Chapter Text
It was a perfect day in Green Hill, which was not an entirely uncommon occurrence in the tropical paradise. Here the sun always shines warmly, and the bright blue horizon never dimmed from stormy skies. Down by the coast of their ever bountiful island the waves collided gently with the shore, its cool waters carrying a welcoming breeze and the occasional treasures.
We could talk about how great the weather in Green Hill is for longer than Tails could talk about his inventions- but that wasn’t what made today especially perfect.
Sonic the hedgehog rested on the branch of a tree, lazily watching his younger brother and the rest of the Mobians below with an amused expression. Tails shouted loudly at the bottom of the hill, the fox's hands covered his own eyes as he blindly stumbled through a field of white and pink flowers. Cream the rabbit screeched with excitement, running away from Tails whenever he got too close. Their game continued until even Amy joined in, the two girls took turns taunting the fox who kept tripping over his own feet. Sonic quietly watched them play tag. Today was perfect, all his friends were safe and happy. The sun would be setting soon, and later they would all share a meal together and play more games until the little ones would tire themselves out. Then Sonic and Amy and Knuckles would share stories of their adventures, laughing together until they too would fall asleep. By all definitions, today was perfect, and it seemed nothing could ruin that. But Sonic the hedgehog was feeling slightly rattled, maybe even a little nervous. If you were one of the few who knew him well at all, you could tell in an instant what the look on his face meant. Even though the hedgehog could appear relaxed, dozing lazily on his branch, on the inside he felt quite the opposite.
Nobody but him could be bothered by a perfect day, but Sonic knew there was no such thing, at least not for him. The absence of any troubles didn’t mean that they did not exist, only that they were well hidden from him. It did not bring Sonic any ease, knowing that his enemies were out there, most definitely plotting his downfall in some sort of new inhumane way. What could it be next? Would Eggman kidnap one of his friends? Put a chip in his brain and make him crazy? Unleash an army of badniks onto their home for the umpteenth time? Being a hero was sometimes Sonic’s own personal torture, if he wasn’t protecting then he might as well just invite all of his enemies over for dinner and make it easy for them, at least then he wouldn’t have to worry about the what if’s that plagued him even on such a peaceful day like today.
What if he wasn’t ready?
What if something happened to him?
What if Eggman really won this time?
It didn’t help his anxieties much that Sonic or anyone else hadn’t seen Eggman in ages. Initially it was a blessing, finally they could do something else besides rebuilding their shacks or bandaging each other up from the near constant onslaught of attacks catered specially to their front door by Dr. Ivo Robotnik. But as of late, the crazed scientist was nowhere to be found. The first week of Eggman's absence was nothing to worry about, the mad man was probably just busy licking his wounds and planning his next greatest defeat. But by the third month… and still nothing? Yeah, it was suspicious, and Sonic couldn’t help but doubt that he and his friends had many perfect days left- whatever Eggman had been taking so long to plan, it must be big and it exhausted Sonic to just sit around and not do anything to prepare for the inevitable. He looked down at his friends, wishing he could just relax for real and play tag with them like everything was okay. But he couldn’t, he had to prove to himself what he thought he already knew.
Getting a step ahead of Eggman was the key to bringing him down, so maybe instead of waiting for the doctor to come to them- Sonic could just pay him a visit first.
~
“Hey Sonic! -Oh… Sonic?”
Amy paused the game for a moment to call out towards the blue hedgehog who she had seen resting up in the tree a moment before. Tails, still playing tag, ran into Amy’s side, “Ha! I finally got you! Now you’re it!” He exclaimed as he pounded his fists with excitement in the air.
“Tails-“ Amy asked, her green eyes keenly observing the tree line.
“Did you see where Sonic went?”
Tails' post victory excitement diminished for a moment as he followed the older hedgehogs stare towards Sonic’s tree. The fox shrugged, “he probably ran off to go do something, why?” Amy looked away with a disappointed sigh, “oh.. I was going to ask if he wanted to play-“ she smiled sweetly, knowing Sonic would return from his wandering sooner rather than later. “Never mind, let’s continue! It’s my turn to be the tagger now, right?”
The flowering hillside was filled with the sounds of laughter as the Green Hill inhabitants chased each other below the blue sky, enjoying the last hours of sunshine before it would set on their perfect day.
~
Cubot! Orbot!” Eggman ordered with a shout. His two robot companions buzzed and beeped into the room, waiting for his command. “I want to show you something! My most genius- most incredible! Most impressive invention I have ever made! One that will surely damn that forsaken blue problem someplace I will never have to see his ugly muzzle again!” The two robots exchanged glances, their creator had been… for lack of a better word, defeated the past few months. While previously it had been rather standard for him to invent some new malicious machine every week or so, the Doctor hadn’t produced anything since his last loss until today. Eager to see what the next big plan to take down Sonic the Hedgehog would be, Orbot and Cubot leaned in closer.
“What is it Doctor?” Cubot buzzed, “a new badnik?”
“-Not at all!” Eggman mused, running his fingers over his bald head.
“When have badniks ever worked for me! Never! I have tried for years to create the perfect machine, and none have ever gotten close to my goal!”
Now Orbot and Cubot were really confused. They shared another glance, usually they were experts at deciphering their creators complicated and usually outlandish plots- but it seemed whatever he had been working on the past few months was out of their ballpark. “So what is it…?” Orbot asked this time with an intrigued tone.
“Think! Why do you suppose I have failed time and time again! Why is it that the longer I try, the less my odds at winnings have gotten!?”
The robots were silent, unsure of what to say. “Well!?” Eggman demanded, “Think!” “…is it because… Sonic has gotten better than you?” “NO!” Eggman shouted, his voice booming throughout the chamber. He paused for a moment, anger slipping away. His expression turned more serious, “Sonic has never been weaker… he’s gotten used to a carefree life…” he began to pace the room. “You see, this question has plagued my every waking thought- and finally I understand!” Eggman stopped pacing and turned to face his robots. He gestured towards himself with two hands, a crazy smile spread over his crooked teeth. “I’m old!”
Orbot and Cubot were at a loss for words. “...Um doctor, what do you mean?”
“You see, while the many momentous and honorable men in my family have lived well over a hundred years, I believe Sonic hopes to battle me into retirement!”
“He must be having a mid-life crisis.” Orbot beeped to Cubot.
“So I have come up with a solution to defeat the curses of old age! No longer will my back ache! Or my hands also ache! Or my vision fade and my hair fall from my head! You see, while my magnificent mind is in better condition than ever, it is my aging body that continues to get in the way of my world domination!” Eggman grinned, seemingly pleased with himself. He revealed from his coat a small vial the size of a strawberry. The gold liquid inside shimmered like glitter. “I spent months working on my new project! I will call it the Elixir and it will be the cure to old age! Just a small drop of it and the recipient of my ingenious serum will instantly return to a younger version of themselves!”
“How much younger…?” Cubot hesitantly asked. Dr Eggman waved a dismissive hand.
“Don’t worry! While not perfect, once administered, the recipient will only feel the effects of how they once felt at their physical prime!” He waved the tiny vial in front of Cubots head. “It won’t change my actual appearance, but I will certainly feel like a young man again! All it takes is a tiny drop, it’s incredibly simple and impossible to administer incorrectly. This I know for sure will be the key to my success and to destroy Sonic forever!”
~
Sonic raced through the jungle, a blue blur as he darted between the trees and leaped over the brush. In his mind he pictured Amy and Tails, playing with Cream while Cheese and Knuckles watched cheerfully nearby. By now they would all probably be safe at home. He promised himself he wouldn’t take long, he didn’t want to keep his family waiting. As he neared Eggman's base he felt the pit of dread in his stomach sink deeper and deeper, he had a gut feeling that his worries were real and that Eggman was plotting something truly terrible. In an instant the hedgehog arrived at the infamous secret lair. Hidden alongside the farthest cliff on their island was a collection of jagged metal, jutting brutally out from the green landscape like a rusty blade that was buried in the mountain.
Eggman's base was like a spire pointing skyward and shining in the sunlight. Its unnatural beauty was overshadowed by the dead trees and the unsettling absence of birdsong that populated the rest of the island paradise. Like a sore Eggman's secret base festered on the hillside, discarded metal leaching into the once fertile ground and craters that scarred the beach and cliffs from the battles that had occurred here. The air in this area smelled like gasoline and smoke, and somehow even the wind blew a little bit colder. Sonic snuck around, unsure where the entrance to the lair might be. If he had to guess, most likely underground- but digging was more Knuckles style so he searched for a better way to break in. Sonic stepped over the remains of an old badnik. Its frame was halfway sunken into the rocky soil with thorny vines reclaiming the hunk of metal back into nature.
Sonic could remember standing in this spot not so long ago, cheering for Amy as she blasted the badnik into the ground with one fatal swing of her hammer. That was an easy battle, but he remembered more fondly when Eggman retreated in his hovercraft after, shouting obscenities at them from the sky, mostly about how he would be back for revenge. The group laughed at their defeated foe, Eggman eventually always returned, but they always won, and it seemed their wins had gotten easier and easier. Maybe Eggman was finally starting to give up, or maybe Sonic’s team was getting stronger. Either way, no matter how many times Eggman tried to destroy their home, Sonic would always fight back, it was probably one of the only consistent things he was good at- that and he guessed leaving his friends without any notice. He was grateful they knew him well enough to not take offense to his wanderings, sometimes he preferred his own company.
He looked up at the setting sun, realizing that battle was the last time he saw Eggman. What could he have been up to since?
~
Shadow knew what Eggman had been up to. He had his suspicions for a while but they were all pretty much confirmed when that idiot Doctor sought him out personally to ask Shadow about the secrets to immortality. The dark hedgehog was not at all amused by the old man’s stubbornness, but the Doctor promised Shadow that if he could spare one of his quills he would be rewarded tenfold, and with the added bonus of ridding the world of Sonic the hedgehog. It wasn’t like Shadow to team up with Eggman, but part of him had grown slightly bored of hiding around the island, for a while he was entertained by Robotnik's rambles, and even more importantly he was keen on keeping an eye on whatever wicked thing the doctor had used him for. The doctor was an idiot, too blinded by his wants of world domination to see the full potential of his creations. Whatever new gadget Eggman would make of Shadow, the hedgehog would wait patiently until the time was right to take it all for himself.