Shooting Star (A Sonic Movie Fanfic: Book 1 of the Real World Chronicles)

Ch. 1: Great Power, Great Responsibility

You see, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ...

Hahaha — sorry. I'm definitely NOT going there on that intro. Couldn't help myself. But it does kind of go that way.

Anyway, it was indeed a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. On a planet similar to Earth, there stood a quaint tropical island in the middle of a vast, crystal blue ocean. "Friends" by Hyper Potion I'd say would give it a nice vibe.

"This is the island where I'm from."

A small blue bolt zoomed along the coastlines, making a sea arch crumble due to massive force.

"It had everything: sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls —"

And even —!

"Public access to loop-de-loops!"  We both exclaimed in unison. He definitely recalled running through a perfect 360° ramp that was actually built by the terrain itself.

"And I never had to catch a school bus because I could run across the entire island in less than two seconds."

The young hedgehog seemed to be enjoying the time of his life, running freely through the plains.

"Also, there was no school."

He then curled up into a ball and accelerated through a couple of tunnels.

"I know! Pretty sweet island, right?"

He zoomed up a ramp, yelled a cute little "Yeah!", while doing an air trick, then came back down in a perfect landing. The little hedgehog quickly bounced off the sides of the canyon, giggling, before making his way over a long bridge next to a tall waterfall, the gushing gallons of water spilling into the river below.

"I was born with extraordinary powers and was told to keep them secret."

He ran up a couple more bridges, careful not to fall off the spires holding up the gazebos nestled in the rainforest.

"And like any kid, I did the exact opposite."

Trust me, man. I may not be that big of a rebel, but believe me, I know how hard it is to keep your innermost spirit and talents hidden.

The little hedgehog came to the last spire where there stood a beehive-like domed house. The door was wide open, so he just let himself in. Playfully, the young hedgehog curled up in a ball, then rolly-pollied his way up to a sleeping owl, bouncing off of her and surprising her.

"That's Longclaw. She took care of me."

The young hedgehog landed on the floor uncoiled, laughing at himself. The owl guardian was about as tall as your average human adult, bearing golden warrior breastplates across her chest. She had deep jade eyes and striped warm brown feathers.

"She was basically Obi-wan Kenobi. ... if Obi-wan Kenobi had a beak and ate mice."

Startled by the surprise attack, she looked out the open doorway, then down to find her only pupil giggling nonstop. Longclaw could only sigh.

"Sonic," she reminded him worryingly. "Someone could've seen you."

Getting back up, Sonic, for that was his name, daringly assured her, "No one saw me. I'm too fast!" He swiftly pattered his feet on the ground to prove his point. "And, I wanted to bring you this."

He pulled a sunflower out of his spines and showed it to her. Longclaw cooed at his adorable little gesture and proceeded to take it, for saved memories.

But she hesitated when she saw painted figures in the trees out the door, bows drawn right at her pupil.

"Get down!" She cried out. Longclaw tackled Sonic onto the floor, grabbing him, while slamming the front door with her foot, saving them from the first wave of arrows.

Windows broke as their attackers ambushed the house. Sonic saw his gift to Longclaw lying on the floor, only to be pinned down by an arrow.

"Turns out with great powers, comes great power-hungry bad guys. And I led them right to us."

The two watched in horror as the tribe of echidnas surrounded them through the windows. Sonic let out a small gasp not to be heard when he saw one tribe member armed with a spear in one window, while in another, broke out an empty sack big enough to fit a small child in. He assumed that the sack was meant for him.

But Longclaw continued to hold Sonic tightly under her wings like a little baby. She wasn't taking any chances. But then she saw that the tribe left an opening in their circle.

Just when they were about to seize their prize, glass shattered as Longclaw flew out the back window and took to the skies with Sonic secure in her talons. She did her best to dodge the arrows that were zooming through the air.

However, the tribe's leader, Chief Pachacamac, bless his lucky shot, landed his arrow right under Longclaw's wing. She and Sonic were struck out of the sky; Longclaw was only able to keep Sonic under her wings as she broke their fall and plummeted onto the forest floor.

"Listen carefully, Sonic," she told her worried pupil, as she set him back on his feet. "You have a power unlike anything I've ever seen. And that means someone will always want it. The only way to stay safe is to stay hidden." Sonic looked down, feeling guilty. 'This is all my fault,' he thought.

Without hesitation, Longclaw took a golden ring out of a satchel she kept on her at all times and threw it, opening a portal to an unknown forest at night.

"This world is on the far side of the universe," she explained. "You should be safe there."

"I don't wanna go without you!" Sonic protested.

"You must," Longclaw insisted. She quickly tied up the strings to secure the satchel before giving it to him. "These rings will be your most important possession ."

She gasped as she looked off to see the echidna tribe, fast approaching. She turned her gaze off to focus on Sonic.

"If you are ever discovered, use one," Longclaw explained, gently nudging Sonic towards the portal. "Never. Stop. Running. Now go!"

Sonic scurried off through the portal, but looked back to see Longclaw on the other side. Her wings were stretched out, ready to defend the portal, as the echidnas let out a huge war cry and raced toward their target.

"Longclaw!" Sonic cried out, dropping his satchel. He immediately raced back, only to find Longclaw looking back through the closing portal with bittersweet eyes.

"Goodbye, Sonic," she bid.

"No!" He yelled. But the portal already dissolved when he let out another, "Nooo!". He came to a halt, panting nervously, realizing he was all alone.