Chapter Text
Barry always considered themself to be a rather unassuming Mobian.
They didn’t have a particularly glamourous job, they weren’t overly adventurous, and they didn’t have a ton of hobbies. Well, not since they had managed to kick the gambling habit (though maybe they should buy just one last lottery ticket). They were just a “cook” on the local Mirage Express, a hotdog vendor for the stadium, and an occasional spelunker.
Yes, they had once had an adventure where they met Sonic the Hedgehog, and his numerous friends, but to be fair, most people had run into him at least once in their lives. Besides, since they spent most of their, admittedly enjoyable, time with Tails instead of said hedgehog, there was no telling if Sonic even remembered who they were.
All in all, Barry considered their life fairly uneventful...
...Which is why they had no idea what was going on when they saw a huge explosion of colors in the sky.
They had one of their rare days off of work and had been just walking around the city on a visit to their friend Gadget’s house when a rainbow of colors appeared across the sky. And it wasn’t a single beam as would be typical for a rainbow; rather, it was like a canvas of colors was being draped across the sky from beyond the horizon. Barry stopped and stared up at the sky in shock, and they weren’t the only one. Cars were screeching to a stop everywhere, with drivers stepping out to stare at the sky as the colors passed overhead.
After about a minute, the color had passed, but from what Barry could tell, no one else was sure what was going on either. Soon after, they heard nearby bystanders start speculating.
“What the hell was that?”
“Do you think this was some new Eggman scheme?”
“Eh, his explosions tend to be more balls of fire than anything else.”
“True, but it doesn’t mean he can’t be up to something new. Big events like this are almost always tied to him in some way.”
“Regardless, it’ll probably be something Sonic deals with…”
While Barry would privately agree with that last statement, they were curious about the origin of the blast like many people around. Running in the direction the beams seemed to appear, they eventually reached the beach. Nothing was present in the vicinity which would have explained the explosion, so Barry looked out over the ocean, hoping to identify the most likely source. But all they could see was miles of ocean and sky as they reached out across the horizon.
No wait, Barry thought, what’s that?
Looking up at the sky, they thought they saw something twinkling… or sparkling. And while that wasn’t exactly unusual, it was moving toward the town at a rather quick pace.
It’s shiny, but I can’t tell what color it is…clear? Maybe that’s a speck of red? Barry mused, but then noticed the shape the object was in. Wait, is that some kind of bird? It’s huge! What the heck is it made of?
As the object came closer, Barry found they were correct in their description as being a giant bird. However, it became evident that this was no ordinary bird, even disregarding its size. For the bird was made completely of a clear, somewhat transparent, crystalline material. And once the crystal bird was close enough for Barry to discern that, it let out a thunderous shriek that sent a chill up Barry’s spine.
“SCREEEE!”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Barry said to no one in particular. Unfortunately, at that moment, the ground beneath the quokka shifted, forcing them to take several steps back. And just in time, as an arm broke free from where they were standing a few seconds after they cleared the area. The body attached to the arm then dug itself out of the ground, standing a good head and shoulders above Barry. And much like the bird in the sky, this being was made completely of crystal.
Taking a second to study the creature, Barry wasn’t completely sure how to describe the thing: it was bipedal, but kind of stout and hunched over. It's arms were very thick and muscular, almost long enough to drag on the ground. The legs were thick as well, but much shorter in comparison. If Barry had to say, they felt it kind of looked like a gorilla or small troll from some of those old RPGs they played in high school.
Barry paled at the creature when it started to look over the nearby town, though it didn’t seem to register Barry just yet.
“Definitely not good,” they whispered to themself.
And things seemed to be getting worse, as the quokka then saw multiple similar creatures emerging from the ground all over the city. Some of them resembled the troll-like creature near Barry, but others appeared to be similar to Flickies, Rickies, fish, insects and a whole variety of animals. But either way, there were too many for Barry to count.
Why didn’t I just stay home today?
At that moment, the nearby creature then turned its head sharply, its crystal face now looking directly at Barry. Barry noticed that the creature had typical facial features, but its eyes were completely blank without pupils or irises. “Um, I don’t suppose you’re peaceful?” Barry stammered out.
Barry got an answer when the creature raised its fist and leapt towards the quokka in a fierce attack.
“Of course not,” Barry grumbled as they jumped to the side. Thankfully, Barry managed to dodge the hit; taking the opportunity, the quokka started running back home while the creature picked itself up and began to pursue them.
Managing to keep ahead of the monster, Barry was grateful that they’d stayed in shape. However, as they saw the numerous creatures attacking other citizens in their town, they realized that, even if they escaped this one, they wouldn’t be able to keep avoiding these things forever.
Barry’s train of thought was cut off by a scream as a rather tall weasel, wearing glasses and a yellow suit, fell about a block in from of them; a crystal creature that resembled a crab, or maybe a millipede, was holding on to his arm tightly. Then, before their eyes, crystals started to grow over the weasel’s arms, spreading over his body. By the time Barry had reached the weasel, he had been completely engulfed, his face frozen in a scream.
Barry was so horrified by what they just witnessed, they didn’t see where they were running and tripped over the curb. And before Barry could pick themselves up, some kind of crystal mole creature burst out of the ground, spreading dirt everywhere. Barry tried to push themselves backward to get away, but the mole pounced on them before they could escape.
Sonic, Barry thought to themself as crystals began to appear on their forearm before spreading from the point of contact, wherever you are, I hope you and your friends can fix this mess.