Wrong or Right

DISCLAIMER: Sonic and I have an unhealthy relationship. I swear at him a lot, and he jumps off cliffs to tick me off. We stick together, however, because he kept me interested in comic books as a kid, and I still make the mistake of watching Sonic Underground on occasion. Here is my tribute to that.

Fragment 1 – What was Seen

"Oracle! Oracle, you must help me!"

He didn't turn from his work, focussed on shredding the leaves exactly – a mistake here could change everything. "Come in, my child. Sit, and be heard."

Aleena rarely looked flustered, even when frantic and running. She was always the picture of elegance, with calm eyes that showed only hints of what she was feeling. It was a by-product of her mysticism combined with her regal bearing, which made her an excellent poker player. As she sat down, and he glanced at her for a moment, it was only her voice and slightly wide eyes that hinted how panicked she really was.

"Oracle, I have had a vision. You must help me understand it."

"Certainly, your highness. Explain," he said, flicking a hand at her before returning to his shredding.

"There was… there was a boy. A hedgehog boy. With golden fur like the sun, and I do mean like the sun. He glowed with inner fire. And his eyes… they were red as flame. It was terrifying…"

"Hmm." The Oracle set down his knife and went to check on a small cauldron, bubbling over a smaller fire.

"He was flying, but it seemed less like flying and more like the world itself was simply below him. And the world… the world had been torn apart by a torrent of water and destruction, and the boy stared down at it with such satisfaction. He was responsible for it, I am certain. Such devastation… Oracle, you must help me. Who is this hedgehog? How can I stop him?"

"You cannot," he said, adding the shredded leaves to the bubbling water as he removed it from the flame. "I have had this vision myself, and it is not something that can be avoided. The destruction will occur. All you may do is ensure it is not wreaked upon Mobius."

"Mobius? You mean the world I saw –"

"The city you saw destroyed is called Station Square, and it exists at the very centre of the human territories," he said calmly. He poured his concoction into two smaller bowls, and then handed one to Aleena. "Tea?"

"T- Oracle! This is no time for such frivolities. How might I ensure my people's safety?"

"Calm yourself, my child. You vision shall not come to pass for seventeen years. The hedgehog hog boy you saw does not yet exist as more than a twinkle in your husband's eye."

"In my… no… No! That boy, he… he cannot be my son?"

The Oracle simply inclined his head to take a long sip of tea, giving her a moment to process the information before he spoke again. "Your blood contains great power, as yet unmeasured. Your son is destined for greatness, the like of which has yet to be seen by this world, and likely will not be seen again. How that power is used has yet to be decided."

"Then… then I can stop it. I can ensure his power is used in ways for good."

"Hmm," he said again, lowering his head over his tea.

Aleena set her shoulders, a small smile appearing. "If the destruction must occur, better it happen to the humans. I shall raise him to respect our people, and our lands. He will be a fine king."

The Oracle didn't even respond with a hum, though he smiled into his cup. Aleena lifted her own with a firm nod, and began fantasising about the power her people would wield.

He was visiting the palace the next time she had a vision, and found her bent over the piano she loved to play, her fingers laced in front of her lips.

"Tell me of your dream, my child," he said gently, sitting down beside her.

She didn't answer for several moments, taking a deep, steadying breath before asking, "What colour shall my child be?"

He glanced at her, then smiled. "Many, my queen. Your son's fur will see many colours over his lifetime. It is a symptom of the great power we spoke of. His eyes, too, shall change."

"I thought as much. I saw him again; the boy with the red eyes. This time his fur was black, and he stood on a burning city, wielding guns and calling for destruction." She raised her hands to cover her eyes. "Oh, Oracle, what could I have possibly done to cause such anger?"

He paused, considering how best to phrase it without actually telling her anything. "Perhaps, my queen, it is not you, but the actions of others. You have never seen yourself in these dreams. That boy's anger is not directed at you."

"Still… this power… it must be stopped. On humankind or no, such power should not be unleashed in such a way." She lifted her head, her fists clenching on the piano case. "I shall find a way to stop it."

The Oracle just stood up and walked away, mostly so she couldn't see him roll his eyes.

Much to the Oracle's rather cynical amusement, Aleena spent much of her time over the next few months researching ways to drain power. The only thing she refused to consider was asking the humans for help – she had always been bigoted against them and it seemed even seeing their 'destruction' had not changed her mind.

"But perhaps in this one special case, my queen," her husband said hopefully, holding out a folder that she refused to see. "Doctor Robotnik is supposed to be one of the leading scientists in harnessing energy. He's even considered something of an outcast among the humans, because he has theories on harnessing energy from people."

"You do not fool me," she said coolly. "You only wish for me to seek his aid so that we might get on with the business of producing an heir."

"I will not deny it has its appeal," he quipped, then rolled her eyes at her scoff and stepped around her to meet her gaze again. "Aleena."

That caught her attention. Although Aleena quite liked her husband—when she wasn't angry at life in general, anyway—their marriage had been political. They were friends, at best, and he more often called her 'my queen' than by name.

"I accept our marriage is what it is, to you," he said quietly, reaching out to hold her hands. "But I am loyal to my queen, and what upsets her causes me pain. I do not wish to see you so worried about a future that does not have to be. Allow me to go out and find this Robotnik. At least speak to him. Surely he can at least point you in the right direction."

"I will not admit a human to my court," she said, and yanked her hands away. "This is a Mobian problem, and will be solved by Mobians. Excuse me, my love."

He sighed as she stalked past him, and looked over to where the Oracle was focussed on his crystal ball. "Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?"

"It will not last much longer," the Oracle replied, and he snorted.

"Her mood or my life?" he asked dryly, and followed his wife out of the room.

Aleena's refusal lasted until she woke up screaming a month later, and sobbed into her husband's arms that she had seen their child turn into a horrible wolf-creature. If they allowed his energy to go unchecked, and then be drained from him, he would be transformed by the light of the moon into a monster.

"I cannot," she murmured into her husband's quills. "I cannot allow my son to go through such pain. No matter how angry or dangerous he may be. I cannot!"

"Shh, my queen, all shall be well," he whispered.

"No… no, not unless we seek help. We must… we must go to the humans. The human you mentioned. We must find him." She pulled back to look at him. "We must save our son. And the world."

He paused, staring at her for a long moment, and then gently leaned forward to kiss her. "I understand, my queen. I shall go at once."

"No… no, not at once," she breathed, and kissed him back. "You have been so very patient with me… but I ask you be patient for another few hours at least."

He just chuckled ruefully and allowed her to push him down against the mattress.

Riding the fastest motorbike the palace had to offer, he left the next morning, and Aleena waved him goodbye from her place beside the Oracle.

"He is a good man," she said quietly, as he passed out of sight. "When he returns, I shall make a point to get to know him better. I shall love my husband as he deserves."

"Which is a great deal," the Oracle said quietly, and turned to head back into the palace.

As he knew would happen, four weeks passed, and Aleena's husband never returned. She developed morning sickness and groaned, muttering that she supposed it only proper for a queen to swell with child while her husband adventured. Another three weeks followed, and still he never came back.

Though on the fourth, a human arrived at court and bowed low. "Your highness; the beautiful Queen Aleena, I presume?"

"I am," she said coolly, sitting back in her throne. "And you, sir?"

"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik. I was told you were seeking my assistance," he said, and Aleena blinked.

"You were? By who? Where is the one who told you?"

"Gone, your highness," he said, eyebrows raised in the very picture of innocence. "He delivered his message and then told me he planned to travel the world. See it for what it truly was. He said he had no life to return to here…"

Aleena just stared at him for a long minute, and the Oracle closed his eyes beneath his cloak. Not even he had seen everything there was to know in life, but he knew the man Robotnik was beneath his smile and charm. The Queen's husband had been a very good, brave man. The Oracle didn't doubt his life would have made a difference in the coming days.

"I see," Aleena said finally, before she stood up and moved down the steps from her throne. "Doctor Robotnik, I do indeed need your aid. I am told you have knowledge of power. Harnessing it, to be precise."

"Yes, the adventurer told me of your plight," he said, eyeing her delicately. "Are you… with child?"

"I am. And so our work must begin immediately, if it is to be done," she said, and held out a hand. "Do I have your assistance? You will be handsomely rewarded."

"Oh, I would not doubt it, my queen," he said, and bowed again, lifting her hand to kiss it. "I would not doubt it a moment."

The gem was beautiful, in its own way. Like silver, but made of glass, or perhaps the other way around. The Oracle turned it over, letting it slip through his long fingers just to see the way it fell before his other hand caught it. He was reluctant to call it falling, within his own mind; it seemed more like it floated very quickly. He could feel its power, brushing against his own, but they were separate entities – neither could touch the other, which was the only reason he didn't throw it into the fire right then.

Instead, he looked up at Robotnik in silent question.

"Ah – the Anarchy Beryl, yes," the human explained, drawing himself up again as he so often did when being condescending. "A natural by-product of the mineral commonly known as Chaos Emerald. There are theories that suggest it originally encased the emeralds, underground, until someone or other split the beryl open in search of the emeralds."

"What does it do?" asked Aleena, taking the emerald and turning it over herself. She too dropped it, though she seemed thrilled by the graceful way it moved through the air.

"It manipulates Chaos Energy – confines and controls it, one might say," he said, and took a few steps away only to peer over his shoulder. Pompous fool, the Oracle thought, before Robotnik continued. "It stores chaos energy and releases it in controlled bursts – bursts which themselves can be controlled… with the proper applied science, of course."

"Applied science?" the Oracle repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. All very complicated and very scientific… I'm sure it wouldn't be of any interest to you, my friend."

"I'm sure," he deadpanned, but it went unnoticed by Aleena and ignored by Robotnik.

Aleena considered the beryl for a moment, and then placed it back on its pedestal. "Fascinating as it is, I fear I do not understand how this might help us."

"Oh, my queen, it is only the solution to your problem!" he cried, turning around again with arms spread in triumph. "From what you have told me of your visions, I believe your son is a creature of Chaos. Quite powerful, but ultimately destructive, I'm afraid. Unless that power is contained by something like the Anarchy Beryl."

"You think this stone could do that?"

"Oh, yes… the energy would be released in small, controlled bursts, and, if properly managed, lessened a great deal." He stepped forward again, his hands clasped in front of him. "And, if the rumours I hear are true… you are expecting triplets?"

"Yes," she said, placing a hand over her swollen abdomen. "But I believe only one shall have the power to destroy cities alone."

"Ah, you miss my point, your highness. I believe that with the proper applied science, we can spread the one child's power across all three triplets," he said. "All that would need occur is for all three to act as one, and to remain touching the beryl."

"Is that kind of thing possible with mystic energy?" she asked the Oracle, who frowned.

"Certainly… though it's hardly something I'd enjoy if it were mine. The drain alone… not to mention that Robotnik has already stated that the power would be diminished by being filtered through the beryl to begin with…"

"Still… it does seem effective. Tell me, Doctor, would there be any side-effects?"

He blinked innocently. "Side-effects, your highness? Why, certainly you can only expect there to be a few minor, insignificant side-effects. As our dear Oracle pointed out, a great deal of power would be lost in the transition. And, of course, given that we are dealing with a creature of Chaos, his personality might be ever so slightly altered," he said, but hurried to point out, "But in this case I can only imagine it to be a positive. We are making things much more stable, after all."

Not for the first time since Robotnik's arrival in the palace, the Oracle quashed the urge to sneer, and reminded himself that it would surely all work out in the end.

That night, Aleena didn't tell Oracle of her dream, though she told her handmaidens and that meant everyone else heard about it too.

"It's so sweet!" they kept saying, before delving into the details. "The Queen will have three beautiful children; two boys and a girl. Their leader will be good, and sweet, and so handsome…"

The Oracle didn't bother listening to the romanticised version – he'd had his own visions of the queen's children, and could guess which of them would really come to pass. But he heard it anyway.

Manic, the youngest but also the leader, who would rule Mobius as one of the people. Who loved his people. A grand king like the ones from legend.

Sonia, the diplomat, the politician. She would stand at her brother's side and advise him. She would deal with the aristocrats and the humans, always doing what was best for Manic.

And then, the romantic story Aleena told everyone except when the Oracle pointedly asked… Sonic, the sword. The oldest, who was so protective of his siblings he became a soldier, and learned to lead armies to defend their great kingdom.

But when the Oracle asked…

"I don't know how much the Anarchy Beryl will do for him, my friend," she said quietly, staring down at Robotnik as he strode across the courtyard with a group of whispering aristocrats. "All my visions ever show of him is violence… his fur coated in something slick and dark. And he laughs… oh, how he laughs over the destruction he causes."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Perhaps science and mystic stones can only take us so far. The love of a mother, of siblings… these things can do far more."

"You believe so?"

"I do not believe your son—either of them, but particularly the one of Chaos—is destined for evil, my child," he said, and let her see the confidence in his eyes.

She gazed at him silently for a few moments, then smiled and nodded. "You have a point, my old friend. Then it is decided. I shall love my children, and show them the way. I will build them monuments to love, and kindness, and my children will grow well."

"Indeed, Aleena."

He didn't see or know everything in life, but this was something he would bet the kingdom on.

The medallions were beautiful, though Robotnik seemed confused when he handed them over. "They took shape themselves. I was actually trying to make them into symbols, but they became—"

"Instruments!" Aleena cried, holding them up happily. "How perfect! Music can make sense of the darkest of emotions – it is only proper that it should deliver us from chaos!"

"I… see… of course, your highness…"

"Oh, good doctor, you have done marvels for us," she said, touching his arm. "I hope you will forgive me for ever being unkind to humans in the past. Truly, I was blinded irrationally. Tell me, is there anything I can do for you now?"

"You have already been so good to me, your highness," he said, tilting his head back. "I could only ever ask to continue living as I have, these past few months. I do so enjoy the company of the court… especially the aristocrats. They have many interesting… foibles I enjoy."

"But of course! You will always be welcome in my palace. Consider it your home from now on."

He chuckled as he bowed, and the Oracle made his decision. He would not wait here to see his city fall.

And fall it did. Spectacularly.

Robotnik made use of his time at court, especially after the triplets' birth. He spoke to the aristocrats, planted ideas in their heads about Aleena's priorities, and the fact that her husband left her. He borrowed and stole money to build grand machines he refused to explain until they were finished, and which apparently they never were.

The days before the revolution, Aleena sensed what was coming and ran to the Oracle's hermitage with her children, demanding to know what he had Seen.

He told her.

"Oh, Sonic," she whispered, crouching over his basket. "I spent so long preparing to face you, I forgot about the rest of the world. So little trust. So little faith. No surprise you would grow up so dangerously."

She decided, on the Oracle's advice, to separate the three children. Then, when the revolution came, not only would the children be safe, but it would make it much easier for Aleena to get out, herself.

"I will give them homes appropriate of who they will become," she said, nodding thoughtfully. "Sonic shall go to a labouring couple – a pair who will raise him with strong values of home, and hard work. Manic will become one of the middle class, who value family, love, and understand the balance between work and play. Sonia shall join the aristocrats and learn the ways of court, and politics. And I… when the revolution comes, I shall go where I belong. To the sewers, and the inevitable resistance. I shall reclaim my throne through blood and tears. I will be deserving of my people."

The Oracle said nothing. He knew how this played out.

Four years later, Aleena walked alongside a Resistance inventor by the name of Charles. For a long time after she'd first met him, she had only been able to stare at him, perplexed, wondering where she had seen him before. He looked familiar.

But she never did place him.

"Now, we call this place a safe house, but it ain't; not really," Charles said with a shrug. "It's owned by Red and Amber Rat. Two've the nicest folks you'll ever meet. They take in strays for a few weeks, set 'em back on their feet. But they work on the 'don't ask, don't tell' principle. They don't know anything about the Resistance, or what the people that come stay with them do for a living. Just that they're friends of mine and I'm an old friend of Red's."

She frowned as the house came into view.

She had seen this house before.

Her frown deepened, eyes widening as she caught sight of the little boy doing cartwheels in front of the house. A little blue hedgehog boy, who can't have been more than five years old.

"Oh, no…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that's their boy, Sonic. Nice kid, but probably a little brash for you, y'highness, no offence," Charles said, as the boy noticed them and stopped his tumbling.

"Uncle Chuck!" he cried, waving high above his head. "Uncle Chuck, come see what I learned how to do!"

"I'll be there in just a sec', Sonny! Gotta introduce this nice lady to your folks!"

Sonic's arm slowly lowered as he was forced to focus on her. His broad smile faded slightly, his brow furrowing, before he shrugged and turned away. "Okay, but come out straight after, okay?"

"Huh," Charles said thoughtfully, as they continued on to the front door. "That's not like him. Usually he'd be runnin' over here to show off for the stranger. Must be in trouble with his folks."

"Perhaps," she agreed quietly, still staring after her son. He was adorable – all big eyes and feet. It hardly fit the furious image she'd seen in her visions so long ago.

That afternoon, when Sonic was dragged inside the house with Charles, both blue hedgehogs now covered in mud and sharing cheeky grins, Aleena knelt down in front of him with a tentative smile.

"Hello, Sonic. My name is Ally. I hope you will welcome me as your parents have."

He just gazed at her for a long moment, shuffling his feet, before he looked up at his parents.

"Sonic? What's wrong, son?" asked Red, but Sonic quickly looked down again.

"She's like me," he said, eyes flicking up again before resettling on his shoes.

"Well, yes, Sonny-boy, there are actually a lot of hedgehogs running around the place, y'know," Charles teased gently, and Sonic shook his head.

"No, I mean… um…"

Aleena inwardly blanched, terrified that he might recognise her somehow, and quickly reached out to finger the medallion around his neck. "This is a very pretty necklace, Sonic. Did your daddy give this to you?"

"No. I came with it," he said, and then blinked and straightened up, pulling a grin onto his face. "It was a gift without purchase!"

"Sonic, you know I hate it when you say that," Amber warned, even as Red snorted.

"My mother and father always say I was given to them by the angels," he said, ignoring Amber by giving the shocked Aleena an arrogant smirk. "But I know the truth. They stole me. From Uncle Chuck and his wife that I've never met because he doesn't have one."

"Sonic!" Amber cried, but Red was snickering now, and Charles had covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking.

"I was made in Uncle Chuck's workshop. That's why I can run real fast! And Mother thought I was so cool that she decided to steal me! And Father said Uncle Chuck couldn't steal me back or he'd eat Uncle Chuck. Because that's what rats do, to hedgehogs they don't like, they eat them. You should be careful, lady."

"Your hi- I mean, Ally, I am so very sorry," Amber said, snatching Sonic's shoulders and yanking him away. Again, the gesture was completely ruined by Red's loud laughter and Charles' hidden giggles. Amber glared at them both and shoved Sonic behind her skirts as she stared at Aleena apologetically. "He always does things like this. He's just showing off. I'm really, very sorry."

Then she turned to glare at Sonic. "You are so very grounded, young man. No revving for a week!"

"What? No way!"

"Yes way, now go upstairs and wash up for dinner! You're a disgrace!"

"At least I don't steal."

"Sonic!"

"Or threaten to eat people, Father!"

Red's laughter doubled for a moment, but Amber just pointed at the stairs. "Be careful or I'll turn you into dinner! Now go!"

He rolled his eyes, but then disappeared in a blur of blue and red that made Aleena gasp. Red smiled proudly. "Yeah, he's quite the unique boy. Been able to run like that since the day we found him on our doorstep. Heaven bless the little freakazoid."

"Red!" Amber wailed, gesturing to Aleena. "You can't use words like that in front of… company!"

"No, no… it's… it's alright," she said distantly.

"Oh… well, still, Red, you can't encourage him when he says that sort of thing! He only thinks he's funny if you laugh at him!"

"To be fair," Charles interjected, "it really was funny."

"Chuck, I swear…!"

Charles left after dinner, by which time Amber had finally stopped stepping on eggshells around Aleena. In the back of the mind, Aleena wondered how Amber would like to know the boy she had adopted was crown prince by birthright.

However it was, the family settled in for the night, moving around Aleena as if she were an old friend of the family and nothing unusual. Amber pulled out some sewing, while Red sat on the floor with Sonic, teaching him how to whittle.

"Is that not dangerous for one so young?" Aleena asked Amber quietly, but she just shrugged.

"I would normally say yes, but Sonic needs practical hobbies to keep his mind occupied. Toys and books only last so long, but a hobby like whittling… And I trust both him and Red to do it safely. If you tell Sonic how dangerous something is, he listens and takes it seriously." She smiled, lifting her sewing. "When he has the patience, I'm going to teach him sewing. He's becoming quite the help in the kitchen."

"Really… a boy…?"

"We don't stick to such roles out here in the woods," she said simply. "In our house, it is only what it is because Red is stronger, to chop wood, and I have a better hand for delicate work. Sonic is growing up to have both."

Aleena glanced over at her son, who so far had managed to whittle a stake. He looked incredibly proud of it.

"He is a good boy, then?"

"Oh yes. My gift from the Heavens," Amber murmured, and smiled when Aleena looked at her again. "Red and I… my genes won't allow me to breed with a rat, you see. Some silly deformity in my genetic makeup, reaching back through the generations. We'd just found out, when one night Red opened the door and there Sonic was, all wrapped up in a basket with his medallion and a note telling us his name. Like it was meant to be."

"And your… visitors?" she prompted. "He has not begun to follow them?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "He's barely five. He mostly thinks they're here to play with him."

"Oh… that is… good, then."

Amber gazed at her quietly for a long few minutes, then looked over at Sonic, casually leaning closer to Aleena's side. "I've heard it told that before Robotnik's takeover, the Queen had three children. The stories say they were lost in the war."

"So the stories do say," she murmured. "There were two princes and a princess, for one short year…"

"I imagine it must have been hard for her, to lose them so soon."

She tilted her head, allowing the hair that usually stayed tucked behind her crown to fall forward. "I imagine it was harder than anything."

"Sonic is brash, and arrogant, and a troublemaker," Amber said gently. "But he is also an incorrigible show-off. I'm sure he would love to pester you for the next week… unless, of course, you would rather he didn't…?"

"Thank you, but… I am so uncertain. It is hard to see what could have been." She smiled, tucking her hair back again. "And he is such a handsome little hedgie! I must confess I am jealous!"

"Don't let him hear that," she warned, before standing up. "Alright boys! It's Sonic's bedtime!"

"Awww!"

"No aw, just go. The morning awaits!"

"You're no fun, Mother," Sonic informed her, but he still rushed over to give her a quick hug before waving to Aleena and then disappearing.

Again, Aleena thought sadly.

From cliffs high above the carnage, a year later, the Oracle stood by Aleena's side as the Rat household was burned down. They watched Sonic run to Charles' arms, and then as Robotnik's ship took Red and Amber away.

"Why?" Aleena breathed. "They were good to Robotnik. They paid his taxes, they… they followed his laws. The Resistance barely even dealt with them. That was the point – they did everything right so Robotnik would have no reason to look at them."

"It is an experiment. Robotnik wishes to see what will happen, should someone attempt to derobotocise someone," the Oracle said, glaring at the flames. "He took them because no aristocrats would notice. He will robotocise them, and he will attempt to take off Amber's cybernetics by hand. Red shall be forced to watch, and he will be consumed by his fury. He will die before tomorrow's sun sets. And then he too shall be robotocised, and torn apart."

"Oh… oh, no… not them…" Aleena buried her head in the Oracle's shoulder, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Of all the good people in the world… why…?"

"Because there are things that must happen, my dear," he said coldly. His eyes tracked up to where Sonic was still sobbing in his uncle's arms. A small boy still, but aware of what was happening. It was too much. It would always be too much. That was the point. That was what would drive him. "You had good intentions, but Sonic is destined to fight. And fight he shall. His foster parents shall be the catalyst."

"But… but he is so young…!"

"Now. In three years, he will be captured along with a group of children. And they shall be forced to watch the recorded deaths of Red and Amber Rat. And he shall run, and never stop, until Robotnik is gone."

Aleena gaped at him, horrified. "But… no… no, he cannot see…!"

"He will. And he will see much worse. You cannot stop that, Aleena." He turned to look at her, eyes hard. "You have done what is best for Mobius. And Mobius shall triumph for it. But do not ever think these things will come without cost."

I haven't published anything in a while, but the urge to connect my guilty pleasure with the games has been kicking around for a while, so here we are. There are two more fragments to come... I hope someone will join me for the ride!