The Genesis of a Generation

"Subdue your passion or it will subdue you."

07/2017 EDIT: It's been six years since I'm started this thing! Wow... Please be aware as you read through that there is a major quality jump in the writing around chapter 40. I started this story when I was a senior in high school and took a long break from it when I started college, and now I'm working on a master's degree in creative writing. Suffice it to say, my writing has changed fantastically. I hope you enjoy watching me develop as a writer!

03/2014 EDIT: The quality of this story slowly gets better as it goes along, but the beginning is a little rough, as I had yet to gain my voice. Please give the prose a chance before you judge the first twenty chapters too harshly, and I hope you enjoy watching as I slowly become a better writer through this story. I will eventually do a sweep for typos, but the bad writing will remain as is. It is a reminder of how far I've come.

11/2012 EDIT: Rewrote this chapter so it matches the overall quality of the whole story. Hopefully it will meet my overly-high expectations in a few weeks when I check back.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL NEW READERS: It is ill advised to read this story out of order. Contrary to what you may believe (and what the summary leads you to assume), there is an underlying plot to this. Jumping around will be hit and miss, but you will eventually run into a chapter that will leave you scratching your head, wondering what exactly you missed. Read in order – it'll make your life a lot easier.

Original Notes: This is a drabble collection based off the 50 Phrases Challenge (list courtesy of LeDiz – go read her collection, Underground Game. It's way better than this one's gonna be, trust me.). The drabbles will be loosely connected, but not in any sort of order or semblance of timeline. All you need to know is that this is based off a drabble I posted in my other collection (Don't Take Wooden Nickels, number 8), in which Classic Sonic and Tails – after traveling all the way to the present with Modern Sonic and Tails – get stuck in the present after the end of Sonic Generations and have no choice but to bunk and live with their future incarnations in the present/future.

Now, you should know that I refuse to call the different versions of Sonic and Tails "Classic" and "Modern" in the prose. Those two words don't fit the situation at all, so I will not be using them. That being said, I have tried very hard to differentiate between the two ages, but it still may be hard for readers not in my head to tell the difference. I beg of you to just hang in there with me until I can get the hang of things.

Oh, and a big thank you goes out to the oh mighty title master, Yami-sama42, without whom this story would not have a title.

Disclaimer: Sonic and Co. belong to SEGA and its affiliates. The plot and prose belongs to me.

Mystic cave Zone. Dark, dank, echo-y, barren. All sentient life was absent – evacuated to the stable surface world – save for four individuals, two blue, two gold, one an adult, one a teenager, one a child, and the last a toddler, and all four very recognizable.

"You see anything?" Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius and eldest present, called, voice deep and powerful. He was looking up at the disappearing golden form of his best friend and sidekick, watching as the kit flew down the long corridor, dodging deftly around the hanging lichen and keeping a keen eye on the lookout for robots of any shape or form, badnik or Eggpawn.

"Not yet!" The reply echoed back, piercing in the small space.

"Go about two hundred more yards and then circle back!"

"Alright!" Slowly, the thwaping of the kit's tails disappeared as he zoomed down the cave.

Sonic grinned, turning back to his other companions. "As soon as the coast is clear we can get outta this zone and go find Eggman." Only one half of those present actually heard him. A little hedgehog with the same exact shade fur as the other sent him an annoyed glance before sighing and looking down at the toddler resting on the ground – who just so happened to share the peculiar extra tail mutation with the canine who had just left. The kit was currently snoozing on the floor – with his head resting on the foot of the lighter blue hedgehog – while his pillow looked like he was trying very hard not to scream of frustration, face growing impossibly redder with every second that passed.

"Is this really necessary?" Sonic's younger self asked irritably, glaring down the cavern the fox had disappeared in. "We can take out anything in our path. Why send the kid into danger?"

The taller, incarnation of the hedgehog sighed, resisting the temptation to roll his eyes. "Tails is just looking for badniks and robots so we can have forewarning." Seeing the other about to dispute him again, he cut across. "And, he's not in any danger because he knows better than to engage an enemy without backup."

"It seems kind of pointless to sit around like this," the other argued back. "Why can't we leave the Tailses here and scout ahead ourselves?"

This time, the older Sonic gave into the temptation and his green eyes rolled up to the ceiling. "Eggman uses mainly land-based enemies, so Tails has the lowest possibility of being hit." The smaller opened his mouth to argue again, but the darker blue one cut him off once more. "And before you suggest that your Tails could fly you through, that totally defeats the purpose. We're still going to kick robot metal, but we're going to have a plan of attack."

The little blue one rolled his eyes at the condescending tone of his older self, scoffing low in his throat. "I never plan, and I'm still alive."

The flat look Sonic sent his younger persona was anything but pleasant, and would have had anyone else backing up in defeat, ready to listen to the hedgehog's advice. However, since Sonic was basically trying to stare down himself – albeit he be a younger self – the glare did nothing to move the other in a direction of surrendering, and he simply jeered back.

Changing tact, the older Sonic sighed before dropping down onto one knee and placing a hand on the other's shoulder, staring into the dark depths of his companion's eyes. He felt a thrum as he recognized himself in those windows; his soul reflected brightly through the black orbs. Inside those eyes, he saw the passion and determination to protect all of those he cared about and the burning hatred he still held back for Robotnik, the cabin fever he suffered from even to this day from simply standing still for more than five seconds at a time, the protective instincts he had for the small fox laying on his foot, twitching in his sleep, and, more importantly, the love he had for all of his friends. He was overwhelmed at the innocence he saw in those eyes, almost overflowing from the ten year old.

The younger hedgehog had no idea what it was like to almost die, what the Chaos Emeralds had planned for him, what would turn those eyes into hard chips of emerald instead of dark, endless wells of emotion. Instantly, he wished he could save himself, wished he wouldn't let his passion overcome his instincts to save himself and just back away from being the hero.

But then, he was struck by all of the good he had done, all of the people he had saved, all of the futures he had promised just by doing what he did best. It was overwhelming and it crashed into him like a swell. It only lasted for a few seconds, and he could only stare back at his younger self, admiring and admonishing him at the same time.

"Subdue your passion," he mumbled, looking away from his child-like persona, "or it will subdue you."

The small blue hedgehog made a confused sound, and the elder waved him off.

"Nothing, nothing." The reply was quick and precise, leaving no room for argument. Instead, Sonic went back to the issue at hand. "It's not about staying alive," he said in response to the juvenile hedgehog's previous declaration, "it's about being quick and exact, not allowing Eggman time to retaliate."

"This isn't exactly very 'quick'. We've been sitting here for way too long to be healthy."

"Says you."

"Actually, says you. We're the same person."

"Touché…"

They stood in silence after that, staring after their still adventuring fox friend, attempting to decide what to do next. Eventually, Little Sonic eased himself into a sitting position on the dusty ground, shifting Tails so he wouldn't step on one of his namesakes on accident. The movement did little to wake the four year old, and he simply curled himself back into a ball in Sonic's lap, still asleep. Older Sonic quickly followed the other's example, sitting close and reaching out and rubbing the small fox on the head.

"Enjoy this." He said simply, scratching the child behind the ear. "Soon enough he'll be too busy tinkering with planes to sleep in your lap."

"It's hard for me to imagine him being so smart… I mean, I know he's intelligent, but it never really struck me how much of a genius he is."

The emerald eyed hedgehog laughed quietly, staring down at the small face of his charge's past self. "I don't think it's hit me yet. I don't think it'll ever completely set in, considering how dependent he is on us."

"I'm almost scared…" This was mumbled, without the intention of the older hedgehog hearing, but his keen ears picked it up just the same. "I mean, looking at you… me… us," he waved a hand towards the other hedgehog's general physique, "I know that we make it to adulthood without any major complications and that we raise Tails successfully, but still… I'm afraid that I'm gonna make a stupid mistake and screw him up."

"Oh, you're gonna screw up." Older Sonic said firmly. "But, he'll forgive you. He's a good kid, and we're lucky that we found him. I dunno if I would be alive today without him."

The other hedgehog stared down at the small head in his lap. "I can believe that." He said simply, rubbing his hand on the fox's head like his older self. "Sonic…" He addressed the older hedgehog with their shared name, catching the other's attention. "What exactly happened…?" He trailed off, licking his lips and searching for the words to continue. "I mean, with your eyes… They're green, and Tails'… blue… It's so strange."

Suddenly, the older's face shut down, his chin falling to his chest and casting strange shadows on his face. "It's complicated…"

The smaller of the two hedgehogs looked like he was about to try to press the answer out of his older persona, but the other speedster was saved from having to answer by the larger of the two foxes zooming back to them and landing before them with a bump. He was panting, like he had been in a hurry, and his left arm had a shallow gash in it that was bleeding steadily.

Sonic – the older – was on his feet in milliseconds, grabbing the arm and examining the wound. "What happened?" He demanded, voice unnaturally harsh and guttural.

"Buzz Bomber," the fox panted, yanking his arm back. "Don't worry about it. It's just a flesh wound. Not deep at all. There's a whole platoon of Bombers heading this way."

Little Sonic eased his respective Tails awake, pulling the fox to his feet as he himself stood. "What're we gonna do?"

The elder Sonic still looked upset over his little brother's injury, but he forced a smile onto his face. "What we do best! Smash some bots!"

The two Sonics shared a thumbs up, strategies already spinning through two equally quick brains. As if reading each other's minds, they nodded once before dashing off towards the oncoming threat.

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