Gosh, where to start...

The world was lost, having finally caved to Eggman and his devilish robots. They had finally taken over and were ruling the planet as the Robotropolis the mad Doctor had always dreamed of. Many people had fallen to the evil villain, having been captured and turned into robots to work as his slaves. He was slowly building an army, and those that were smart, were hiding.

(Y/N), a (f/c) (a/t) was one of those smart people. She, having been close friends with Sonic, was one of the first that got wind that Eggman had won. Sonic had come to her house first and insisted that she take off and hide while he tried to help others escape. Once he got as many out as he could, he would join her.

It had been months since it had all happened, and though Sonic was able to save a lot of people, others were still lost, and he blamed himself for it. (Y/N) would do her best to try to cheer him up, but the hedgehog had become sombre and silent.

She tried for months to get him to feel better, but she had run out of things to say, and after a while she stopped trying all together. The hedgehog had thanked her for trying at the time, but it had never felt sincere.

The two stayed in hiding together, unsure if their other friends got out in time or not. They could only hope everyone else made it out okay, though the (a/t) didn't doubt it. Their friends were very capable of a lot of things, but even still, Sonic had his own doubts. If he could lose to Eggman, his friends could just as easily.

It was rather depressing for the two, and not much happened in their time of hiding. Sonic moped around, sometimes ate whatever (Y/N) could bring him, but otherwise became unresponsive and closed off. The loss was taking it's toll on him, and the (a/t) wasn't sure what to do to pull him out of it. As mentioned before, she had tried but it didn't get anywhere. It was the one time where she actually felt useless.

(Y/N) had just returned to their hiding place, a small underground room that was only accessible through a tree trunk. She had bought some food from a hunt, a small rabbit. Not many animals remained in these parts, as the robot army slowly moved over the world, turning the earth into mechanics.

Even still she had done her best, and the (a/t) got to preparing the rabbit; skinning it, deboning sections, cooking the meat. Sonic was curled up in a corner of the hidden room, eyes a dull green as he stared into the ground, unmoving. (Y/N) glanced at him, a frown on her muzzle. While the meat cooked, she went fishing through the make-shift shelves until she came across some bread. Something she had scavenged a few weeks ago. The discolouration was unsettling, but the food made do for the time being.

She pulled out a slice of bread and waited for the meat to cook, before spreading it down the middle of the bread and folding it over. Happy with the otherwise disgusting bootleg hotdog, she walked over to Sonic and held it out to him,

"It's no chilidog." She said, hoping he would at least react to her voice, "But I did my best."

The hedgehog lifted his head slowly, looking at the rather sad food, before taking it and munching on it quietly. (Y/N) watched him, before letting out a sigh and walking away. She had never seen him so down before, but then again, he had never lost to Eggman before. He'd never caused so much loss to the people of Mobius. The (a/t)'s ears lowered, feeling like she should try and say something, anything, to try and lift her spirits.

"Hey... It's alright you know." She said, rubbing her arm, "Sure you lost to Eggman once, but the planet has been in this shape before, right? He used to rule years ago when we were younger. You overthrew him then and were able to save the world. You can do it again."

He kept chewing, "I had a team then..."

(Y/N)'s ears perked, he finally spoke, "Yeah? And you have a team now. We just need to find everyone, group us all up together again, we'll be unstoppable just like before."

"They're all gone." Sonic said, something he had said again, "There's no point."

"Sonic, they aren't gone. They're your friends, you should believe in them more." Oh no, this was a conversation they had had already, "They can all hold their own."

"They're all gone." He said again, a slight snap to his tone, as if he was angry but not at her, "I don't have any friends anymore."

The (a/t) flinched then, his words cutting deep. Sure, he didn't believe his friends made it out alive, and sure, he thought they were probably mindless robot slaves right now, but he still had her. Was she nothing to him now? Not enough for him to even try to help out? Her chest felt tight, after everything she had done for him these past few months, everything she had done for him before Eggman had taken over, and just like that he didn't care anymore?

She got to her feet then, dusting her knees off, "That's how you really feel huh? You mess up once and suddenly you throw everyone else away? I'm here you know Sonic, standing right in front of you. Am I not your friend anymore?"

He flinched next, lifting his eyes slowly to meet hers.

"That's... Not what I meant."

"I'm sure." She said, stepping back, "Fine, just stay here and be all sad for yourself. I'm going to try and save the world, or at least try to find my friends."

"(Y/N)..." Sonic started, but the (a/t) had turned her back on him, walking over to the ladder that lead up to the hidden door in the tree trunk.

She started climbing up the rusted ladder, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She had done so much for Sonic, and he just threw her aside like that. She had feelings to, and he had completely ignored that, or had forgotten. She wasn't sure what would be worse.

Reaching the top, the (a/t) pushed the camouflaged wooden door open; only to come face-to-face with a buzzsaw. (Y/N) cried out as she was pulled back down, her feet slipping off the rungs as the spinning blade just missing her ears as it cut through the hollow tree. She was then caught by Sonic, who glared up at the large machine that drove overhead. A thud could be heard as the tree fell to the floor.

The (a/t) was shaking, curled into Sonic's arms as he pulled her away from the now clear opening. She looked up at him and noticed the dullness of his eyes had disappeared. He was growling to himself, before turning his attention to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, no signs of the depressed form at all in his features.

"Y-Yeah..." (Y/N) said, holding her arm, "Thanks..."

He nodded and put her down, once again watching the hole in the ceiling, "We're not safe here anymore, we need to leave."

She blinked, perplexed by his sudden mood change, and Sonic, realising she was staring, rubbed his head sheepishly. But before he could offer an explanation, a metallic sound made it's way down the ladder. The two froze as a long robotic scope entered the old looking room, scanning around for any living creatures. Sonic and (Y/N) could do nothing as it spotted them, and an alarm sounded immediately.

"We need to leave now." Sonic said, grabbing onto the (a/t)'s arm and pulling her towards the ladder, "Start climbing."

She nodded and hurried up the ladder while Sonic tied the robocam around the bottom rung. The alarm was even louder once she surfaced, and a few robots were already surrounding her. She hesitated, not sure if she should climb out and risk getting caught or find a way for Sonic to squeeze past her.

She glanced down and gave him a look that screamed 'we're surrounded', and Sonic gave a curt nod. He glanced around, taking in the space of the hidden tunnel trying to piece together a plan. The (a/t) was taken back by this. He had been unresponsive most of these few months, and literally just before he was a curled up, sad mess, and now he was going to get them out of here. Whatever had broken him out of his depression, she was thankful, and she knew as soon as they were safe, she was going to question the hell out of him.

But right now, they had other issues. The robots were closing in, and Sonic was still clearly trying to figure out what to do. And then his eyes lit up, as if it clicked in his mind, and he looked up at her. He gave another nod, as if telling her to just waltz into their arms. The (a/t) tilted her head, clearly confused, and the blue hedgehog reassured her with a thumbs up. It's alright, his face read, I know what I'm doing.

(Y/N) decided to trust him, gulping to herself as she climbed out of the hole and held her hands up in surrender to the robots. They started forward, but not before a blue blur could leap out of the ground and attack the bots. He bounced on their heads, doing a full semi-circle before landing next to the (a/t), arms up as if having just completed some super special gymnastic move.

The robots were frozen, their limbs twitching, before their heads all exploded in a rather cinematic pattern that surrounded the two, and the bodies fell to the ground. (Y/N) blinked, surprised by the hedgehog that stood next to her. He looked completely different, the way he had used to look. There was a shine in his emerald eyes as he threw a smile her way.

"That was so cool." He said, rubbing under his nose, "Now come on, we need to find somewhere safe. I think I know a place, if it hasn't been taken over by Eggman. It will do until we can find somewhere else to hide."

He scooped the girl up in his arms and blasted off into the darkness of the night. The (a/t) held on tightly, trying her best to process just what the fuck had actually happened. Though as much as she wanted answers, she couldn't bring herself to ask, not until they were safe. Plus, Sonic had a determined looked about him now, and she was happy to relish in it, knowing he was back to normal.

A about 30 minutes later, Sonic started to slow down. Having lost the robots and most likely run to the other side of the planet, he clearly felt safe as he came to a stop outside of another city. One that clearly hadn't been touched by Eggman but was already abandoned in preparation for when the he did.

The blur hedgehog came to a stop, setting the (f/c) (a/t) onto her feet. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the tunnel vision and take in the dark buildings in front of them. For the most part, the buildings seemed pretty flat, with a few bell tower-looking ones off in the distance. It seemed like it was surrounded by what would have usually been a river, however over time the water had slowly emptied out, nothing but a shallow pool that lined the city.

A bridge stretched out in the distance, and Sonic, taking (Y/N)'s hand, lead her over there. The moon was high in the sky, the smog from Eggman's machines hadn't yet reached as far as here yet, and the stars sparkled brightly, as if aware they will one day be invisible to the naked eye.

They started walking on the bridge, and the (a/t) couldn't help but look into the river canal, seeing the water slowly flow through the random junk that had been left behind by others. There were a few bikes that stuck out of the water's surface, and a few shopping trollies. Some rubbish floated along the water's edge, bags and cans, and other lost treasures stuck out, shining in the moonlight.

But the water itself, it seemed clear in the soft light, as if having been cleansed from the touch of civilisation. No murky grossness could be seen, and the shadows of small and medium sized fish made their way around and through the abandoned treasures of the citizens of this desolate town. It was a strangely beautiful sight, knowing that such a place had not yet been damaged by machinery, and sad all the same at the thought that one day it just might be.

Sonic walked silently next to the (a/t), glancing over her shoulder at the slowly emptying river. A small smile spread out on his muzzle and he put a hand on her shoulder, leading her towards the city entrance,

"I've been to this place many times before." He said, taking in the shadows of the buildings, "I'm glad to see Eggman still hasn't attacked it yet. Though it's strange seeing the streets so empty."

"Even at night?" The (a/t) tilted her head at him, seeing the soft smile on his muzzle and a look of wonder in his eyes.

"Yeah. People are always on the streets, whether they're merchants trying to sell you something, or a small group playing music. This place was so lively before Eggman started taking over..." He lowered his head at that, his eyelids drooping over his eyes, "I wouldn't even be able to begin searching for the people, they could be anywhere now. I just hope they're safe."

The two made their way through the large wrought iron gate, the arch beginning to rust with time. (Y/N) thought she could hear music in the distance, a soft ghostly melody that sounded like a street band, and she wondered who had lived here before hand. She wondered what this town was like, what smells would have wafted through the streets, how people dressed and danced together. It seemed like it would have been a tight-nit city, large size aside.

And Sonic seemed so at home here. She wondered how often he had been here, how often he had bought bread from a baker, or small trinkets from the markets. He had said so little of the place, and yet the (a/t) could already picture exactly how it looked, wanted to know more of the place, experience it while it's alive. The hedgehog watched her, chuckling to himself now,

"One day I'll bring you back here, when everything is right with the world again." He said, and she turned to him, her cheeks red. She was that easy to read..?

The two continued to walk through the dark streets, the moon now high in the sky. It had to be late, but neither of the two felt tired, the adrenaline from before was still pumping through their veins and the (a/t) still had many questions for the other.

"What made you suddenly go all hero again?" She asked, the words just falling from her lips. She couldn't even think of any other way to word it, and her cheeks reddened, "I-I mean... What snapped you out of your depression...?"

That wasn't much better.

Sonic scratched his muzzle at the questions, clearly trying to go over it in his mind. He lifted his head to the sky with a shrug, clearly struggling to find the words.

"I... Don't know... Everything you said to me... You'd said it before." He started, holding his arm, "I'm not entirely sure what was different... I guess..."

He stopped for a moment, letting out a sigh.

"I hurt you with my words." The hedgehog said next, his ears laid back, "Saying I had no friends, after you spent months feeding me, making sure I survived when I wouldn't have bothered... I hurt you, and I guess I realised that... Well heroes aren't meant to hurt people; they're meant to help people."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "And after that, you said that you were going to try and fight back, find our friends... No offence but you wouldn't stand a chance by yourself, but just seeing that bravery in your eyes, even if you were hurting from my words, even if you knew you wouldn't stand a chance... You were still willing to try. And... And it was... A reminder as to what it means to be a hero..."

"Sonic..."

They started across another bridge; the sight similar to the first one. Low tide, sparkling treasure, and dark fish swimming through the playground of trash. The water glimmered in the starlight, and the two stopped this time, staring over the edge. Sonic gazed into the shimmering lights that danced on the water's surface,

"You snapped me out of it... Helped me realise that one mistake, even as condemning as it was, was still a mistake. And you were right about Eggman. He had won once, I have won countless times, and I have overthrown him before. I just... Didn't know how to without my old team..."

And then he turned to the (a/t), scooped her hands up in his.

"But I have you, and I know together we can find them. We can group up, find any other survivors, and fight back. We had been called the Freedom Fighters when we'd done it years ago, but this time I think we need a new name."

"What sort of name...?" (Y/N) asked, watching him. A smile spread out over his lips,

"You have a strong spirit (Y/N), one that was able to spread and reignite the fight in me. I think our new team should be call the Spirit Fighters. And I want you to be the leader of it, with me."

The (a/t)'s eyes went wide, and she stepped back slightly, "M-Me? Be a leader?"

"Of course! You give the best advice and great motivational speeches."

"They didn't seem that great..." (Y/N) held her arm, "I mean, it took months for you to even listen to me, and it wasn't until you hurt me that you registered my words."

"Yeah, but that was me, and in the end, I still listened to you." Sonic sighed, rubbing his head, he turned his gaze to the shiny river, "Listen (Y/N)... I need your help with this, please. I couldn't have gotten this far without you, and you know it. I probably would have faded away in my depression. You didn't give up, and even when you claimed you had, you really hadn't. That make-shift hotdog? Gross, but the thought was nice. You always managed to make our friends and myself smile on a bad day, and I think we will all need it right now."

The (a/t) gripped onto the railing, lowering her head in thought, "You really think I could do it? Be a leader for everyone else?"

"Of course! Plus, you won't be a leader on your own. I'll be there, and I've done this before. And everyone is pretty chill with leader stuff, they don't really need to be told what to do anyway, though they need someone to guide them." The hedgehog tilted his head, his quills swayed behind him, "Please (Y/N), the Spirit Fighters can't start without you."

She couldn't help but crack a smile, "You know, I prefer this Sonic much more than I prefer the depressed Sonic. You're full of so much life like this."

Reaching forward, the girl then grabbed his hand, giving him a nod. Sonic smiled, his cheeks turning a light pink in the moonlight and he let out a light chuckle at her comment. But then his eyes met hers, and he could see the determination that swam in her eyes,

"Okay, I'll do it. But you have to promise to be there with me, by my side. No getting sad over a lost battle, because we can rise to the top again."

Sonic nodded, pulling the (a/t) into a tight hug. She hugged back just as tightly, resting her head on his shoulder, and she could see his tail wagging behind him. Her own tail started to wag, and she let out a small giggle.

"Thank you (Y/N)." The hedgehog said softly, his hand cupped her head as he held her, "You're the best."

"Right back at ya Blue." She smiled and stepped back, "Man, what a night huh?"

"Yeah." Sonic chuckled again, rubbing his nose, "Never would have thought it ended in a midnight walk, but it was nice."

"Mm... What's our next step?" The (a/t) then tilted her head, "Should we rest up, or start looking for everyone? Where would we even look?"

The hedgehog thought for a moment, tapping his foot rapidly as he rubbed his chin. Moments later, his foot stomped on the ground and he clicked, his eyes lighting up again.

"Of course! I know where they are!" He then grabbed his friend's hand and started jogging off towards the city entrance. (Y/N) stumbled after him, catching herself and jogging next to the blue blur, she gave him a confused look and he tapped his nose, "Knothole village, Eggman still doesn't know where it's located. If they got out, they probably went there!"

(Y/N) blinked, of course. Why didn't they think of it before? Why didn't they even think of going there before? She smirked, giving the other a thumbs up and a nod.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Sonic smirked back, scooping the (a/t) up in his arms, and taking off into the night.