The Sleeping Hedgehog King

Synopsis:  Hypnotica attacks King Sonic by singing her lullaby and putting him into Eternal Sleep.  If Sonic stays in this state too long, his energy will be completely depleted.   It’s up to his queen, Amy Rose, to save him.  

Chapter 1—Who Are You and How Did You Get In ?

It was a typical end of the year gala celebration at the castle.    All sorts of animals from completely different walks of life had been invited.    Since the dawn of Stardancer’s use, other multiple worlds had been opened to joining alliances with Mobius.    Bronto had long pledged fielty to Mobius and had been honored to be invited to ring in the New Year with his friends.   He had so much to catch up with concerning his old sage friend, Agnes.     

Holidays were not usually a time to shirk vigilance, but someone had gotten into the punch and many of the attendees were buzzed.   Even the typically intrepid guards were bumbling about, and the infiltrator had easily entered.    Hypnotica had come under a glamor of a polar bear calling herself Nora to the wisdom of no one attending the festivities.    

‘Too easy.   Just like all the other so called ‘kingdoms’ I have overtaken.’, Hypnotica thought to herself.    She had used up quite a bit of energy traveling to Mobius since it was a vast distance from the Negaverse, but after seeing Mobius in a vision, she knew that it would be her next mission.    If she could have the power of chaos energy, there was no telling what worlds she would be able to conquer next.    

Miles and Zooey were blissfully dancing together and she was playfully having him pat her newly pregnant belly.   

‘We’re going to be parents someday, Miles !’, she cheered.    Tails grinned from ear to ear and held his hand on his wife’s stomach, chuckling.   

‘Wait, did you know anything about a polar bear coming to our New Year’s Gala ?’, Zooey questioned.    Tails negatively shook his head and approached her.   Hypnotica froze them both with a simple glance.  

‘This is the resistance ?  Pathetic.  Much simpler than I ever imagined !’, she thought, cackling to herself.    

One by one those who noticed Hypnotica’s intrusion and the eventual usurping and overturning an entire celebratory night could do absolutely nothing to cease the continual chaos that ensued.    

Sonic was growing more enraged by the moment, wondering what was causing the downfall of so many of his best guards.   Then he saw Hypnotica.  

‘Who are you and how did you get in ?’, he sneered, angrily.   

‘You know of the Sailor Scouts.  I’m certain you are more than familiar with the Negaverse.   That, poor hedgehog, is my little realm.   I’ve come to collect some of your energy.   If you are anything like your peers, this should be like stealing daigashi from a teenaged gas store clerk !’, Hypnotica cackled.     

Chapter 2—Fighting Hypnotica Alone 

It had only taken a millisecond of time since Amy had stepped away to excuse herself to the restroom.   By the time she had returned, Sonic looked pale, wan, and thin.    Hypnotica’s lullaby had already taken affect and he had succumbed to its power.    She pivoted to face Amy and harumphed arrogantly.  

‘Little girl, unless you want to end up like your husband, I would kindly step aside.’, she stated, haughtily.     Amy wasn’t the type to become enraged easily, but she knew that her husband was in danger.     

Amy knew Sonic’s energy levels were beginning to decrease.   In his state he was completely vulnerable.    The rest of the court, all the hedgehoglets, everyone had fallen prey to Hypnotica’s seductive lullaby.   

‘Firstly, I would ask you kindly remove yourself from our palace.’, Amy began, gaining her resolve.    She had faced villains even worse than Hypnotica but never by herself.    She had always recruited the help of a friend or had her beloved fighting by her side.    The fact that she would have to take upon a horribly powerful Negaverse villainess was nervewracking.    Yet, she remembered a song that she and her siblings used to sing as they were looking for their parents: 

I will never leave you 

             Though others might deceive you

            Through thick or thin, I’ll always pull you through 

You are not alone 

Though you might feel lonely

Though you may go through this solo 

Just know we love you   

There are many hills and valleys

There are storms and tempests, too

Though you may go through this solo

Love will shine its beacon through… 

As if by instinct, the red ribbon in Amy’s quills began to elongate and surround her, making a rippling envelopment.     One by one the ribbons gently wrapped her and a brilliant light shone from her pink crystal brooch.    Hypnotica stood slack jawed, some beads of sweat forming on her forehead.    Her normally composed posture became slightly anxious, as if she were showing a smidge of fear.    Amy could sense it, particularly when she pulled her favorite weapon out of the light vortex that appeared at arm’s length as if by telepathic command.  

Chapter 3—You’ll Never Get Him Back 

Hypnotica was boasting about the worlds and galaxies that had fallen to her lullabies in the past.   Currently the Sailor Scouts were out of commission thanks to their former battles and injuries that they were nursing back to health.   This was the reason Hypnotica had been so unstoppable in her megalomania recently.    Mobius had proven a simple target to overturn, that was, until she met Amy in her final form.

‘You may think you’ll jolt Sonic out of the spell I crafted for him but you’ll never get him back.    Soon, he will be nothing more than a blue husk, a shadow of his former self.’, Hypnotica stated, confidently.    She had a smug, sardonic grin on her ghastly face and she cackled hysterically. 

‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that.   I have something you don’t.’, Amy retorted, boldly. 

‘Oh yeah, pink menace.  What’s that ?’, Hypnotica questioned.

‘A mallet and unconditional love !’, Amy roared, charging at the seductress at full power, mallet rearing back and preparing to lop her head off much like a croquet ball.  

Chapter 4—A Fight for Sonic’s Life 

Hypnotica was impressed at how rapidly Amy could move and how deadly her strikes were.    She had underestimated this tiny female’s ability to hit something with as much force as she did.    One whack, and she was seeing fields of stars.    Her head spun as she struck the ground and rubbed her throbbing head.    She had a feeling she wouldn’t come out of this battle alive and had a grand idea.    She had been overzealous.    The energy she had collected from so many attendants at the gala would be a grand consolation for trying to gain chaos energy without understanding how it truly worked.     

‘Why aren’t you retaliating ?’, Amy asked as she started to bring the mallet down upon Hypnotica’s head but stopped before it could make contact.    

‘Just figuring out my strategy.’, Hypnotica snarled.    This adorable little pink hedgehog whelp was handing Hypnotica her tuchus on a silver platter and it burned Hypnotica up.    She had deliberated just enough to rear back and buck the Senshi back into massive pillars of rocks in the wilderness.    

‘Face it, GIRL.   You cannot defeat a GODDESS !’, Hypnotica said, charging herself with ungodly dark energy.    Her typical ugly nature had become even more hideous as black veins covered her from head to toe, pulsating necromantic energy.     She grasped Amy by the throat and threw her to the ground, panting.   

‘If I were you, I’d stay down.   This is a losing battle.  Senshi or not, I am invincible.’, Hypnotica responded, arrogantly.    

Just then, Amy rose up from the debris, wiped blood from her jaw and held her mallet to the sky.   A lightning bolt struck it and the resounding tone enveloped her and caused Hypnotica’s ears to hurt.    She winced.  

‘So it’s a tuning fork.   SO WHAT ?’, Hypnotica bellowed.   Although she was stoic, Amy could sense the instability in her tone and charged the Negaversian with all she had.    Blow for blow, the two were evenly matched, but Hypnotica didn’t possess love or purity of any kind. 

‘Awaken my friends, and I might spare you.   If not, I’ll gladly use this hammer to nail your coffin shut.’, Amy pleaded.    The plea fell on deaf ears and the Goddess uppercutted her, hard.   It wasn’t enough to knock teeth out but darn near close.    The blow unbalanced Amy but it didn’t deter her.    With unbelievable strength, she rooted her stance and took a swing that would make any baseball player weep.    The blow fell against Hypnotica’s gem, located atop her third eye.   With a tiny crink, the jewel fragmented, broke and shattered.  

‘No…Impossible.’, Hypnotica said, desperately trying to piece her soul gem back together.   It was no use.  Once a soul is broken, it is irreparable.   

Chapter 5—Sleepers Awaken 

Hypnotica started to age rapidly, her skin shriveling and wizening.    She was nothing more but gray, haggard, and skin pulled over bones.    Her breath came in spurts and her heart began to fail.    One final beat and she fell prone to the ground, turning to dust.    

All the pageantry that surrounded Amy disappeared.   The mallet had reverted to a scepter and stayed at her side, conveniently tucked away on her belt.   One by one, the revelers opened their eyes.    Sonic, though weak, stated, 

‘What just happened ?’, as though he had suffered an unimaginable nightmare. 

‘I’ll explain later, my dear.   For now, let us enjoy our ball and recognize the reunion of old friends !’, Amy said, merrily.   With a tender kiss, the king opened his hand and commanded, 

‘Let the feast continue !’ 

Epilogue 

One by one the guests started to exit and thank the King and Queen for their hospitality.   It had become a Mobian tradition to have a ball every year and see everyone thriving.    Evil would come and go, but at least the Chaos energy was controllable and keeping Emerald Island, Mobius and at last, the Stardancer running properly.     With all said and done, it was now Amy’s time to shine as she sang everyone to sleep and joined Sonic in a tender embrace as they envisioned what joyous adventures she and her family and friends would have in the year ahead.  

The End