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julie-su · 1 year ago

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A Time Called The Great Peace - Chapter 1

Somewhere, a long time ago, in a zone far from our ‘prime’ zone, rests Moebius - the ‘anti-mobius’, if you will. The inhabitants of this zone are each much different from the Mobius we all know, a much more hostile and harsh land. If Mobius is full of brave-hearted, loving souls aching to lend a hand, then Moebius is its stark opposite. Cold, hateful nobodies, cowards looking out for Number One. And in the middle of this anti-Mobius, sits in his living room one Anti-Sonic, known just as ‘Sonic’ to his world, just seven tender years old. At this time, he is waiting for his father, Jules, to return home.

For a being of pure speed, minutes seem to stretch and pool into torturous lengths. If only he could stretch his legs, he thought… Unfortunately for the boy, his mother was at home today; Bernie, his strict, unfeeling, underbearing mother. He was strictly instructed to stay put. You see, with super speed, comes super messes - his mother very much liked her house to stay pristine. He was ne’er allowed to do so much as listen to the radio, for the sound might disturb her. He wondered what the point of even having a radio was, if nobody was allowed to touch it. He wondered for a while, probing the thought with everything in his brain, stretching it out for entertainment fodder, crucially aware of the slowing, maddening seconds. He wondered why he was cursed to be so fast, in a world that forced him to be so slow.

CLACK. K’CHINK. The door! The boy perked up on the sofa, attuned to the sounds of the door unlocking - his father was finally home! He watched as his pops proudly strode through the entrance hall, disrobing his coat and laying it on the coat stand. Jules wandered through the living room, marching on straight past his son. “Dad-” Sonic began, clambering off of the sofa, excited to see his father - it had been a whole month since he had seen him; he didn’t quite understand politics, but he knew that it was supposedly an important tour for his father, spreading peace and goodwill. ‘Beloved Jules, the kindest sweetheart of our time’, Sonic recalled reading on a newspaper clipping. He watched him walk on by, as if he hadn’t heard him. He wondered if his father had trouble hearing, sometimes - dad had never seemed to notice him, until the moment he was tugging on his arm practically begging for attention.

He followed after him, tilting his head. “Dad?” he walked next to him, peering up at him, trying to catch his attention - to no avail. This was swiftly getting old. Impatient, he sped up, running circles around his father, forcing him to pay attention to him. A good plan, really - until, of course, just at this moment, who else but his mother rounded the corner. Of course, of course! She wouldn’t come a minute later, nor a minute earlier - not even in the long time he had spent sitting still, would she walk in, and witness how restrained and patient he had been. She only ever saw him when she deemed he was misbehaving, even though he tried his hardest to be good. “SONIC T. HEDGEHOG. What do you think you are doing to my carpets?” Bernie didn’t quite yell, but to him, it felt like it filled the whole room- no, the whole WORLD.

His feet stopped. His heart stopped. He did not turn to face her. “But, mum…” He began, feeling thoroughly slighted by the world. Why was he always punished for everything? If being a ‘kind sweetheart’ meant so much in this family, how come he never witnessed anyone following suit?

Jules stretched his back, seeming tired. “Dear, can’t you just send him to his room? I’ve had a long day already…” Sonic looked up at him, in disbelief. Why would nobody ever talk to him like he was a person?! He understood that his father was busy, but couldn’t he at least acknowledge his presence? But, his astonishment only lasted for a second, as his mother approached him. Backing up a little, he covered his ears, so that they could not be tugged on. “I CAN TAKE MYSELF!” He hurriedly blurted out, still cupping his ears with his hands. At least, he reckoned, it hurt a lot less to be dragged by the arm, than the ear… Bernie stopped, folding her arms. “You’ll be taking yourself towards a smacked bottom, if you don’t hurry off to your room, young man.”

That was enough for him, walking slowly, as to not further incur her wrath - she hated him running, right? So, he reckoned that walking slowly would make her happy. Wouldn’t it? He stared at the ground, still holding onto his ears. “Boy…” Bernie began, sounding it out as a warning. “If you dare sass me like that,” ENOUGH! He gave up! Anything he could possibly do is the wrong answer! He sped off to his bedroom as fast as his legs could take him, slamming the door.

Cowering under his bed frame, little Sonic waited in fear. His heart pounded in his throat, ears diligently perked in case he may hear the footsteps of his mother following him up the stairs. But, they didn't seem to come. He waited until his bones ached from crouching, until the wooden slats imprinted marks onto his skin, just in case even so much as a creaking floorboard might sound the change in her decision to leave it be. After what felt like an age, he finally, slowly crawled out, his heartbeat regulating out. He didn’t quite feel safe, no - but, he felt the closest thing to it.

He sat on the floor of his room, biting his lip and trying not to cry. ‘Boys don’t cry’, they’d tell him. So, he didn’t cry. No matter how much he wanted to cry, he wouldn’t. He looked out at his window, face red hot. Whatever ‘freedom’ his father was fighting so hard for, he wanted the opposite of it - if that meant that he would be out of this stupid bedroom, in this stupid house. He cracked the window open, slipping out onto the roof, climbing down onto their vacant doghouse, which acted as a step. He reckoned that they wouldn’t even notice his absence - they obviously didn't care for him!

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, working it all off. He wished his head wasn’t so full of thoughts. He rubbed his eyes, his face full of — SMACK. Forget that… His face was now full of somebody else’s face! “OW!” A young girl’s voice sounded off, now tangled with him. “Watch it, dummy!” Sonic scowled, OF COURSE THE UNIVERSE WOULD THROW SOMEBODY IN FRONT OF HIS EYES WHEN HE TOOK A SECOND TO WIPE ‘EM! “You watch it! I’ve been watching where I was going this whole run, why shouldn’t you?!” He untangled himself, stomping his foot, standoffish.

“‘Cuz I don’t move like a gnat on caffeine!” She giggled a little, finding his insults funny, down to the mannerisms. “I’m Sally. Don’t cross me, my daddy can throw ya in the dungeons! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” she grinned, mimicking a guillotine with her hands. Sonic pouted, not finding it so funny. “I’m Sonic, and I’m NOT a gnat.” He glowered, lowering his head. “I’ll throw YOUR dad in a dungeon! He’s a dumb, stupid king, and I hate him.” he stuck his tongue out, having NONE of this.

She tilted her head, prodding him inquisitively. “Wouldja? Couldja? Wanna do it with me?” she circled around him, skipping as she went.

“What, bump off your da?!” Sonic squinted, not quite following. He didn’t like her already, the poking and prodding was REALLY getting on his nerves. And now she was playing some weird game with him, that he had no interest in following along with. Sally nodded. “Yeah! Really! You’re that speedster kid, right? You have super powers! I hate my daddy.” She clasped her hands behind her back, suddenly pouting herself, drawing circles in the dirt with the toe of her boot solemnly. “I wanna be queen already. It’s not fair! Daddy says I’m too big for my boots, or whatever.” Sonic squinted. “And why should I care about that?!” he raised his head, trying to look down on her, though she was a touch taller than him. “Oh!” Sally looked up, with a sudden grin again. “Cuz you can be my king! C’mon, I can’t do it on my own!” she held onto his arm, pulling it a little. Sonic wrinkled his nose. “Eeeew. And what makes ya think I’d wanna do that?!” he pulled his arm back, in half a mind to run away as fast as he could. BUT, this was the first proper conversation he’d had since he’d lost a battle of wits to the boy down the road again last week, so he reckoned he’d stay a little while longer. “Welllll…” She grabbed his arm again, thinking about it as she leaned up against him. “Your dad is Mister Jules, right?” He squinted sceptically at her, wondering where she was going with THIS, now. “Yeah, why? What’s it to ya?” She looked around, then back at him. “Don’t ya get sick of him? Don’t ya wanna tell HIM what to do?” He half-shut his eyes, bored with this conversation. “No.” He thought a little more, thinking such a thought, that he was sure he would be punished when he got home. “... But I do wanna tell my ma what to do.”

Grinning with near malice, Sally tugged on his arm. “Kings can tell anyone what to do, right? Ya get what I’m sayin’?” Sonic’s eyes widened. “What?” he felt like he was being bestowed too much power, all at once. Could she even do that? The chipmunk girl in front of him CERTAINLY was the princess. Would the universe even allow this for him? “...Are you always this stupid, or did you just get brained knocking into me?” she looked sarcastically at him. He scowled. “No, not that! I get it! But-” he himself looked around, nervous. “Is that… Allowed?” the edge of his mouth was showing the start of a grin, but he wouldn’t allow it just yet.

“I mean-” she put a palm to her face, as she had seen her own father do when he was especially frustrated. “It’s treason, dude. That’s the point.” Sonic growled with frustration, getting very tired of this. “Why do you keep making me out to be dumb?!” he scuffed his shoe on the ground, kicking up dirt at nothing in particular. “I mean, like - I don’t know… It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I don’t get ANYTHING I want, ever. Why should I get to be king?” his voice cracked a little. He also wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘treason’ was, but he felt he could infer. Sally shrugged, looking around. “Cuz we spent our whole lives listening to dumb adults, so we should get to make them listen to us!” She posed triumphantly, still just seven years old.

He thought about it, pondering what that’d mean. It felt TOO good, too much power … And he was ready for it. It was about time, he reckoned. “..Alright, I’ll join you.” he grinned, putting his hand out. She looked down at it, grabbing it with a grin, pulling him onto the ground and forcing him into a headlock. “Great! Meet me tomorrow night, same place?” she giggled, crushing him just a little. “GAH!!” He tried to throw her off, irate. “Fine! Sure! Whatever! Get OFF of me!” He finally succeeded, dusting himself off, grumpy. Sally stuck the landing, clasping her hands together as if nothing had happened, giggling sweetly. “Okay, cool! See you then! Also by the way, there’s already other guys in my group, so you’ll have to fight for the position of king. OKAY BYE!!” She skipped off into the woods, leaving him all on his own.

“Blech.” Sonic stuck his tongue out, sitting down by the tree. “That girl has issues.” he hugged his knees, not quite ready to go home yet, thinking on his lonesome about everything that had just transpired. His head spun a little, toying with the idea of becoming a king. It made him as nervous as it did excited - was he allowed to want such grandiose things? He couldn't quite see it working out just yet, it felt to him as if there was a missing key somewhere. But he did prefer the presence of someone else, even though she'd left him with a sore neck, and a wounded sense of pride.

He thought about it, the weight of it in his mind, and the bizarre sensation that just a while before this, he was sitting on the settee, squeezing the most mundane of thoughts for a droplet of entertainment. That sounds just about right - you wish for something to think about, and, well - the universe complies, doesn't it?!

He yawned, looking around at the falling twilight, deciding that it was time enough that he headed home, to his bed. He kicked off his run, making top speeds through the path, ready to have a lie-down. His mattress might be old and worn, and the springs dug into his back so that he had to lie on his duvet to get any solace at all - but, it was HIS bed. And right now, that was just what he needed.

Soon enough, he was outside of his house, scaling that same empty doghouse. He pulled himself up onto the window sill, surprised to be met with the glass pane that he was certain he had left open. Uh oh.. He felt hot and sweaty all of a sudden, his stomach swirling and brain flattening out. He tried to pull the window up, reasoning that perhaps the wind had closed it! Alas, the catch was drawn, and the window would not budge. Of course, the ONE night he chooses to head out, they’d come to check on him! He kept pulling it out of desperation, nervous to meet his mother right now - he would likely have to ring the doorbell, and, well - he’d rather postpone the inevitable. He could see his bed, it was right in front of him - but, through all of his fear and frustration, it was just tantalisingly out of reach, just like everything seemed to be.

With his heart in his throat, he slowly climbed back down, trying to will his way out of his situation as he sat on the empty doghouse. He looked down, musing to himself. They still had the old doggy door in the back of the house, perhaps he could sneak through…? He wandered around the side of the house, peering into their backdoor window, checking the coast. Scanning the kitchen, he could see the yellow light emanating from the living room… His parents were no doubt in there discussing what they’d do to him, which filled him with a newfound sense of dread. Oh well - if he played his cards right, that’d be tomorrow’s problem. He felt out the outskirts of the doggy door, relieved to feel it give. He slowly pushed his way in through the door, creating an opening just small enough to squeeze his way through. Now inside, he could hear his parents talking. They didn’s hardly on his way to attempting treason.”

Perching himself against the wall to the living room, Sonic could clearly hear his parents talking. “-That boy is fast headed to ending up just like your brother, dear.” “What, Charles? The boy may be misbehaving, but he’s hardly on his way to attempting treason.”

“Yes, well you had better see to it that he isn’t - both of our reputations are at stake already, keeping it hush-hush about ‘dear’ Charles.” Sonic thought about that, blinking. He’d heard hushed mentions of his uncle, but his parents refused to let him visit the man. Treason, huh… There was that word again, the one that chipmunk girl had used that word earlier. Was this his key? He gulped, putting that to the side as he tried to plan out the best path to his room. His ear swivelled atop his head, still listening, although he’d already heard more than enough.

“-He’s your son as much as he is mine, Bernie, what do you expect me to do about it?” “I don’t know, beat it into him! I can’t be parenting the boy the whole way, he needs to hear it from his father. He looks up to you, you know.” Pausing, Sonic stuck his tongue out in the direction of his mother - not that she could see it. He was now listening intently. Dad would defend him, surely. He’d put this whole stupid thing to bed. Maybe dad would even get him off the hook! He’d spent so long hearing about how great of a man he was in the media, after all - and he believed it all. Sure, he was always exhausted when he came home, but he was a courageous man. He had to be!

“I don’t know, Bern..” “Honestly, Jules. Don’t you care about how that boy turns out?” “I’ll be frank, at times I feel that I don’t care for him at all. He’s been nothing but trouble, and I don’t know what we did wrong as parents to be saddled with that nightmare of a boy.” “Come now, Jules! … Well, I can hardly say I don’t agree, now and then. But, you shouldn’t say it!” Sonic looked behind him at the silhouettes with horror. He looked up the stairs, his pulse starting to race. Did his father really just– and his mother- “...Dad?” Sonic peered around the corner. He didn’t care about blowing his cover - he needed the confirmation. Did they really think that about him…? Both of them turned around in surprise. Sonic was shocked to see the look of remorse in his mothers’ eyes. This only made his stomach turn as he looked into his fathers’ eyes, and saw nothing but apathy. Did he not regret it? “Son-” Bernie began, standing up with a gentler cadence than usual, which only riled Sonic up even more.

“I WANT DAD TO TELL ME.” He yelled, louder than he thought that he was ever capable of, directing all of it towards his father.

Jules met this with the same unmoving apathy. “Go to bed, son.” He sounded tired, and perhaps even.. Bored. He looked exhausted. Sonic’s ear twitched, looking back to his mother once again, horrified and full of rage. What was this…? He ran through his options rapidfire in his head, cold sweat pouring down his face. His uncle, his uncle.. Oh, bugger it all, he was going all-in with that confounded chipmunk girl! As far as he was concerned, hearing of his uncle here and now, was more than enough of a hint. This time, he had REALLY heard enough. There was nothing left for him here now, and he had no intention of sticking around to see this one through. His face darkened as he looked at his parents just once more, before speeding out back through the path he’d come in through, ignoring the surprised yell of his mother - he was too fast for them, nothing could make him turn back now. Damn them! Maybe he might just ‘disappear off into the night’. Out, out into the cold dusk, keeping on until he could no longer hear the shouting of his mother; not in his ears, nor in his mind. He felt as if he were in a dizzying trance, not allowing his mind to awaken enough to query that his father had not reached to stop him - just his mother, out of a sense of obligation rather than genuine affection. No, nothing. Not a thought should penetrate his quiet contemplation as he ran. Step, step, step; a rhythmic beat, his mind free from any other thought.

Sonic finally came to his senses in the centre of town, panting heavily, though he was more so mentally exhausted than he was physically. No force on earth could make him face his parents now. He looked around, starting to feel the loneliness sink in as he shivered. He realised now that he had little clue where his uncle lived. He was alone and small, in such a wide and hostile world - and nobody would care if he were to vanish.

#fanfiction #puppywrite #Scourge the Hedgehog #STH #This one has been kicking around for a year or more. Might as well put it up where people can see it XD #This one means a lot to me.#An exploration of 'what DOES make Scourge ..Scourge?' - I wanted him to start the fic as just another Sonic.#I want to explore what makes him tick. What makes a Sonic turn into a Scourge?#bah. I do more than echidnas!#.. I do also have a bunch of julie-su and remington fics. seperately that is. I have julie-su fics... and I have remington fics.#and an eli-za one but I want jenzel's eli-za stuff to shine first so you no get look in at those yet XD #not ellie-za. I mean remy's mother

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