THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY
by Brian Sapinski, Sonic Whammy
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics. (This is with the exception of my own
characters, which have created and copyrighted by me. This story also contains
quotes that are featured in the Street Fighter video games, which are therefore
copyrighted by Capcom, Inc.) Downloading and distribution of this story is
permitted and welcomed under the conditions that (1) you don't pass this off as
your own story, (2) no changes to the story are made without my expressed
written (not e-mailed) permission, and (3) no attempt is made to profit from
this story. If any of these rules are violated, it will be considered a
violation of copyright law.
Author's Note: Well, what do you know. After 2 years of reading the best
fanfiction out there, I decided to try my hand at it. I've worked really hard
at this, and I hope it's to your liking.
Before we begin, I would like to dedicate this story to two individuals
that I've lost during the making of this story. First, to my hamster, Chester.
My first and only hamster, this furry story is dedicated to another furry. And
second, to my grandfather, Michael Pasciolla. I know you're reading this now,
grandpa. I only wish I could know in person what you think of it.
Well, that's it from me for now. Comments are always welcome. If you
have them, just send them to me at SonicWhammy@aol.com.
Stay Way Past Cool!
CHAPTER 1
The Great Forest. The most pristine place on all of the planet Mobius.
For thousands of years, it has withstood the test of time. Mobius has seen many
wars throughout its history. Despite this, the Great Forest survived where
other parts of the planet were destroyed.
Even today, the forest manages to retain its calmness and tranquillity.
The flowers dance with the light wind as the sun opens them up for a new day,
while the trees reign in their tall splendor, reaching into to the sky as far
as the eye can see. All this has remained despite the efforts of the tyrant
Doctor Ivo Robotnik. His attempts to seize the entire planet with his iron fist
have failed to touch the Great Forest thanks to a group known throughout the
planet as the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Through them, the forest has endured,
and with it comes the peace and quiet the Great Forest knows today.
On this given morning, however, the silence is being broken....
In an area of the forest, a rustling sound is heard. In the shadows, a
figure is seen trying to slice his way through the foliage. He is using some
sort of branched stick of some kind in trying to clear his way past the various
branches.
Through the trees, the figure sees a clearing nearby. "Finally," he
thinks to himself, "I've found the daylight. Well, anything's better than
plowing through this. Let's see if it takes me anywhere."
The figure makes his way through the trees, continuing to slice away.
Upon reaching the clearing, he brushes himself off in the daylight. He appears
as a hedgehog, auburn in color. He is sporting a brown vest made of leather,
and the sleeves look to be torn a little. Also, in the daylight, it can be
seen. The "branched stick" that this hedgehog used was actually a sai, a
pronged fork used as a weapon in the martial arts. He is also wearing a large
backpack, attached to which is a long wooden staff, apparently another weapon
of his. It would appear from this assortment of items that he has traveled a
long way.
After the hedgehog finished dusting himself off, he proceeded to walk
along the clearing. After a couple of minutes of walking, the hedgehog came
across a strange looking tree. Looking up, he saw some sort of large wooden
platform that circled around the half of the tree facing the clearing.
"Hmm..." the hedgehog thought to himself, "must be some sort of lookout
post or clubhouse or something. Wonder if anyone's up there." He walked around
the tree and tried to get a good view of the platform. Finally, from one point,
he could see a head peeking from over the railings. "Ah, good," he thought.
"Maybe now I can find out if I'm heading in the right direction."
"Hello, up there!" the hedgehog called out. No response came back.
"Hello?" Still nothing.
"Hmm... now what?" he thought. "Guess I'll have to take the direct
approach." The hedgehog went to the side of the tree. He then took one of his
sai and stabbed it into the tree, followed by the other. Kicking his foot off a
stump, he began to climb the tree, using the sai as his handholds, piercing the
tree repeatedly as he worked his way up. When he reached the platform, he
worked sideways so he could get himself over the railing. Finally, he touched
down on the platform and pulled his sai out of the tree, returning them to the
leather belt around his waist.
On the platform, the hedgehog could now see who was in the platform. A
fox lied there. He wore a blue and red jacket that resembled a military outfit
of some kind. And he was sleeping, snoring peacefully. "Well, that explains why
he didn't hear me," the hedgehog thought.
The hedgehog called to the fox again. "Um, excuse me." No response.
"Excuse me..." he called again, a little testily this time. Still nothing.
"YO, WAKE UP!!!"
"AAAHHH!!!" The fox suddenly snapped awake with a startled scream. In
fact, he was so startled, he fell out of the tree.
"Oh, boy," the hedgehog said to himself. Quickly, he flung himself over
the railing. Giving himself a good push, he managed to touch down on the ground
ahead of the fox. He then made a dive to catch the fox before he crashed.
"Ouch!" the fox grumbled as he landed.
"Ugh... speak for yourself." The hedgehog grumbled in reply.
"AAAHHH!!!" the fox screamed again. He immediately sprang up and tried
to run away, but the hedgehog, still on the ground, grabbed him by his feet,
which sent the fox face first into the dirt again.
Picking himself up, the hedgehog went over and helped the fox back up
onto his feet. "You OK?" he asked.
"Oh my... I have such a tereeble headache," the fox groaned.
"Just be glad I was able to make the save there, or it could've been
much worse," said the hedgehog.
"Oh yes, yes, zaving my life is a very good thing. I am too young and
handsome to die," the fox said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Hmmph. Could've fooled me. Anyway, now that I've just saved your butt,
maybe you can do me a favor in return."
"Like what?" the fox said, now getting more nervous.
"I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. I am
searching for Knothole Village. Do you know which way that would be?"
"I cannot be telling you where ze Knothole Village iz," the fox
replied, suddenly standing up straight. "You must get past moi, Antoine de
Coolette, to find out zat information."
"You can't just tell me?"
"No! I will never talk!"
"OK, fine," the hedgehog said. "Normally, I'm not a violent person. But
I'm on a major quest here. So either you tell me willingly, or I'm gonna do
something I'll regret later." With that, the hedgehog drew his sai out again,
and stood in a battle stance, ready to strike.
"No, no! Wait, wait! What are you doing? You had just been zaving my
life, remember?" Antoine replied, now more nervous than ever.
"I know, which is why I don't want to have to hurt you. So will you
help me or what?"
"Yes, yes. I will be helping you," Antoine said. With that, the
hedgehog placed his sai back on his belt. Antoine breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. Thank you very much," replied the hedgehog. "Shall we be on our
way, then?"
Antoine and the hedgehog stranger walked through the clearings of the
forest for about 10 minutes. Eventually, they came to a short bridge that was
spanning a river. Looking across, the hedgehog saw a complex network of twisted
trees, roots, and other assorted foliage. Beyond them, however, he was able to
make out a couple of small buildings.
"So this is Knothole Village?" the hedgehog asked Antoine.
"Oui. Zis is ze Knothole Village that you are looking for," replied
Antoine.
"Ah, good. Well, I can see why I couldn't get to you guys. You're
blended into the forest really well," said the hedgehog. Then, taking his eye
off the village for a moment, the hedgehog spotted a pole with a string of
bells attached to it standing next to the bridge. "And what would this be for?"
he asked, reaching for the string.
"No! You must nevair be touching those bells. Zat is ze emergency alarm
for the whole village."
"Well, for me personally, this is as much of an emergency as anything."
Without another word, the hedgehog rang the bells.
Within seconds, a good-sized crowd of Mobians began to approach the
bridge. Upon getting there, they had a confused look on their faces, wondering
who this stranger was. Soon, a pair of Mobians made their way to the front of
the crowd. One was a blue hedgehog who looked like the stranger himself. The
other was a female squirrel. The squirrel approached the stranger.
"What is going on here?" the squirrel asked with a mixture of anger and
confusion. "Are you the one who rang the alarm?"
"Yes, I am."
"Who are you?"
The stranger bowed as he introduced himself. "My name is Brian
Sapinski. I have come a long way from the village of Bluebrook to find refuge
in Knothole."
"Oh, really? And just how did you find this place, Mr. Sapinski?" the
squirrel responded.
"I traveled through the Great Forest for several days in search of the
village. I would never have found it, had it not been for the assistance of
this fox here."
Antoine became a nervous wreck at that last statement. "Antoine," the
squirrel said to him, "how many times do we have to tell you that you're
supposed to PREVENT people from finding Knothole when you're on lookout?"
"I-I-I am so sorry, my princess," Antoine replied. "I bravely told him
that I would not be bringing him to ze village, but he was threatening to be
hurting me, my princess."
"Wait a second," Brian interrupted. "Did he say princess, as in
Princess Sally Acorn?"
"Yes, I am her," Sally replied.
"Oh my gosh! I-I-I'm so sorry, your majesty!" With that, Brian
immediately dropped to one knee. "I had no idea it was you. It is an honor to
be in your presence."
"It's all right, Mr. Sapinski. You may rise," Sally said. Brian stood
up.
"Thank you, princess. And now, if I may have a chance to speak with you
in the village, I can explain to you why I have come all this way."
Sally pondered for a moment. "Antoine said you threatened to hurt him
if he didn't bring you here. Is this true?"
"Yes," Brian replied. "However, he failed to mention how I saved his
life after he fell from the lookout tower. I asked him to bring me here as a
returning gesture."
Sally turned to Antoine. "Is this true, Antoine?"
"Oui, my princess."
Sally thought for a few more seconds before turning back to Brian. "All
right, I will grant your request. Come with us."
She motioned for Brian to follow. Turning around, she called off the
crowd that was still gathered at the bridge, and they left to return to their
normal lives. They then entered the village.
A few minutes later, Brian found himself sitting on a chair inside a
small wooden hut. He was alone for the moment, although he could hear the
muffled conversation of others outside the door. He sat there waiting, hoping
that he could find what he needed here in Knothole.
Moments later, the door to the hut opened, and in stepped several
Mobians, including Sally and Antoine. Brian watched them all file in and stand
before him.
Sally was the first to speak. "Now then, Mr. Sapinski--"
"Please, you can call me Brian," he said. "But it's your choice."
"Very well... Brian. We have decided to hear you out. But before we can
allow you to stay in Knothole, you must tell us why you have come here."
"I have no problem with that. First, however, would you be so kind as
to introduce me to the group? My apologies, but I'd at least like to know
everyone that I'm talking to."
Sally pondered Brian's request for a moment. "That sounds like a fair
request," she said. With that, Brian stood up as he made his way around the
room with Sally.
Starting on the left, they came to a portly walrus. "This is Rotor, our
mechanical engineer," Sally said to Brian.
"Greetings, Rotor," Brian said, bowing as he shook his hand.
"Hi there," Rotor replied shyly.
Continuing down the line, Brian stood before a rabbit. This rabbit,
despite having a left arm and both legs that appeared to be made of metal, was
stunningly beautiful. "Brian, meet Bunnie Rabbot."
Brian bowed elegantly to the rabbit, then took her normal hand and
kissed it. "A pleasure, Miss Rabbot."
Bunnie blushed at Brian's chivalry. "Likewise, sugah," she replied.
"Hmm... I sense something about you. Something I feel we have in
common."
"Really? Like what?"
"Well, let's discuss it later, if I'm around that long."
After giving a small nod to Bunnie, Brian moved on. "And I believe
you've met Antoine," Sally said.
"Yes, we have. Hello again," Brian said shaking Antoine's hand, which
was starting to shake on its own.
"Y-yes. H-hel-l-o," Antoine stuttered.
"Oh, please accept my apologies about earlier. I meant no harm to you.
Are you all right with that?"
"Y-yes, Meester Brian. Apology ees eccepted."
"Thank you, Antoine."
Finally, Sally brought Brian to a blue hedgehog about his height. "I
believe I saw you in the crowd that gathered when I first got here," Brian
remarked.
"Yes, you did, Brian," Sally replied. "This is Sonic the Hedgehog,
Knothole's greatest champion."
Upon hearing the name Sonic, Brian's eyes shot wide open. "By the
Almighty!" he exclaimed. "You're him?! You are THE Sonic Hedgehog?!"
"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out," Sonic said back.
At this, Brian brought himself to his full height, and proceeded to bow
with his hand covering his fist in front of him. "I can't believe it! This is
indeed an honor. I have grown these past few years hearing of your legendary
accomplishments, Sonic. I never thought, though, that I would live to meet you
in person."
"Thank you, thank you. You're too kind." Sonic said, giving a few
humble bows of his own.
"Part of my life these last few years has even been revolved around you
as well, Sonic, which brings me to the discussion of why I am here."
"Yes," Sally responded. "We would all like to know the reason for your
coming all this way from Bluebrook just to find us."
"And I am ready to tell my tale," Brian said. He went back to the chair
in the middle of the room and sat down. "Now, where to begin..." he said,
trying to gather his thoughts for a moment.
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