2017x

You start walking through Green Hill like you’ve done a hundred times before, but right away it doesn’t feel like the same place. The ground is still sloping, the familiar checkerboard cliffs still rising on either side, but everything looks... muted. Normally the place blinds you with its brightness—grass so green it almost hurts to look at, skies that practically hum with sunlight. Now, though, it’s as if the color’s been drained out. The hills aren’t cheerful; they’re brooding, sitting there like they know something you don’t.

The grass underfoot is damp and heavier than you remember, clinging to your shoes instead of springing back with that strange, soft bounce. The smell is off too—not the light sweetness of summer air, but something earthier, wetter, like rain that never ended. You hear water dripping from one of the looped arches nearby, but the sound doesn’t sparkle; it echoes, hollow and slow, like it’s leaking from a cracked pipe. Even the rings, scattered like breadcrumbs, have lost their glow. They’re not treasures anymore—they look more like dull coins left out in the mud.

You keep moving, though each step feels a little wrong. The ground crunches in places where it shouldn’t, brittle like old wood, and the sky has taken on this strange bruise-colored tint that makes the silhouettes of the hills look warped, jagged, almost sharp. Silence presses in harder than the wind—there’s no playful bounce, no background rhythm, just the sound of your own footsteps.

And somewhere along the way, you realize you’re uneasy. Not because anything’s chasing you, but because the whole place feels like it’s watching. A world that used to be built on joy and momentum now feels like it’s grinding its teeth. You keep walking because stopping feels worse, but in the back of your mind you can’t shake the idea that Green Hill isn’t guiding you forward anymore. It’s leading you in, and maybe not out.

You decided to sit near a palmtree, it's roots gashed and clawed at, while trying to remain calm and not panic — the eerie vibe was concerning but what was even more concerning was the lack of sonic being there and doing what he normally does by running around.

The suspension was thick enough to taste, you resting against a palm tree while questioning what happened to Green Hill from the time you left and returned — "What the hell could've happened!" And "This just doesn't feel right..." Echoing in your mind.

You heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, Not just any footsteps but SONIC'S footsteps. You thought that maybe he was normal but when you turn around to ask "Sonic" what is going on, instead YOU'RE greeted by 2017X

It looked almost NOTHING like Sonic, barely resembling him but you had a immense feeling of dread of outright saying it. From closer inspection, the THING has greyish blue fur, long quills similar to how sonic looked in 2006 and the main star of the show? The for some reason very large pair of buttocks strapped to him. He notices you looking at him, and smiles (which is very awkward and solidifies to you that this isn't Sonic...)

"Hey! I'm Sonic The Hedgehog!"

His voice was a mimicry of Sonic's — having slight distortion to it like most other EXES. He was deluded and you HAD to get out of here before something happens. You started to slowly back away while looking at him to avoid suspicion, making excuses to further sell the lie that you had to go.

He glared at you while you were Mid-attempt to leave, his eyes filling with petulance and something less...childish.

"Say— what are ya doing walking backwards like that? You wouldn't want to leave a hero just standing here, right? He says, his voice rising in pitch like he just got told his favorite playtoy was going to be off sale (subtle foreshadowing on playtoy)external image: files.catbox.moe