Manic's Story

Chapter 4

    "What?" I asked, confused.

    "Sonic isn't dead, Manic. It's been years since the last change, but before the battle, Sonic felt a sensation. Like a tingling sensation. And he recognized it as the begin of the change from hedgehog to Werehog." Silver explained as clearly as possible.

    "I have to find him." I said. I started to get up, but Shadow shoved me back down on the bed.

    "Are you mad? You can't go out there! He'll eat you in five seconds!" he snapped.

    "I'm his brother! That night I saw him, I saw in his eyes a hint of recognition. He recognized me as his brother! There was also a look that said, 'help me'! Now get off me damn it! I have to save him!" I yelled. I hadn't realized that Tails had stepped into the door.

    "Um. Guys, uh, supper's ready." he told us quietly. "I also have to tell you something afterwards."

    We all went downstairs to eat. I coincidentally sat beside Amy. Silver was on my other side, with Shadow not far down the table. Tails sat in between Knuckles and Shadow. Chris sat across from me. I sat with my eyes closed, not really listening to the chatting going on around me.

    "Hey, Manic. What's your story?" I heard Chris ask me.

    I opened my eyes and looked at him. "I don't really have one. First, I am a....... Prince. I'm one of the princes of Mobius, one of The Council of Four, and one of the leaders of the Freedom Fighters."

    "Wow! You're a prince? Who's the others?"

    "My sister, Sonia, is the princess, and my brother, Sonic, the other prince." I replied carefully. "My mother, Queen Aleena, is the queen. We make The Council of Four. And we are the leaders of the Freedom Fighters."

    "Whoa." Chris said in awe.

    Right then I noticed that everyone else had went quiet, listening to my every word. I swallowed nervously. I had never had so much attention on me before.

    "What happened to Sonic? Why isn't he here?" Amy asked.

    "He's dead. Robotnik killed him. And Sonia, too." I replied.

    "I though he had turned into a Werehog." Chris mentioned.

    "You guys keep saying that, and you're wrong! I was there, I saw him die!" I stood up and walked out of the room.

    "Manic!" I heard Silver yell.

    I ran outside. I sprinted towards the woods, not even looking back when I heard Shadow yell my name again. I ran and ran, deeper into the woods. Finally, I came to a clearing. I was panting. I walked into the middle of the clearing and dropped to my knees. My eyes closed and I passed out.

    I awoke to find a figure looming over me. I gasped when I realized it was the Werehog. It looked at me with its emerald green eyes, and sniffed me. For some reason I recognized those green eyes. It looked like the Werehog recognized me as well.

    I stared at it, it stared at me back. Finally, it reach out to me and grabbed my arm. I gasped. It dragged me into the woods. To my surprise, it was going incredibly fast.

    Maybe....... Could it be........? I thought. No! Sonic is dead. I watched him die! I ran behind him. It lead me to another clearing, where there was a plant growing in the middle. The Werehog pointed at it.

    "What?" I said, puzzled.

    It pointed again. Then it pointed at himself. When I still looked confused, he walked over to the plant, pointed at it, pointed at himself, then made a cup shape, and made a drinking motion.

    "Oh! That plant will turn you back to normal?" I asked.

    He nodded in excitement. I had figured out what he was trying to say.

    "Manic?" a voice came from behind me. I turned to see Silver standing there.

    "Silver, go back to the house and get a cup." I told him.

    "Why?" He wondered.

    "Just do it! I'll explain when you get back!" I snapped.

    He nodded and ran back to the house.

    "Okay, how do I mush this thing up?" I thought to myself.

    The Werehog motioned at something. I looked up to see a smooth stone table. I pulled up the plant and took it over to the table. I laid it down and looked to the Werehog for directions. He pointed at a smaller stone nearby. I took it and made a motion asking if I mash the whole thing. He shook his head and gently pushed me out of the way. He took the roots and ripped them off, then stripped it of its leaves. He then laid down the stem and moved back.

    I got up to the table and started smashing the stem. He watched me over my shoulder. I kept smushing the stem, until finally the Werehog tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to stop. At the same moment, Silver burst through the trees, with Shadow hot on his tail.

    "Here." Silver handed me the cup, panting.

    I scraped the small pile of mush I had made into the cup.

    "Is this how it's supposed to be?" I asked the Werehog.

    He nodded and took the cup. He made a face of disgust, lifted the cup to his lips, and drank every last drop. Afterwards he looked at me and made a noise that I took as saying," this shit is bitter and disgusting."

    He stood there for a moment, then all of a sudden started shaking. I backed away slowly, hoping that he wasn't going to explode. Silver and Shadow did the same. The Werehog threw his head back and roared. Then, in a flash of light, he started changing. He turned from a big blue-gray beast to a small blue hedgehog. The Hedgehog dropped to his knees, and buried his head in his hands.

    I slowly walked up to him. I stopped about a yard from him. Then one of his ears twitched and he looked up at me. I stood there, frozen in shock.

    The blue hedgehog........... was my brother.