The following short story is based on characters created and/or copyrighted by SEGA! Enterprises, DiC Productions, Archie Comic Publishers, Fleetway Comic Publishers, and the Taki Corporation. All other characters were created and copyrighted by Roland Lowery.
The author gives full permission to distribute this work freely, as long as no alterations are made and the exchange of monetary units is not involved. Any questions, comments, suggestions, or complaints should be sent to [email protected]. Thank you.
"Thus ceas'd she: and the mountain shepherds came,
Their garlands sere, their magic mantles rent;
The Pilgrim of Eternity, whose fame
Over his living head like Heaven is bent,
An early but enduring monument,
Came, veiling all the lightnings of his song
In sorrow; from her wilds Ierne sent
The sweetest lyrist of her saddest wrong,
And Love taught Grief to fall like music from his tongue."
-Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Pilgrimage
by Roland Lowery
[Page 1, Panel 1]
Sonic is in his hut, packing camping supplies into a backpack. He looks vaugely unhappy and lost in thought.
[Page 1, Panel 2]
Having completed his packing, Sonic zips up the backpack, slips one of the straps over his shoulder, and starts walking towards the door.
[Page 1, Panel 3]
Sonic opens the door to his hut. The sky seems preternaturally bright, the only details that can be made out are the grass swaying gently in the wind and a single tree, far in the distance. Sonic is taking one last look around his hut before he heads out.
[Page 2, Panel 1]
Sonic is walking outside of his hut. This panel will contain the Pilgrimage title and credits.
[Page 3, Panel 1]
As Sonic approaches the edge of the Great Forest, he notices the other Freedom Fighters (Sally, Bunnie, Tails, Rotor, Antoine, and Uncle Chuck) standing there waiting for him under a guard post.
[Page 3, Panel 2]
Sonic stops in front of Sally, both with bittersweet smiles.
SONIC: "Hey."
SALLY: "Hey, yourself."
[Page 3, Panel 3]
SALLY (mock critical): "You didn't really think we'd let you go without saying goodbye?"
SONIC (apologetic): "Dunno. I kinda thought I might slip out, yah."
[Page 3, Panel 4]
Sally steps forward and hugs Sonic, a tear falling from her eye.
SALLY: "Don't be silly, Sonic the Hedgehog . . . "
[Page 4, Panel 1]
Their arms still around each other's waists, Sonic and Sally turn to the rest of the Freedom Fighters. Sonic is ruffling Tails' hair with his free hand.
SONIC: "You gonna take care of everyone for me, li'l bro?"
TAILS: "Hehehe . . . Sonic!"
[Page 4, Panel 2]
Sonic has knelt down to look Tails in the eye, but still has his arm around Sally's waist. Both he and Tails have a look of brave, yet forced, cheerfulness.
SONIC: "Everything's gonna be way past cool, Tails . . . I'll be back before you know it."
TAILS: "I know, Sonic. I'll miss ya . . . "
[Page 4, Panel 3]
Sonic and Sally step to Uncle Chuck, with Tails and the rest of the Freedom Frighters standing behind them. Sonic and Chuck are shaking hands.
CHUCK: "I wish I were coming with you, Sonny . . . I should be coming with you-"
SONIC: "Don't worry 'bout it, Unc. I'll give 'em your best wishes. They'd understand, I know it."
[Page 5, Panel 1]
Sonic disengages himself from Sally and steps to the edge of the Great Forest.
[Page 5, Panel 2]
Sonic looks back to the FF one last time and waves.
[Page 5, Panel 3]
Sonic walks away from the Great Forest, his eyes closed and a tear running down his cheek.
[Page 5, Panels 4-6]
As Sonic is walking, the green grass gradually turns into the Wastelands.
A NOTE ON THE WASTELANDS: Though the Wastelands have a similar character to the Great Unknown, they are two definitely different areas. The Wastelands are more like the Mojave desert, slightly sandy yet a bit rocky. Long stretches of the land are flat and only sparsely covered with small boulders that have been chipped away at by erosion. There are the occaisional buttes and small plateaus, but otherwise not very much to see. Plant life can be seen occaisionally, mostly in the form of cacti. It is fairly easy terrain to walk on, but terribly boring to look at . . . at first, anyway. To start out, the Wastelands will be colored mostly in beige, gold, and other simplistic desert colors. As the comic moves along and Sonic comes to appreciate the beauty of the land around him, the colors will become more vivid and varied, taking on several pastel colors and softer shades of the original colors.
A NOTE ON SONIC'S TRAVELLING METHODS: Throughout this whole comic, Sonic will never run. Except for the short sequence on Page 8, he will be walking at all times.
[Page 6, Panel 1]
Sonic has fully entered the Wastelands. A bead of sweat trickles down the side of his head as the sun beats down on him from high in the sky.
CAPTION: The Wastelands
[Page 6, Panels 2-4]
As Sonic continues to walk, he pulls a canteen from his backpack, takes a drink from it, and places it back in his backpack. Through these three panels, he's getting progressively closer to the "camera", as it were, until . . .
[Page 6, Panel 5]
. . . he takes up almost the entire panel, a shadow cast across his entire body and the sky behind him having gradually turned darker until it's almost night.
[Page 7, Panel 1]
Sonic has set up a meager campsite . . . his bedroll, a light canvas canopy, and a small cooking kit. He works on getting a fire started using a flint and steel set and a pile of woodchips.
[Page 7, Panel 2]
The flint and steel strike a spark, causing the woodchips to ignite.
[Page 7, Panel 3]
With the fire going and a small bit of food cooking over it, Sonic leans back against a nearby rock and stares at the horizon, a mildly sad look on his face.
[Page 7, Panel 4]
A longview shot over Sonic's shoulder. The dark, barely discernable peak of a mountain can be seen peeking out over the horizon.
[Page 8, Panel 1]
Sonic wakes up to the first rays of the morning sun.
CAPTION: Day Two
[Page 8, Panel 2]
Sonic packs the last of his camping gear back into his backpack.
[Page 8, Panel 3]
Sonic, looking very determined, begins to walk again.
[Page 8, Panel 4-6]
As he walks, Sonic gets an odd look on his face. He suddenly bursts into a slow (for him) run, then begins to rev up his legs and prepares to hit full speed . . .
[Page 8, Panel 7]
A pained, angry look crosses Sonic's face. He stops revving up.
[Page 9, Panel 1]
He screeches to a stop, kicking up a fair amount of dust in the process.
[Page 9, Panel 2]
An angled shot, looking up at Sonic from a worm's eye view. He looks miserably unhappy as he stares out across the Wastelands.
[Page 9, Panel 3]
Another longview shot of the mountain peak, now much higher and more visible in the midday sun. It's a rather majestic mountain, covered with lush greenery and capped with fresh white snow. Compared to the drab Wasteland surroundings, it should look as a life preserver would look to a drowning man.
[Page 10, Panel 1]
Sonic shakes his head sadly as he resumes walking.
[Page 10, Panel 2]
A shillouette of Sonic at his new campsite, staring up at the night sky. There are two very bright falling stars coming down, one slightly lower than the other but still side by side. A third, slightly fainter falling star is streaking along below and slightly ahead of them.
[Page 10, Panel 3]
A close up of Sonic. He is staring up at the falling stars, a mixture of bittersweet happiness and deep loss on his face, as if the stars hold some special meaning for him.
[Page 10, Panel 4]
Sonic's footprint in the sand.
CAPTION: Day Three
[Page 11, Panel 1]
Sonic's foot slams down exactly into the footprint, as if it had been made just for him to step into again.
[Page 11, Panel 2]
Sonic's other foot swings by as the view pulls back to reveal more of his footprints, both behind and before him. A second track of his footprints can be seen headed the other direction just a few inches to the side of the ones he's walking in.
[Page 11, Panel 3]
A wide view of Sonic's surroundings. The Wastelands have become completely flat, with no features whatsoever except for Sonic's footprints. The sun burns bright in the sky, which is odd because otherwise it appears to be the middle of the night. Sonic continues to trudge forward, his head hung low so that we cannot see his face.
[Page 11, Panel 4]
Sonic looks up. His eyes are leaking tears of blood and he appears to have visibly aged several years.
[Page 11, Panel 5]
A longview of the mountain again. If anything, it appears even more beautiful than it did before.
[Page 12, Panel 1]
Sonic's head drops back down, dripping a few drops of blood from his cheeks on the way down.
[Page 12, Panels 2-3]
Sonic's view. He sees that the footprints in the sand have veered to the side. He stops walking and looks up to see an empty horizon.
[Page 12, Panel 4]
Sonic turns to look over his shoulder and finds that the mountain has moved behind him.
[Page 12, Panel 5]
He turns to follow his footprints as they backtrack beside the footprints he had just been following, heading back towards the mountain that he will never reach . . .
[Page 13, Panels 1-3]
A close up of Sonic's eye, wide with insane fright. Gradually pulls back to show that Sonic is laying on his side on his bedroll, screaming.
[Page 13, Panel 4]
He sits up suddenly and stares out at the morning horizon for a moment.
[Page 13, Panel 5]
The mountain is shown to be where it has always been . . . naturally, it had never really moved.
[Page 13, Panel 6]
Sonic wraps his arms around his knees, lowers his head, and sobs pitifully.
[Page 14, Panel 1]
Sonic is once again walking the wastelands. At this point, a little bit of color has begun to seep into his surroundings, but he doesn't seem to take notice of it.
CAPTION: Day Four
[Page 14, Panels 2-3]
Sonic approaches a small boulder, under which a small lizard is resting in the shade. As he steps to the side of the boulder the lizard is on, he looks at it over his shoulder with a smile and a wave.
[Page 14, Panel 4]
The lizard looks back at Sonic passively, flicking its tongue out to taste the air.
[Page 15, Panels 1-4]
The edge of a cliff . . . sounds of exertion come from the side of the cliff, and finally Sonic's hand appears over the edge and he hauls himself up. As he's dusting himself off, he looks back over his shoulder at the Wastelands.
[Page 15, Panel 5]
A long view shows that Sonic has climbed to the flat top of one of the many plateaus dotting the area. The Wastelands, he's suprised to find, has become a beautiful place, full of color and natural wonders. The evening sky accentuates all of this perfectly, as it has filled with its own pallette of majestic colors.
[Page 15, Panel 6]
Sonic has fallen asleep in his camp on top of the plateau, a smile on his face.
[Page 16, Panel 1]
The mountain looms ahead now, definitely within a day's journey. Sonic is still making his way towards it.
CAPTION: Day Five
[Page 16, Panels 2-4]
Sonic can now see the beauty of the inappropriately named Wastelands, and it brings a smile to his face as he walks along. Small animals flitter about amongst the rocks and sparse plants while the sunlight gradually fades from midmorning to evening.
[Page 17, Panels 1-3]
Sonic sets foot on green grass again. He has entered the foothills of the mountain, and is leaving the Wastelands behind. He stands at the dividing line between sand and green grass, his head down and a half-way troubled look on his face. He takes one last look back at the Wastelands . . .
[Page 17, Panel 4]
Sonic struggles through a rocky wooded area on the mountainside. He looks very determined as he makes his way up.
[Page 17, Panel 5]
Another campsite, this one amongst the trees. All of the colors and sounds seem to be muted to Sonic, who looks vaugely unhappy.
[Page 18, Panel 1-3]
A small stone marker set in the ground at the end of a mountain cliff-side path. Sonic comes into view, and stops right in front of the marker.
[Page 18, Panel 4-6]
Sonic looks down at the marker sadly, then reaches into his backpack and pulls out a stasis tube. The tube has glass sides, but is glowing a soft green, obscuring the view inside.
[Page 19, Panels 1-3]
Sonic twists the top and bottom of the tube in opposite directions, shutting off the stasis field and revealing that it holds two roses. He bends down to set the roses on the marker, then straightens up to stare at the marker for a few more seconds.
[Page 19, Panels 4-6]
Sonic turns and leaves. The view gradually closes in on the marker.
[Page 20, Panel 1]
Splash page of the stone marker with the roses set across it. It says:
"In Loving Memory
Benjamin & Patricia
Hedgehog
3221AD"
END.
Roland Lowery
[email protected]
May 9, 2003
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