~Two Days After Sonic Arrived on Christmas Island~
Cereza sat in her lounge chair beneath an umbrella quietly, relaxing in the backyard of the orphanage which offered a fantastic view of the sea. It was a luxury she occasionally indulged in when not researching witchcraft or looking after her orphans. Both were equally important since being semi-stranded in this fantastically unusual world.
She knew that this was indeed Earth, but to this day she still had no idea if she had traveled through time or space; if she was in an alternate dimension or if she was in a distant future from her own time. No matter how many history books or encyclopedias she pored through, she kept running into one dead end after another. The history of this world only went so far back, with brief mentions of a global cataclysm, but nothing detailed.
Cereza was doubly disappointed to notice that there were next to no references of her clan, the Umbra Witches, or for that matter, the other half of her bloodline, the Lumien Sages. What made this even more perplexing is that she could still feel Madama Butterfly’s spirit bound to her own by the unholy contract she was obligated to adhere to. Thankfully, she was able to substitute the halos of slaughtered angels for the golden rings of this world, which were eerily plentiful, though the ease of this raised far more questions.
A sharp influx of ki – a phenomenon she personally found fascinating – cut through her like a brisk, sharp breeze, which brought her out of her thoughts and back to the amusing sight before her. Namely, her adoptive son, and the orphan who seemed to go out of his way to test her patience back when he was younger.
This orphan was, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog, who at the moment was utilizing the powerful and mysterious abilities of the Ancient Light within him to go into what he called the “Light Speed State”. It was this ability that made his Light Speed Attack possible, but there was always a drawback. Whenever he was fully charged, his movements would be considerably slower, unless he was using Power Cores. But, for whatever reason, Cores were in short supply these days, so Sonic had to rely on his own abilities, which suited him fine.
Sonic examined himself as he settled, concentrating to remain within the Light State and not go zooming off somewhere he shouldn’t. He was glowing with a cyan blue aura, and when he really focused, he noticed a slight vibration to even the most basic movements. Satisfied with himself for the moment, Sonic began running in place. This was difficult, as he felt heavy and lethargic, but he pushed himself to move faster, attempting to perform his Super Peel-Out maneuver.
Cereza watched as he increased his speed little by little, and she noticed that his vibrations were getting more sporadic. Sonic noticed this a second later, but ignored it, trying his best to stay focused. He moved himself faster and faster, and just when he was beginning to reach a velocity that felt familiar to him…
A random vibration tripped him up. Literally.
His focus lost, he instantly found himself careening over the cliff towards the sea! Cereza gasped and instantly reacted. Thrusting her fist upwards for a Wicked Weave, Sonic soon found himself in the palm of Madama Butterfly, who deposited the hedgehog back where he was, albeit rather roughly.
Cereza sat in her lounge chair beneath an umbrella quietly, relaxing in the backyard of the orphanage which offered a fantastic view of the sea. It was a luxury she occasionally indulged in when not researching witchcraft or looking after her orphans. Both were equally important since being semi-stranded in this fantastically unusual world.
She knew that this was indeed Earth, but to this day she still had no idea if she had traveled through time or space; if she was in an alternate dimension or if she was in a distant future from her own time. No matter how many history books or encyclopedias she pored through, she kept running into one dead end after another. The history of this world only went so far back, with brief mentions of a global cataclysm, but nothing detailed.
Cereza was doubly disappointed to notice that there were next to no references of her clan, the Umbra Witches, or for that matter, the other half of her bloodline, the Lumien Sages. What made this even more perplexing is that she could still feel Madama Butterfly’s spirit bound to her own by the unholy contract she was obligated to adhere to. Thankfully, she was able to substitute the halos of slaughtered angels for the golden rings of this world, which were eerily plentiful, though the ease of this raised far more questions.
A sharp influx of ki – a phenomenon she personally found fascinating – cut through her like a brisk, sharp breeze, which brought her out of her thoughts and back to the amusing sight before her. Namely, her adoptive son, and the orphan who seemed to go out of his way to test her patience back when he was younger.
This orphan was, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog, who at the moment was utilizing the powerful and mysterious abilities of the Ancient Light within him to go into what he called the “Light Speed State”. It was this ability that made his Light Speed Attack possible, but there was always a drawback. Whenever he was fully charged, his movements would be considerably slower, unless he was using Power Cores. But, for whatever reason, Cores were in short supply these days, so Sonic had to rely on his own abilities, which suited him fine.
Sonic examined himself as he settled, concentrating to remain within the Light State and not go zooming off somewhere he shouldn’t. He was glowing with a cyan blue aura, and when he really focused, he noticed a slight vibration to even the most basic movements. Satisfied with himself for the moment, Sonic began running in place. This was difficult, as he felt heavy and lethargic, but he pushed himself to move faster, attempting to perform his Super Peel-Out maneuver.
Cereza watched as he increased his speed little by little, and she noticed that his vibrations were getting more sporadic. Sonic noticed this a second later, but ignored it, trying his best to stay focused. He moved himself faster and faster, and just when he was beginning to reach a velocity that felt familiar to him…
A random vibration tripped him up. Literally.
His focus lost, he instantly found himself careening over the cliff towards the sea! Cereza gasped and instantly reacted. Thrusting her fist upwards for a Wicked Weave, Sonic soon found himself in the palm of Madama Butterfly, who deposited the hedgehog back where he was, albeit rather roughly.
Embarrassed, Sonic remarked, “Guess Her Lowness still doesn’t like me.”
Cereza rolled her eyes as she walked up to him, her outfit partially ruined. “She would, dear, if you would show her the proper amount of respect.” Sonic, as he dusted himself off, simply grunted and said, “Like I’m really gonna show any amount of respect to a damn demon.” Cereza’s tone of voice lowered ever so slightly as she bent her back down to his level and remarked, “That demon just saved your spiny arse, so if I were you, I would be a little more grateful…Nicholas.”
In an instant, the teenager grabbed the Umbran Watch that hung over her chest and pulled her slightly, yet harshly to his face and looked her in the eye with ferocity. “DON’T. CALL. ME. THAT. MY NAME…IS SONIC. PERIOD!” Rather than intimidate the woman, however, all that show of anger did was piss her off, as shown when she grabbed him by the neck and hung him above her with little effort.
“It seems you have forgotten your place after all this time,” she said calmly, and enacted a spell to immolate the boy, painfully expending him of his Rings, one after another. As this went on, Madama Butterfly, as Cereza’s shadow, collected the Rings. “Answer me, Nikki,” Cereza demanded as she sadistically burned her charge, “Who took you in?”
“Y-You did!!”
Cereza nodded and began choking him a little. “Who raised you?” Despite the immense pain he was in, he shouted, “You did!!” The witch smirked and asked, “Who put up with your incessant boasting, constant trouble-making, and repeated attempts to show off your speed?” The Blue Blur argued, “I wasn’t that bad – AAAGH! OKAY, OKAY, YOU DID!!” Cereza’s smirk vanished completely as she made her final point, “And who was it that allowed you to leave the orphanage and venture into the world well before your time, despite my better judgment?” He attempted to argue, but she burned off his last Ring. “YOU DID!”
“Damn straight,” she spat as she finally dropped him, the flames immediately dissipating. As he tried to catch his breath, she continued, “That means, Nicholas, that I can – and will – call you whatever I bloody well please, and you would do well to remember that the next time you decide to get too mouthy for your own good. Is that clear?”
He glared up at her as he answered, “Ridiculously.” Cereza’s smirk returned at that. “Good. Now that I have your attention, I suggest you refrain from using your advanced techniques in that Light State of yours until you have learned how to reach your maximum running speed. Trying to force your progress will only get you killed. Understood?
Sonic replied, “Yeah, yeah. Understood, Mom,” as he checked his jacket and other attire, grateful she didn’t burn it off.
Cereza ignored his persistent belligerence that time since she knew he did indeed understand. “Smashing. Now, do bugger off. It’s nearly lunch time, and you know the rules around here: No one eats until everything is ready.” As she walked off, Sonic said, blinking in confusion, “I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to me anymore, Mom.” Cereza called back, “As long as you insist on calling me that, Sonic, they most certainly do apply.”
While he was still upset from what she likely considered to be a “spanking”, Sonic couldn’t help but smile. After all, no one else was allowed to call her that. So, he simply shrugged and got back to his training, using his Spin Dash to charge up energy. As he did so, bad memories began to resurface. There was a good reason Sonic hated his birth name, which was tied to the reason why he left the orphanage and Christmas Island as soon as he was able.
‘Nope,’ he thought to himself as his Light State returned, ‘Not thinking about that. I’m here to get faster. THAT’S ALL. I’m here to make damn sure I don’t fail Tails or anyone else ever again. Eggman won’t even have time to think about blinking before I’m done with him…’ His determination returned, he took off running, being sure to look for some more Rings along the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a quarter past noon on Angel Island. Its guardian was currently ignoring his grumbling stomach in favor of what he believed to be a more pressing concern. He walked up to the Master Emerald and stood in front of it, frustration on his face. ‘Why…?’ Knuckles thought, ‘Why can’t I remember what happened? Where did my parents go? Why am I the last echidna?!’
He growled at the gem he had dedicated his life to protecting as he, for the first time in his life, questioned why he had chosen to do so. “Why are my memories blocked off?! I know it has something to do with you!! Answer me!! I don’t care how you do it!”
The mighty stone remained where it was, glowing brightly. Now angry, Knuckles, focused his will upon the Emerald, attempting to force his memories to the surface. His birthmark burned as he did so, but he ignored the pain and continued. He exerted more and more of his will upon the Master Emerald in hope of some kind of reaction until there was an explosion of green light that spread across the entire island, which was the last thing Knuckles saw before blacking out.
Over in Hydro City Zone, Rouge was bathing when she felt something amiss. ‘Knuckles…!!’
Cereza rolled her eyes as she walked up to him, her outfit partially ruined. “She would, dear, if you would show her the proper amount of respect.” Sonic, as he dusted himself off, simply grunted and said, “Like I’m really gonna show any amount of respect to a damn demon.” Cereza’s tone of voice lowered ever so slightly as she bent her back down to his level and remarked, “That demon just saved your spiny arse, so if I were you, I would be a little more grateful…Nicholas.”
In an instant, the teenager grabbed the Umbran Watch that hung over her chest and pulled her slightly, yet harshly to his face and looked her in the eye with ferocity. “DON’T. CALL. ME. THAT. MY NAME…IS SONIC. PERIOD!” Rather than intimidate the woman, however, all that show of anger did was piss her off, as shown when she grabbed him by the neck and hung him above her with little effort.
“It seems you have forgotten your place after all this time,” she said calmly, and enacted a spell to immolate the boy, painfully expending him of his Rings, one after another. As this went on, Madama Butterfly, as Cereza’s shadow, collected the Rings. “Answer me, Nikki,” Cereza demanded as she sadistically burned her charge, “Who took you in?”
“Y-You did!!”
Cereza nodded and began choking him a little. “Who raised you?” Despite the immense pain he was in, he shouted, “You did!!” The witch smirked and asked, “Who put up with your incessant boasting, constant trouble-making, and repeated attempts to show off your speed?” The Blue Blur argued, “I wasn’t that bad – AAAGH! OKAY, OKAY, YOU DID!!” Cereza’s smirk vanished completely as she made her final point, “And who was it that allowed you to leave the orphanage and venture into the world well before your time, despite my better judgment?” He attempted to argue, but she burned off his last Ring. “YOU DID!”
“Damn straight,” she spat as she finally dropped him, the flames immediately dissipating. As he tried to catch his breath, she continued, “That means, Nicholas, that I can – and will – call you whatever I bloody well please, and you would do well to remember that the next time you decide to get too mouthy for your own good. Is that clear?”
He glared up at her as he answered, “Ridiculously.” Cereza’s smirk returned at that. “Good. Now that I have your attention, I suggest you refrain from using your advanced techniques in that Light State of yours until you have learned how to reach your maximum running speed. Trying to force your progress will only get you killed. Understood?
Sonic replied, “Yeah, yeah. Understood, Mom,” as he checked his jacket and other attire, grateful she didn’t burn it off.
Cereza ignored his persistent belligerence that time since she knew he did indeed understand. “Smashing. Now, do bugger off. It’s nearly lunch time, and you know the rules around here: No one eats until everything is ready.” As she walked off, Sonic said, blinking in confusion, “I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to me anymore, Mom.” Cereza called back, “As long as you insist on calling me that, Sonic, they most certainly do apply.”
While he was still upset from what she likely considered to be a “spanking”, Sonic couldn’t help but smile. After all, no one else was allowed to call her that. So, he simply shrugged and got back to his training, using his Spin Dash to charge up energy. As he did so, bad memories began to resurface. There was a good reason Sonic hated his birth name, which was tied to the reason why he left the orphanage and Christmas Island as soon as he was able.
‘Nope,’ he thought to himself as his Light State returned, ‘Not thinking about that. I’m here to get faster. THAT’S ALL. I’m here to make damn sure I don’t fail Tails or anyone else ever again. Eggman won’t even have time to think about blinking before I’m done with him…’ His determination returned, he took off running, being sure to look for some more Rings along the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a quarter past noon on Angel Island. Its guardian was currently ignoring his grumbling stomach in favor of what he believed to be a more pressing concern. He walked up to the Master Emerald and stood in front of it, frustration on his face. ‘Why…?’ Knuckles thought, ‘Why can’t I remember what happened? Where did my parents go? Why am I the last echidna?!’
He growled at the gem he had dedicated his life to protecting as he, for the first time in his life, questioned why he had chosen to do so. “Why are my memories blocked off?! I know it has something to do with you!! Answer me!! I don’t care how you do it!”
The mighty stone remained where it was, glowing brightly. Now angry, Knuckles, focused his will upon the Emerald, attempting to force his memories to the surface. His birthmark burned as he did so, but he ignored the pain and continued. He exerted more and more of his will upon the Master Emerald in hope of some kind of reaction until there was an explosion of green light that spread across the entire island, which was the last thing Knuckles saw before blacking out.
Over in Hydro City Zone, Rouge was bathing when she felt something amiss. ‘Knuckles…!!’
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