and picked it up. The dryer sand was loose, however, just enough for his left foot to sink in below up to his ankle.
“WAHHHH!!!!”
Sonic threw his arms up, along with the ball, and ran as fast as he could to the door of his hut. The thrust from his throw was strong enough to toss the ball out into the ocean, much to his friends’ disappointment.
“Nice one, Sonic,” Sticks criticized.
Amy walked up to the dilapidated shack. “If you’re trying to show off, it’s the wrong way to do it. Honestly now, can’t you be a little more… Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog had fallen over on the steps with his right hand gripping the doorway. His quills were standing on end, his eyes had shrunken to near pinpoints. His breathing was rapid and he was clenching his chest and scarf. There was only one way to describe Sonic; terrified.
Amy reached out her hand to touch his shoulder. “Sonic, are you…?” She didn’t get to finish her question, as the touch made Sonic jump. His gaze refocused on his surroundings, noticing his friends looking on with concern.
He quickly stood up and readjusted himself, acting like nothing happened.
“Oh, sorry! Uh, crab in the sand! Got my ankle, ouch! Anyway, your team was up 2 points, right? Guess that means you win! Congrats! So, how about we get some Meh Burger? It’s only 3 hours until dinner time! Better hurry!”
With that, he zoomed off. The others stood there in amusing confusion. Tails was the first to speak up.
“Did Sonic just admit to losing? Without wanting a rematch?” If Sonic had one fault, it was his ego. He had always been a bit of a sore loser, and would be desperate for a victory in the face of defeat. Sure, there was that one time when Sonic let Knuckles have that victory in Tomatopotomus 2 (*episode: Fiend Bot), but that was due to the shock of an underwater level. So something like this was very strange.
“I dunno, crab claws can hurt a lot,” Knuckles said. “Believe me, I’ve been there.”
“It wasn’t a crab, Knuckles,” Amy retorted. “It was something else. You saw the look on his face. He was scared of something.”
Stick nodded. “Yeah, it was even worse than when Eggman made that wave machine, and we had to fight him underwater. Glad we didn’t run into any sea people.” (*episode: I Can See Sonic’s Fear from Here)
“This is serious, guys. It’s not even this. Sonic has been acting a bit off since… you know.”
“Since Eggman robo-tized him into a killer robot and some evil virus attacked us?” Leave it to Knuckles to be blunt.
Amy sighed. “Yes, Knuckles. That. I think there’s something more to the situation than we know. We should talk to him.”
Tails, Knuckles and Sticks just groaned.
“What?”
Tails stepped forward. “No offense, Amy, but your therapy groups don’t really work on Sonic. He’s not just going to sit down and pour his heart out.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I don’t like your discouragement. Fine, maybe he won’t speak to all of us. But mark my words! I’ll get him to open up to me! I’ve got the perfect plan in mind.”
Sticks rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fantastic. Anyway, let’s just cut to the next scene already. No way da writer has the patience to draw this out.”
HEY! Don’t say things like that! I mean, she’s not wrong, but she still shouldn’t say it.
Later that day, after getting a very early dinner with the gang, Sonic laid in his hammock. He wasn’t asleep like he normally would be. He was staring out at the ocean, at the shoreline. The sun was setting, getting darker and darker. Sonic rubbed his wrists in an anxious manner. He closed his eyes tightly, trying hard not to fall into that memory.
“But this is MY head. And YOU were being… repressed.”
A sudden beeping snapped Sonic back into reality. He looked at his communicator. Amy was calling. He took a couple deep breaths and answered.
“Yo, Ames. What’s up?”
“Hey, Sonic. I was thinking about having a movie night. I got the new Tommy Thunder film, ‘Tommy Thunder in Jungle Fighter 4: Return of the Revenge of the Jungle Fighter.’ Think you could help me set up?”
While Sonic thought Jungle Fighter went downhill with the sequels, he’d never pass up movie night. “Sure, be there in a few seconds.”
Just as Amy hung up on her communicator, she heard a knock at the door. She opened it to see Sonic. He looked a lot better, his usual confident and laid back self. She was glad about that, but she still needed to get to the bottom of this.
“So, what do you need help with exactly? Cause you know I’m no help in the kitchen.” Sonic, as well as the others, have proven they had no cooking skills. Well, Tails could, but barely.
Amy simply shrugged and smiled. “Don’t worry. I got all of the snacks taken care of.”
“Uh huh. It’s not going to be like that time we got stuck in a storm, is it?” (*episode: Cabin Fever)
“No, I learned my lesson, Sonic,” Amy spoke as she rolled her eyes. “My sophisticated dishes are wasted on you guys. Just chips, popcorn and soda. Of course I also have some cookies ready for later.”
Sonic put his hands on his hips. “Cool. Though if you got the food taken care of, what do you need me for?”
She couldn’t let this slip yet. “Get the blankets and pillows ready. You know how Sticks likes setting up forts.”
“Right, for the subliminal messages the government puts in to turn us all into mindless folks who don’t question the Illuminati, or something.” It was hard to keep track of Sticks’ conspiracy theories.
Sonic grabbed the extra pillows Amy kept in the closet, and placed them according to everyone’s favorite spot. He also pulled the blankets out. He and Tails liked to make tents out of them.
“All set,” the blue hedgehog dusted his hands off at a job well done. “So, need me to run out and get anything else? When are the others getting here?”
This was it. Amy knew she had to be very careful with her words. “Well, they’re not going to be here for a couple hours. I was thinking maybe we could talk.”
Sonic started to get on high alert. Talk? What does she want to talk about? Feelings?! Anything but that! And what kind of feelings?! About THEM??? Nononono! Just keep it cool. “Uh, talk? I don’t know, Ames. Maybe we could just call the others early. Knuckles is probably still hiding under Tails’ porch, so-”
“Sonic! Sit!” Just like that, he shut up and sat down. Sonic knew better than to argue with Amy when she got angry. She took a deep breath. “I… want to talk about what happened at the beach.”
Oh, it was much worse. “I told you. I just got my foot pinched by a crab. I just gotta be more careful.”
“Sonic, you looked scared when you ran back to your shack. Really scared. You gave up winning the game to get away. Something happened.”
The blue blur tugged at his scarf nervously. “Well, I was close to the ocean… Everyone knows I hate water. I got my shoes wet…?” Yeah, he was clearly reaching.
Amy sighed and sat down beside him. She wasn’t mad, she looked more concerned. “Sonic, I know you. I know talking about how you feel isn’t your thing, but you’ve been a bit off since… you know.”
GULP! “What? The whole ‘robot' thing? It was a crazy adventure, we resolved it, and moved on to the next one. We do this every week. It’s hardly ever relevant again.”
“Enough knocking on the fourth wall,” Amy demanded. “I’m serious! I was terrified when I saw what happened to you! I thought we lost you forever! And I can only imagine it must have been worse for you!” At this point, tears began to well up in her eyes. “Just remember you weren’t the only one affected by it, Sonic!”
Sonic’s ears folded back at his friend’s distress. She was right. He wasn’t the only one affected. He didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to forget. But how could he? That virus tormented him inside his own mind. Was he really slipping up that much for the others to notice? He didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t want to see his friends upset.
The silence between them was deafening, other than Amy’s windchimes. Waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Amy broke it.
“Fine, if you want to continue to ignore and run away from your problems, be my guest.” She was just starting to stand up when Sonic grabbed her wrist.
“Wait. Okay, I’ll talk. But you have to promise it stays between us.”
Amy blinked for a second. He’s really going to open up to me? It’s worse than I thought. She hated to have to keep this a secret. But if it was the only way to get Sonic to tell her what’s been going on, then it would have to do. She sat back down and nodded in agreement to his wish.
Sonic took a deep breath. “You’re right. It has been bad. Not just the whole being turned into a robot, but what happened… on the inside.”
“Inside?” Amy tilted her head to the side.
“After you, you know,” Sonic paused as he put his hand on his chest, “knocked me back at the village?” Amy looked away slightly in shame. If she hadn’t done that, even if it was an accident, what happened after might have been prevented. “Well, I think I got back a little control. Not enough to fight back, but more awareness around me. I was before, but this was something else.
“I woke up on the beach, in my head. Kind of like a dream. That’s when I saw… him. It.” Sonic could still remember the virus taunting him as Amy, as well as shifting into Tails and Knuckles. And Shadow. Again, why him? Either way, it was all unnerving. “He just kept going on that he was me, that the machine was making us better, that what happened was your guys’ fault.”
“I’m… I’m sorry,” Amy interrupted. “If I hadn’t jumped in and hit you, then…”
Sonic put his hand on her shoulder. “No, don’t do that to yourself. I know you would never hurt me on purpose. You were just trying to stop the fight.”
Despite what the virus had said, Sonic never believed for a second his friends would intentionally harm him. His words did seem to make Amy feel a little better.
“Right, sorry I interrupted. Please continue.”
Sonic lowered his gaze to his hands, twiddling his thumbs. “Well, when I wouldn’t give in, it did something. Chains shot out of the sand, grabbing me and started pulling me down. No matter how hard I tried to fight back, I couldn’t. I just kept getting pulled down deeper and deeper below. Then everything just went dark. And cold.”
Amy was beginning to understand. It explained a lot. “So you freaked out earlier because it reminded you of that?”
Sonic nodded. “Yeah. For a moment, I thought I was back there. Being pulled back down in my head. Being… repressed.”
The way Sonic said that last part hung in the air. Amy wasn’t entirely sure why, but it had to be bad.
“Look, it was just a backlash,” Sonic tried defending himself. “I promise it doesn’t get nearly that bad.”
“But there is something there.” Amy could see a crack in the blue hedgehog’s armor. There was some trauma from the whole ordeal.
“Amy, I promise I’m fine. I’m back to normal and the virus is gone. And even if there was some remote chance it survived, it’s like Tails said. It can’t affect an organic mind. So there’s no worry of it taking control or–”
The more Sonic talked, the more he rambled. He was getting that nervous tone in his voice. Like he wasn’t just trying to convince Amy he was fine, but also himself. That he was trying to dismiss any lingering fears he may have. He may not have noticed, but Amy did. She could see through that bravado.
“Sonic,” she finally spoke, placing her hand on his. “I know you want to be seen as the undefeated hero all the time, that doesn’t mean you’re invulnerable to fear. I know, you hate feelings, but that’s part of being alive. They make you a person. That’s why you shouldn’t bury them. I will never see you less than what you are; a hero. So please, don’t hide it.”
The blue hedgehog looked in the pink one’s eyes. He could see the honesty in her words. But that was the problem. If he let it out, it might not stop. There was a lot that Sonic wasn’t ready to let others see. But if he did, maybe things could get easier. He exhaled, and finally spoke.
“Okay, the truth is… I was scared. I never felt so helpless before. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn't do anything. And knowing what he was trying to do to you guys. That just makes it worse.”
“It’s okay, Sonic.”
“It’s not okay, Amy!” He was raising his voice now. “I attacked you guys! I put you in that machine, and tried to do the same thing to you!”
“YOU didn’t. It was that virus. It was never you, no matter what it was spouting.”
Sonic pressed his face in his hand. “That doesn’t make me feel any better! And everything that happened after–!”
Actually, the writer has no idea what happened next at the time this was written, so we’ll skip this part.
“I… I don’t know what to do, Ames. Normally this kind of thing goes away, but it’s not. What’s wrong with me?”
With that, Amy pulled Sonic in for a hug. Doing her best to comfort him. “You were hurt, Sonic. You went through something traumatic. And something like, it stays with you for a long time. It doesn’t get better right away. That’s why it’s important to reach out to others. They can help ease it.”
Sonic didn’t move for a bit in Amy’s arms. He was listening to her words. He didn’t want to do that, to depend on others like how they depend on him. Not just for his ego, but he felt he had to. That’s what heroes were about. Being strong enough that they didn’t need that kind of help. At least, that’s what Sonic thought it meant. He had to be the one to help others.
“We’re a team, right Sonic? You let us help you fight and protect the village. So let us help you with your own pain.”
After what felt like an eternity, Sonic slowly wrapped his arms around Amy. “I’ll… I’ll try.”
It was a very tender moment… until they realized how long they had been hugging each other.
“Okay, too long. Getting awkward.” They quickly pulled away, both nervously smiling and chuckling.
“R-right, sorry.” Amy’s cheeks were slightly red. She coughed into her hand, then rubbed her arm. “So, you feeling better at all?”
Composing himself, Sonic thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he was or not. “I’m not sure. I feel something, but I don’t know if it’s good or bad.”
Well, it was a start. She couldn’t force him to reveal any more if he didn’t want to. Amy stood up. “As long as you’re alright.”
Sonic followed. “I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to go through another horrific body transmutation any time soon.”
Now why would he say something like that? He might have just jinxed himself. I MEAN WHAT–
“Although,” Amy stopped as she turned to Sonic to hear what he had to say. “If I ever felt like I needed to… talk again, would you be here? Not that I ever really will, but in case…”
The pink hedgehog blinked. Was Sonic actually considering opening up more? Honestly, she thought she would have to do this four or five more times before that happened. But she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“You know you can, Sonic.”
“And this stays between us, right? Nothing about this to the others?”
“Consider it patient confidentiality.”
Sonic sighed in relief, and looked out the window. By now, the sun had set. It was night, like when… no, no need to unload anymore tonight. It’s like Amy said, it may stick with him for a while, but he’ll get better.
“Ready to call the gang and get this movie night started?”
As if on cue, or perfectly timed writing, Amy’s oven went off. Her cookies all set to be served. She smiled at that.
“Yeah, I sure am!”
Even if things weren’t completely resolved, it’s important to remember we all have feelings. That’s what sets us apart from machines. Never bury how you feel, and never feel ashamed to ask for help.
Wow, that’s a pretty deep message for a Sonic Boom fanfic. But we had to end this on a wholesome note. And again, it’s a fanfiction of a fan comic. Anything that happened won’t be brought up in the story.
…or will it?
Probably not.
Wait, the creator of SRB decreed this canon? Oh, well… there you go!