.:Introduction:.

Part of the 100 themes challenge. This was the first thing I drew out from the bucket. Fits well to start it all off, doesn't it lol

"Sonic the Hedgehog" © SEGA
Sonic and Tails © SEGA
Photos taken by me and my mom

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I was inspired by this image, that I made a fanfiction short story for a contest. Of course, I didn't win, but it was still a lot of fun writing. So here it is:


As the blue blur zipped across the television screen, the SEGA logo materialized out of the white backdrop, an invisible choir chanting “Seeegaaaaaaa” in a hoarse melody. After a brief moment of silent, the logo faded into darkness, and then stars broke through, exposing a ring enveloped with outspread wings and a motto cutting across the bottom portion of the emblem, just as a beat began to play into the opening jingle to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. From the center of the ring, the blue hedgehog emerged, turning round to face the fourth wall and give thumbs up, followed by a young fox, standing beside the hedgehog, clenching his fist and smiling.

I smiled in return, my front teeth missing. Both my hands gripped the Genesis remote controller, fully prepared to begin the adventure. My thumb instantly pressed down the start button, and our journey began within the premises of Emerald Hill Zone. I controlled Sonic, running to the east with exhilaration, my fingers reacting immediately to attack whatever badnik came in our way. Sonic zipped through the route and soared across the air as he flew off slopes and platforms, poor Tails trying to keep up with the pace. But I ordered Sonic to keep running, attack robots with his jumps and spins in a spiky ball to free the little critters held captive.

But then suddenly the hedgehog slowed to a stop, just out of reach for the monkey to knock his rings out with coconuts. Tails eventually descended down, using his tails as a propeller, and landed behind Sonic, waiting for him to continue the course. I sat on the floor, staring at the screen. Sonic stood there, motionless, unresponsive to the buttons, while the monkey crept up and down the palm tree, hurling coconuts at Sonic. No matter how much force the robot monkey put into throwing his only weapon, they simply fell before Sonic, just centimeters from his nose.

I watched the screen, my fingers frantically scrambling over the controller, trying to make Sonic move, but to no avail. Sonic remained still, glaring to the east, the monkey still attempting to hit him with coconuts. My hands fell limp into my lap, slouching over with defeat and hopelessness. Something must have gone wrong with the cord connecting the controller to the system. I crawled up to the television to examine the connection, when my eyes trailed up to Sonic.

He lifted his head up, watching the monkey toss an endless supply of coconuts, then turned his attention to me. He leaned on one leg and pointed up to the monkey with his thumb, a wide smile on his face. It looked like he was mocking the monkey. My eyes widened as I watched Sonic’s behavior. I’ve never seen him pose like that in the game before…

Sonic continued to rock his hand back toward the monkey, then leapt into the air on his own, spinning into a ball to burst the monkey open and free a bluebird. My eyes sparkled with delight, and I clapped my hands to congratulate Sonic, giggling. Sonic returned to his place, and to my surprise, he responded to my applause by taking a bow, then gestured his hand to himself, signaling me to come along.

I glanced over my shoulder and observed the room around me, then pointed to myself. “Me?” I asked, soft and innocent. Sonic bound toward the screen and halted, smirking and outstretching his hand. I looked around me once more, then raised my hand and set it over the television screen. Where I touched, the solid surface liquefied, rippling around my hand like water. A sudden anxiety rushed in my body as my hand sank through, and I yanked my hand out, but Sonic had already grasped me by the wrist and pulled me the rest of the way into the television.

A torrent of pixilated colors engulfed me, and a bright flash of light blinded me. I had my arm folded over my eyes to protect my vision. When I heard the familiar tune of Emerald Hill Zone replaying in the atmosphere, I lowered my arm, opening my eyes to the 16-bit world.

Sonic and Tails stood before me, exchanging glances before resting their eyes on me. I blinked my eyes several times and rubbed them, testing to see if I was imagining things. But everything looked so real, felt so real... Perhaps what I was experiencing was real. I opened my mouth to speak, but then caught my throat. No sound escaped my lips. I then glimpsed down at my hands. My entire appearance had transformed to complement the pixels developed for the game.

Sonic waved his hand in front of my face to grab my attention, then pointed to the pathway, where the badniks roamed freely, conquering the land. I stared in awe at the graphics describing every single detail of the scenery. The patterned terrain, the flowers dancing to the tune, the sloped and spiraled path, the robots… I felt my mouth stretch into a smile from ear to ear. My imagination ran wild, and I scuttled as Sonic lead the way, Tails matching my pace.

Throughout the game, I was there for Sonic. I cheered him on whenever he faced Robotnik in the boss levels, or comforted him whenever he got knocked down and lost his rings. But he always sprang back up to his feet no matter the amount of damage he took. Sonic maintained a speed that Tails and I could follow, and whenever we headed for corkscrews and 360 degree loops, we let Sonic rocket ahead while Tails carried me over obstacles, my little feet dangling below me. In the air, my eyes would follow the blue hedgehog streak across the stage.

We were on our way to the Tornado after exiting Metropolis, Sonic’s hand holding mine. I tried as much to match Sonic’s steps with my own. I didn’t want to slow him down. Robotnik had retreated into the Wing Fortress to continue his plan of world domination through the air, and Tails didn’t have enough energy to carry both of us high and far. But as we approached the red biplane, the atmosphere around me warped up before my very eyes. The outside view swiveled and jumbled into a mass of colored pixels, then scattered into broken sections, dissolving into a tunnel of darkness. My head swerved around, bewildered by the sudden disruption. We entered into the vast unknown, and everything was breaking apart, even Sonic and Tails.

Tails’ existence was the first to vanish into nothingness. He had his hand reaching out for me and Sonic when he then faded from the tips of his fingers to his tails. I held my breath, and tightened my grip on Sonic’s hand, in fear that I would lose him too. I turned my head to watch Sonic as my guide, and as he glanced at me, he had that smirk on his face, as if letting me know that everything was going to be okay.

My eyes furrowed, then darted around as the emptiness began to change rapidly like a collage of several video clips. A floating sphere chained to the ground, trees bursting into flames, water flooding a city, a ruptured moon… What was all of this?

Watching the scenes change, I felt my whole body modify. My arms and legs were lengthening, and my hair grew past my shoulders. With each stride, I was shifting from a 6 year old to a teenager. And before me, Sonic’s form had become too distorted for me to recognize him as the short and stout hedgehog. He eventually was eaten away by the unknown, along with the scenes surrounding me. I cried out for Sonic’s name, at last hearing my voice, but broken up by the glitch. I was now alone in this darkness, with nowhere to turn. No direction. No color. No light. Nothing. Nothing but pure darkness.

My eyes then opened up to a burst of light, which then adjusted for my eyes to focus on the ceiling. I was lying on my bed, staring up in a daze. Was all that only a dream? But it all seemed so real… My heart raced and head pounded, gathering every strand of the scenes I witnessed, then pushed myself out of bed to hurry into the living room. I was now in search of the Sonic 2 Genesis cartridge. It had been years since I last played the game, and it wouldn’t have hurt to play with Sonic and Tails once more.

I dug through the toy chest, when I finally found the cartridge, its sticker label discolored and coated in a layer of dust. I blew the dust off and wiped it gently with my fingers, then latched the game to the console and sat cross-legged in front of the television, watching the game start up to the main menu, with Sonic and Tails sprouting on each end of the ring’s interior, standing by to begin the adventure.

I sat still for a moment or so with the remote in my hands, staring at the two characters. I was lost in wonder… what if it wasn’t a dream? What if… No, what was I thinking? Was I going insane with imagination? But curiosity overtook me. I had to see for myself.

I scooted up to the television, my hand raising high to rest against the screen. I expected the screen to melt so that my hand could sink through, but the screen remained a solid glass dome. My lungs released a long sigh, and I motioned my hand to slip away, when an unexplainable force pulled me straight into the television, just as the main menu faded into the light.

I covered my eyes with my hands to block out the light. The tune for Emerald Hill Zone echoed through my ears, and when I sensed that the bright light had faded away, I split my fingers apart to peek through and see my surroundings. My jaw dropped open when I discovered the blue hedgehog and yellow fox standing in front of me, the green land extending beyond them with platforms and loops. Robots wandered the land, readying their weapons for Sonic and Tails’ arrival.

My eyes swayed from the robots, the beautiful landscape, to Sonic and Tails, an entity of pixelation. The two characters looked at each other, then Sonic strolled up to me, his eyes stern at first before they softened up with his smile, and he reached out his hand for mine while he pointed behind him with his other hand. I realized he was now a lot shorter than I was, since I had become a teenager at this point, but I felt like a child again. Nostalgia rushed through my veins. I wanted to resume where I left off, continue the journey alongside Sonic and Tails throughout the games.

I smirked widely and leapt to my feet, my body building with high spirits. Without hesitation, I zipped past Sonic and Tails, eager for our adventure to kick off. Sonic twirled round on his heel, then brought himself to a halt, perplexed at first, then smirked and zoomed after me in an instant. Tails jogged along after us to keep up.

Together, we zoomed for the goals, as we battled past the badniks, and I prepared myself for whatever new adventures happened to lie beyond this particular 16-bit world. I knew for certain that my new adventures would be worth it, with Sonic at my side.