The Roles We Play, a SONIC RESURGENCE One-Shot

The Roles We Play

One-shot occurs during Chapter 28 between the three weeks of Sonic's training within Sonic RESURGENCE. For more context, check out the story on my account!

Characters: Sarah Alicia "Sally" Acorn, Gwendolyn "Wendy the White" Gaunsun

Setting: Cobalt-Hedgehog Cabin, Christmas Island

Plot: Sally deliberates what to do with her powers and finds it harder to decide, so much so that it causes her to stay up all night, reminding her that she is motherless. This causes Wendy to intervene and teach her about magic.

Cobalt-Hedgehog Cabin, Never Woods, Christmas Island

It was one-thirty o'clock in the morning and the clock still ticked away. Sally Acorn couldn't sleep. There were bags under her eyes while beads of sweat cascaded from her forehead. She was familiar with this sensation that bubbled in her chest recently. It rarely poked its ugly head during stressful situations; such as the days before making an important military maneuver or meetings with political figures with more experience than her. Right now was one of those times.

Sally was suffering from the affliction of anxiety and an existential crisis.

Of course, this has nothing to do with her identity. Sally knew who she was; princess to the Acornia Kingdom, heir to the throne of King Maximillian N. Acorn, and tactician/field leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. But when it came to her newly fledged mystical powers, well... she was a novice.

Her father had also spoken about the importance of the Source of All, its power, and the wisdom the substance held, but it never truly interested the girl at a young age. And the thought of bonding with a living ancient pool of primordial matter was less than appealing to the princess. In retrospect, she came to regret not obtaining such important knowledge, given the Source of All's connection to the Deep Power Stones.

The stone's raw power had now been absorbed into Sally, yet she couldn't even consciously wield it. Meanwhile, Amy not only knew how to use her magic without the need for her hammer but improved drastically in such a short period through practicing simple incantations.

The fiery-natured hedgehog looked sure of herself when tapping into that power and was assertive when casting spells. These qualities were things that Sally envied.

Seeing the dynamic of Wendy and Amy made Sally long for her late mentor, Julayla, and her mother, Queen Alicia Acorn neé Fay. While Rosie and Dulcy were prominent in her upbringing, they did not bear the same weight as the person who taught her battle strategy/tactics, diplomacy, and espionage, and the woman who brought her into the world and instilled into her etiquette, compassion, and morals. Those two were the foundations of her past alongside her father, King Max.

This reminder of major losses and her inability to keep up with Amy made the princess begin to question her ability to use magic like Wendy and Amy.

In her light pink nightgown, Sally sat up and looked at her hands. Ever since she placed the two Deep Power Stones together, she could still feel the influx of magical energy that coursed through her hands. The feeling of overwhelming power made her body tremble like nothing had ever done before. All of that potential, yet next to nothing was done to bring it out at will. It was just another failure to add to her list of them. Just thinking about it caused the chipmunk to clench her pawed hands while biting her bottom lip.

'...Damn it!'

Yearning for some fresh air, Sally went inside the washroom, rinsed her face off, and then put on her black crop top, matching leggings, her blue Ring-Blades, and boots before Sally took a step outside. Her room was getting too stuffy for her at the moment. Of course, she took NICOLE before she left.