35Okay, so here's the next chapter for Run with Hope. This book should only last around one or two more chapter, most likely two. This book was more to introduce characters and ideas, which will come up more in the next few chapters.
Sonic: Just write the darn thing! You take so long!
Well, sorry! But I'm typing on a computer that isn't the greatest for it! Also, I have to deal with some driver's ed stuff, which is a pain, considering I have no where to go and I don't even have a phone to help me out if I get into some trouble, like if my car breaks down.
Sonic: Just run. (smirks)
Shut up! Anyways, review time, I guess.
IcyPinkFlower: Sorry it took me so long, I guess. I just had some trouble with this one. And, no, this is not at the village. The way I'm doing this is that the village/Tails' stories come at the end of each book, as extra chapters, sometimes with elements that intersect the main story. And thanks everything else.
MadameMirage77: Yeah, Sonic does need a hug, and he basically gets it in this one. Yay! And your ideas are very interesting, I hope you eventually post them somewhere for others to see. As for the points on cannon Sonic Boom, yeah, those things are all true. I honestly wish the writers would go more in depth about some of the plot points they make. And I will try to portray Shadow as slightly disconnected when he appears in the story, but open to working with others if it gets the job done, with him slowly opening up as time passes.
Quantum27: Yeah, I thought the voices would be an interesting idea to show the inner struggle Sonic is going though, which changes into something much bigger much later.
Lilytigerlover: First of all, thanks! Second, I do enjoy some of your ideas, though I will probably only use them mixed with my own ideas, as I do have some plans for the future chapters. I'll still give you some credit though, and you can PM me if you want to chat about any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Also, you can call me either one, or Triple G if you want, and what you said in the last paragraph will be true for the most part, but that won't happen until the last book, which is still far off.
Guest: I'm not sure about putting them in or not. I have Sonic connecting with two people who become like a family to him, and I'm not sure how I would include Sonia or Manic. I'll keep it in mind, though.
sonic vs evil: Interesting interpretation, though I am having trouble understanding it at points, but it does cover how Sonic feels at the moment. Will it change over time? Who knows? (Sonic: Hint, she does)
Theonesonicfan: Well you stay Sonically awesome too! (Sonic: Don't)
With that out of the way...
Sonic: Let's go!
I'm barely conscious when I feel something poke my ear. My hand instinctively moves up, swatting whatever it is away. Probably a bug or bird that decided to come up to me. But it returns, this time tugging at my ear. I stir more, not ready to wake, and swat the annoyance away. Finally, whatever it is grabs my ear and starts shaking it, along with the rest of my head. Unable to take it anymore, my head shoots off my pillow to find whatever decided to wake me up. My hands also shoot up, managing to grab the creature in a swift motion.
But before I take a look at whatever I caught, my jaw drops at the the area around me. I'm not in the little cave anymore, not even close.
It looks like some kind of rock stadium, or at least I think so because all around me are rock walls. There's no roof, giving view to clear blue skies. No doubt the sun would shine through when it is high enough, but that isn't now, so shadows cover everything. Built into the stone are several different rock columns and even a few tunnels, almost as if they were hand carved than formed naturally. Aside from that, there are waterfalls that lead into sparkling cleans pools and numerous fruit trees. The grass is green and soft, swaying slightly whenever a gentle breeze finds its way in, something that is way more comfortable than a dirt floor.
All in all, it's a beautiful sight to see. A regular paradise if I've ever seen one, and I've been around the world, even if it was in my youth.
However, I snap out of my musings when whatever it is in my hands struggles, trying to escape in my distracted thoughts. Looking down, I see a creature I've never seen before.
It's pretty small, about the size of a teddy bear with a round form, plus stubby arms and legs. Its head is a teardrop shape with a yellow ball somehow floating above the very top. It's primarily a sky blue color with a few bits of yellow on the ends of its feet, hands, and head. Pink is the only other color, with a pair of pink wings on its back and two pink hearts on its cheeks.
As I hold it, I notice the fearful look as it shakes in my hands, too shocked to run.
"What are you?" I ask it.
"Ch-chao! Chao chao chao chao!" It shouts in fear, "Chao cha chao chao chao!"
Well, that doesn't help me.
"Is that all you can say?"
The creature nods, still nervous. Yes, this would clearly be easy…
"Wait, is this like that one video game where you say the name of your species?"
The creature looks at me, tilting its head to the side in confusion. I facepalm, remembering I am in the middle of some unknown rock formation that I didn't go into by myself, on the middle of an island with no traces of civilization, speaking with a creature that likely never had any contact with the outside world, much less video games.
"Are you a… Chao?"
It nods.
"Okay then...Chao, why were you poking my ear? I was just sleeping."
"Chao! Cha chao chao chao chao!"
"...I have no idea what you just said. Guess this is going to turn into twenty questions."
The Chao gave me a weird look in reply.
"Of course you wouldn't know what twenty questions is," I mutter to myself before explaining. "I ask you a yes or no question and you nod for yes or shake your head for no, and hopefully we'll get somewhere."
The Chao nods.
"Okay. Were you poking my ear to play with me?" I ask.
It shakes its head.
"Were you poking me because you wanted to see if I was dangerous?"
It nods.
"Okay, understandable. Is there anyone else here who can speak like me?"
It hesitates before shaking its head. Strange, but it doesn't help me.
"There goes any hope for someone who can explain directly what's going on. Okay, do you live here?"
Nod.
"Is this still on the island with the very tall rock walls?"
It gives me another weird look before nodding.
"Does anyone come here often?"
Shake.
"Is this place special?"
A hesitation before a slow nod.
"Are there others of your kind that live here?"
Another hesitation before a nod.
"Did one of you bring me here?"
It looks at me, confused, before shaking its head.
"You don't want people coming here, don't you?"
One final nod.
"It's okay, little guy, I won't tell anyone," I tell the Chao.
"Chao!" It says angrily before looking away in a huff.
I look at it before I realise what it is mad about.
"Oh, little girl."
She calms down a little as she looks up to me, no longer as nervous as before. I let her go as she doesn't want to run anymore. She ends up floating right next to my head.
"My name is Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog," I tell her, "But… I'm not sure why I'm here. I fell asleep in a small cave on the outside of this place, I think, not in this place. I'm not here to do anything bad to you or to your kind, I swear. I was just passing through. I didn't even know what a Chao was five minutes ago."
She looks up to me, almost as if in disbelief.
"If you want me to leave, I can go. If you show me the way, that is, considering I don't know how to get out."
"Chao! Cha Chao Chao!" She says frantically, as if she doesn't want to be rude. Or maybe there haven't been that many pleasant guests, and she doesn't want to insult the first pleasant one in forever.
"Well, I guess I can stay around here… for a bit. And if you let me."
She nods, and a happy smile breaks out across her face. I gladly return it.
There's a moment of silence between us, neither one knowing what to do, before my stomach breaks it, growling loudly. The Chao laughs as my face turns bright red.
"Sorry about that," I sheepishly chuckle, "It's morning after all. I blame my high metabolism."
The Chao doesn't say anything before she grabs my hand, trying to pull me up. I went along with it, rising and letting her drag me to a nearby fruit tree. She lets go for a second, flying up into the tree and coming down with two pieces of fruit.
She hands me one, which I happily take from her, eager to sooth my hunger. I bite into it, letting the sweet juice flow into my mouth, a nice little drink in the morning. The Chao also bites into hers, letting out joyful mumbles as she does, the ball above her head somehow turning into a heart.
"Man, this is some of the best fruit I've ever had," I tell her.
"Chao!" She replies, agreeing with me.
When I'm done, I walk over to one of the waterfalls and rinse the juice from my hands and face.
"I wish I had this kind of fruit back on… the island…"
A few memories come back to me, about those times on the islands. How everyone had changed. I don't even realises I froze until I feel the Chao poking me again. I look over to see her concerned face staring at me, little eyes digging into my soul.
"It's nothing," I tell her, trying to put her at ease, "Just some old memories I haven't gotten over yet. I just need some time with them."
When that doesn't stop her gaze, I change the subject.
"Do you like playing games?" I ask.
That changes her demeanor, as she suddenly become very happy.
"Alright! Do you know how to play tag?"
She happily nods before tapping my arm, flying up into the sky.
"Chao chao!" She shouts to me.
I smirk. "You're not getting away from me that easily!"
The Chao giggles as she flies off into the air. I chase after her, starting the game.
In almost no time at all, I catch up to her, thanks to my greater speed. However, the little creature proves she's not one to be caught easily, as she flies into the air the second I'm close, way to high for me to jump after her. Clearly, I have to think a bit outside of the box. But it is no fun if I'm the only one with the advantage.
Look around, I see the stone pillars rising up from the ground. A plan forms in my head, so I waste no time in executing it. Picking up speed, I run for the Chao again, but this time I move to the side, right to one of the pillars. A little hop to the side puts me against it, and I bound off before gravity can pull me down to the floor again. The next pillar comes into reach, so I shift myself until my feet connect with the stone structure, bouncing off of it too.
This process repeats, shifting and bounding as I grow closer to her form. The Chao doesn't see me coming.
One second she's flying, the next she's falling to the ground in my arms.
I land the jump on bent knees, absorbing any shock from the fall. I release my playmate, who flies right next to me, slightly in shock. I raise up my finger, before gently jabbing her head.
"You're it."
And then I run off at an average pace, trying to give her a chance.
I hear a shout behind me, one I can tell is from the Chao and no doubt calling me out on my mischievousness. That would be if I could understand her, but the tone is enough to get the message through.
I keep up my pace, wanting to give her a chance to catch up. What I don't expect, however, is for her to suddenly pop up in front of me. I instantly hit the breaks, creating a small dust cloud as I land right in front of her. With a quick motion, she flies right into my face, hitting me on the nose as she flies back into the air.
"Chao cha!" She shouts at me.
I smile up at her, ready to chase again.
It goes on like this for what I could only guess was close to half an hour, only a tad more intense as we stop underestimating one another. The Chao would keep her eyes on me when I would come from behind, ready to dodge if I got close enough. And I had to keep an eye out when she chased, because she knew her way around. Something she used to her advantage.
After our game, we both stop and take a break by one of the trees. I honestly could keep going, limitless stamina and all that, but the Chao looks like she's about to pass out. Still, she keeps a content and happy smile on her face as she lays in my lap, and I pet her slightly, which she greatly enjoys, giving out small coos.
"That was really fun," I tell her, "I haven't had that much fun in awhile. Not since… since…"
I instantly regret bringing it up.
My hands stop moving as an old memory washes over me.
It was about a year ago that I stopped having so much fun, probably the time everything started going so badly. The time I could stop acting like a kid, the time I stopped having fun.
I had approached Tails' workshop, where he was fast at work at some sort of project. Goggles on, a welding tool in hand, a few sparks flying, it was easy to see why he was the brains of our team. I had walked over to him, calmly putting a hand on his shoulder. It didn't startle him, so he just looked over and gave me a small smile.
"Hey, Sonic!" He greeted as normal.
"Hey, buddy," I responded, "Whaddya working on?"
"Just some basic upgrades to my plane," he explained, "Always need to keep advancing, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah, you and your plane, sitting in a tree and every other joke people can make," I responded, "After you're done, want to go play?"
Tails' face turned neutral. "Sorry, Sonic, but I've got some other inventions to work on today. I don't think I'll have enough time."
"Ummm… Okay? How about tomorrow?"
"Sorry, I'm going to be out on a test flight, and when I'm done I have some computer software to work on."
"The day after?"
"Nope."
"Anytime this week?"
"Can't do it, I'm afraid."
To me, he didn't sound to afraid. He sounded neutral, almost happy at the fact his week was going to be filled up with nothing but work. Then again, for him, this was technically his playtime, even if he was stuck with machines.
"Tails, you can't just keep working forever. You got to get outside and enjoy being a kid once and while. It won't last forever."
"Well, I have work to do. We all have work to do. After all, we are the heroes of the village and we need to make sure no one gets the drop on us. I just work more with machines and I don't have much time for other stuff. Don't worry, I'm sure someone will play with you, even if it's not me. And I'll eventually have time. It'll all work out."
But it never did. As soon as I walked out of that workshop, I knew things weren't ever going to work out, even if it was just a hunch. The others wouldn't play; all of them were busy like Tails. Though I would ask, none of them would ever agree again.
Sure, we would still have games like volleyball or mindless ones where we would just do stupid stuff, but it was never the same. It was always the exception. Anytime I said something like tag or hide and seek, everyone would just question why I would want to do something so childish.
It wasn't childish to me. It was just plain simple fun, without strict rules but not complete nonsense.
I would see my friends less and less after that, generally only coming out once a week for any get together, Eggman being one of the few reasons we would stick together at all.
And it all started with the one denial…
The promise that wasn't kept…
And it was that day I heard a voice, one in the very back of my mind. A tiny whisper, but I still remember the words.
"He isn't going to be there for you anymore, so why should we be there for him?"
I snap out of my thoughts as the Chao began poking my cheek, her face painted with worry.
"Sorry," I apologize, "Just some memories coming back to me."
"Chao?" The Chao says, the ball above her head turning into a question mark.
"Don't say anything more!"
Ah, the voices return. And with them, the insanity.
"Give her a chance! She can't do anything to you, or give the information to anyone we know."
"Why should we put any trust in her?"
"If anything, for ourselves. We can't just let this burden us for days, months, maybe even years on end. Let our feelings out so we can at least lose some of the stress they bring us."
"But-"
"We don't have to say everything. We don't need to follow an extreme."
The harsher voice beaten, I decide to follow along with the softer voice. After all, she can't even tell anyone else if all she says is her species name. My words will be kept a secret, whether she wants them to be or not.
"It was just an old memory about someone I saw as a little brother," I explain, "We used to play all the time a few years back, but one day we stopped all together. See, he was good with machines, despite being self taught, and he worked on making different inventions and testing them out, which is why he stopped playing. He promised me we would play eventually, but we never did. He buried himself in work and made it so I only would see him a few times, and most of that was when he was showing me his inventions."
"Chao Cha Chao?" The Chao says, making a few gestures that I try to put together.
"You want to know what happened between us?"
She nods.
"Well, uh, I kinda left the island we lived on, without telling anybody because I didn't want to be forced to stay. No one was kind to me or treated me with respect, no matter how much I did for them. I don't even think anyone knows I'm gone yet, even though it's been a week, or if they did they probably thought I was kidnapped. Still, I worry that someone from that island will find me and take me back, forcing me to remain there like a prisoner, just like I did to myself because of their false friendships."
My head falls as I feel a part of my emotional dam breaking, letting lose some of the opinions I don't want anyone else to hearing.
"Honestly, I wouldn't go back unless I absolutely had to, and even then it would be a slim chance," the words start flowing from my mouth in waves, "I saved them all the time, and they hardly ever gave me any respect or even simple kindness. Even when I tried to show them how much they needed me, it felt like I was being tricked into helping them afterwards. I wanted to be the hero and help others, I really did, and maybe I still do, but I never could be the hero in their eyes. Almost everyone there would go for the biggest craze or the person who looked the best, even though I helped them all the time. I tried manning up to the challenge, and everyone left me in the dirt no matter how hard I tried."
I let my voice drop, the intensity being sweeped away.
"But sometimes, I really wish I had someone to play with more often. I wish I didn't have to put such a focus on being this big time hero that I could play with others, and enjoy my youth. But I felt like everyone would make fun of me if they saw the supposed mature hero playing games like a child. Maybe that's the real reason I left. No one was truly my friend, and I couldn't stand it. Even though I can stand being alone, I still get lonely when there is no one at all. I just want to be free and happy, but sometimes it seems like I can't do that."
A weight fell on my arm, and I look to see the Chao on me with misty eyes.
"It's okay," I tell her as I pull her into my arms, "Like I said, I left and I'm not going back. I'm sure I can find someone who's nicer on some other island, or maybe the mainland. Don't worry a thing about me."
The Chao still cries, crying for me and the suffering in my past. It's a nice feeling, in a way, to know she cares, at least somewhat. Even if my story isn't completely heartbreaking, seeing as there is worse pain anyone can go through, she still weeps for me.
"It's a trick!"
"Shut up and let us have peace for a moment!"
I mentally tune out the voices. Whether this is a trick or not, I like the feeling and I want to enjoy it without my mind arguing about whether or not it's real or fake, because it's at least something. The kindness I have been searching for, have I finally found it in this creature I have never seen before?
Suddenly, I feel something on my arm, and it isn't my Chao, as she is still in my arms. I turn to see… another one? It's almost exactly the same as the first, the only difference being that it has crescent moons on its face instead of hearts.
"Is this one of your friends?" I ask the first Chao.
Before she can answer, I feel something on my leg. Looking down it's another Chao! This one doesn't have anything on its cheeks. Instead, a large star decorates its belly.
I don't even have a chance to say anything before more Chao come in, at least two dozen give or take a few. All of them have one extra detail about them that sets them apart, a little extra design that gives them some personality.
All of them surround me, but not in a way that's suffocating. It's… pleasant.
And for the first time in months, I don't feel so alone anymore.
That's a wrap!
Sonic: Now, don't take forever on the next chapter!
I know I could say that I will get it out faster because next chapter is where some cool things are going to happen, which they are, but I'm not going to because I'll probably run into something that will slow my process down.
Sonic: If you do not, Chaos so help me, I will drag you to your computer and make you write!
Yeah... but you can't follow me outside this room. And I'll probably find a way to do something else.
Sonic: You're impossible.
Yeah... I know.
To all my readers, watchers, and reviewers, Stay Golden!
