_ Wind

Pre-timeskips Sonic's design is basically his Toei design. CD rocks.

Anyway.

Green Hill Zone

Act 0

Sunflowers danced in the wind in an almost happy rhythm, bouncing up and down on the spot. Small bees would pop up from time to time, gathering their nectar from said flowers, whilst other small animals enjoyed the shade the flowers provided. The larger ones, such as tiny pigs, birds and more critters preferred the shade of a tree instead. A small crowd of them were resting together below one, simply lazing off.

Today felt like a lazy day for all the inhabitants of this lush, grassy green island on the Grand Line, known by its inhabitants simply as Green Hill. Life, for the most part, was a peaceful and easygoing one on Green Hill. But let us put our attention back on the critters sleeping or just resting together as a group below the tree. They had not gathered here on a whim, or a natural instinct, that led them all to be together. No, they were gathered below a specific branch of the tree. A branch that was kind of leaning down, due to something weighing more than the fruits it could carry lying on it.

This something was sky blue in color, from head to toe. Safe for its arms of course, which had a skin sort of color, same as the one on his round belly and below his large eyes. Black pupils tiredly looked through the leaves catching the blinding rays of sunshine breaking through the treetop. The blue being raised up its hand. The hand in question was a glove, cloud white in color.

Impatient of something, it then began tapping its feet against the branch. Said feet were wearing shiny red shoes, which looked almost way too big for it. Its arms and legs were skinny, so the same could be pretty much said about the comically large gloves. Of course, this person wasn't a thing- it's a hedgehog. Short, blue quills grew out of the back of his head. And they still were, in fact. Who knows how long they'd get in the future?

Ah yes, the future. What did lie ahead for this hedgehog, who believed itself to be leading a relaxed, sleepy life of adventure on Green Hill for the next few years? What then?

Large, black eyes were now fully opened as a feeling of existential dread set itself in its stomach. It hated this, thinking of the future. It rather lived in the moment, loving the feeling of its surroundings becoming nothing more than a beautiful blur.

I should also at this point stop calling this hedgehog an 'it'. He has a name, like everything in the world does. That name-

"Sonic!" A distant voice yelled, rattling Sonic fully awake from his day-dreaming state. He quietly looked down at the grassy grounds below the tree, then swung his body down, keeping his feet on the tree. His head poked out, upside-down.

The vast green fields of Green Hill were empty, prompting him to look up. A large, winged shadow passed over the clouds, past the tree. Sonic sighed in relief, looking both to his left and right one last time.

Once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he'd drop down and turned into a ball-like-shape for just a moment, to roll downhill. Once he had gotten into motion, Sonic would 'fold' himself out, positioning both his arms behind his body and leaned forward. And just like that- he was gone. Only a couple of seconds later, his critter friends were awoken by a strong gust of wind.

Sonic soundlessly laughed as he ran across the vast green fields, making use of one of the many loops which were just natural to the island. He was nothing more than a streak of blue racing across the vast green hills, leaving behind a massive dust cloud. This kid was fast!

So fast in fact, that you couldn't even see his feet move… it just looked like a vibrating, red 8.

Coming to a lake, Sonic would pull no stops here either, simply leaping onto the surface of the water. Like a rock thrown, he'd skip along the water two-three times before bouncing onto the other shore. He lost his footing for just a split moment however, teetering on the edge. His arms spun in circles but instead of falling backwards he'd just crouch down to roll that little bit backwards…

Phew.

The small blue hedgehog exhaled a sigh of relief, getting back to his feet- only to then bump into something feathery as he was about to start running again.

"Sonic…" A softspoken female voice said, exasperated.

Sonic rubbed his head, looking up. Crossing his arms, he'd turn his embarrassed red face away. "What did I tell you about staying out until the evening? Come, let's go home." The voice belonged to a humanoid sized owl, wearing a cross-chest guard. This was Longclaw, Sonic's caretaker… caretaker in the sense, she's trying her best to take care of him to the best of her abilities. He never stuck to one place at a time, but as much as she wanted him to stay in her little hut, Longclaw couldn't force him. She knew what drove Sonic to run all day and leave his responsibilities behind. She understood just as much as he knew, except on the other end of the spectrum: Sonic didn't. Longclaw always wanted him home, always some walls around him, he hated it.

But he didn't wish to tell her. In fact, Sonic couldn't, or wouldn't. He never talked.

"You know I don't like it when you stay out until dark… you could get hurt." Longclaw told Sonic, the greenery below them passing by in a blur. Sonic had his arms crossed. Mostly also, because she was carrying him in her talons and it frankly felt embarrassing.

…

"?" Sonic suddenly perked up. The sun had gone down at this point, the greenery below them had gotten darker. Almost a black void. But there… in the distance: bright lights!

Sonic tapped Longclaw's claw, pointing to the lights. She seemed to ignore him… Sonic huffed. Fine, he thought in his mind- and then tickled her. "H-HOO? HOO HOO HOO HOO! S-Sonic what are y-?!" But Longclaw would find her claws to be empty. "SONIC!"

(…)

Maybe Longclaw had been onto something, as Sonic found himself bumping into the third log, unable to see obstacles in the dark. His only waypoint had been the bright lights and from the direction of them he knew it came from the beach. Was someone throwing a party? Seafarers perhaps? Pirates?

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Sonic tilted his head, coming to a full stop. That sounded weird… a weird sound he never heard before.

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Sonic parted the bushes in front of himself, shielding his eyes from the bright lights he had seen previously… once he got used to the light however, his curiosity was immediately exchanged for surprise, awe and anger.

SHI-SHI-SHI-SHI-SHI, went the weird looking metallic creatures, hacking the palm trees apart while destroying sunflowers underneath their treads.

"GO, MY GLORIOUS EGGBOTS! ROBOTNIKLAND WILL BE THE ULTIMATE THEME PARK! AN ISLAND OF FUN!" A voice from a megaphone shouted, to which Sonic could only scowl at. He took a couple of steps back and scanned the source of the light: A massive ship, made of grey metal, sporting red lines across with yellow accents. The flag atop the mask depicted an egg-shape, sporting a mustache. The flag was colored black and red.

Sonic knew he had to get Longclaw, get the critters away from the treads of the machines- any wrong move now and he'd be noticed. He'd be in danger.

And with that confirmation in mind, Sonic sneezed.