The Genesis of a Generation 1

The Genesis of a Generation

"Subdue your passion or it will subdue you."

Notes: This is a drabble collection based off the 50 Phrases Challenge (list courtesy of LeDiz – go read her collection, Underground Game. It's way better than this one's gonna be, trust me.). The drabbles will be loosely connected, but not in any sort of order or semblance of timeline. All you need to know is that this is based off a drabble I posted in my other collection (Don't Take Wooden Nickels, number 8), in which Classic Sonic and Tails – after traveling all the way to the present with Modern Sonic and Tails – get stuck in the present after the end of Sonic Generations and have no choice but to bunk and live with their future incarnations in the present/future.

Now, you should know that I refuse to call the different versions of Sonic and Tails "Classic" and "Modern" in the prose. Those two words don't fit the situation at all, so I will not be using them. That being said, I have tried very hard to differentiate between the two ages, but it still may be hard for readers not in my head to tell the difference. I beg of you to just hang in there with me until I can get the hang of things.

Oh, and a big thank you goes out to the oh mighty title master, AmazingSuperiority, without whom this story would not have a title.

Disclaimer: Sonic and Co. belong to SEGA and its affiliates. The plot and prose belongs to me.

"You see anything?" Sonic called from the ground, looking up at the disappearing golden form of his best friend. Currently, the kit was flying down a long corridor in the Mystic Cave Zone, avoiding the hanging lichen and keeping a keen eye on the lookout for robots of any shape or form, badnik or Eggpawn.

"Not yet!" The reply was loud, even from the distance of the yeller, because of the cave walls it bounced off to reach the triangular ears the twenty year old.

"Go about two hundred more yards and then circle back." Sonic didn't feel the need to yell, knowing that the flying fox would hear him just the same.

"Alright!" Slowly, the thwaping of the kit's tails disappeared as he fulfilled his brother's request.

Sonic grinned, turning back to his other companions. "As soon as the coast is clear," he told a short hedgehog that had almost the same color fur as his own and a fox with two tails to match the ones of the canine that had just left, "we can get outta this zone and go find Eggman." The kit was currently snoozing on the floor – with his head was resting on the foot of the lighter blue hedgehog – while his pillow looked like he was trying very hard not to scream of frustration, if the red hue his face was taking on was anything to go on.

"Is this really necessary?" Sonic's younger self asked irritably, tapping the foot that wasn't acting as a headrest and glaring down the cavern the fox had disappeared in. "We can take out anything in our path. Why send the kid into danger?"

The taller, green eyed incarnation of the hedgehog sighed, resisting the temptation to roll his eyes. "Tails is just looking for badniks and robots so we can have forewarning." Seeing the other about to dispute him again, he cut across. "And, he's not in any danger because he knows better than to engage an enemy without backup."

"It seems kind of pointless to sit around like this," the other argued back. "Why can't we leave the Tailses here and scout ahead ourselves?"

This time, the older Sonic really did roll his eyes. "Eggman uses mainly land-based enemies, so Tails has the lowest possibility of being hit." The smaller opened his mouth to argue again, but the darker blue one cut him off once more. "And before you suggest that your Tails could fly you through, that totally defeats the purpose. We're still going to kick robot metal, but we're going to have a plan of attack."

The little blue one rolled his eyes at the condescending tone of his older self, scoffing low in his throat. "I never plan, and I'm still alive."

The flat look Sonic sent his younger persona was anything but pleasant, and would have had anyone else backing up in defeat, ready to listen to the hedgehog's advice. However, since Sonic was basically trying to stare down himself – albeit he be a younger self – the glare did nothing to move the other in a direction of surrendering, and he simply jeered back.

Changing tact, the older Sonic sighed before dropping down onto one knee and placing a hand on the other's shoulder, staring into the dark depths of his companion's eyes, recognizing himself in those windows; his soul reflected brightly through the black orbs. Inside those eyes, he saw the passion and determination to protect all of those he cared about and the burning hatred he still held back for Robotnik, the cabin fever he suffered from even to this day from simply standing still for more than five seconds at a time, the protective instincts he had for the small fox laying on his foot, twitching in his sleep, and, more importantly, the love he had for all of his friends. He was overwhelmed at the innocence he saw in those eyes, almost overflowing from the ten year old. He had no idea what it was like to almost die, what the Chaos Emeralds had planned for him, what he was yet to face that would turn those eyes into hard chips of emerald instead of dark, endless wells of emotion. Instantly, he wished he could save himself, wished he wouldn't let his passion overcome his instincts to save himself and just back away from being the hero.

"Subdue your passion," he mumbled, looking away from his child-like persona, "or it will subdue you."

"What?" The younger blue hedgehog stared up at his older self like he had grown a second head.

"Nothing, nothing." The reply was quick and precise, leaving no room for argument. Instead, Sonic went back to the issue at hand. "It's not about staying alive," he said in response to the juvenile hedgehog's previous declaration, "it's about being quick and exact, not allowing Eggman time to retaliate."

"This isn't exactly very 'quick'." The rounder Sonic disagreed. "We've been sitting here for way too long to be healthy."

"Says you."

"Actually, says you. We're the same person."

"Touché…"

They stood in silence after that, staring after their still adventuring fox friend, attempting to decide what to do next. Eventually, Little Sonic eased himself into a sitting position on the dusty ground, shifting Tails so he wouldn't step on one of his namesakes on accident. The movement did little to wake the four year old, and he simply curled himself back into a ball in Sonic's lap, still asleep. Older Sonic quickly followed the other's example, sitting close and reaching out and rubbing the small fox on the head.

"Enjoy this." He said simply, scratching the child behind the ear. "Soon, he'll be too busy tinkering with planes to sleep in your lap."

"It's hard for me to imagine him being so smart… I mean, I know he's intelligent, but it never really struck me how much of a genius he is."

The emerald eyed hedgehog laughed quietly, staring down at the small face of his charge's past self. "I don't think it's hit me yet. I don't think it'll ever completely set in, considering how dependent he is on us."

"I'm almost scared…" This was mumbled, without the intention of the older hedgehog hearing, but he did anyway. "I mean, looking at you… me… us," he waved a hand towards the other hedgehog's general physique, "I know that we make it to adulthood without any major complications and that we raise Tails successfully, but still… I'm afraid that I'm gonna make a stupid mistake and screw him up."

"Oh, you're gonna screw up." Older Sonic said firmly. "But, he'll forgive you. He's a good kid, and we're lucky that we found him. I dunno if I would be alive today without him."

The other hedgehog stared down at the small head in his lap. "I can believe that." He said simply, rubbing his hand on the fox's head like his older self. "Sonic…" He addressed the older hedgehog with their shared name, catching the other's attention. "What exactly happened…?" He trailed off, licking his lips and searching for the words to continue. "I mean, with your eyes… They're green, and Tails'… blue… It's so strange."

Suddenly, the older's face shut down, his chin falling to his chest and casting strange shadows on his face. "It's complicated…"

The smaller of the two hedgehogs looked like he was about to try to press the answer out of his older persona, but the other speedster was saved from having to answer by the older Tails coming from nowhere and landing in front of them. He was panting, like he had been in a hurry, and his left arm had a shallow gash in it that was bleeding steadily.

Sonic – the older – was on his feet in milliseconds, grabbing the arm and examining the wound. "What happened?" He demanded, voice unnaturally harsh and guttural.

"Buzz Bomber," the fox panted back, yanking his arm back. "Don't worry about it. It's just a flesh wound. Not deep at all. There's a whole platoon of Bombers heading this way."

Little Sonic eased his respective Tails awake, pulling the fox to his feet as he himself stood. "What're we gonna do?"

The elder Sonic still looked upset over his little brother's injury, but he forced a smile onto his face. "What we do best! Smash some bots!"

The two Sonics shared a thumbs up, strategies already spinning through two equally quick brains. As if reading each other's minds, they nodded once before dashing off towards the oncoming threat.

What the heck is the plural form of 'Tails'? How do you make a plural become more plural? (Tailses?)

Darn you English. You and your confusing structure.