I know, I know, everybody was clamoring for another Frozen-based oneshot. *shot*

Seriously, I have no idea why I wrote this a while back. But, since I'm stranded on the snowy hills of my school, since I'm upset that I couldn't go home for the weekend because of the aforementioned snow, and since it's just plain stinking cold out right now (even though some of you would probably classify 27 degrees Fahrenheit as a balmy winter's day), I decided to share this with the world. If it gets a good enough reception, there's a part two from the end of the movie that could follow...

Disclaimer: Disney owns "Frozen" and the basic plot of this one-shot, and SEGA owns the characters used. I am affiliated with neither, no matter how cool that would be.

With so many people in the room, it should have been impossible for it to be this silent. All Sonic could hear was his own heavy breathing, but rather than anger or annoyance as before, the sound carried the faintest undercurrent of horror and fear. Such mirrored the looks on the faces of those around him, who were just as shocked as he was.

Though perhaps they were surprised for a different reason.

"Sorcery," came a low, condescending whisper from one of the men, a black hedgehog with ruby-red striped quills, in attendance. A few unsure whispers floated up, though there really was no mistaking the truth in the noble's words. Where once there had been a polished, ordinary ballroom floor, jagged spikes of glittering ice rebounded up toward the shocked partygoers as if threatening to impale them. Right in front of them, just precious inches from the incriminating evidence, Tails had fallen a step back, jaw hanging and cerulean eyes as wide as his brother's emerald ones as he whispered in disbelief, "Sonic..."

It took Sonic a few seconds to process that yes, that ice had come from his hand, and yes, it had nearly touched his little brother, and yes, everyone had seen it. The shouting match beforehand had probably aided to that, but now that there was literal cold, hard evidence right in front of them...

The black hedgehog took a step toward the barrier of ice, teeth clenched, and Sonic did what he'd told himself all his life he would never do: he panicked. He fumbled for the handle of the door his back quills were pressing against and, turning on his heel, he flung the door open and fled down the hallway, not particularly caring which one it was as long as it led someplace far away from here. He just caught, out of the corner of his eye as he retreated, Tails reaching out to him, his white glove still in the fox's hand.

Footfalls followed uncomfortably close behind Sonic as he raced through the castle. It seemed all the cooks and personnel were heading for the ballroom at that moment, and Sonic found himself shouting apologies with every breath he took as he wrestled past food carts and servants alike. He eventually reached the front entryway, where he swung the doors open without having considered a very important fact.

The people in the ballroom weren't the only ones here for the coronation. The courtyard held hundreds more, and every single one of them turned to face him expectantly when he suddenly burst outside. The blur of activity hastily refocused in Sonic's mind, and he subconsciously recoiled a step as people started to cheer and clap for their young king. An angered shout erupted from behind him, and without thinking he fell into the crowd and ran for all he was worth. His goal was the accursed open gates, the current bane of his existence, just on the other side of the courtyard, but it seemed everyone was pressing around him, wanting to touch him—more so, it felt like they all wanted to shake hands with him.

He withdrew his gloveless right hand and tried to move quickly between well-wishers, but it was impossible to get up to speed with so many people in the way. The faster he went, the more they held him back, and the more panic arose in his system. Despite the summertime heat, he felt cold, colder with every step he took—just like in the ballroom.

Someone jumped up right in front of him, as if they'd popped up out of the ground just for the purpose of scaring him, and instinctively Sonic jumped back with a startled noise, both hands coming to rest on the fountain just behind him for balance. Instantly, he heard the dreaded cracking noise of forming ice, and he and the crowd watched in equal horror as the water spouting out of the fountain solidified in place, forming a majestic wave of ice that would have been pretty in just about any other circumstance. The concrete forming the fountain's body went shiny in the same instant.

The crowd gasped as one at the same time a crowd of ball attendees, led by the black hedgehog, stormed out of the castle's front door. "There he is!" the hedgehog bellowed, his softspoken mannerisms from before nowhere in sight. "Stop him!"

"No! Stay away!" Sonic yelled back, feeling that cold pressure rise within and fighting with everything in him to keep it down. "Just stay away from m—whoa!" Blue sparks burst from his uncovered hand and barreled toward the threat before he could stop them. The palace steps were suddenly coated in a thin layer of slick ice, and the dark hedgehog, along with the first of his little army, found their feet yanked out from under them, and they crashed to the ground with shouts not meant to be heard in mixed company.

The temperature in the courtyard almost literally dropped ten degrees as the people realized what was happening. Where they had been trying to get close to him just seconds ago, people were backing away with fearful eyes glued to the royal's tense figure, hiding their children. To Sonic, each one was just another unwitting target of recklessness, and as the stress and fear mounted, he knew with a sinking feeling that no one was safe near him anymore.

He took the distraction as an opportunity to collect himself enough to run for the gate in record time.

Conceal it...

He shoved past someone on the street, and a woman's scream made guilt stab through him for a second as he pressed on.

Don't feel it...

A horse neighed angrily and tried to buck its rider as he blasted past.

Don't let them know...

"Stop him!" someone shouted, undoubtedly the same black hedgehog from before. "Someone catch him!"

"No!" The voice almost froze him; it was Tails's, carrying a wealth of every intense emotion in the book. "Don't hurt him! He's just scared! Sonic! Come back!"

Don't let it show...

Never before had Sonic wanted to run and stay so badly in the same moment. But, despite the voice of his father ringing in his head and the cries of his brother echoing in his ears, his feet won over, and he darted out the gates for the first time since Tails was practically a baby with a riot quickly forming behind him. He couldn't bring himself to care.

Chills shot up his back as he made a break for anywhere, and a breeze seemed to pick up out of nowhere, but these were the least of the hedgehog's problems, for when he was next forced to focus on his surroundings, he found himself standing apprehensively on the edge of the harbor. Swimming was most definitely not an option, even if he had been a decent swimmer and could have hoped to make it all the way across such a wide body of water.

Water... Wait...

Without conscious input from him, the ground at his feet turned a pale blue—ice, topped with a dusting of snow. It just served to solidify his idea.

He chanced a glance behind him at the mob of confused, frightened, angry people... and above them, a small fox hovering, calling his name in a desperate attempt to stop him, ignoring the astonished stares of the uninformed beneath him. Sonic immediately found himself doused in old memories of running through the castle with Tails, wrestling and playing and racing and generally disobeying their parents' rules without a care in the world.

But that was before. Before Sonic's life was forced to change. Before he had to avoid his little brother, his best friend, to save him. Before life became a prison.

All it took was a fleeting moment of worried sapphire eyes meeting panicked emerald ones, and Sonic's resolve hardened like the ice that was once like a prison cell to him.

Not anymore.

The first step he took out onto the water was cautious, for he'd never attempted this before. Yet, just as he'd willed, the liquid beneath his boot stiffened at his touch, smoothing into a patch of ice just rough enough to pick up some decent friction on. Despite himself, a little smirk curled his lips, and he broke out into a run once again, and the harbor easily kept pace, forming a path of ice across the water. The young monarch was naught but a blue blur in the dark of night.

He didn't notice the scenery behind him changing. The moon's delicate light cast over the village was quite suddenly overwhelmed by gray clouds, and Arendelle's summertime humidity fell victim to a biting cold wind that stopped the hedgehog's pursuers dead in their tracks. Some shouted curses at the retreating blue form; the rest stood shivering as ice crackled its way across the fjord. Sailors started shouting as their ships became locked in place by sheets of solid water. Merchants looked on in wonder as snow began to drift from the sky.

As snowflakes began to catch and melt in his warm fur, Tails landed on his knees at the edge of the ice rink that had once been the fjord, exhausted, staring hopelessly after Sonic, watching the harbor freeze solid as far as he could see. "Sonic... What was that...?"

"That monster," the black hedgehog gasped, his ragged breaths littered with curse words. "He's cursed this land! He's turning this fair city into a blizzard-ridden nightmare!"

Tails whipped around to face him with an almost deadly glare set in his childish face, for despite the confusion and concern and heartache tearing at his heart, there was one thing he knew for sure, and this man had just denied it.

"That's no monster," he spat venomously. "That's my brother."

All thought of summer had officially left the building. As far as Sonic could see, all there was was snow—snow covering all the trees and their leaves, which hadn't been shed yet in the premature winter; snow blowing in the air and in his face. There wasn't a lot of light out this far, this late, but there didn't need to be; the snow glowed white and illuminated the wayward hedgehog's path up the mountain he had fled to after the incident in town.

"So much for coronation day," he huffed out loud, his breath a cloud of condensation in front of his mouth. "Only thing I'm ruling now is me and the trees..."

He caught himself at this and paused. That's right... I can rule me now, not my powers. I... I don't have to go back... I can... Nobody'll notice way out here...

But the mantra held him back, as usual. "Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let them know..." he murmured, the sound louder than it would have been had the weather been more fitting of June. He couldn't make himself finish the chant.

Experimentally, he raised his ungloved right hand and flicked his wrist in the direction of a nearby snowbank; the flakes of snow readily responded, cascading into a sparkling show of light curls in the breeze. He snapped his fingers, and the sparkles instantly dropped like each flake suddenly held a fifty-pound weight. A little chuckle escaped his throat without rhyme or reason, and Sonic found himself surprised he could still laugh like this.

Feeling rejuvenated, like he'd slept in every day for a week, he grabbed at the fingers of his left glove and eagerly tugged the fabric off, letting it catch on the wind and fly away. It was like a symbol to him—a symbol of the pain and guilt and worry he was so done with. He couldn't—wouldn't—take the stress anymore. For five years, he had held back. Now, he could let go, in more ways than one.

With both hands finally free, snow flew from Sonic's fingertips in swirls to replace the flakes which had suddenly stopped falling from the sky. As if they sensed the teenager's change in mood, the clouds had dissipated without even bothering to drift away. A part of Sonic was disappointed for a moment before he remembered himself; he didn't need clouds to make snow.

Another happy memory flitted through his mind's eye, and with a wry smile, Sonic waved his hand, and a few feet away a snowbank morphed into a little snowman, one with feet and sticks for arms and a little tuft of hair made of twigs. The hair had been Tails's idea, if Sonic remembered correctly. He smiled, shook his head, and continued on, leaving the snowman to his own measures.

Sonic didn't know how long he casually trotted on, playing with the snow all along the way. It was therapeutic, soothing on his fried nerves and spent emotions; he would have been more than happy to do this for hours on end had he not encountered something a little more challenging: a huge chasm in the mountainside. Even with his speed and his powerful legs, the gap was too wide to jump, and even if he could have reached the other side, chances were high that he would slip on the slick, snowy surface. Besides, the cliff on the other side was higher ground; jumping from his position would be like jumping from the first-floor entryway of the castle to the second floor without using the stairs.

That thought was all he needed to spark an idea. Ice was solid, wasn't it? In theory, anything solid could be turned into something to climb on, given the right arrangement.

Inhaling a cold breath, Sonic threw out his hands toward the chasm, imagining the staircase back home—the same one he'd taught Tails to grind down the handrail on almost as soon as he could walk. With a whoosh and a swirl of ice crystals, the steps and rails coalesced into being; they were even caked in snow, like they'd been sitting here for years. The fact that the case didn't even begin to go far enough didn't faze its creator, who stepped up to it and eyed it carefully, attempting to judge its stability. He lifted one foot to rest on the first step, and like the magic it was, the snow resting on it vanished in a poof, leaving beautiful, smooth ice in its place.

That was enough for Sonic; with reckless abandon, he scaled the steps at a run, the ice formulating inches in front of his pounding feet into an elaborate staircase with snowflake designs carved delicately in its depths. His shoes didn't falter on the slick surface like anyone else's would have, but he didn't bother to wonder why this was so. Halfway up, he leaped up onto the handrail, not daring to look down, and slid up with some of the momentum he'd gained; he only went up a few feet by this method, but he simply ran a few more steps and rebuilt enough momentum to grind up to the top. He was genuinely laughing, for no reason other than for its own sake, when he safely reached the edge of the gap and jumped off the rail. He looked down proudly at his handiwork, trying to equate his own fingertips with the artful creation; "Man, I didn't even know I could do this...!"

This, of course, begged the question of what else he could do.

A glimmer caught his eye, and Sonic blinked up toward the horizon. He hadn't realized how far he'd gone; but that glint, faint and tiny as a single star, was Arendelle. He couldn't tell in the descending dark of night whether it was the whole city, lit by streetlamps, or a single light in someone's window; but whatever it was, the light jarred him back to his senses a little. What was he thinking, playing around out here while Tails was probably dealing with a nutcase of a kingdom in his absence?

Wait... I'm the reason they're probably going all crazy down there, aren't I? How'd I forget that? The tiny perspective of the city of his birth was apparently changing his perspective on his problems. He couldn't see this as a bad thing, but he deliberately turned his back to the valley, setting his jaw.

I can't go back now. Everybody thinks I'm some witch or something. Imagine the chaos that would go down if I ever showed my face again... That stung a little, considering how happy everyone had been this morning about his official coronation. But, fair or unfair, if he wanted to protect both his kingdom and his brother... they were all better off separated.

This decision made, Sonic glanced around him, thoughts of shelter swirling through his head. This was as good a place as he was likely to find; it was a large, flat clearing, and he'd already constructed the grand entry. He started the descent to find some trees to work with, but when his foot touched the frozen step, another, more appealing thought came to him, and he turned right back around and planted himself smack-dab in the middle of the clearing. Why go all survival mode? he asked himself as the snow converged into ice beneath his feet. Go big or go home, as Tails would say, and home's definitely not an option.

The ice formed one massive snowflake some twenty feet across, and at the hedgehog's will, the whole thing became the foundation for glasslike crystals, originating deep in the ground, to form walls, ceiling, doorways, doors, and stairs worthy of a true palace. Green eyes scanned everything carefully as this spur-of-the-moment, nearly effortless project came together, accomplished with little more than a few flicks of the wrist and some gentle swishing noises as individual ice crystals formed in mid-air and assembled in their proper places.

When all was said and done, the sculpture stood several towering stories tall, with its many glittering peaks reaching toward the twilight-stricken heavens themselves. While grand, it didn't need much space, as Sonic fully intended for only one person to ever set foot in here, and as such it had few but spacey rooms, marked with the high ceilings and arched doorways he'd grown up around. Clear and muddled ice in strategic patterns created a striking effect in the walls and reduced the feeling that everything reflected off everything else, which made the place feel marginally smaller and more welcoming. Fine details etched into everything at his touch and served as the final stamp of approval for the place.

Oddly enough, as he proudly surveyed his work, Sonic wasn't cold. He had never had a penchant for being "always cold" like his mother had, but even when he was surrounded by nothing but ice – ice which had no chance of melting anytime soon – he could go so far as to say he was comfortable. Over time, he figured, he could slip down to the valley unnoticed and pick up things like a bed, food, and more practical clothes than the nice suit he'd worn for the ceremony – things he couldn't simply conjure up out of ice.

This could actually work, he realized with a start as he wandered out to a balcony on the middle floor and took one more long look at the valley where Arendelle was nestled. I might not ever have to go back. I might not ever have to hide my powers again. I... I won't have to tell Tails to go away ever again, or hide in my room, or lie to people and say everything's good when it never is... If I just stay here... everything'll be okay.

That was the final word on the subject, and with a determined smirk, Sonic marched back inside, out of the breeze, and slammed the door behind him as if to seal the deal.

~ The End ~

A/N: Disney movies. Drat you, Disney, for making movies that hit where it hurts. And they're so beautiful and deep and full of catchy songs and uuuuugggghhhh...

These adaptations are actually quite fun, if overdone and avoided by readers I'd want to attract because the only folks who ever do them are the authors who are just starting out or don't care or don't listen to criticism. Or all three. Well, whatever. (No offense to anyone.)

I like how this turned out; Elsa and Sonic are surprisingly alike in some regards, I've discovered, while very different in most others. Case in point: Sonic doesn't sing. ^^; But they'll both do anything to protect their siblings, and they both crave freedom, which drives them to do some crazy things.

I would say Sonic's a little OOC here, but his backstory is completely different here than it is in the games – he was raised in luxury, he's lived in fear of himself for years, his powers and his freedom have been suppressed, and he's been separated from Tails and the rest of the world because of all those factors. I don't care who you are; living that kind of life and experiencing these things scars a person.

Hey, look at that—nobody sang. I successfully kept "Let It Go" out of this. Wasn't sure how that was gonna go, to be honest...