Sonsally Week 2021: Day 4 - Power
So this is old, and it was something I had been poking at for a good while. This was going to be my entry for last year's Bound for Freedom Sonally week event, but while I had most of it written up, I couldn't quite get the halfway point going in the direction I wanted it to.
This takes place in my current timeline, and it takes place after my last post, which helped me to finish off this snippet almost a year later lol.
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The night air was chilling as Sonic wandered through the village, so much so that Sonic felt himself shiver slightly when he found himself focusing a little too much on the cold. He quickly forced his mind to wander elsewhere, but it instantly beelined to the reason why he was out there in the first place.
Over the last week almost, since Sonic had his growth spurt thanks to his mutation, Sally and Uncle Chuck, along with Rotor’s help, had been tinkering with the ring generator in hopes of getting it to produce Power Rings that Sonic could use again.
When Sonic was first mutated one of the biggest downfalls had been that he could no longer use the Power Rings. The original theory was because Sonic’s DNA had become unstable, and Uncle Chuck had hoped that with the recent growth it meant that it had now stabilised enough for him to get the Power Rings linked back to Sonic. But after many generated rings, and twice as many blood samples taken from Sonic by Bookshire – which thinking about made Sonic’s skin crawl under his fur – none of them had worked.
Sonic had played it off at each failed attempt, as he could see the muted disappointment in everyone’s expressions. But deep down every time Sonic felt cold metal instead of energised heat from the Power Ring given to him, Sonic could feel his confidence in the idea get chipped away more and more.
And it made him start to resent the mutation more than he already was.
Sonic shook his head before he went down that path, not wanting to dwell on those thoughts again. He had come out here to try to calm himself down, not wind himself up. Though when he looked up to see where his wandering had led him Sonic couldn’t help the wince that flexed through him when he realised he had ended up at the Power Ring Pool.
Which, he had to admit, he should have expected; there had been many nights Sonic had come out here to ease his mind on the rare occasions he needed it to settle down. The sound of running water from the nearby waterfall and the calm, almost glass-like surface of the lake was always soothing. The irony of ending up here still stung a little, though now that he was there Sonic didn’t want to leave quite yet.
Not far from the lake’s bank Sonic picked up the sound of snoring, and he instantly recognised who was making the noise. Rolling his eyes, Sonic turned towards one of the nearby trees and spotted Antoine asleep at its base, snoring up a storm.
A few feet away from him the ring generator stood, still out of the water from when Rotor and Uncle Chuck had tinkered with it that afternoon. Sally had obviously asked Antoine to keep up the ring watch routine, as the ring generated that night was going to be the next one for Sonic to try after their latest recalibrations.
Sonic wasn’t looking forward to it, not really sure if he could deal with another whack of disappointment. Or another blood drawing from Bookshire. Sonic rubbed at his arms to try to chase away the thought as he approached Antoine, feeling the faint stings of past drawings at his touch.
“Ant. Ant,” Sonic hissed.
Sonic doubted that he was going to go to sleep any time soon, so he figured that he might as well do ring watch. But he didn’t want to do it while Antoine was still around. Not just because Antoine’s company at any other given time was pure torture to Sonic, but because he genuinely didn’t feel like having any company at that moment. Even if they slept the night away when they were supposed to be on watch.
“Ant!” Sonic hissed again, and this time he gave Antoine’s foot a nudge, just enough to make it slip off his other foot as the coyote had his legs crossed to make himself more comfortable.
The slight nudge was enough to wake Antoine up this time, and he jolted awake with a soft yelp. In his half-awake state Antoine looked around to get his bearings, though as he looked passed Sonic he caught a glimpse of Sonic’s amber eyes reflecting oddly in the moonlight.
That, combined with Sonic’s taller figure, as the hedgehog stood close to five foot compared to other Mobians now, gave him a much more imposing silhouette in the dim light. The sight made Antoine cry out in fear, and the coyote jumped back, practically tripping over himself as he boxed himself up against the tree he had been sleeping under moments ago.
Usually such outbursts could be brought down to Antoine being his usual jumpy self, but Sonic had caught that glimpse of genuine fear in the coyote’s eyes, and all at once Sonic found himself in a much fouler mood. After the growth spurt Sonic had been wary of showing himself to the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and it had taken some coaxing from Sally and Uncle Chuck before he worked up the courage to reveal his new look.
As Sonic expected his friends had been shocked by the change, but had remained supportive. Which Sonic appreciated, until he started to experience the repeated process of each of them baulking at him whenever he spoke to them one on one just long enough for him to notice.
The villagers were also doing the same, though their brand of shock came as wary, almost startled glances in his direction whenever Sonic had to go through the village. Some would even physically jump back if he happened to move in their direction, as if expecting him to jump out at them unprovoked.
Those little pauses and wary glances were adding up just as much as the failed Power Ring attempts, and Sonic was doing his level best to keep his cool. But he also felt like he was one pearl-clutching reaction away from losing his shit entirely.
The incident in Robotropolis was also messing with his head, and Sonic sometimes caught himself wondering if his friends and the villagers actually did have a reason to be afraid of him.
“It’s just me, Ant,” Sonic exasperated, and began tapping his foot as he waited for Antoine to calm down.
Thankfully it didn’t take long, and when Antoine realised what was happening he gave Sonic a nervous laugh, then adjusted his uniform.
“Of course, I am knowing this,” Antoine stated as he dusted himself off.
Though when he glanced at Sonic he quickly looked away, his ears folding back in fear. Sonic once again caught that, and his foot stilled, his patience up.
“I’m takin’ over, go to bed,” Sonic stated shortly.
Antoine blinked in surprise, and he looked at Sonic, this time not pulling his gaze away.
“But this is my shift, zee princess asked me--” Antoine began.
“‘nd I’m tellin’ ya I’m takin’ over, go to bed,” Sonic interrupted.
Briefly Sonic’s lips pulled back just enough to reveal the oversized canines he now possessed as he tried to bite back his frustration. Sonic hadn’t realised what he had done just then, but Antoine yelped at the sight.
Quickly he nodded, and without another word Antoine left, half bolting and half tripping over himself as he practically bolted from the hedgehog.
Sonic watched him leave, then flopped onto his rump and sighed heavily, feeling his mood deflate completely as he hid his face in one hand.
“Not the most tactical retreat, but I’ve seen worse from him,” a voice piped up suddenly, and this time it was Sonic’s turn to jump in surprise, a short hiss escaping him before he could stop himself.
When he looked for the speaker Sonic found Sally standing close by, her arms crossed and a slight frown on her face as she continued looking in the direction Antoine had ran off towards.
“Geez, Sal! Y’tryin’ to give me a heart attack?” Sonic cried.
“Usually you can hear me well before I get close to you, Sonic,” Sally pointed out. She sat down next to him, crossing her legs at her ankles. “A little distracted tonight?”
“Wit’ the way Ant was snorin’ I couldn’t hear anthin’ else,” Sonic muttered as he leaned against the tree, rolling his eyes a little. “I thought you went to bed ages ago.”
“I could say the same about you,” Sally said, tilting her head a little at Sonic. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t tired so I figured a lap around the village would help,” Sonic explained, waving Sally off.
Sally watched him for a moment, trying to gauge how she could proceed here. She could tell that something was bothering Sonic, and after the last few days Sally was sure she knew what it was, but getting Sonic to admit things like this was always dicey.
“I would have figured after having three blood samples taken out of you today, that would have tired you out plenty,” Sally attempted, giving Sonic a half smile to ease in the light teasing.
Usually Sonic would use this sort of teasing as an opening to tease Sally back, or to fall back into his cool guy attitude and play it off. Which would eventually lead Sonic into realising that he could take that moment to be open with Sally.
However to Sally’s surprise Sonic pointedly tilted his head away from her without a word, though Sally heard a faint huff exhale from Sonic’s nose as he did.
This was pretty rare to see from Sonic. Sonic was loud, and very unafraid to clap back or drag someone if they hit one of his few soft spots. When he went quiet, Sally knew something was very wrong, and this, along with the interaction she witnessed between him and Antoine, confirmed it.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t tease about that,” Sally apologised.
Sonic sat in silence for a minute, before he sighed and shook his head.
“No, it’s fine,” Sonic said as he looked back at Sally, running a hand over his quills to slick them back a little. “I guess I’m just not in a jokin’ mood right now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Sally asked, deciding that their usual methods probably wasn’t going to be the best option tonight. The fact that Sonic didn’t wince or physically squirm at the suggestion surprised Sally, but it also made her a little hopeful.
“I don’t wanna sound like a brat or anythin’, ‘cause I know you guys are doin’ everythin’ you can to get this ring thin’ to work,” Sonic began after a long pause, each word coming out like he had picked them very carefully. “It’s just that... I don’t get it. I don’t get why it’s not workin’. It’s been a week, all o’ this--"
Here Sonic gestured at himself, though when he did his motions were frustrated, almost angry, and he barely looked at himself as he did it.
“--should be settled by now, right? Or am I so damn different that even the rings can’t recognise me?”
Sally bit at her bottom lip as she tried to think of an answer. The Power Rings were a creation of Sonic’s uncle that he had made years before the coup. The original plan for them was for them to be a portal power source for machines, something that would have been useful during the last few years of the Great War. But the plan had fallen through due to the rings’ energy becoming unstable in certain machines without the use of overly expensive and complicated conductors.
Just before the coup Uncle Chuck had discovered that Sonic was able to use the Power Rings himself for an extra boost of speed and energy, and somehow he was the only one that had this strange connection to the rings. He had begun researching this phenomenon on the cusp of the coup, meaning that what he had been able to discover was limited.
Which was proving to be a great downfall as Uncle Chuck was unable to restore Sonic’s connection to the rings because of his mutation without knowing why the connection was there in the first place.
“That we’re still working on,” Sally explained after a few moments. “We were hoping it would be an easier transition, but it’s been a little harder than we first thought it was going to be.”
“I figured,” Sonic sighed. “I guess I was just hopin’ that this mutation business was done ‘nd dusted finally.”
Sally watched Sonic as he said this, noticing the way that he seemed to almost curl into himself as if he wanted to hide himself even in plain sight. It was very rare to see Sonic so down on himself, considering how confident, almost egotistical, he was, and it almost scared Sally seeing him like this.
“Maybe we’re missing something. It has been a while since you’ve used the Power Rings, after all,” Sally offered, wanting to try to steer the conversation away from too many reminders of how much Sonic had changed. “How exactly did they work for you?”
Sonic shrugged, not quite looking at Sally now.
“I dunno really. I had to like, focus on it, but it wasn’t really that hard to do,” Sonic explained. “That’s why it used to only take a second for ‘em to activate. If anythin’ it was harder to make ‘em not power up as soon as I touched ‘em, that’s why I always got one o’ you guys to slap it in my backpack or hand it over to me if I had to time it differently. If I held onto ‘em too long wit’out activatin’ it it would end up just doin’ it on its own anyway.”
“Maybe that’s it? It might just need a different focus,” Sally suggested, but frowned when Sonic shook his head, dismissing her.
“When I’m holdin’ it I can tell it ain’t workin’,” Sonic said. “Usually as soon as I grab it it gets warm, then hot. But when I touch the ring now it’s ice cold, even when it comes straight from the generator. It’s like as if it’s just a piece o’ metal.”
“It’s warm?” Sally echoed, blinking with surprise. “Whenever I hold one it feels cold.”
“Oh yeah, it’s always been warm to me,” Sonic explained. “If you could feel it you’d know that it’s doin’ its thin’.”
Sally’s eyebrows furrowed a little with concern. She knew that the Power Rings held a lot of energy, and they could be dangerous if they were placed somewhere that could make them unstable. But it never occurred to her how it might have felt to Sonic when he used them as she had never seen any negative effects on the hedgehog. If anything Sonic always seemed more energised after he had used a ring, and he always used them without any hesitation.
“Does it hurt when you use them?” Sally asked.
“Nah,” Sonic answered instantly, but then paused, tilting his head a little as he thought a little more. “Well... not anymore. The first few times I used ‘em it kinda hurt, but I don’t feel it no more.”
Sonic has meant for that statement to be reassuring, but when he looked at Sally he was surprised to see the muted shock on Sally’s face. He blinked at her, not really getting why that would worry her – he had been using the rings for so long that he barely even remembered what it was like when he first used them.
“You never told me that,” Sally gaped, shock clear in her voice. “If they were hurting you we could have done something about it. Or made you stop using them.”
“Why? It’s no biggie. ‘nd once the power kicked in it was nothin’ anyway.”
Sally squinted at Sonic, really not sure how to take this revelation.
“But it still hurts you?” Sally asked.
“It’s not like it was choppin’ my hands off, Sal,” Sonic sighed, a soft laugh in his voice. “Here, look.”
Sally watched as Sonic tugged off his gloves, before he revealed his palms to her, his fingers squeezed together. The growth spurt had made Sonic’s hands larger, and heavier looking, but he still wore his old gloves as he never liked keeping his hands bare despite them not quite fitting right any more.
At first Sally couldn’t quite see what Sonic was showing her, as she noticed the size of his hands first, then the thick pads that lined his fingers and palms. But as she looked closer Sally spotted thick scars that crossed Sonic’s palms and fingers, like he had been struck across his hands with a burning rod.
A flush of shock washed through her when Sally realised that the burns were positioned exactly where Sonic would have held the Power Rings, the marks fitting the ring perfectly. When she compared his hands Sally also realised that the scar on Sonic’s right hand was much more pronounced, while the one on his left hand was a little fainter. Not by much, but comparing the two made it obvious that Sonic favoured his right hand much more than his left when it came to handling the Power Rings.
“See? No biggie,” Sonic remarked, oblivious to Sally’s reservations as he slipped his gloves back on, flexing his fingers to get them set right once more. “But that’s wha’ I mean when I say I can tell that they’re workin’.”
“Are you sure you want to use them again?” Sally asked, still unable to shake off her concern.
“Yes,” Sonic sighed. “Look, Sal. The mutation has made me faster ‘nd stronger, but the rings always gave me a way past huge boost when things got dicey. I want that advantage back, ‘specially wit’ Doomsday gettin’ closer.”
“‘nd also... maybe they could be used to snap me back to normal if I ever go feral again,” Sonic added, his voice lowering suddenly. “I mean, it worked on unc ‘nd Muttski to break ‘em outta ‘buttnik’s programmin’, so... I dunno...”
As he said this Sonic half curled into himself again, and tilted his head away so that he wasn’t quite looking at Sally, though there was clear shame on his face. Sally also noticed that Sonic ran his hand over the shoulder he had injured during their last mission, and felt her heart sink at the revelation.
Sally pulled herself closer to Sonic’s side and leaned against him, slipping her hand around his back to pull him into a hug.
“I’m sure that was just a once off, Sonic,” Sally coaxed as she nuzzled her cheek against his. “And even though it was an extreme reaction, it was also an extreme situation that caused it.”
“I guess, but still,” Sonic sighed. “I just don’t wanna hurt anyone. Everyone’s already freakin’ about me as it is.”
“They will get used to you,” Sally stated. “And even when you were feral you still were able to control yourself, and snapped out of it when the Stealthbots nearly found us.”
Gently Sally placed her hand under Sonic’s chin and made him turn to face her.
“Despite the mutation, you’re still you, Sonic. You still love your friends and you still protect us, even against yourself,” Sally added. “And we’ll still stay by your side, no matter how this mutation ends up.”
Sonic’s eyes widened a little at Sally’s words, picking up the sincerity in them and honestly feeling a little startled by it. But even as he tried to pick up any falsehoods in Sally’s expression - his mind still bruised by everyone else’s reactions to his latest look and wanting to prove to him that this was a fragile promise – all Sonic could see was the familiar steely determination he had seen many times before in Sally’s eyes, and his mind quietened down for the moment.
“... thanks, Sal,” Sonic murmured, before he nuzzled his cheek against hers, allowing a soft purr to rumble through his throat. When Sally ran her hand along his jawline Sonic purred louder, a smirk crossing his lips as she giggled at the sound.
A low whirl of a fan suddenly sounded, and as the two turned towards the source of it they spotted to Power Ring Generator beginning to power up, a familiar glow in its chamber.
They watched as the machine grinded, its sounds usually muffled by the water when it was submerged, until the glow in its chamber rose to the top of the machine. A Power Ring then formed, and floated above the generator, waiting to be collected.
Sally stood, ready to fetch it, but then paused and looked back at Sonic, noticing the conflicted look on his face as he stared up at the ring. She hesitated, her eyes flinting between the ring and Sonic, knowing that if she didn’t collect it now the ring will be reabsorbed into the Power Stone, and they would have to wait another twelve-hours before another was generated.
This ring would also be the one that they would be testing on Sonic in the morning, as Uncle Chuck and Rotor had made more adjustments to the generator that day. But after hearing Sonic’s frustrations at the failed experiments, Sally wondered if Sonic was feeling up to trying again.
“Grab it, Sal,” Sonic eventually said, surprising Sally. She still hesitated for a moment, watching Sonic to see if he wanted to change his mind.
But when he didn’t Sally moved for the generator, not wanting to miss her chance. Sonic didn’t move from his spot as he watched Sally climb up along the generator’s side and grab the ring just before it made its descent back to its source.
Ring in hand now, Sally jumped down from the generator and sat back next to Sonic, watching as the ring’s glow faded in her grip. Like she had said before, the ring felt cold to her, despite being fresh from the generator, and Sally found herself running her hand along its length, as if chasing for that warmth Sonic had described.
When she looked back at Sonic Sally could see the apprehension on his face as he eyed the Power Ring, and an idea came to her.
“How about we try it now instead of in the morning?” Sally suggested. “And if it doesn’t work you can take a break from trying them for a day or so. How does that sound?”
Sonic’s ears folded back, instantly wanting to rebel at the idea. He wasn’t sure if he could face another bout of disappointment at that moment, but the thought of delaying it for a few hours somehow seemed so much worse to the hedgehog.
But the promise of shelfing the experiments, even just for a few days, seemed like something he could actually use.
“Yeah, sounds cool to me,” Sonic confirmed, though he found himself still hesitating when Sally held the ring out to him.
After a few moments of debating his choice, Sonic reached for the ring, only to pause once more. Before Sally could question what he was doing Sonic pulled off his gloves, folding them over his leg for safe keeping, then reached for the ring once more. There was still a moment of hesitation from the hedgehog, until he seemed to steel himself and grabbed the ring with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut.
Sally watched the ring, the darkness surrounding them now becoming an advantage as she would be able to see any hints of a glow from the ring thanks to it. However after a few seconds, which turned into a few moments, Sally felt herself deflate a little when she couldn’t see any glow at all.
Sonic meanwhile kept his eyes shut, both so that he couldn’t watch the ring, and so that he could focus on tapping into its energy without any distractions. He didn’t know how long he had his eyes shut, as it honestly felt like only a few seconds. It was only when he heard Sally gently calling his name did Sonic realise that a significant amount of time had passed, and once again the ring had done nothing.
Shoulders slumping now, Sonic opened his eyes and pulled the ring into his lap, staring down at its shiny, yet somehow dull surface, and exhaled a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of his soul.
“I’m sorry, Sonic,” Sally sighed as she leaned into his side, nuzzling his cheek once more.
“It’s okay, Sal. It ain’t your fault,” Sonic said, leaning into her nuzzling. “But I think you’re right, I need a break from this.”
“I’ll send a message to Uncle Chuck and let him know. He might still come to Knothole anyway, but we won’t bring you into anything for a bit,” Sally confirmed. “Maybe for now try to get some sleep. You can sleep in if you want, too.”
“Wow, you’re really lettin’ me milk this, huh?” Sonic teased. “Do I get extra chilidog rations, too?”
“Getting extra rations means having to talk to Antoine, do you really want to push your luck there?” Sally pointed out, smirking as Sonic winced at the reminder. “I’ll take the ring, maybe Uncle Chuck can do something with it still.”
Sonic tapped the ring’s surface with a claw tip, his ears flickering at the metallic sound it produced.
“Actually, I might hold onto it,” Sonic said. “I dunno, maybe I’ll think o’ somethin’ that’ll get it sparkin’ again.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Who knows, maybe it’s somethin’ so simple we all ain’t seein’ it,” Sonic shrugged. “The rings can be weird like that.”
“Well, you were the only one that could use them at all in the first place, so you could be right,” Sally said.
When Sonic stood he offered his hand to Sally, helping her to her feet once she took a hold of it with and ease that almost caused Sally to stumble in her place, which made Sonic snicker at the display. Once she corrected herself Sally gave Sonic a playful slap on his shoulder, before pulling him into a hug that he returned with a good squeeze.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight,” Sally said.
“Night, Sal. Catch ya later,” Sonic returned, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “’nd thanks for hearin’ me out. It was probably a lot.”
“You know you can come to me if anything is ever bothering you, Sonic. No matter what,” Sally stated. “Just keep me posted if anything else is going on, don’t keep it to yourself.”
“Pfft, ‘nd lose a chance to get all broody? C’mon,” Sonic grinned as he pulled away from Sally and began to make his way towards his hut.
“Broody doesn’t suit you, you’re not that kind of hero,” Sally teased, rolling her eyes as Sonic poked his tongue out at her. “Go sleep.”
“Fine, fine.”
Upon entering his hut Sonic closed his door and flopped back against it, letting out a tense sigh he didn’t even realise he was holding. The talk had helped, but there was still an odd weight in his chest that he couldn’t quite shake off.
Sonic brought the Power Ring to his eye level, watching how the moonlight bounced off its polished surface. Other than that though he still couldn’t see glow to its surface, and just like before Sonic could feel nothing but coldness from it.
“C’mon, wha’ are we missin’ here?” Sonic urged. “You worked wit’ no problems before, what’s the hold up now?”
He stared at the ring, hoping for some kind of answer to jump out at him. But when nothing changed, Sonic sighed again, the odd feeling in his chest growing thicker.
Defeated and now tired, Sonic set the ring down near his backpack and kicked off his sneakers, very much ready for bed. He could torture himself more about this tomorrow, he reasoned as he crawled back into bed. Though as Sonic drifted off to sleep he couldn’t help but stare at the Power Ring, wishing that the glow of the moonlight reflecting off it was a little more familiar instead of mocking.