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Sonic the Hedgehog: Friendship

Chapter 3: Benefit of the Doubt

0601 hours, October 6, 3224

South Island, house on southwest beach strip

In the brief time that Sonic had attended Mobotropolis Elementary School, namely the unpleasant period of his life where he had been forced to spend the bulk of his day with six legs on the ground rather than two, Sonic had come to the not so astounding conclusion that English was not one of his best subjects.

True, the hedgehog had a general dislike to almost anything and everything that prison had thrown at him (apart from PE of course), but English had really took the coop. Going over nouns, verbs and adjectives had to be the most effective way of killing brain cells in the known world and the assigned novels, while admittedly fairly interesting at times, were a far cry from the comics that Sonic usually preferred, the stories about superheroes and megalomaniacal villains not being "real books" at best and "trash that the sooner you grow out of, the better" at worst.

Suffice to say, in the few months that Sonic had attended school no, prison, before the latest conscription phase had left said establishment so drastically understaffed that it had to close, along with Uncle Chuck's transfer to South Island in order to carry out his research in greater secrecy, Sonic had gained a glimpse at hell. Even now, walking down the stairs from his room, the hedgehog could not help but shudder at the memories.

Still, school had provided some use, in that it had taught Sonic about a certain phrase that, in his current situation, could be applied fittingly; the act of giving someone the benefit of the doubt.

Sonic had initially paid no heed to such a saying, but after hearing it used numerous times in the context of Sonic forgetting, losing and/or witnessing his homework be destroyed "in an accident totally beyond my control", Sonic could not help but ask as to its meaning. Partly out of curiosity, the other part being driven by the fact that the phrase was being used less frequently. After all, the dog could eat your homework only so many times.

As it turned out, the act of giving someone the benefit of the doubt was believing in their integrity despite such belief being against their instincts. Smiling faintly at the memory of the moment of realisation, the horrifying few seconds where Sonic had realised that all his stories of fires and overlander raiding parties had not been so believable after all, he could almost sympathise with his teachers. After all, here he was, giving the-…

"No," Sonic thought to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'm not giving that scientist the benefit of the doubt. Not fully at least."

Ignoring the voice at the back of his head that implied that he was lying to himself, Sonic did a quick calculation; having set his alarm clock for 6am, an hour before Chuck gave him permission to get up, Sonic figured that he had 1.5-2 hours to get to the source of what had kept him up all night, caught between everything that his memory and those in Mobotropolis had told him and the counterargument that his gut provided, that Flicky's faith in the human wasn't misplaced and that there were exceptions to the norm that overlanders, technically a branched species of human given their increased height and strength, provided.

Sonic's gut had done a lot of talking that night. It was no wonder that the bathroom now stank to high heaven.

It had been on one of the trips to said excretement point that Sonic, regretting the fact that only three chilli dogs had not provided him with enough fibre and other wholesome goodness, had decided what he had to do. Although his mind had started giving him headaches, Sonic had resolved to believe that Flicky possessed a degree of integrity, to do what Chuck had suggested.

To follow his instincts…

Tying up his shoelaces while trying to ignore the worsening state of the sneakers' soles, Sonic glanced at the clock that hung in the hallway; 6:04am. Assuming that he could find his way back to where he had first stumbled upon Kintobor, going at a speed that wouldn't see his allowance docked until it had covered the damage costs to his footwear, Sonic reckoned that he could get to the underground lab within thirty to forty-five minutes. Perhaps a rather early arrival, but the idea of sitting around waiting for the sun to fully rise was bad enough under normal circumstances, let alone when your entire being was engaged in a war of moral dilemma.

Getting to his feet, Sonic glanced out the window, feeling panic as the first rays of sun filtered their way in through the glass. He quickly suppressed them; "I'm in the southern hemisphere," the hedgehog reminded himself. "The seasons are all out of whack down here." Trying to envisage the idea of a "Christmas by the barbie" (whatever that meant) and failing miserably, Sonic turned to head out the door-…

And came face to face with Muttski.

Sonic literally jumped backwards, a credit to his natural agility yet not a positive reflection on his current level of courage. Shaking off the feeling, he approached his (well, technically Chuck's) dog, holding out his hand for the canine to sniff it. Not something he did regularly of course, but when one sees a pet dog just standing there, akin to a B-grade horror movie, one tended to get jumpy.

Much to Sonic's relief, Muttski didn't seem intent on warping his perception on reality any further, given that he almost immediately started licking Sonic's gloved hand and wagging his tail excitedly, presumably under the impression that his new master, Chuck having turned over ownership for all intents and purposes, had got up early just for him, willing to play another game of fetch or another pointless yet fun game. It was hardly surprising considering that although Muttski had the general build of a Doberman, with elements of bulldog in his facial features, the canine had the general behaviour of a terrier. Not being any expert on dog breeds, all Chuck and Sonic generally saw was a brown furred dog with lighter shading on the belly and face, along with amber eyes.

Sonic smiled faintly as he patted the mutt in front of him. From what Sonic knew, Muttski had been bought by Chuck for the sake of companionship, proving that even scientists were not deprived of what was considered a 'life'. Ten destroyed test tubes and six ruined experiments later however, Chuck had begun to wonder if what was regarded as 'mobian's best friend' was really worth conforming to the social norm, not to mention that the idea of companionship was going down the sink faster than the chemicals that had been in those test tubes.

Still, Chuck had persevered and after four years of obedience school, Muttski had graduated just in time for Sonic's arrival into his uncle's life a year ago, providing the young hedgehog with much needed companionship. It had been a good partnership, considering that within a few weeks, Chuck could no longer claim ownership; in light of the companionship that was evident between the scientist's dog and nephew, such an honour belonged to Sonic and even that was inaccurate, such a term being made redundant in light of said relationship.

Continuing to pat the hyperactive canine and trying to avoid the slobber works which came with it, Sonic was tempted to remain, to give into Muttski's wishes and provide him with entertainment, forgetting yesterday's events completely. Still, he managed to resist; even in these kinds of circumstances, what Sonic had settled on doing last night was an adventure in a sense, something that he never, ever turned down.

"Sorry pal, gotta juice," Sonic murmured, walking past his dog and stepping outside, ignoring Muttski's whimpers. Cold air washed over him;

"Guess this hemisphere isn't so whacked after all," Sonic murmured. "Almost like my current circumstances."

Giving one final farewell to Muttski, Sonic jogged off, going at a leisurely pace of 80km/hr. As he did so, despite the fact that his mind was still giving him a headache, despite the fact that Muttski was staring at him in remorse and what seemed like trepidation, he couldn't help but smile at his circumstances. Whacked of course, but if they weren't…

Where would the fun be in that?

0652 hours, October 6, 3224

South Island, Green Hills

"Sometimes I'm so good I even amaze myself."

It was this arrogant, yet admittedly justified line of thought that ran through Sonic's mind as he stood at the section of earth through which he had climbed up from the lab. Having travelled to the canyon where he had originally found the grate that covered the tunnel in surprisingly short a time (even travelling at the paltry speed that jogging brought), not to mention finding the section itself quickly, Sonic's ego was running high.

Yet utilitarianism was also dictating such thoughts; a high ego, namely Sonic's preferred state of being, made a convenient distraction from the fact that he'd actually reached his destination, the place where he had to see whether giving Dr. Kintobor the benefit of the doubt was the right course of action.

Trepidation was always highest when one reaches the ledge.

Sonic shook his head; small talk could wait, action couldn't. Keeping his ego high in order to convert it to confidence if necessary (for Sonic, confidence tended to come naturally even without ego), the hedgehog lifted up the section of earth, seeing the cold metal at its base and the floor of the lab below it, a floor that, with a lithe swing on the hatch, Sonic landed on softly.

"So far so good," Sonic thought to himself, starting to feel like a hero from a movie, video game or comic book. "Now all I have to do is…oh."

Either Sonic hadn't landed as softly as he thought or Lady Luck had decided to be a bitch, considering that at the end of the hallway, the human that Sonic had met yesterday was standing with a cup of coffee in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Still, Sonic barely noticed these things. What did catch his attention, was that the scientist was smiling. Cheesily.

Crap.

"Ah, Erincaeus Europaeus decides to make a return," Kintobor said, somehow managing to pull off such a comment without sounding snide. "Are you the one taking point for your army friends? Or have you simply come to visit?"

"Um…the…latter," said Sonic awkwardly while simultaneously wanting to kick himself. He would have liked to have said the former, but that could have led to the admission that he didn't know what taking point entailed. Video games and comic books had jipped him.

"Excellent," the scientist beamed, clasping his hands together and spilling coffee on his clipboard in the process. "May I offer you breakfast? I suppose you haven't had one yet, given the time."

Sonic's stomach rumbled in response, the hedgehog realising that despite all his planning for visiting Kintobor and getting back before Chuck noticed anything, breakfast had somehow slipped off the schematics.

"It's no surprise really," the hedgehog reflected. "Chuck usually makes my meals after all…" Images of chilli dogs, chilli cheeseburgers and French fries started drifting through the mobian's mind.

The combination of the rumbling stomach and the drool in the corner of Sonic's mouth indicated to Kintobor that his inference was correct; "You best come along," the scientist said, beckoning to Sonic as he headed back to the lab. "I've just put some bacon and eggs on."

Walking into the lab and seeing the fold-out table that was covered in various diagrams, the only clear space being reserved for a plate, Sonic could see that toast also featured with the human's breakfast, if "breakfast" was really the term that could be applied for burnt toast, burnt bacon and a boiled egg.

"Wonder why the egg got special treatment?" Sonic wondered, suppressing his disappointment at Kintobor's cooking skills, the amount of steam coming from the kitchen hardly filling him with confidence. "Some kind of fetish? Or maybe he just got lucky…"

Luck…Sonic couldn't help but wonder if Kintobor finding him as soon as he landed really was bad luck after all, whether Lady Luck was really being bitchy instead of actually smiling down on him. Not that Sonic really wanted the patronage of someone who spent their life by a giant spinning wheel, but even so, he began to see her wisdom. After all, if Kintobor hadn't found him and he'd gone on his planned course of action…well, that may not have turned out well. After all, an enemy didn't offer you breakfast unless he wanted to poison you and looking down at the food on the table, Sonic reflected that Kintobor was probably just as much as risk as he was.

As Kintobor did something in the kitchen (probably something stupid given that the amount of steam increased) Sonic looked around, one part of his mind maintaining that it was to look for threats, the other, more rational part simply doing so out of curiosity. Both parts were disappointed for the most part; apart from the bookshelf containing works on…well, things that had names like "quantum mechanics", all that the lab featured was a giant…thing.

As Kintobor shouted in pain from the kitchen, Sonic walked over to the giant object, the "generator" as he had supposed when he first entered the lab. Walking over to the giant oval shaped object, minding the loose tubes and taking note of the various consoles surrounding it, not to mention the 'humming', Sonic supposed that "generator" was a good term.

But what was it 'generating' exactly? Looking through the small porthole shaped window on the machine's exterior, Sonic wasn't exactly sure. Given that all he could see inside were the flashing colours akin to those of the rainbow, Sonic wasn't exactly sure. Part of his mind prompted him to ask Kintobor, yet he just couldn't turn away. The flashing colours…they were so…alluring.

"I see that you've noticed the ROCC," came a voice, causing the hedgehog to jump in surprise. Landing back on terra firma, he saw that Kintobor was standing behind him, a burnt hand holding a plate of bacon and toast that were actually cooked well. Not that Sonic really noticed however, given what had been said;

"A rock?" Sonic asked. "Doesn't look like a rock, looks more like a-…"

"No, not a rock, the rock," said Kintobor proudly. "ROCC is simply an acronym, standing for Retro Orbital Chaos Compressor."

"I see…" said Sonic slowly, not caring that he was showing himself to be a hopeless liar.

Kintobor sighed; "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Nope. Not a clue."

Kintobor nodded slowly; "Very well. I couldn't really expect you to fully understand."

"Is that an insult?" Sonic asked sharply as Kintobor began to type on one of the consoles by the ROCC.

"Of course not," Kintobor murmured as he continued to type. "Why would I do that?"

Sonic could think of many reasons, most of them revolving around the notion that the human was an arrogant twat who wanted to make himself look smart at every opportunity, even at the expense of others. Before he could voice such reasons however, the scientist finished typing, a hologram of the interior of a machine being displayed above the fold out table.

"This," said Kintobor proudly, "is the interior of the ROCC."

At first, Sonic didn't know what to make of it. Sure, the basic outline was simple enough, with various metal pipes and tubes leading to what looked like a central chamber. It was what was inside these things that prompted the hedgehog's attention; rings of some kind filled the pipes and in the central chamber, six…objects rotated slowly around what appeared to be a central energy field. They looked like gemstones of some kind, a hexagonal base on top coming down to a point below.

"These are power rings, the ROCC's power source," said Kintobor, going into what Sonic recognised as 'lecture mode.' "Found all over Mobius and a fifth element of sots, they're a clean, stable source of energy." He looked at Sonic; "Of course, you knew that already didn't you?"

"Er…sure doc," said Sonic awkwardly, telling a half lie as it was. He knew a bit about the power rings, most of it coming from Chuck. Although their origins were shrouded in mystery, none could deny their worth as a useful energy source given their stability and the absence of any pollutants emitted by their usage. Virtually every hover car in Mobotropolis, indeed every vehicle relied on power rings for fuel and around one third of Mobotropolis's power grid relied on power rings, the rest of the city's energy needs being supplied by wind and solar power. Perhaps not the most efficient or reliable sources of energy, but to even suggest that fossil fuels and/or uranium be used was pretty much taboo, considering the CO2 and waste they produced respectively. The Kingdom of Acorn's monarchy had always possessed high regard for the balance between civilisation and the natural world.

"And these," said Kintobor proudly, gesturing towards the floating gems, "are the chaos emeralds." He gazed at Sonic in such a way that the hedgehog felt sure he was going to take off his glasses and zap him with laser beams…or something. "You do know what those are, right?"

"I…well, yeah," said the mobian awkwardly, remembering hearing chaos emeralds being mentioned at school at some point during a discussion of mythology or some equally ridiculous. He smirked; "But come on doc, you know that they aren't real, right? That the chaos emeralds are just a legend?"

Given that Kintobor seemed to be close to…well, whatever a reddening face and throbbing vein led towards, Sonic began to guess that Kintobor didn't know that the chaos emeralds were just a myth, that the idea of seven magical stones of infinite energy as old as the world itself had the power to convert one's dreams into reality, whether they be for good or evil. True, powerful gems weren't exactly unheard of on Mobius, the power stones being testament to this, but even so…

"Just legend?" Kintobor whispered, leaning close to Sonic. "Just legend?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much," said Sonic casually. "I take it that you think otherwise?"

"Of course I think otherwise!" shouted Kintobor, causing Sonic to jump back in surprise. "I didn't leave Megaopolis, travel through hell and back and isolate myself from the world just so I could involve myself into a debate as to whether the chaos emeralds were real or not!"

With that the scientist brought his fist crashing down on the console, a 'slam' echoing throughout the room. Sonic initially attributed it to rage but realised a second later that it had purpose, another hologram appearing beside the one that showed the ROCC's interior. Unlike the green outline of the first hologram this one was in colour, although far less intricate, simply showing seven emeralds, all of them exactly the same shape as the ones supposedly inside the ROCC.

"The chaos emeralds, the gems that can convert our dreams into reality," Kintobor said grandly as he swept his arm towards the image of the seven red, blue, yellow, green, purple, cyan and grey gems, one of each colour respectively. "With these gems, I can rid Mobius of evil forever!"

"You…what?" Sonic asked, blinking a few times.

"You heard me!" Kintobor declared triumphantly. "With the seven chaos emeralds, I can convert my dreams into reality! I can remove Mobius of everything unwholesome, of strife, mistrust, prejudice…" The doctor had a faraway look in his eyes as he slowly looked back down at Sonic; "Even stop the war between the overlanders and the Kingdom of Acorn." He smiled; "Don't you think that's a wonderful thing?"

"Um…sure," said the hedgehog awkwardly, wondering how someone so insane could possibly become a scientist. Removing evil from the world? What the hell was this crap? It wasn't as if there was some kind of evil force that permeated everything, that made people commit immoral acts…was there? Sonic shook his head as Kintobor began shutting down the holograms; the entire situation reeked of supernatural mumbo jumbo, the type of thing that a simple minded three year old would write in a bad story.

"Of course, as you probably noticed, only six emeralds are currently in the ROCC," said Kintobor as he headed for the fold out table. "As such, while the evil energy is being channelled through the chaos emeralds into the machine, it's incredibly unstable."

"Doesn't look like it," Sonic murmured, giving the ROCC a light kick. A simple 'clang' sounded.

"You've seen it on a good day," Kintobor smirked as he took a bite of toast. "Little baby's got a mind of its own sometimes."

Sonic remained silent as he sat down, wondering whether it was truly safe to eat the food in front of him. Not out of any suspicion that Kintobor was trying to poison him, but rather out of fear that the doctor would do so inadvertently. After hearing the things the doctor had said…well, suffice to say that Sonic suspected that the good doctor was a few cans short of a six pack.

It was an odd feeling really, knowing that the little escapade had removed any suspicion that Sonic had of the scientist, that he was like those in power in Megaopolis, the capital city of the overlanders which was located on the Great North Continent's mid-northeast coast. The doctor's quirkiness had removed his misgivings and upon reflection, Sonic couldn't bring them back.

"But seriously, removing evil?" Sonic wondered, chuckling mentally at the idea of such an action. "I mean, it's not as if-…"

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Sonic blinked, Kintobor's question bringing him back to reality. The scientist smiled sadly "Everything I've said, you find it ridiculous, don't you?"

"I…guess you could say that," said Sonic slowly, surprising himself with his own diplomacy.

"Thought as much," smirked Kintobor. "But just think of the concept, Sonic, how it could lead to a better world for all of us." He took off his glasses, peering into Sonic in such a way that the hedgehog felt like his very soul was under scrutiny. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Sonic remained silent, his black eyes meeting Kintobor's grey ones. Sonic would have never considered himself a particularly perceptive individual, but even so, seeing the sincerity that the scientist possessed, a sincerity that Sonic had seen in few individuals, even amongst his own kind.

"No," the hedgehog said eventually, taking a piece of bacon and enjoying its salty taste.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

A/N

And that concludes it.

There is a chance that I may carry the story on someday, but the fact remains that not only is Kintobor's story already known, but has been told multiple times in official media already. A rehash isn't really needed. Ending the story where I abandoned it before allows me to at least end it on a positive note.

As far as future Sonic the Hedgehog stories go, one I intend to write is Black Wind, which is an account of the history of Cascade in the Sonic X series. At this time of writing, all that remains of the pre-writing process is to develop the characters. More info can be found in my profile. In addition, I've posted a SatAM oneshot alongside this story. Seems a good time to have done so, considering that a pitch since annimator Michael Sullivan is making a pitch to Sega and DiC to revive the series.

Anyway, that's it. Story and advertisment over.