Archive of Our Own ^beta

Many islands dotted the sea which surrounded the Sol Empire; it was one of the densest collections of islands on this side of the planet, as well as being one of the most diverse. Because of this, the people of the empire have come to call it the Nebula Archipelago.

One of these islands had caught the attention of a young sailor and her crew. On their arrival, the adventurers proceeded to explore this uncharted territory; amongst the group tasked with scouting out the shoreline was the captain herself, Marine the Raccoon.

To the naked eye, the coast was practically desolate; just a long strip of sand that not even seagulls gave the light of day. But Marine had a hunch that something of interest had made its home here.

…And sure enough, her foot was caught by something buried in the sand, causing the young racoon to plummet to the ground.

Once she got back onto her feet, the captain noticed the shockingly humanoid shape lying just under the surface. However, once she dusted off the layers of sand, she reeled back in shock upon realizing what she had discovered.

“Oi, Setter! Ge’ over here!” She called out to one of her crewmates, although never taking her eyes off of the machine laying before her. Once the koala arrived, she continued: “Help me haul this back to the ship; there’s someone back on the mainland who oughta have a gander at this…”

“What’d Marine say she found, exactly?”

“Dunno; she just said to get there ASAP and to bring you along, too. Oh, brace yourself; we’ll be crossing dimensions right about… now!”

After a brilliant flash of light, Sonic and Tails found themselves in the Sol Dimension, just off the coast of Southern Island. They had received an urgent message from the young sea captain, and so the two quickly boarded the SS Tornado MK III—Tails’ newly-built trans-dimensional watercraft—and made their way over.

“Whew, I’m so glad that worked!” The young fox exclaimed. “I’ve been itching to test this out for weeks!”

Concern quickly laced Sonic’s face. “Hold on, are you saying that you haven’t even tested this yet?”

His younger brother only chuckled sheepishly in response.

“Tails…” But before the hedgehog could voice any further concerns, the SS Tornado had reached the harbor; seated on a nearby bench was a familiar lavender cat, busying herself with a novel. Once she noticed the new arrivals, a small smile grew on her face; she swiftly got up to greet them once they docked.

“Sonic, Tails, it is good to see you.” Said Princess Blaze as she went to shake the hedgehog’s hand.

The Blue Blur returned the gesture. “Great to see you, too! How’ve you been?”

“I have been feeling well enough, I suppose,” the cat admitted; “though I am glad to get out of the palace for once. The upcoming holiday has kept me incredibly busy.”

Intrigue flashed on Sonic’s face. “Holiday?”

“Indeed. The Summer Solstice is a very important part of our culture,” she stated, a hint of pride in her voice.

“Hey, that’s pretty cool!”

“Although…” Blaze continued, looking off to the side for a moment; “as much as I appreciate the respite, it would be nice to know what has Marine so worried.”

“I’d like to know, too,” another voice called from the ship. Moments later, Tails emerged from its bridge. “Sorry, I was just checking the chaos readings.”

“You can worry about the ship later. C’mon down and socialize, bro!” Sonic responded.

The fox rolled his eyes in response, eliciting a playful chuckle from the hedgehog. Nonetheless, he used his twin tails to fly down onto the dock. “I was hoping you’d know what Marine was so worried about… I chalked up her message being so brief to the expense of trans-dimensional messaging, but…” he trailed off.

Before anyone else could speak up, the door of one of the nearby houses flew open, with a startlingly disheveled-looking raccoon emerging from it.

“Aces! You’re all here!” Marine exclaimed when she spotted the three. “C’mon! I’m gettin’ knackered just tryin’ to wrap my head ‘round—”

“Apologies, Marine,” Blaze interrupted; “but could you at least tell us what exactly it is that you’ve found?”

The raccoon went silent for a moment. “It’s best if you’d all just see for yourselves…”

“Tea, your highness?” Setter offered, teapot in hand.

“Oh, gladly.” Blaze responded, and the koala poured her a cup. She took a small sip before speaking again: “Thank you.”

The princess, alongside Sonic and Tails, had gathered inside of Marine’s humble abode, and were currently seated on her couch while the raccoon went to bring out whatever it was she had discovered. The hedgehog had been bouncing his leg impatiently, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by Marine herself rolling a cart into the room. It was the thing laying on top of the cart which caused Sonic to freeze and Blaze to nearly choke on her beverage.

Before them lay a primarily white & green robot with the occasional yellow highlight, which had been heavily corroded by the sea. Its limbs were spindly, with sharp protrusions at its joints that almost appeared shark-like. On its torso was an ominous insignia depicting a moustached skull. Its own head mostly resembled a torpedo, although the parts which held its facial features better resembled the gondola of an airship; this face consisted of yellow eyes set in a red skull, while black & white markings underneath resembled large teeth stuck in a permanent, cruel smile. However, all of these finely-crafted details were sadly obscured by an unfathomable amount of rust; the onlookers were somewhat impressed that the machine even managed to stay together.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, it was Sonic who spoke up first: “Johnny?” He briefly glanced at Tails, and then to Marine, before his eyes fell back onto the ruined robot.

Tails, after examining one of the machine’s corroded arms, chimed in: “This rust… Chaos, he must’ve been left to rot for months—maybe even a year!”

“I found ‘im buried in the sand, though I dunno how long he’s been cactus…” Marine explained, ignoring the slight delay before her companions understood what she meant.

“Can you fix him?” Sonic asked suddenly, causing everyone else to gape at him.

“Are you mad?” Blaze questioned him, utterly astonished at the hedgehog’s inquiry. “Johnny helped steal the Chaos Emeralds! He actively aided the Eggmen and directly attacked us! Why in Sol’s name would you want him fixed?”

“I… He’s different, okay? There’s just…” It was obvious that he was grasping at straws, but he also was not one to give up easily. With a sigh, he turned his attention to the fox next to him. “So, Tails, d’ya reckon you can fix him?”

After regaining his bearings, the kit pondered the question for a moment. “…Well, Johnny mostly operated on the water, right? He’d probably be made waterproof in case of any accidents. If it was able to protect his insides from the elements—” he flashed a small smile at his brother; “—we might just be able to get him working again… No promises, though.”

Sonic returned the gesture. “Thanks, bro.”

Power coursed through wires; servos rattled; rudders flexed; engines began to whirr; apertures opened, releasing a blinding light into his optics that he quickly adjusted to.

Johnny analyzed his surroundings, discovering that he was seated in an unfamiliar wooden hut. Before him stood a blue hedgehog, who had relief washing over his face.

Target Acquired.

“Johnny? Take it easy; your joints’re prolly— Woah!” Sonic was interrupted by Johnny’s jet boosters erupting, shooting the robot towards him. The hedgehog leapt backwards, just barely dodging the machine’s grasp. Johnny landed on the ground, intent on dashing towards the organic and wringing his neck. But his legs gave out underneath him before he could even take a step, sending the robot crashing to the floor.

“Grah! What…” Johnny sputtered, unable to comprehend the alien soreness in his joints. He was a machine; he shouldn’t be capable of feeling like this without months of inactivity. “What the hell did you do to me? Where am I? Where the hell is—”

“Woah, woah! Slow down for a moment;” that loathsome hedgehog began. “Your legs gotta readjust before you start—”

“Slow down? Did you forget who I am?” he responded with disgust, before letting out a brief chuckle. “Whisker must’ve gotten a good hit on ya while I was out…”

As feeling slowly returned to the machine’s lower half, Sonic and Blaze took a glance at each other, eyes wide with realization. Neither managed to conceive a tactful way to bring up the issue.

“Soon, you’ll be— argh! …you’ll all be sorry: You can’t keep the— oof! …the Sultan of Speed hostage for l-long!” Johnny managed to gloat through his struggle to stand. “ʼSides, Whisker’s pro’lly got his whole fleet comin’ for ya ’bout now!”

After a painfully long silence, Blaze was the one who finally stepped forward. “Johnny… Whisker is gone.”

The robot nearly collapsed again at those words. “W-what?”

“He’s gone. He was defeated, along with you, the Egg Wizard, and the rest of the pirates…”

Johnny just stared at her in a long silence. Finally, he managed to choke out a question: “W-when?”

“Well, it’s been at least a year since, I reckon…” she answered cautiously.

Silence penetrated the room once more, with Johnny remaining nigh motionless. Only a slight twitch of his head and hands were all that was noticeable.

Sonic approached the robot. “Johnny, I’m sor—”

But the machine suddenly shot forward, his jet engine scorching the ground he was seated at mere milliseconds before. The hedgehog he was interrupting swiftly dodged him, pulling the nearby princess along with him and away from the sentient torpedo’s trajectory.

Blaze found herself in Sonic’s arms, his posture hunched and his quills flared. “You okay?” He asked her. She responded with a simple nod, trying (unsuccessfully) to ignore the soft blush forming on her face. The hedgehog lowered her back onto her feet and the two glanced around the room. Their eyes fell to the fox and raccoon who also attempted to evade the robot, the latter of which appeared to have not been very successful.

“Blaze, make sure Marine’s okay. I’m going after Johnny.” And before the cat could even ask him to be careful, the hedgehog vanished, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in his wake.

Johnny tore through the air; sand, seawater, and stones alike parted in his wake. For a while, all his audio receptors picked up was the sound of the wind whipping by…

Until the irritatingly familiar sound of rapid footsteps approached him from the right.

“I see you’re feeling better!” the hedgehog said with a cocky grin. “I know you were a force to be reckoned with on the water, but I had no idea you could reach these speeds on land. Color me impressed!”

Johnny glared at him and shouted: “Get away from me!”

“Nope! Not until you get a hold of yourself!”

“Grah!” the robot roared as he hurled a fist at the Blue Blur.

Sonic avoided the punch with ease, causing the machine to stumble. But as Johnny readjusted his course and began picking up more speed, the quilled menace’s face quickly turned to one of shock. “Crap! Look out!” he yelped, skidding to a halt.

Johnny looked forward, beholding the rock face he was barrelling towards. Having no means to come to a quick stop like his blue rival has, the robot attempted to veer off to the side to avoid collision. Whilst he did evade an impact with the stone wall, his limited ability to steer sent him crashing into the sand instead, tumbling across the beach.

He once again heard footsteps approaching—he didn’t even need to guess who their owner was. Slowly, the robot got to his feet, his diagnostics telling him that he sustained no major damage. He looked up and saw that damned blue pincushion standing there; the pest even had the gall to feign concern.

“So, you ready to talk it out, now?”

Johnny replied by throwing another punch, which Sonic responded to in-turn by grabbing the robot and throwing him to the ground.

“Look, I can do this all day, but you gotta calm yourself down, man!” the hedgehog cooly stated. “I don’t wanna hurt you.” He then extended a hand out to the machine.

Johnny stared at the outstretched hand, nearly reaching out for it, only to come to his senses and swat it away as he got up by himself. “I don’t need your pity! I just…” His words faltered for a moment, and he looked away while his voice lost some of its venom. “I just need some time by myself…”

Sonic seemed… shockingly understanding. “That’s fine, dude. Though could you… get back to us tomorrow morning? Just to make sure you won’t be going around wreaking havoc ’n’ all, y’know?”

The machine was silent for a good moment. “…I’ll consider it.”

And with those words, Johnny darted off into the horizon.

Many hours had passed since Sonic returned, and there was still no sign of Johnny. It was getting quite late, now—Sonic and Blaze had gone off to spend some time alone together, and Tails was already fast asleep; and so, it was only natural for Marine to start getting tired as well.

In fact, she was in the middle of putting away her current project when her door was suddenly thrown open. Whipping her head around, she beheld the silhouetted form of Johnny looming in the doorway.

“Marine—”

“Blimey!” the raccoon immediately interrupted. “Did ya ever learn to knock?”

Johnny was thrown off for a moment, but soon began again with a mechanical sigh: “Look, I… need you to… to tell me something, alright?”

Marine cocked an eyebrow at him, obviously unamused by his lack of manners.

The machine sighed again. “…Please?”

Her expression quickly became jubilant. “Sure, since ya asked so nicely!” she teased. “What’cha need?”

“Well, you were the one who found me, right?” he asked, to which Marine nodded. “W-what… state, did you find me in? Where was I, anyway?”

The girl’s smile instantly fell. “O-oh, well… You were washed up on the shore of one of the islands; you were just, buried in the sand, covered in rust…”

The robot went silent.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Johnny.”

“N-no it’s… Thanks, I guess…” His voice was solemn as he looked away. With a quick farewell, he turned around and vanished back into the night.

After breakfast the next morning, the group found Johnny waiting for them at the beach. Sonic was quick to call out to him once he spotted the machine.

“Hey, Johnny! Glad to see that you’re a man of your word!” He was nearly about to run over and greet the robot, but Blaze’s hand on his wrist stopped him.

“I like to think of myself as havin’ a bit of honor, y’know?” Johnny dryly chuckled. “And ’sides, I have no reason to betray you…” A tinge of melancholy filled his voice. Mumbling, he added: “No reason to do much of— Anyway!” he interrupted himself; “That’s not why I’m here. No, I’m here to settle something.”

The vagueness of that statement put the whole group on edge, with Blaze and Tails both stepping forward defensively; the latter spoke up: “Now don’t even think about trying anything!”

“Please, kid,” he scoffed. “I’m not ‘trying’ anything.” He turned his attention back to Sonic. “I’m just lookin’ for one final race; just me ’n’ you, mister ‘Blue Blur’.”

A confident smirk was plastered on the hedgehog’s face. “Oh, you’re on! What’s the terrain?”

“The ocean, of course. Though I’ll need to borrow a jetski; I… don’t know where mine is…” he added sheepishly.

“’S all cool. Marine, d’ya happen to have a spare waterbike?”

“Hmmm… there oughta be a Wave Cyclone prototype ’round here somewhere, since I was rarin’ to try out a large tank capacity…” the raccoon responded. “I’ll see if I can find—”

“Hold on a moment. Could you excuse us for a moment, Johnny?” Blaze interrupted, pulling Sonic and Marine aside. “You two are way too trusting! How do you know he’s not leading you into a trap, Sonic?”

“I’m tellin’ ya, Blaze! There’s somethin’… different, about him. Plus, you know I can handle my—”

“I am not going to stand by and watch my friend sink to the bottom of the ocean!” the princess cut him off. She took a deep breath to calm herself, before continuing: “Look, I… Please, just be careful, Sonic.”

Marine decided to add her two cents: “Yeah, yeah. Though I think Sonic’s got a point; Johnny’s deadset, too—I can’t think of a reason for him to betray us. It’ll be apples, mate!”

Blaze sighed. “Very well, although is there any way for us to keep an eye on them while they race?”

Marine thought for a moment. “We could take the ol’ Ocean Tornado out for a burl and keep watch from it!”

“I believe that would be for the best.”

The engines of the two jetskis growled in anticipation; the seawater below them quaked; in the distance, a princess and two engineers watched from a nearby battleship.

Sonic and Johnny exchanged glances with each other, prepared to dart across the ocean at a moment’s notice. On the Ocean Tornado, Marine stepped forward and unholstered a flintlock loaded only with gunpowder; she aimed it towards the sky, ready to fire.

The two racers focused on the water before them, itching for their signal.

…

…

CRACK!

And they were off! Sonic and Johnny ripped through the water in the blink of an eye, twisting around floating debris, buoys, and lone specks of rock effortlessly. The ocean’s salty mist scattered in their wake, while the wind howled in their respective ears and audio receptors.

Through all of this sensory noise, the two competitors kept their minds clear, focused solely on their fast-approaching goal.

The finish line was only a couple dozen meters away, now. The racers were neck-and-neck.

Their engines were roaring.

Victory was within both of their grasps.

The outside world seemed to stand still.

There must be less than five meters left of the home stretch.

A number that was quickly dwindling…

…

At last, Johnny managed to eke out a win.

“Damn! Well, I guess you’ve still got it, eh Johnny?” Sonic congratulated as their jetskis drifted to a halt. His victorious opponent, however, did not gloat nor even celebrate; he stayed uncharacteristically silent. “Johnny?”

“Look at me…” he began to mumble. “I’m the fastest being to ever grace the ocean’s surface; truly the Sultan of Speed. And yet…” His voice grew louder. “They choose to just… throw me away?

“Was I not an asset to them? Was I not the one who could collect all of the Chaos Emeralds in merely a few hours? Was I not the master of the ocean’s waves? I had done so much for them, and they discarded me like I’m some piece of junk?” he shouted, slamming his fist down onto the waterbike’s handle. “Damn Whisker! Damn the Eggmen! Damn them all to HELL!”

“Johnny, hey. Take it easy for a—” Sonic drove up and tried to console him, only to be interrupted.

“They abandoned me like I was NOTHING!” Johnny then went silent, slowly turning to glance at the hedgehog. “…Why didn’t you?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sonic did not hesitate with his words. “Because you deserved a second chance—a chance to be your own person.” The machine looked at him with surprise as he continued: “Johnny, I saw your love of racing—your love of the sea; you’re a free spirit, just like me. And I always held respect for you as an opponent.

“Your skill and enthusiasm shouldn’t be wasted on the machinations of some madmen, Johnny; it deserves to be shown to the world.”

The robot went quiet once again, staring off over the horizon. Eventually he mumbled a quick “I… I need some time to think…” and quickly sped off into the distance.

“Johnny, wait!” Sonic tried to go after him, only to notice the flashing fuel indicator on his waterbike; he only had enough to head back to the Ocean Tornado.

Reluctantly, the hedgehog drove back to regroup with the others.

After Sonic returned to shore alone, the group soon acknowledged that Sonic and Tails had to return to their world soon enough. And so, they tried to push the situation regarding Johnny out of their minds for the time being, with Blaze and Marine promising that they would check up on him as soon as they could. Right now, however, the group wished to spend some time together before they were forced to part.

With the afternoon fast approaching, there was not much time to go on any brief adventures; and so, the party decided to chat about any recent adventures or projects of theirs over lunch.

Sonic remarked that he had been going on the “same-ol’ adventures”, travelling the world in search of new thrills; additionally, he admitted that he would enjoy exploring more of the Sol Dimension, someday. Tails, meanwhile, said that he focused on experiments regarding Chaos energy; in-fact, the SS Tornado MK III was born out of these endeavors, as dimensional transportation was something he was trying to improve upon. “Would’ve been nice if yesterday wasn’t your first test-run of it, though; just in case, y’know?” his brother added, at which Tails only rolled his eyes.

Blaze admitted that her days as of late have not been interesting—countless meetings, addresses to her council and the parliament over internal affairs, festival preparations, and attempted communication with nearby kingdoms. She did mention that there were tensions brewing between some overzealous corporate conglomerates of the province of Eclipse and the Empire’s courts; she predicts that great action will be taken in the following weeks. Finally, Marine boasted about her recent excursions throughout the Nebula Archipelago; she and her crew had discovered new relics, refined their charts and maps, and even got hired for a few shipping jobs; her only wish was for the coconut crew to make amends with Daikun, especially considering the fact that he has the most knowledge about historical artifacts than anyone else they know. “Still, it’s been going pretty well, though of course we’ve had to put a stop to everything for a bit once we found…” the raccoon trailed off, realizing the topic she was treading back into.

The group went silent; it got to a point where Marine was ready to apologize, if it wasn’t for Sonic speaking up: “I should’ve… I should’ve followed him. ’S not right to let him suffer alone like that…”

“Sonic, if I may,” Blaze began; “If what you said was true, I believe it may be best to leave him be, for the time being. For some, healing may require time alone with oneself.”

The hedgehog piped up a little at her words. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure— Blaze? What’s wrong?” he interrupted himself upon registering his friend’s solemn expression.

“I feel… I feel it may be my fault, in part.” She briefly glanced around, beholding the hints of confusion and concern in her friends’ faces. “I was so… distrusting of him—so sure that his only desire was to bring as much havoc upon the world as possible. Knowing how much pain he must be in, I cannot help but question what sort of example I must be setting; how could I let myself be so void of sympathy—?”

“Hey, no worries, mate!” Marine cut off the princess’s self-doubt. “You’d every right to be concerned ’bout the green surfie; crikey, he was bloody cranky when we woke him up, nah? We were all mighty skeptical after that.”

“Marine’s right,” Tails chimed in. “Heck, I probably wouldn’t have gotten him back online if Sonic wasn’t so insistent.” He sent a kind smile the cat’s way. “You shouldn’t beat yourself up over it; it’s okay to be wary.”

Blaze considered his words, taking a deep breath in the process. “Thank you for your kind words… Although I think I still need some fresh air, if I may be excused.”

With her friends’ affirmation, the princess took her leave and stepped out onto the beach.

Standing under the clear, blue sky, Blaze let the ocean’s calming breeze wash over her. These sorts of respites were almost a requirement for the princess in her day-to-day life; and so, she was content to simply stand there for a while, listening to the sounds of the sea: the waves creeping up and down the shore, the swaying palms, the gentle creaking of the small dock nearby, the roaming gulls, the wind whistling through the sand… It was all so perfectly serene.

…

After a few minutes, Blaze’s ear twitched at the introduction of a new sound: The rumbling engine of a jetski.

The princess opened her eyes and scanned the horizon, eventually landing upon the source of the sound and its driver, Johnny. He looked almost the same as when she saw him last, save for the insignia on his chest having been scratched off.

In her surprise, Blaze didn’t say a word, only observing as the machine slowly drove over to the dock and secured his vehicle to the mooring. It took until the robot spotted her for Blaze to find her voice. “J-Johnny?”

“Blaze—or, uh… Your Highness, sorry,” he replied, seeming to be equally surprised. He quickly stepped onto the sand.

“It is fine; we have no need for such formalities,” she said, despite regaining her poise. “Are you… feeling any better?”

“Honestly? Yeah.” He looked off to the side for a moment. “But, uh… there was something I wanted to ask you.”

Assuming it was about her prior behavior, Blaze sighed. “I… I know. I am sorry, Johnny; I should not have assumed that you held such ill-intent.”

“What?” The machine looked at her in a brief stupor of confusion. “Oh! It’s all cool. Heck, if you ask me, I prolly wouldn’t have trusted me, either… knowing what I’ve done…” There was a tinge of genuine regret in his words, but he quickly returned to his original topic. “But what I meant to ask was, if someone… y’know, like myself, were to, uh…” he stumbled over his words. Sighing, he tried again: “I mean, do you think I could, well… find a place; in your kingdom—empire, whatever?”

The princess raised an eyebrow at that request. “Are you saying that you wish to become a citizen of the Sol Empire?”

“I… y-yes. D’ya think they’d accept me?”

Blaze pondered his question for a moment. “Hmmm… Zodiac is quite an accepting province; I am sure you will fit right in.”

Johnny let out a mechanical sigh. “Th-thank you…” And Blaze couldn’t help but smile at the happiness in his voice.

Johnny’s return couldn’t have been more apt, as when Blaze told her friends of it they realized it was almost time for Sonic and Tails to leave.

While his brother prepared the ship, Sonic took it upon himself to check in on Johnny, who was leaning on a palm and staring off across the sea.

“Hey, dude; feelin’ alright?” he asked, to which the machine simply nodded.

After a long silence, Johnny suddenly spoke up, his gaze still focused on the horizon. “Y’know… with you headin’ back home, the speed lovers of the world’ll be hankerin’ for someone to look up to…”

“Hm?”

The machine finally turned to face the hedgehog. “Lucky for them, I’ll be here to show them what true speed is!”

“Hey, can’t say I’m not glad to hear that,” Sonic said with a smirk. “I’m gonna hold you to that, though; we’re havin’ a rematch next time I’m over here!”

“Well, until then—” Johnny held out a moderately raised hand, which Sonic met in a sort-of informal handshake. “—May the wind be at your back, wherever you go!”