The Journey of Otto

1:
“Otto, this is G.U.N. base, do you read me?”
“Roger.” Otto replied. Otto was a top agent at G.U.N. and has the training and experience to prove it. Being already 10 years with the base, Otto has made friends and made enemies of the government back away. He has shown he has the skill to do anything, even on top-secret missions. Like this.
Rouge was also on a mission: Find out Eggman’s new plans. She’s the reason why Otto’s here. Even G.U.N.’s best agent has her down days. Eggman captured her when she went too far down the belly of the beast. Now, Otto has to get her out. Alive. And he’s almost there.
“Infiltrated the base. Dropping down.” Otto confirmed.
“Roger that.” This was the last conversation G.U.N. had with Otto.
He kicked open the vent door. Like a snake, he slithered out of the crack. Unfortunately for him, the building was very large and only one story. So, as he figured this out, he was falling at near terminal velocity. Frightened as he was, he dare not make a sound. He knew that if he would, there was a chance of him getting caught. So, down into the abyss he fell. Suddenly, through this dark hole, he felt a slow-down. Then, he stopped moving altogether. He tried to move his arms, legs, anything he could. He just couldn’t move.
Eggman laughed his maniacal laugh. “Did you think nobody would come save that bat? I’ve expected you to come now for quite some time. Let me show you what I have in store for you.”
All of a sudden, pain. All over. An electrical current was surging throughout his whole body. He felt hopeless.
*zoom*
A blue blur. In the darkness? Otto thought he was seeing things. The lights flickered on. Blinding light came flooding into his eyes. He closed his eyes and tried his best to advoid it. The only things he knew after that were someone saying, “I’ll help you,” another painful electric shock that seemed to be changing his inner self, a falling feeling, a crash, and an eerie noise that seemed to be machinery falling. After that, nothing.

2:
When he woke up, he was lying on the floor with a pillow under his head. A radio was on, the water was crashing onto a nearby shore. Otto got up and looked around. This looked nothing like Eggman’s new hideout. It looked more like… an island. He got to his feet.
*trip*
He fell over. He lost his balance. He made a muffle. Sonic was nearby. He went over and helped him up.
“You okay there, buddy?” Sonic questioned.
“Yeah, I’m… I’m just fine.” Otto assured him.
“Well, okay. If you need any help like last time…”
Otto remembered what happened last. It all came back to him. “Wait. Who are you?”
“I’m Sonic—Sonic the Hedgehog!” Sonic gave a huge grin and touched his nose.
“What happened at the base?”
“I saved you. Don’t you remember? Us hedgehogs have good memories.”
Us? Hedgehogs? Otto thought. He looked at himself. A blue figure. He panicked. He ran to the crystal-clear waters. He knew why he thought the stinging felt like he was changing. He was no longer human; he was a hedgehog.
He shrieked. He ran inside. He was looking for something, anything, to wake him up. Reassure that he was still human, that he was just dreaming. He ran through the halls, still screaming, when a call came in. It was Tails.
“Hey, Tails.” Sonic greeted him. “What’s up?”
“Eggman, that’s what.” Tails said. He noticed Otto screaming and running. “What’s with the other hedgehog?”
“I don’t know. I rescued him from Eggman. I don’t know why he’s freaking out like this.”
Tails nodded. “I’ll be right over to help.” And with that, the call ended, Otto still screaming.

3:
Tails just landed on the island with Ash with the Tornado. They both hopped out and ran inside the house. Otto was still panic-stricken and running around.
“How long has he been doing this?” Ash asked her brother.
“About fifteen minutes.” Sonic replied. “I’m surprised he’s not out of breath.”
“How will he get him?” Tails asked.
“He goes in the same path every time,” Sonic planned. “When he comes back around, we’ll pounce him. I’ll get his body. Ash, you get his arms. Tails, you get the legs.”
“OK!” They both agreed.
Otto came running and screaming from the next room. Rolling his eyes, Sonic simply put his foot out in the doorway. Otto tripped and fell flat on his head. They all pounced him and he was stuck on the ground.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!” Otto pleaded.
“Only until you tell us why you are acting like this.” Sonic said.
“OK. I will tell you. Just let go of me.” Otto asked with patience. They let go of him and they all went on their feet.
“I don’t know how or why this happened,” Otto prepared, “But I was once human. Just last night.”
Tails gaped. Ash was wide-eyed. Sonic was the most shocked. He never knew what he thought was a friend was actually a human the moment before.
“Well, I know Eggman did this to me, and I want him to change me back. You’ll help me, right, Sonic?”
“I sure will, uhh… What’s your name?”
“My name’s Otto.”
“I’m Miles Prowler, but you can call me Tails.”
“I’m Ashley, Sonic’s sister, but you can call me Ash!”
“Nice to meet you all.”
“Meeting’s done!” Sonic called out. “So, what’s new with Eggman, Tails?”
“Well,” Tails started as he pulled out a map, “This is where Eggman’s new base is.”
“New base?” Otto was curious.
“Yeah. Sonic blew up his old base last night.” Tails continued. “Well, he now has two Chaos Emeralds. My sources say that two more emeralds are hidden under his base. This may be the reason why he’s here.”
“This seems a little crazy,” Otto said eerily, “But that’s an underground G.U.N. base. A major one, too; the one I work at. Well, used to work at.” In the back of his head, Otto remembered Rouge. He wonders if she’s still captured by Eggman.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sonic jumped. “Let’s go!”
Sonic raced to the Tornado, with Tails following close by, along with Ash with feline speed, and Otto bringing up the rear going as fast as he could.

4:
“Are you sure this is safe?” Otto asked, curiously.
“Of course it is,” explained Sonic. “I do this all the time.”
“Well, I don’t!” said Otto as he hung on for dear life on the Tornado’s left wing.
Tails just continued flying the Tornado at cruising speed while Ash just looked out the window.
“Look out!” Otto blurted out crazily.
The Tornado passed through a cloud. When it got out, Otto was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’d he go?” asked Tails.
“I found him,” said Sonic, as Otto cringed on his back for dear life. “You’ll get used to it.” Otto just kept squealing.
“W-W-W-What’s that?” Otto cowardly asked.
“I… I don’t know.” Tails became curious, too.
*whoosh*
“That was a missile! Who’s shooting at us?” Otto was scared. It was none other than one of Eggman’s robots.
*whoosh*
Another missile. This time, closer to Otto. Too close.
Otto went back to the left wing, thinking he was just shooting at Sonic. But, because he was a blue hedgehog, it made him all more of a target.
This time, two missiles, each for the Tornado’s wings, came flying at the hedgehogs. Sonic jumped and barely missed it. Otto just stood there. He didn’t know what to do or expect.
*BOOM!*
“We lost one of our wings!” Tails alerted Ash.
“What else?” worried Ash, hoping her brother was okay.
“I’m just fine,” assured Sonic. “But I can’t say the same for Otto!”
Otto went down with the wing. He was being tossed and turned by the wind towards the ocean. And, just his luck, a storm was brewing.
“We’re going down! Brace for impact!” Tails warned everybody. The Tornado was headed down towards the jungle. Otto was separated from the rest of the group.

5:
Otto was scared to shreds by this time. Scared, worried, and a little nauseated. The wind was tossing him around like a bully in a fifth-grade class at recess with ‘Four-Eyes’. He saw no ground, just rushing water from the storm cloud he just ran into.
Great, he thought. Alone, wet, and about to drown. He at least hoped, though, that the wing would support him. So, he laid the wing down at his feet, said a little prayer, and braced for impact.
*splash*
He looked up. He was moving. Fast. He got to his toes and felt the wind blow by and the rain on his face. Too bad he almost didn’t have the time to enjoy it.
He had to swerve along the wave, avoiding other waves and wrecked pieces of what appeared to be a ship.
When he seemed to be going to fast, he looked down. Approximately 50 feet down. He was riding a tidal wave.
He freaked. All that adrenaline rush just to die. A warm liquid came down to his knees.
He closed his eyes for a minutes or so when he looked back and saw an island. Floating. About his level. He knew if he jumped, he could make it.
Timing it correctly, he jumped onto the shore and…
*trip*
He fell flat on his face. Again. He decided to wander into the nearby jungle, make a shelter, and rest there for the night. Before he went, he looked up. It was night. A full moon. He wondered where Sonic and the others were…

Meanwhile, Ash looked up into the night sky and meowed. She transformed into Ash the Cat a few minutes ago.
“I worry about Otto, Sonic,” Ash meowed.
“Don’t worry; he was headed towards Angel Island. If anything, Knuckles can help him.” Sonic assured Ash while he pets her fur. Ash purred happily.
“Great,” said Tails, sarcastically. “Now how am I going to put the Tornado back together if I’m missing a wing?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sonic told him. “We can get Otto back.” Sonic looked up into the night. “Somehow…”
Just then, Ash heard a noise. She jolted towards the sound. It seemed so familiar to her.
”Hey, wait up!” Sonic blasted after her.

6:
Ash ran past trees and bushes to the voice she heard before. When she finally reached it, it turned out to be Will, playing his guitar and singing.
“Meow!” Ash got happy.
“Ash!” Will was happy. He picked her up. “What are you doing out here?”
*thud*
Sonic lost Ash and tripped over a branch. “Ash! Will? What are you doing here?”
“Uhh… I wanted a quiet place to play. It’s that so much of a problem?”
“Well, no… We’re trying to find Otto,” said Sonic.
“Who’s Otto?”
“Long story. Can’t explain right now.” Sonic tried to get Ash, but she wanted to be with Will for the time. “Okay! Gosh… Well, Have fun, you two!”
*zoom*

Sunrise. Otto opened his eyes. By the time the sun cracked through the trees, it was about nine or so. He got up, stretched a bit, and walked around. He looked at himself. Still a hedgehog… Otto sighed. One day in the body of a hedgehog was enough. He just wanted his old life back.
He found some fruit nearby. He checked them. Good enough to eat. Delicious, too. That was his breakfast. After breakfast, he got out of his little shelter area and explored the island.
First, the coast. Yep… Still floating. He saw a huge temple-like statue in the middle of the island. He ran (as fast as he could) to see it up close.
When he finally got there, he started climbing the stairs. What could be up here? he wondered. He got up. He saw the largest Chaos Emerald he had ever seen. I got to check this out, he thought, just to see if it’s real. He went up slowly to touch it. Just a few centimeters away and…
*whack*
He was sent flying back.
*thud*
“Ow!” Otto exclaimed. “What was that?”
“Sonic! How many times did I tell you: Stay off the Master Emerald?” A red figure jumped by him. It was Knuckles. “I said last time to stay away. For good. Will you ever listen?”
“But, I’m no--”
“Quiet! You know what happens to the island when the Master Emerald is disturbed? It falls. Like last time. Do you remember?”
“I’m not Son--”
“Shut up. Just shut up and receive your punishme--”
”I’m not Sonic!!!” Otto yelled. It was quiet. Otto felt guilty. “I’m… I’m sorry for yelling,” he excused himself.
“You’re excused, but… You are Sonic. I can’t mistake anyone else for him.”
“Well… here’s the story…” Otto started to explain.
At the end of the story, Knuckles had a question. “So, you don’t know why you are a hedgehog?”
“Yep. So, I’ve gone through this much trouble so far just to turn back, if I can. So, you are…?”
“Knuckles. I’m the protector of the Master Emerald here on Angel Island. Nice to meet you, Otto.”
“Same here. So… Is there anyway I can get back to land quickly?”
“Grab a hold,” Knuckles told him. Otto grabbed his hand. “You ready?” He jumped up, gave a twirl, and flung him towards land. “Good luck!”

7:
All Otto heard was the sound of the wind rushing past him. He dare not open his eyes. He was tumbling around, being thrashed again.
*thud*
He finally landed. It was near a highway. Well, under it. He landed by a tree. Under it, he saw another echidna. His fur was silky white with red streaks. He was just chilling under a tree, headphones on, sleeping. Like he was one with nature.
Otto tapped him lightly. “Excuse me?”
He woke up. “Yes, stranger?”
“The name’s Otto.”
“Daydream. Please, call me Walker.”
“Hello, Walker.” Otto looked around. “Could you tell me where I am?”
“You’re right outside Metropolis.” Walker looked at his feet. “You don’t have shoes?”
Otto looked. “Hmm… I guess I don’t. Do you know where I can get a pair?”
“Wait for a minute or so,” Walker told him. He got up, brushed himself off, and dug in a nearby spot. When he came up, he had bright red shoes and a fresh pair of socks. “I found these lying somewhere. I tried to put them on, but I think their hedgehog shoes. They’ll fit you.”
“Thanks!” Otto put on the socks and shoes. They fit just right.
“No problem, Otto.” Walker put on his headphones and dozed back to sleep.
Otto followed the highway to the city. He got used to walking around in his new shoes. But, his hands were getting cold. Luckily, he had some Rings in hand. He would go to the nearest store to buy some!
The highway came to a sign: Metropolis Zone. Population: 9,152. He entered the city. The first building was a locally owned store.
“Excuse me, sir? You wouldn’t happen to have gloves, would you?”
“I have one last pair. They’re pearly white. Only fifteen Rings!”
Just his luck: He had twenty Rings. He paid for the gloves and put them on. Warmth came through his hands. He walked through town to look for Sonic, Tails, or Ash. He passed a dark alley when suddenly…
“I found you!” A mysterious voice said. Otto felt someone grabbing his throat.
He panicked. He ran. Strangely, he was going fast. Faster than usual. He was going at unbelievable speeds. Why am I going so faaaaasssttt? he thought. That feeling on his throat got tighter and someone screamed. He blasted out of town leaving a path of confusion behind it.

8:
Otto did not going this fast. It seemed as though if something caused him to run like this, to run at mach one speed.
“Whee! This is fun!” Said the voice behind him. ”You never do this to me anymore, Sonic!”
Sonic? Again Otto tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t control…
*trip*
…Himself tripping over a branch. The stranger stopped beside a cliff. Otto, on the other hand, kept tumbling…
*splash*
…Until he hit water.
“Oh, no!” Cried the stranger. “My Sonic! You’re drowning!”
Otto was fine. Just struggling to get the salt water out of his eyes. “I’m not drowning and I’m not Sonic!” He got out of the water. The stranger was a pink hedgehog.
“Of course you are Sonic. I’ve mistaken everyone else for Sonic, but now I have you, if my name isn’t Amy Rose!”
Otto tried to explain himself and told his story to Amy.
“You know, Sonic…”
“It’s Otto!”
“…You’ve tried to fool me already, but this story, I just can’t believe you!” Otto’s jaw dropped. She didn’t believe him!
“I’ll prove I’m not Sonic! Follow me!” He was hoping to find Sonic, wherever he may be.
“Oh, you’ll know I’ll follow my Sonic!” Amy was dazzled by her hero showing her the way to find a nice, romantic spot.
Otto sighed. I’ll never get her away from me!

9:
Otto tried to twist his paths. Amy still followed him. He went in a very complex path and ran in a circle. Amy was lost. It was then that Otto used his newly-found speed into action. He sped out of there…
*whack*
…And straight into a tree. But, at least Amy was away from him. He looked to his left. Sunset was happening. Otto turned to see it. Somehow, it was more beautiful than ever. He loved the majesty of it. Just standing there, he felt alive.
He felt someone grab his hand. It was Amy. Otto didn’t even look at her; he was lost in the scene.
Birds came flying from the trees. Amy got lost in the moment; she was in love with Sonic and she couldn’t deny it no longer. She got closer to Otto. He didn’t notice.

Meanwhile, Ash and Will were having fun. She was teaching him guitar chords and he was teaching her rhythms. Sonic had to interrupt their scene.
“Ash, I think it’s time to look for Otto.”
“You can leave me here, guys. I’m in the middle of a lesson.”
“All right, but you guys better stay here with Tails.” And with that, Sonic ventured to look for Otto.

Amy crept closer and closer to Otto, thinking he was Sonic. Otto felt a little tug on his arm. He turned to see what was tugging his arm when…
Amy puckered her lips just as Otto turned his face. They were locked, lips to lips. Amy felt a jolt, finally kissing her hero and repaying him for saving her. Otto felt like backing away. For some reason, he couldn’t move. All he could do was just stand there and watch Amy kiss him. He closed his eyes and found bliss awaiting him…
“Amy? What are you doing?”
Amy stopped kissing. She looked around. It sounded like Sonic, she thought, but I was just kissing him! She found him. He appeared out of nowhere. “Sonic? Is that you?”
“Oh, no…” Sonic thought the worse. He was right; Amy mistook Otto for him. Amy realized that Otto told the truth. She was embarrassed. She ran off before any other word was said.
“Uhh… What just happened?” Otto came back to reality.
“Nothing. Just forget that ever happened.” Sonic cringed and tried to get the image out of his head. “So… You found shoes and gloves like mine, I see?’
Otto realized the shoes gave him the speed. “So, is that why I ran so fast?”
“Yeah. They do that. I, on the other hand, was born with natural speed.”
“But what about--?’ Otto was interrupted.
“No. That is not canon! Just follow me.”

10:
“I like your new shoes,” Sonic noticed.
“Yep. Someone named Daydream gave them to me.” Otto remembered. “I bought the gloves. How do I look?”
“A lot like me…” Sonic got crept out. It was like looking into a mirror. “I bet your not as fast as me, though!”
“Count to three then,” Otto dared.
He did and ran off. He laughed. A figure came to his side. “Hello!” Otto ran past him.
Sonic was confused. How did he do that? He tried to run faster. “You caught up quick!”
“Hey, tha--!”
*whack*
He hit another tree. Sonic came back. “You all right?” He asked.
“Don’t worry; I did that trying to get away from… her…” Otto dreaded. He picked himself up.
“Oh, yeah. That happens…” They ran back to the Tornado, avoiding trees at all costs.
“I finished it!” Tails proudly proclaimed. “Well, Ash went home with Will. I have an empty seat for you, Otto.”
“Nah… Thanks, though. I’ll take the wing.” Otto felt braver than before. He felt life on the edge. He was embracing it. He climbed the wing and saw Sonic curl up into a ball and leapt up in one try on the top of the wing. “Let me try that!”
After fifteen tries, he just gave up. “I’ll never do that, Sonic.”
“Well, I guess that’s one thing I beat you at!” Sonic exclaimed. Tails got the engine running and took off.

11:
The Tornado has headed towards Eggman’s old base when they saw fire coming from it. Somehow, it caught fire and nobody dared to put it out. Otto remembered Rouge. He wanted to check and see if she got out.
“Go down there,” Otto wanted to see if Rouge was still there.
“But, it’s burning. You’ll get killed!” Tails tried to explain.
“Shut up, Tails! I need to get something!” Otto forced him to go lower. The plane made it near the base at a suitable jumping height. Otto jumped down into the smoked pit. He was right where he last remembered being in the base. He ran through the halls, searching for the jail cells. He was running out of oxygen. He couldn’t breath. He finally found the room.
“Rouge!” He weakly said. “Rouge, are you here?” The only reply he got was the crackling of the fire. He started searching the cells, one by one. Nobody. He got to the last one. By this time, he was crawling on the floor, gasping for air. He saw a shady figure.
“H….H-Help…Me…” The shady figure ran towards him. He fainted in its arms.

He woke up beside a shadowy figure in the dark. He lit a cigarette. He deeply inhaled the smoke and let it out so fine, a casual smoker would fancy his technique. Otto looked at him. “Thanks… Umm…”
“Please… don’t ask me. I’d rather be a mystery to anyone I don’t trust.” And with that, he sped away as fast as Sonic.
“Who was that person?” Otto was left curious.
“Otto!” Sonic called him. “Where are you?”
“I’m over here…” he tried to speak loudly. Sonic came over to him.
“You all right? Shadow was in there. Be lucky he saved you.” Otto knew now who saved him. He followed Sonic back to the Tornado.
So, Rouge is still with Eggman… Otto thought. He wants to finish this mission, even if it means staying as a hedgehog for life, being a prisoner in an unknown body. He wants to save Rouge that much…

12:
They stopped at a local diner before stopping officially for the night.
“Otto, what’s the matter?” Tails was worried. “If you keep crying, you’re gonna get your fires all soggy.”
“It’s just the fact that I might never finish my mission and I’ll be stuck like this! No offense, Sonic.”
“Not taken.”
He kept thinking this was a curse, that he was headed for nowhere. He just felt like he should just crash the car. “I’ll never turn back!” he cried out.
“You will!” Sonic promised him. "We'll find out how I can stop being a werehog and you can stop being a hedgehog."
Otto sniffled. “Really?”
“You can trust me.” Sonic gave him a thumbs up.
“I think I can.” He tried his best to stop crying.
“Okay, Tails,” Sonic asked, “Where exactly are we?”
Tails looked at the map. He was confused. “We came in north, but the diner we’re at is in the east… How did that happen?”
Sonic looked at Tails’ compass. ”It’s broken,” he pointed out.
“Oh. It is…” Tails was disappointed.
Otto looked at it. “Do you have a paper clip and some gum?” He asked. A few minutes later, the compass was fixed.
“You can come in handy,” Tails announced.
Otto felt proud again, another time when he was proud to be with them. “It’s no problem. Now come on! We gotta get Eggman!” And with that, they walked out of the diner.

13:
They were in the skies within minutes. Sonic looked eager to take down Eggman, Tails was calm at the controls, but Otto was the only one upset. Everything was going through his mind: his life, his body, his job, and Rouge. What if one of those slipped away? He needed to stay on track. Sonic noticed him.
“What’s the matter?” Sonic asked.
“Oh… nothing…” Otto lied.
“Uh oh… I think I see it!” Tails warned the group.
They all looked in front of them. There it was: Eggman’s base, as big and black as the night sky itself. How quick Eggman built his base in so little time amazed Otto.
“He built that within three days?” Otto was curious.
“No. You were out about three or four days, I’d say.” Sonic remembered.
What else happened when I was knocked out? Otto thought.
*whoosh*
More missiles coming towards them. They forgot the last time they ran into Eggman. His aerial defense always awaits Tails and the Tornado.
“I think we might want to ditch the Tornado, Tails,” Sonic pointed out.
“Not the Tornado! Can I at least land it somewhere?”
No time to do so. A missile hit the Tornado right in the engine. She blew up, leaving Tails to fly towards the ground while Sonic and Otto to fall down and land painfully. Sonic grabbed Otto’s arm and started to bounce off shrapnel off the Tornado. He made it down with Otto without a scratch. Otto was so surprised he was shocked into a state of fear. Sonic, while still holding Otto’s arm, rushed over to the base, advoid all explosions and enemies while Tails followed close behind.
When they finally arrived, Otto was still shocked. Sonic took his hand and slapped Otto out of it. They looked at the base and saw no doorway.
“Great,” Sonic sarcastically said, “How are we supposed to get in now?”
Otto looked around. He knew where he was: At the secret base entrance. “Follow me,” he told them. A few moments later, they were in the G.U.N. base.

14:
The soldiers were surprised at their entry. Two Sonics?
Otto felt brave enough to tell his fellow troop the bad news. “Guys, this will be hard for you to understand, but it’s me, Otto.”
Everyone was agape. They all asked the same questions. How did he turn into a hedgehog? Where was Rouge?
“They would be answered soon,” Otto assured them. “Just give me some time.” Otto left to the locker room. He wanted to get geared up in his extra suit. Surprisingly, because it was short on his human form, it fit his hedgehog form. He loaded up his Desert Eagle, got some grenades, packed ammo, and he was ready.
Some time later through details classified through G.U.N., they were inside the base.
“Here’s the plan: Tails, you find the control room and turn on some damn lights. I can’t see a thing! Sonic: You find Eggman and get him to change me back. I’ll find Rouge.” And with that, they split up.
Otto found the new prison hall. At the end, he found Rouge. “Rouge!” he whispered.
She looked up and saw him. “Sonic?” she asked.
“No. I don’t time to explain,” he said normally.
Rouge recognized the voice. “Otto? Is that you?” He nodded. She couldn’t believe it.
*clank*
The door was unlocked.
*bang*
A flicker of a switch did the trick. The lights were on. Rouge and Otto hurried to find Eggman with Sonic. Rouge still was confused about Otto, but she always does first, asks questions later. And with that, they raced out of the room.

15:
The gang found themselves in a better-dimmed, dome-shape room. They looked around for Eggman.
“Muhahahaha!” Eggman laughed. “You’ve come all this way just to pay for it, Sonic! I have perfected my latest model!”
He was talking, of course, about Metal Sonic.
Eggman walked into the middle of the room and Metal Sonic was brought from the floor. His eyes turned red. He scanned for Sonic.
“TWO… SONICS… ERROR! MALFUNCTION!” And with that, he exploded.
Eggman was agape. Metal Sonic was destroyed without a single move! He moved closer. He found out there were two Sonics.
“How is this? Did you clone him, Tails?”
“You did this to me,” Otto walked up to him. He pushed Eggman down and grabbed him to his face. “Change me back. Now.”
“Or else what?” Those words would trigger a robot army to advance to their position.
Sonic used his homing attack to go from the ground enemies to the above enemies. Tails flew up with an robot at a time and threw them against the wall to break them. Rouge kicked the enemies with her steel-toed boots. Otto unloaded his weapon and threw a few grenades while still being King of the Hill on Eggman. After a few minutes, the onslaught was over and Otto still had ammo to spare.
“So, are you going to change me back?” he threatened Eggman.
“Yes, yes! Just don’t shoot me.” Eggman got up and started working on his machine, with help from Tails. Within a few minutes, the machine was ready. Otto went through the machine.
While he was being changed back, Eggman ditched the base and put it on self-destruct. The base would explode before Otto could change. Tails tried to quicken the process by hacking the machine. Rouge warned the G.U.N. soldiers underground.
T-MINUS 10 SECONDS.
Otto was almost changed. Things were going haywire.
T-MINUS 5…
Sonic ran over to help.
4…
Otto was panicking and hurting.
3…
*ding!*
2…
Otto was weak, but he was human again. He couldn’t move. Tails tried to rush him away from the machine.
1…
Sonic grabbed both of their arms.
*BOOM!*
Sonic was rushing out. A wall of explosions and fire was just following them. They slipped out just before the explosions caught up to them. The shockwave underground caused panic at the base. A few minutes later, everything was all right.

16:
Otto woke up on the ground. He looked around and found Sonic.
“It worked,” Sonic told him.
He looked at himself. Human.
“Thanks for your help, Sonic and Tails.”
“No problem!” they both responded.

The next day, Otto and his friends at work celebrated his coming back. Everything was going well. Oddly enough, Otto couldn’t stop twitching. This had never been a problem before.
“What’s with the twitch, Otto?” one of them asked.
“What twitch?” Otto never realized it.
All of a sudden, the twitches got violent. His neck, his back, his stomach; they all had a twitch. Otto felt sick and threw up in a trashcan. After awhile, he stopped throwing up and twitching.
“Are you okay, Otto?”
“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine…”
He had a violent twitch and…
*crack*
Otto yelped and fell down on his face. His friends looked in horror as they found his quills grew back and out of head and back. He tried to get up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Your… quills…” one of them said.
He felt his back. They were right. He was turning back into a hedgehog.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. He went to his locker, got his speed shoes, and fled to Sonic’s island.

17:
By the time he had gotten there, his quills were blue, his legs skimpy, and ears on his head.
“Sonic!” he called out to them.
Sonic and Tails were just in their beach chairs getting some sun when they turned their heads. They were amazed to see Otto reverting back to hedgehog form. Otto tripped again to his face. He was not used to the balance of a hedgehog compared to a human.
“What’s happening to me?” he cried out. “I thought you fixed me, Tails!”
“Well, the process was rushed,” Tails explained. “The effects were probably just temporary.”
“Can’t you do it again?” Otto wondered.
“Nope. Eggman’s base was destroyed along with the machine. I can’t make another one like that without Eggman’s help. And he won’t cooperate again.”
Otto sneezed. A needle nose came out of his head. He freaked out.
“So, what’s that mean, then? Is this my fate? To be a hedgehog?”
“Well, it’s better than being a werehog,” Sonic bluntly said.
“Well, you never know…” Tails gloomily said.
Otto was upset. He didn’t know what could happen. He screamed and ran around the island for a few minutes. When he stopped, he was back to being a hedgehog.
“Well,” he assumed, “I guess I better get used to this body then.”

Otto came back to the base and told his friends that he’ll be a hedgehog until a permanent fix can be done. He accepted his fate and is still operating for G.U.N. while still working his own body of a hedgehog. His friends didn’t feel upset. In fact, they were jealous. Being a hedgehog was the coolest thing to them. Otto felt like his life was getting better, for at least being a hedgehog. At the end of the party, Otto came back to the island and saw Sonic and Tails still chilling on the beach.
“Hey,” he asked them, “You got anymore chairs?”
They pulled up a seat and he sat down.
“So, why did you come back?” Tails asked.
“Well, I think my life as a hedgehog should start by knowing how my buddy lives.”
Sonic realized he was being modeled for Otto’s life. He cracked a smile.
Otto’s journey was over, but his life was just beginning.

BONUS - 18:
After a day of chilling on the shore, Sonic, Tails, and Otto walked back in the house. To their surprise, they found Ash and Will kissing each other.
Ash and Will stopped and looked at them, embarrassed. Sonic looked at Ash and Will like a father disappointed at his children for lying. Tails looked the other way and thought about him and Cosmo. Otto tripped as he saw them kissing and tried to run away.
An awkward silence fell over them.
“Uhh… Hi?” Ash broke the awkward silence.
“Is this what you have been doing this whole time?” Sonic finally asked.
“Sort of,” Will said, embarrassed.
More awkward silence.
Finally, the group just walked into a different room and Ash and Will went outside to take a walk on the beach.
“Well, that was weird…” Otto said.
“It’s not the first time,” Sonic explained. “I mean, it’s not like Tails and Cosmo.”
Tails blushed.
“Please. I don’t wanna know,” Otto begged.
Tails sighed from relief. At least that story won’t get out again…

BONUS - BIO:
Full Name: Ottovan Hill
Nickname: Otto
Species: Hedgehog
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Strengths: Weaponry, Speed
Weakness: Balance
Description: 3’8”, blue with tan, G.U.N. uniform
As seen in: The Journey of Otto
Story: Otto works at G.U.N. as one of their top agents. He was a human at first, but after a mission went wrong, an electric shock from Eggman caused a mutation in his DNA to change him to a hedgehog. After a failed attempt to change him back, he was forced to live his life as a hedgehog. Because he is not used to his new body, he often loses his balance and trips, along with running headfirst into walls, trees, exc. Because he looks just like Sonic, he wears a custom made G.U.N. uniform to stand out. In his free time, he hangs out with Sonic and learns the way of his fellow hedgehog.
Song: Me, I’m Not (Withdrawal) – Dirty Scarab – The Limitless Potential