Tumbleweed

Disclaimer: Sonic the hedgehog and all related characters © SEGA/Sonic Team. This version of young Sonic is of my own concept, loosely originated from the version of Sonic depicted in issue 8 of Sonic the Comic (UK version). Characters not seen in games are also mine.

Author's Note: I had an urge to write more about my younger version of Sonic, before he obtained his speed. Naturally I couldn't put too much emphasis on this childhood in Blue Star, since that fic is mostly about the games 1, 2, 3S&K. So I'm giving it its own story, which will hopefully still be interesting without giant robots and dictator-wannabes. It's another challenge I've set myself, so I hope it shall teach me some more writing skills.

Please note that this will be worked on at the same time as Blue Star.

So please read and review, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Part 1: A Star is Born

In the history of Mobius, there has been many a mention of a legendary blue hedgehog; a prophecy which has yet to come true. A young hedgehog will one day fulfil this quota, but before he gets there, he has to make it through his childhood.

In addition to the blue hedgehog legend, there are, of course, countless others. Some of the most well known are the ones least believed. Such as the legends of the Chaos Emeralds; the rainbow gemstones that fell from the heavens, and the legends of the Blue Star.

But deep within the hearts of Mobians, they still feel the connection to the legends. They don't risk contradicting advice from them, in general, even if they do claim to disbelieve them. After all, it's a natural instinct to avoid potential danger. And some of these legends can often prove to be incredibly dangerous.

The Chaos Emeralds are powerful gemstones that, when gathered together, can grant the possessor's every whim. They can be used for good, but more likely, are used for evil purposes. So whilst a natural fascination about them remains, nobody actively searches for them. Apparently they fell from a rainbow one day, and are in reality scales from a gargantuan dragon.

The Blue Star is a shining beacon in the heavens that bathes the planet in an otherworldly blue glow. It's reputed to be incredibly bad luck to be caught in its light, and one legend claims it to be a sign of heavens warring, whilst another tells that it created a killer fog from what used to have been a highly advanced city. It can cause increasing misfortune on a person, bringing illness, injury, and even death, the time-frame of which varies between individuals.

These are just a few of the legends that Mobians hold. As with most sentient beings, there are a range of cultures and beliefs, some of which overlap, some of which couldn't be further from one another. There are many different races, ranging from Humans to Hedgehogs, from Foxes to Felines, Avians to Armadillos, and many many more.

The sentient races refer to themselves by their species, whilst they give the less evolved animals of the world pre-names depicting the environment that they live in. Terras are predominantly land-based animals, Aquas are aquatic ones, Altans are flying ones. Dracos are animals such as dragons or phoenixes, Inseus are insects, and Chimeras are mutant species or cross-breeds. The term 'Chimera' is also used as a derogatory term for sentient cross-breeds.

The planet Mobius itself is separated into regions known as Zones. These are often widely contrasting areas, both in environment and in size. Some Zones contain merely thirty to forty square miles of land, whilst others contain up to or over three or four hundred square miles. In a few select Zones around the world, there are Cities. The Cities are where the Humans predominantly live and work, whilst the other species tend to prefer living in the Zone Villages. Of course, it's all a matter of personal taste.

The geography of Mobius consists of three main continents, along with hundreds of smaller islands, most of which don't have names. On island which does possess a name, however, is the semi-tropical South Island. Which is where the Blue Star was going to shine one night.

On this night, a female hedgehog had staggered into the main hospital on this island, situated between the Emerald Hill Zone and the Green Hill Zone.

She'd given birth on a Blue Star night, an event unheard of in the history of Mobius.

She'd died from extreme blood-loss, holding her child close. She had demanded that they didn't help her. It was the unusual, fully developed quills of the child that had torn her up.

She'd never said her name.

There had been an assortment of curious, yet unfortunately superstitious doctors and nurses nearby, all unwilling to help because she'd wanted the light from the Star to shine on her and her child. But her death had left him alone. Yet no one in the room would suggest anything to help. No one, that is, except for a panther.

Her name was Karen Spiritpaw, and she'd gone over to close the light out so the others present would stop complaining. She'd been worrying for the child through the whole ordeal, whilst the others had merely been worrying for themselves. So she took the child herself. The others had told her not to, that he'd bring the curse upon her too, but she had claimed that she could not work with superstitious fools.

She'd left with the child, and decided to make him part of her family. She gave him a name on her way home, after the brown ball of quills had looked up at a passing aircraft...

A legend tells of a blue hedgehog that will save the world from countless perils.

And the hedgehog's name...

Is Sonic.

-TBC-