Sonic the Hedgehog (WI01)

## Sonic the Werehog

**Sonic the Hedgehog**, also known as **Sonic the Werehog** is the protagonist of *What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form?*, a hero fighting to protect the world from various threats while wrestling with his nightly transformations into a beast empowered by negative emotions. He has learned to master the Werehog form more than his original counterpart from the video game continuity, and discovers more powerful abilities and mutations with each adventure.

## Personality

The Dark Gaia essence within Sonic has caused multiple changes to his normally carefree persona, mostly stemming from it's side effect of frequent and disturbing night terrors. Because he struggles to sleep, Sonic can be noticeably quieter and more prone to agitation even in his base form, and those feelings only get worse at night when he becomes the Werehog. Despite that, however, he still possesses the core of his original personality underneath - a hero who'll do anything for the good of others. Even though he wants to rid himself of Dark Gaia's curse, Sonic never puts his own wants before others and uses his altered skillset to great effect in thwarting Eggman's schemes again and again.

His general mental health has wavered notably on several occasions, causing him to go into hiding for several weeks without warning after the events of the Black Knight Arc. After he re-appeared in the Sonic Colors Arc and reunited with his friends, their support has helped him gradually recover and find hope that a cure to his Werehog form can be found.

## History

### Past

Sonic's history prior to the finale of *Sonic Unleashed* is identical to the original video game timeline. Notably, he was involved in the Station Square incident and World Ring incident of his timeline, having battled Perfect Chaos as Super Sonic and Alf Layla wa-Layla as Darkspine Sonic respectively. The events of *Sonic Unleashed* occurred mostly as normal up until the final confrontation with Eggman at Eggmanland, including the fact that Sonic promised to go on a date with Amy in the near future.

### Sonic Unleashed Arc

In Part 1, Sonic battled against the Egg Dragoon in his Werehog form, leading the two combatants down into the Earth's mantle and to the site of Dark Gaia's awakening. Dark Gaia, under the effects of Eggman's Mind Control Device, was ordered to attack Sonic with it's full might, never re-absorbing the part of it's essence from within Sonic's body.

Sonic lacked the speed to reach Dark Gaia for effective combat due to being stuck in his Werehog form, forced to leave the Gaia Colossus to fend Dark Gaia off as best as it could on its own while he continued to attack Eggman in his Egg Dragoon. He managed to climb up to Eggman's cockpit and threaten him into calling Dark Gaia off, but the damage sustained by both the remote control and device itself had rendered them inoperable, leaving Dark Gaia unable to answer any new commands. Sonic returned to the Gaia Colossus while Eggman was knocked away, he too being slowly lifted away from the battlefield by Chip's powers. As Chip's will to fight faded and he fell into a hopeless state, Sonic became furious, shouting for him to not give up while also bearing a righteous anger against the cruelty of Doctor Eggman and Dark Gaia. These strong emotions, wrathful yet pure, stimulated the Chaos Emeralds within the Gaia Colossus' body, drawing them into Sonic and unleashing his Super Werehog form. As the Super Werehog, he was able to intercept Dark Gaia's next attack on Chip and draw it's attention, fighting it one-on-one with ease. After withstanding a point-blank blast from Dark Gaia using an energy barrier, Sonic was aided by Chip ramming the remains of the Gaia Colossus into Dark Gaia and leaving it dazed, creating an opening. Using the speed of the Super Werehog, he flew close to the underside of the continent above, then dived back down to perform the Super Bullet Punch - a finishing move that pierced Dark Gaia's mind-controlling apparatus, the eye on it's forehead and out through the back of it's skull.

Thanks to his Super Form's invulnerability, Sonic survived being submerged in magma long enough to escape, landing safely as he returned to his base Werehog form. The Gaia Colossus sent him flying back up to the surface with a kick from it's still-intact legs, causing Sonic to land back in Apotos and the light of the sun to return him to his true hedgehog form, but he noted that he could still feel Dark Gaia's energy resting inside of him. There, he saw a brief mirage of Chip, but upon approaching him found only his bracelet - the only thing left of him for Sonic to hold on to. He put the bracelet on and said his goodbyes, running off as Tails flew overhead in the Tornado-1.

### Sonic & the Black Knight Arc

Following his long-term affliction with nightly Werehog transformations, Sonic had tried his best to find ways to enjoy the form for its unique qualities now that he was seemingly stuck with it, but was suffering from night-terrors every time he attempted to sleep in his alternate form. To combat this, he ended up becoming reliant on intermittent naps during the day and energy drinks to stay awake through each night, shaking up his lifestyle so much that he forgot about a prior arrangement to go on a date with Amy. While buying some chilli dogs on the day he was meant to see her, Merlina used a summoning spell to bring Sonic to her in the World of Camelot, having asked for a 'warrior as swift as the wind'. He rescued her from the Knights of the Underworld and recieved some basic armaments as she directed them towards the resting place of Caliburn: A Sacred Sword that would be required to stop King Arthur. Sonic duelled with Arthur upon his arrival to Caliburn's stone, but was unable to defeat him, which prompted the king to leave while mocking Sonic's skill.

In the aftermath of the duel, Caliburn ascertained a darkness in Sonic, prompting him to reveal the 'curse' of Dark Gaia and his nightly Werehog transformations. Merlina noted that she'd heard rumors of 'dogheads', but didn't believe them to be true until now, proposing the notion that the Scabbard of Excalibur could cure Sonic. This envigorated him, and he set out for Camelot to have Caliburn's edge restored by the Blacksmith. Following this, the two of them travelled to the Deep Woods to meet with the Lady of the Lake, but were accosted by Sir Lancelot and forced into another duel. After defeating Lancelot and claiming Arondight, Sonic and Caliburn visited the Lady of the Lake and were assigned three tasks to complete in three days: Rescue the townspeople held beneath Camelot Castle, show compassion to them by showering them in riches and finally do battle with the Knights of the Underworld while leading the villagers to safety.

Sonic was able to complete the first two tasks with ease, but as he led the townspeople back to their homes, night fell and transformed him into the Werehog during a battle against the Knights of the Underworld away from the civilians. Sonic combined his brutish strength with Caliburn to cut down King Arthur's minions, prompting Caliburn to recount the story of Sir Marrok: A previous Knight of the Round Table who fought with kindness and honor despite having been cursed to take the form of a beast and being reviled by those he sought to protect for his appearance. Caliburn also claimed he didn't believe in Merlina's plan to cure Sonic with the Scabbard of Excalibur, instead suggesting that only the 'long-lost light' of the Sacred Swords could truly end his curse. As they spoke, a townsperson from a neighbouring village was discovered nearby, having witnessed Sonic's change and running off in fear to gossip about the appearance of a monster.

While back on the road to the Lady of the Lake through the Deep Woods, Sonic and Caliburn happened upon a crying child claiming that their fellow villagers had been abducted by a dragon. Sonic immediately offered to help despite Caliburn's protests that they were running out of time to hand in their tasks, but couldn't stop Sonic from travelling to the Titanic Plains where they ran into Sir Gawain. The two duelled and Sonic claimed his Galatine swords, continuing on to the Dragon's Lair and slaying the beast. Sonic and Caliburn finally reunited with the Lady of the Lake, whereupon she revealed herself to have been the crying child all along - the entire plea for help acting as a final trial to prove Sonic's chivalry. She informed them that the Sacred Swords, when united, could blunt the power of the Scabbard of Excalibur, meaning they'd have to claim the sword of Sir Percival before they could hope to defeat King Arthur for good. Sonic set off to do so, and in the confrontation with Percival told her the truth about his Werehog form before their duelled, then saved from from death as she fell from a cliff towards a lake of lava below. From Percival's own assignment and the validation of Caliburn, Sonic was henceforth given the title 'Knight of the Wind'. With Laevatein, Sonic had also now collected all of the Sacred Swords, and Merlina re-appeared to direct him to King Arthur's current location at Faraway Avalon.

At Faraway Avalon, Sonic had a rematch with King Arthur and was able to defeat him, using his speed to align the Sacred Swords around him and cancel the power of the Scabbard of Excalibur. With a single strike, Sonic killed the Black Knight and claimed the Scabbard, returning with it to Camelot Castle to show Merlina right as she'd been intercepted by the Knights of the Round Table. He explained to her the mysterious disappearance of King Arthur's corpse as he handed her the Scabbard, but Merlina revealed her true intentions with the item: Using it's power and the magic of the Underworld to make the kingdom of Camelot immortal. Still acting in her own sense of benevolence, however, she adhered to her promise to Sonic and bestowed a fragment of the Scabbard's power onto him; the dark nature of the healing magic had an unforeseen reaction with Sonic's body, however, causing him to mutate into a new form of the Werehog despite it being the middle of the day. Sonic grew in size - enough to snap Chip's keepsake bracelet - and his body became tinged with dark energy and aquamarine fire. Now completely devoid of Sonic's mind, Dark Beast Werehog snatched the Scabbard of Excalibur and gluttonously siphoned off more of its power, knocking away the Knights of the Round Table when they tried to intervene and almost killing them if not for Caliburn blocking his strike. Caliburn attempted to reason with Sonic, but Werehog simply grabbed him and wrenched him in two, snapping his blade and discarding him.

Werehog then began to dispense a dark mist over Camelot, causing the Knights to fall into an unnatural despair. They were shielded by Merlina, who attempted to bind Werehog in magical chains while they ran to the Lady of the Lake with their newly-returned swords. Through the attempt to erect a barrier around the Kingdom, Werehog was kept in place by Merlina, but her power eventually waned to the point that he could break free, still partially entangled with her magical constructs now wrapped around his chest and arms. He approached Merlina with the intent to kill, but instead struck Lancelot rushing to her aid, dealing him a fatal blow. The two battled while Lancelot struggled against the dark mist's influence, and Werehog witnessed his transformation into Excalibur Lancelot. The two did battle, Werehog's ferocious offensive able to keep Lancelot at bay but too unfocused to deal a decisive blow, leading to him raging in frustration until the voice of Chip called out to him from the broken remains of his bracelet. The appeal to Sonic's mind within the Dark Beast Werehog froze his body in place, and he shed a single tear.

This opening was enough for Lancelot to land his finishing attack, severing most of the energy of Dark Gaia from Sonic's body and returning him to his state prior to being brought into contact with the Scabbard of Excalibur. In the fallout, he apologized to Caliburn for his actions, explaining that he was unable to control his body despite being able to see everything that was going on. His apology to Merlina and the Knights of the Round Table was initially pushed back by the former, who in turn apologized to Sonic for leading him astray, only for him to to nonchalantly forgive her. Finally, he offered a sincere 'thank you' to Lancelot, as well as to Chip through his broken bracelet. Merlina asked about Sonic's curse, to which he claimed to still feel some of Dark Gaia's essence lurking within him. Though briefly heartbroken about Chip's bracelet, it was able to be repaired by the Blacksmith, and Sonic re-equipped the keepsake before departing Camelot fondly.

Despite leaving in high spirits, however, the ordeals within Camelot and the loss of control he experienced led to Sonic entering a self-imposed isolation, retreating into the wilderness in order to not potentially endanger his friends. He went missing for several weeks, being untraceable to all but Team Chaotix, who secretly monitored him during this time.

### Sonic Colors Arc

Sonic appeared at Eggman's Interstellar Amusement Park while Tails, Cream and a group of Wisps including Yacker were being held up by Eggman's servants Orbot and Cubot. In his Werehog form thanks to the darkness of space, he effortlessly repelled Eggman's henchmen and their small Badnik battalion, revealing himself to be alive and well to a relieved Tails. Cream also witnessed the Werehog form for the first time, and while Sonic was nervous at how she'd respond, she comfortingly felt no fear at the sight of him. The Wisps, however, were wary of Sonic due to his monstrous appearance, but a lone Cyan Wisp attempted to reach out and share its power with him; together with Dark Gaia's energy, this created a volatile Color Power mutation that made Sonic involuntarily fire laser beams from his fingertips. Sonic vowed to be careful with this unstable power going forward, but Eggman suddenly arrived alongside the Globotron, leading to an uncharacteristic outburst of anger as Sonic demanded that he fix whatever his machine did to 'curse' him before. Eggman's mocking of Sonic angered him further and he leapt upon Globotron, savagely ripping it to pieces with his Werehog strength as Eggman fearfully retreated. Following this, Sonic sent Cream to wait at the Space Elevator where it would be safe while he, Tails and Yacker proceeded deeper into the park to disable Eggman's generators at each attraction.

At Sweet Mountain, Sonic and his companions ran into Silver and Blaze, who'd been fighting Eggman robots in the vicinity. They proceeded together towards Captain Jelly's airship, where Sonic was able to climb aboard and use a Red Burst Color Power mutated by his Werehog form in order to breathe jets of fire. With it, he melted Captain Jelly to the point it couldn't move, then bashed it into pieces with it's own lollipop sword. Following this, Silver and Blaze were sent back to meet with Cream at the Space Elevator and the generator on Sweet Mountain was disabled. From there, the trio visited the Starlight Carnival, where the lack of sunlight caused Sonic to shift into his Werehog form; he now lacked the speed to use the light-roads bridging between the carnivals floats, so he commandeered a high-speed Motobug to ride around. While joyriding, he accidentally ran over Knuckles the Echidna, who was momentarily furious until noticing Sonic's mutated body. He cracked a joke at his expense, but Sonic's bitter reaction gave Knuckles pause while Rouge the Bat descended into the gathering. With her intel, Sonic silently rushed off to where she'd revealed the Starlight Carnival generator to be, running into Eggman at the site. Using his experimental mind control technology, Eggman was able to briefly take control of Tails before running out of Hyper-go-on energy and fleeing the scene. Sonic quickly dispatched the generator's guardian - the Frigate Orcan - and prepared to move to their next target: The home planet of the Wisps.

Upon reaching Planet Wisp, Sonic reverted back to his base form and witnessed the large-scale industrialization plaguing the otherwise beautiful planet, setting out in search of the generator to halt any further damage to the environment. On the way, they run into Team Chaotix, there on a job to investigate the park, and Espio revealed that they were already aware of his current affliction. Tails elaborated that he had hired them to track Sonic and monitor his condition during the self-imposed exile he entered after returning from Camelot and, though initially hurt by the invasion of his privacy, Sonic re-assured Tails that there were no hard feelings as it was clear he was only acting out of concern for him. Together with the Chaotix, Sonic, Tails and Yacker investigate heart of Planet Wisp's factory complex and Vector discovered a computer terminal containing information critical to their mutual investigations, but the group was attacked by the Drillinator, forcing Sonic to fend it off while the others extracted the data they need. Upon the Drillinator's destruction, Tails revealed that the entire Interstellar Amusement Park was itself a giant Mind Control Ray similar to the one previously used on him, and that the Hyper-go-ons found inside Wisps were its fuel source. Sonic became notably angry at this, clenching his fists and unintentionally comparing the device to the cannon used by Eggman to crack open the Earth. Bolstered to move quickly, Sonic and Tails split from the Chaotix and headed to the next attraction.

At the Aquarium Park, Sonic ran into Big the Cat and Amy Rose, the former of which being the only person unable to recognize him at all in his Werehog state. The latter was in hysterics out of worry for Sonic, having not seen him since he left for Eggmanland during the Dark Gaia incident and left out of the loop regarding his status. Sonic apologized to Amy and promised to take her on a date some time in the future to make up for the one they missed, but seeing that Sonic had been suffering alone with his Werehog form up until then, she was content just to know he was alright, and told him not to worry about it. Sonic embraced Amy before directing her and Big towards the Space Elevator, then proceeded based on Amy's directions towards Aquarium Park's generator and destroyed it's guardian - Admiral Jelly. Upon reuniting with Tails, Sonic was informed by his brother that Yacker had gone missing, causing Sonic to become enraged towards Eggman for his audacity and rush off towards the Asteroid Coaster in search of his lost friend and the final generator. When they arrived, the entire attraction was in chaos due to an unrelated attack by a third party, which Sonic and Tails used as cover to search for Yacker until encountering its cause: E-123 Omega. After a brief altercation and explaining of the circumstances, they joined up to investigate deeper into the hollowed-out asteroids, discovering Doctor Eggman's Nega-Wisp production plant. Tails spotted Yacker inching towards the central extraction machine along with several of his other kin and Sonic prepared to assist in retrieving him, but Shadow the Hedgehog's timely intervention made him shift to instead catch the capsule as it fell. Shadow openly degraded Sonic for his 'ridiculous' form, which made Sonic snap that he was sick of being antagonized for his appearance, and that Shadow should back off - but he realized shortly after that Shadow's harsh remarks about putting his feelings aside and focusing on the situation at hand were comments to re-affirm him. Sonic left Shadow and Omega to free the remaining captured Wisps while he proceeded to the generator, whereupon he downed the Frigate Skullion using a mutated Pink Spikes Color Power.

#### Ending

Sonic and Tails had successfully shut down every tractor beam generator at the amusement park, and so returned to the Space Elevator at the entrance to the Tropical Resort where their friends and a party of gathered Wisps awaited them. They'd gathered to discuss their next plan of attack regarding Eggman's plot, but proceedings were thrown into disarray by the sudden activation of the giant Mind Control Ray followed by a large explosion, preceding the arrival of the Nega-Mother Wisp. At Yacker's plea, Sonic prepared to save the the Mother Wisp in the same manner he'd saved Perfect Chaos, revealing that he'd gathered the seven Chaos Emeralds during his isolation prior to visiting the park. With the speed and flight capabilities of Super Sonic, he was able to avoid the Nega-Mother Wisp's attacks as he approached, but the creature's enormous size cast a shadow over him, depriving him of the sun's light and shifting his body into the form of the Super Werehog. By using his opponent's large size against her, Sonic quickly alternated between his Super and Super Werehog states for movement and attacking respectively, but found himself unable to properly purify the Nega-Mother Wisp using the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Unbeknownst to him, the essence of Dark Gaia within his body and the Super Werehog's composition containing some ratio of negative Chaos Energy was blocking his purification ability.

Having realized she was stuck in a losing battle, the Nega-Mother Wisp began to desperately inhale, catching Sonic in the resulting vortex and forcing him to hold on to her fangs for dear life. In the face of her cosmic strength and with his own stamina and energy reserves waning, Sonic was unable to resist and was swallowed whole, falling unconscious as his Super transformation was cancelled out. Though in bad condition, he survived within the ethereal insides of the Mother Wisp after being absorbed, and experienced a vivid nightmare due to being forced to sleep in his Werehog state. In the dream, Sonic and the pure, weeping Mother Wisp were alone in an endless void, but the Mother Wisp was suddenly snatched into the darkness by a long arm, terrifying Sonic and prompting him to turn and run. Immediately upon doing so, he was faced with a giant, nightmarish incarnation of the Werehog said to be the physical manifestation of Dark Gaia's essence within him, as well as the embodiment of Sonic's fear of losing control. Sonic remained inside of the Mother Wisp, paralyzed by this nightmare as Tails used the Mind Control Cannon to cleanse her mind and return her stolen energy. Once the Mother Wisp finished restoring the planets damaged by her rampage, she ejected Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds from her body, exposing him to the sun and reverting him to his hedgehog form. The Wisp population caught him as he fell and gently brought him down to the surface of the Tropical Resort, where he stirred awake surrounded by his friends.

Though things appeared to be peaceful, Doctor Eggman's Nega-Wisp Armor burst from the ground nearby and took the gathered party by surprise, blasting them with a laser beam that launched all but Sonic away - who was instead trapped within a construct of Blue Cubes. Due to his exhaustion, Sonic was unable to do anything against the incoming death-blow from one of the Armor's appendages, but the Mother Wisp saved his life by creating an energy barrier to block the attack. She freed the Wisps captured inside the Nega-Wisp Armor's systems and banished the machine to the far reaches of the universe along with its operators, before addressing Sonic to apologize for her behaviour while corrupted. Sonic waved the apology away casually, and the Mother Wisp explained to him that she could do nothing assist with Dark Gaia's presence lingering inside of Sonic besides temporarily 'putting it to sleep', but that a kind spirit was also watching over him. Sonic showed gratitude upon learning of Chip's subtle involvement in helping him, and upon being warped back to the surface of Earth along with his allies, he was filled with a new resolve to seek out a cure for his Werehog curse.

### Sonic Generations Arc

Over the following weeks, Sonic's birthday went by without issue, acting as a reprieve from his ongoing struggles and note of reliance on his friends, who were now all aware of what he'd been going through. In the days after the celebration, Sonic spent his time at Tails' laboratory undergoing tests to help provide a more scientific understanding of the mechanics of his Werehog body. On a night following extensive testing, Sonic fell asleep in his wereform, being plagued once again by nightmares featuring the same grotesque version of himself he saw while inside the Mother Wisp. He awoke to a scream from Tails coming from outside and bore witness to his brother being sucked into a purple vortex, unable to react in time before he fell in and the wormhole's creator revealed itself. The Time Eater effortlessly repelled the Werehog's attack and left Sonic prone, where he was swallowed up by a burst of light and left stranded in White Space.

Sonic next awoke in the void between dimensions and outside of time known as White Space, trapped in a new form halfway between his hedgehog and Werehog states. By entering pockets of erased time left by the Time Eater, he was able to return to either of his two complete forms, but would always revert to his half-and-half state while exploring White Space. By using his hedgehog form's speed to restore the spatial damage done to areas removed from their proper time periods, he was able to undo the petrification of his friends stranded there - but those trapped within areas erased at night time could not be saved. After rescuing Tails and Knuckles, but failing to save Amy, Sonic first encountered Classic Sonic in a hall split in two by a wall of mirrors. Upon returning from his battle with the Death Egg Robot, Classic Sonic and his era's Tails joined the collective in attempting to stop the Time Eater.

By the time they'd saved Espio and Rouge, but failed to save Cream and Cheese, it became clear that a solution to their inability to rescue anyone trapped in eras of eternal night was needed. Due to a stray comment from Knuckles, Sonic proposed the idea of using Chaos Control to time-travel back to his adventure in the world of the Arabian Nights, where they might use Erazor Djinn's Magic Lamp to solve the incident with a wish. In order to carry this out, Classic Sonic was instructed in the art of Chaos Control. Though Sonic's younger counterpart was successful in performing the technique on his own, the applied dual-Chaos Control needed to travel through time caused Sonic's latent Dark Gaia energy to 'jump' between the connection of energy created between the two users of the Chaos Emeralds, running from one gem to the other and infecting Classic Sonic - causing him to contract a Werehog form of his own. Though briefly horrified at having forced his burden onto an innocent, Classic Sonic reassured his counterpart that he was fine, and the issue was put aside in favor of carrying out the plan to save Sonic's friends. By using the rift created by their Chaos Control, Sonic travelled to Night Palace during the World Ring incident alongside Tails, Classic Sonic and Classic Tails.

The moment they arrived, Shahra's sacrifice as part of Erazor Djinn's transformation into Alf Layla wa-Layla occurred and Sonic rushed into the chamber, grabbing the discarded Magic Lamp and immediately activating it for a wish. Though he briefly considered using it to remove his Werehog curse, he chose instead to act selflessly and make his first wish the removal of his friends' petrification in White Space. With no obvious sign that the wish had been successful, Sonic and his allies were forced to contend with Alf Layla wa-Layla, avoiding his strikes long enough for the Time Eater - now mechanically enhanced by Doctor Eggman and Classic Eggman, to appear. Sonic witnessed the Time Eater's apprehension of Alf Layla and his subsequent escape via posession, reshaping his captor into a new vessel he dubbed Alf Wamaritan. With their enemies combined and substantially more powerful, Sonic attempted to use the Magic Lamp's second wish to seal Alf Layla wa-Layla's new body away forever, but Alf Wamaritan's power was enough to resist the lamp's power and even destroy it completely. With no other choice, Sonic engaged Alf Wamaritan alongside his Classic counterpart, but the two of them and both incarnations of Tails were struck by a rain of fiery projectiles that left all but Sonic himself unconscious.

With no remaining options, Sonic opted to claim the three World Rings that had been discarded from Alf Layla wa-Layla's body after he'd transformed, the rings of Rage, Hatred and Sadness empowering Dark Gaia within him and transforming him into the Darkspine Werehog. As Darkspine, the Werehog was able to contest with Alf Wamaritan in the air, battering him to the point of serious wounding and forcing him to unleash his six razor swords. Though Wamaritan attempted to perform a sneak attack on Werehog while he was distracted via one of Time Eater's portals, his animalistic reflexes allowed him to catch the blade, proceeding to unleash a pair of animate fire constructs that latched onto Alf Wamaritan's other arms and gnawed at his armor. With his opponent occupied in shaking them off, Werehog wrenched the entire disembodied arm that had struck him from the portal free, taking its sword for himself and swinging it at Wamaritan hard enough to shatter his entire middle section. This strike also broke open the shell surrounding Alf Layla wa-Layla's heart and grazed it, causing the vessel incredible pain.

In Alf Wamaritan's panicked state, he slowed down the flow of time and unleashed his ultimate attack. Darkspine Werehog was left unable to dodge the incoming Spirit Blast/Sun Burst due to the slowed time, leaving him to become engulfed in the attack and its subsequent detonation. Sonic reverted back to his regular Werehog form, but before Wamaritan could use the remains of his power to execute him, Amy Rose called out, signalling the arrival of his friends left behind in White Space. While the bulk of Sonic's allies distracted Alf Wamaritan, Silver used his telekinesis to fling their collective five Chaos Emeralds over to Sonic and Classic Sonic, which joined with their one each to make the full set of seven. With the Emeralds, Sonic and Classic Sonic took on their Super Werehog forms, performing their own combined attack: The Super Helix Punch, to break through Alf Wamaritan's last defences and impact against the heart of Alf Layla wa-Layla, destroying it and causing Alf Wamaritan to begin the process of breaking down and dying. Upon death, the Time Eater's transformed body that acted as the basis for Erazor's vessel imploded, collapsing into a wormhole that threatened to swallow the Super Werehogs until Modern Sonic flung his Classic counterpart away - allowing him to be safely warped back to the present with everyone else while he himself was caught in the wormhole's pull.

Awaking in his half-and-half form in White Space, Sonic discovered Erazor Djinn had survived the death of his vessel and been banished too. The genie gloated about his immortality and the destruction of the Lamp that bound him, but Sonic coldly reminded him that he would regret being immortal while trapped in the emptiness of Null Space, abandoning him to his fate to run into the unknown void. Due to his amalgamated form's reduced speed compared to his hedgehog form, Sonic was unable to build up enough acceleration to break through time and space alone, which had been his plan for escaping. In his isolation he was reminded that - despite everything - Dark Gaia was still with him now, and in a moment of complete clarity after emptying his mind following that passing thought, Sonic unleashed a new power. With a magenta-colored Boost, he was capable of breaking out of White Space by force, warping through time and space to arrive at the present day where everyone else had been relocated. To his horror, however, Sonic found that the gem atop Chip's bracelet had entirely ceased glowing, and that he had somehow entered his Werehog form in broad daylight. Tails and Silver attempted to ease Sonic's fears with the results of research and potential medicines found in the future respectively, but after Sonic bid he and Tails' Classic counterparts farewell, he knew that the trials ahead of him would be the harshest he'd face yet.

## Powers and abilities

Sonic possesses all of the abilities of his video game canon counterpart, such as supersonic speed capable of restoring broken eras found in White Space, plus an additional roster of abilities that he would otherwise be unable to access after *Sonic Unleashed*. The Werehog transformation, its stretching limbs and brawler fighting style have all persisted up until the present day, and Sonic has been able to assume a multitude of new transformations thanks to the energy of Dark Gaia mixing with other external forces that he would normally use to transform.

For a more detailed account of the Werehog's moveset, see here.

### Color Powers

During the Sonic Colors Arc, Sonic was able to directly absorb Hyper-go-on energy to use Color Powers, but the energy of the Wisps are unable to shift his body from its Werehog state due to the Dark Gaia Essence dominating the union of energy sources. In Werehog form, Sonic's Color Powers take the form minor alterations to his body with access to projected energy attacks, losing all of their mobility functions in favor of raw destructive power. This process also exposes the Wisps to Dark Gaia's presence, leaving them gloomy and tired after the combination ends, similar to the depression faced by humans who came into contact with Dark Gaia Spawn in *Sonic Unleashed*.

#### Cyan Laser

The Werehog's Cyan Laser power causes Sonic to sport a cyan aura, makes small arcs of electricity bounce off of his hands and the tips of his nails glow brightly, acting as the source of his laser attacks. The beams were capable of skewering buildings and potentially cutting opponents, discussed when Sonic accidentally almost decapitated Cream and Tails upon using them for the first time. It was first seen after the two were rescued alongside a Cyan Wisp, Yacker and several other aliens.

#### Red Burst

The Werehog's Red Burst power causes the light grey fur on Sonic's quills and wrists to become open flames, as well as granting him the ability to breathe fire. He used it to severely damage Captain Jelly before destroying him.

#### Pink Spikes

The Werehog's Pink Spikes power causes spiked cuffs made of energy to form around Sonic's arms and wrists, as well as create spiked rings along his knuckles resembling knuckledusters - the spikes both on and under Sonic's shoes also glow pink. The main usage of this power is via the spiked ball-and-chain that is created by projecting Hyper-Go-On energy, the construct is durable enough to wield as a traditional weapon for as long as the Pink Wisp in question has energy to uphold it. Sonic used this power to down the Frigate Skullion.

### Equipment

Besides his natural abilities and transformations, Sonic wore an armoured gauntlet during his adventures in Camelot, as well as presumably wielding the practice sword Clarent while journeying Misty Lake to draw Caliburn from his stone. After retrieving the Sacred Sword, Sonic wielded him for the battles against the Knights of the Round Table and the trials surrounding them, using him in conjunction with his Werehog's stretching arms to great effect in battle. Despite this, Caliburn notably struggled to mesh his holy magic with the Werehog's dark nature.

#### Chip's Bracelet

After returning to the earth in Part 1, Chip left behind a bracelet adorned with a green gemstone resembling the one present on his torso. Sonic almost constantly wears it on his left wrist, it proving instrumental in keeping his Werehog form's deadlier side-effects under control by providing him with a connection to Light Gaia. Chip has on numerous occasions called out to Sonic or others (such as the Mother Wisp) at critical moments to stave off corruption such as the Dark Beast or Nega-Wisp forms.

When Sonic transformed into the Dark Beast Werehog, the bracelet was snapped by his body's rapid morphing into a larger form, but was re-forged by the Blacksmith shortly after. When transforming into the Darkspine Werehog, who also prompts an increase in size, Chip's bracelet notably transformed alongside Sonic - this was theorized to have either been due to the magical nature of the World Rings or Chip's own will, not wanting to let Sonic go again. Following the incidents in Part 5, the gemstone atop Chip's bracelet has ceased glowing completely, coinciding with Sonic's permanent entrapment as the Werehog.

## Transformations

### Sonic the Werehog

A transformation now woven into Sonic's daily life and fighting style, the Werehog is the Dark Gaia-influenced state that Sonic enters when he is completely deprived of all sunlight. The exact mechanics of the transformation are unclear, but Sonic experiences a moment of sharp pain as the Dark Gaia essence within him flares up and warps his body, increasing his muscular density, shifting his proportions and changing the appearance of his clothes and fur.

In the Werehog form, Sonic's super speed is exchanged for raw power, capable of battering Eggman's various robots with ease. On top of raw strength, Sonic's mutated body possesses sharp claws for slashing attacks and the unique ability to stretch out his arms with no hard limit currently established. By stretching, Sonic can offset his sluggish movements on-foot by grappling around, as well as grabbing distant opponents for further combat utility. Finally, through manipulating the natural Dark Gaia energy within his body, the Werehog can generate a forcefield while guarding to bolster his defence.

In the wake of the Sonic Generations Arc, Sonic has become temporarily locked out of his true form and is stuck as a Werehog for the foreseeable future.

### Super Sonic

Sonic discovered the Super transformation long prior to the events of *WI01*, having used it to combat threats he could not in his base form, such as Perfect Chaos. It made its debut in Part 3, where Sonic attempted to use it to fight the Nega-Mother Wisp by rapidly switched between it and his Super Werehog states.

The Super Form grants Sonic the powers of enhanced speed, strength and durability to the point of being nigh-invulnerable, as well as the ability to fly. Due to typically being brought about by positive Chaos Energy, Super Sonic has the quality of being able to sooth corrupted entities such as Perfect Chaos by imbuing them with positive energy, but this ability has been rendered ineffective after Sonic became stuck with his Werehog form on account of having too much negative energy inside his body to be considered one-hundred percent pure.

### Darkspine Sonic

Though never seen in the series, Sonic once used this transformation to defeat Alf Layla wa-Layla during the events of *Sonic and the Secret Rings*, prior to Part 1. It is identical to it's video game canon counterpart.

### Super Werehog

Super Werehog first appeared in Part 1, unlocked by Sonic in a moment of fury at both Dark and Light Gaia. Though the transformation was initially fuelled by rage, the source of said anger was righteous in nature, allowing for the positive-energy empowered Super Sonic transformation to meld with his current Werehog form, creating the Super Werehog cross-transformation. In this form, Sonic the Werehog gains all the typical abilities of Super Sonic including enhanced physical characteristics and flight, but is notably comprised of enough negative Chaos Energy that he is completely incapable of healing corrupted opponents such as the Nega-Mother Wisp.

### Dark Beast Werehog

This form is the result of Sonic's latent Dark Gaia Essence running wild, first seen when he absorbed the power of the Scabbard of Excalibur, which unbeknownst to him was potent dark magic meant to grant it's wielder immortality. Upon assuming this form, Sonic was left completely incapable of influencing his body's actions, later describing the sensation as being forced to watch as his body acted outside of his own will - the will of Dark Gaia. While in this form, he was referred to exclusively as 'Werehog'.

The ratio of speed and power normally skewed by the Werehog form is completely swayed in favour of power, left completely without Sonic's normal speed and instead making use of abilities related to Dark Gaia and the base Werehog form. Upon being unleashed, Werehog spewed a 'dark mist' that began to spread all across the kingdom of Camelot, inflicting the same symptoms of depression and apathy caused by Dark Gaia's influence at night in *Sonic Unleashed*, and while battling Excalibur Lancelot he showcased the abilities to fly and breathe waves of magenta fire. The Werehog's customary stretching arms were also present, having been used to attempt to snatch and crush Lancelot.

### Half-and-half Form

Also known as the **Amalgam Form**, **Dusk Sonic** or **Dusk Werehog**, it is the bizarre amalgamated form that Sonic took on in White Space. Due to time and light being in constant flux, this form was an attempted middle ground between Sonic's two primary states made by his energy balance growing unstable - the transformation was entirely involuntary and could only be exited by returning to pockets of 'normal' time. While Sonic never fought in this form, it was confirmed to be faster than the Werehog but slower than Sonic's base form, which suggests it may be physically stronger than Sonic's base form too, though not the fully-realized Werehog's level.

### Darkspine Werehog

Darkspine Werehog is the fusion of Sonic's original Darkspine form, which went unseen in *WI01*, and his Werehog transformation. He initially swore off using the power of the World Rings in Part 5 due to fearing the potential reaction that the rings of Sadness, Rage and Hatred might have with the essence of Dark Gaia, but ended up taking this form in a desperate attempt to hold the line against Alf Wamaritan.

Though taking on the same general appearance as the original Darkspine Sonic, Darkspine Werehog features numerous alterations due to the additional stimulus of Dark Gaia: His white stripes are jagged, his body enlarges to three times the Werehog's usual size and glowing, golden accessories adorn his body. Large rings adorn his wrists and ankles, with an additional ring on each of his fingers, and a plate bearing an eye-like crystal decoration hangs around his neck. Chip's bracelet also transforms with Sonic's body, becoming one with the ring on his left wrist and taking the form of a dangling chain affixed to the bracelet's gemstone. Finally, Darkspine Werehog gives off a unique dual aura: The inner part made from Dark Gaia's raw energy, and the outer part made up of flames associated with the Darkspine form.

Like Dark Beast Werehog before it, Darkspine Werehog is referred to as though it is a separate entity from Sonic, instead acting as an avatar of Dark Gaia and behaving in a mindless, bloodthirsty manner. He is described as 'unhinged', attacking anything in his sight with the intent to kill as well as seeming to have a lust for sources of negative energy such as Alf Wamaritan, and fights in a deranged manner that prioritises brute strength over clever tactics. Despite this, Darkspine Werehog does display a level of rational thinking as well as keen, animalistic reflexes, catching one of Alf Wamaritan's swords just as quickly as he'd lost track of it and using animate fire constructs to keep its owner occupied as he wrestled the blade away to use for himself. These constructs show the Darkspine Werehog's mastery of pyrokinetic magic, and bore the vague likeness of the twin Gaia deities.

### Unknown form

During his escape from White Space at the end of Part 5, Sonic briefly assumes a transformation never seen before, with an altered silhouette close to his base form and with comparable speed, but brought forth by the strange, magenta-coloured Boost he unlocked after taking comfort in Dark Gaia's presence within him and emptying his mind. It is unknown whether elements of this form's appearance were influenced by the properties of White Space.

## Weaknesses

This incarnation of Sonic has a fatal flaw in his amplified negative emotions. The darkness inside of him is hard to control, and has on multiple occasions reacted explosively with other sources of power such as the Chaos Emeralds, Scabbard of Excalibur and World Rings. The Scabbard of Excalibur and World Rings (specifically those of Hatred, Rage and Sorrow) were already dangerous, but Sonic had all but mastered using the Chaos Emeralds up until his mutation into the Werehog, making the new risks associated with using their power more noteworthy.

## Relationships

### Dr. Eggman

Eggman was the one who inflicted the curse of Dark Gaia onto Sonic, a fact that he holds the doctor gravely accountable for. Thanks to the lasting scar left by what would've been an otherwise ordinary encounter, Sonic has shown a level of contempt for the Doctor unlike their typical relationship as well as a fixation on the events that led to his contraction of the Werehog form. In Part 3, he unconsciously compared Eggman's giant Mind Control Ray to the cannon he used to crack open the Earth and awaken Dark Gaia, and in their prior meeting demanded outright that he fix what he caused.

### Sir Lancelot

Sonic has a lot of respect for Lancelot, and is thankful for his efforts to save him from himself during the latter half of the Black Knight Arc. Though they crossed swords before, Lancelot too has Sonic to thank for steering him onto the right path away from following the false King Arthur and carrying out his mission under Merlina's guidance to erect the barrier around Camelot Castle. Sonic's fall from grace forced Lancelot to step up to the plate and pick up where Sonic left off, leaving behind a strange mutual gratitude that only came to be due to the unfortunate corruption of who should've been the true King Arthur.

### Miles 'Tails' Prower

Tails has supported Sonic both directly and indirectly since his nightly Werehog transformations began, helping by studying Sonic's mutated body in hopes that a cure might be found through science. Though Sonic was initially hurt by Tails' secret hiring of Team Chaotix to spy on him during his self-imposed isolation, the kind intent behind the gesture was not lost on him, and their relationship as brothers became stronger than ever.

### Amy Rose

One of Sonic's long-time friends and potential object of his feelings, given that he has openly invited her on dates twice as of Part 3. Amy's lasting love for Sonic has helped ease the worries he had regarding his Werehog transformation, and he seems to greatly appreciate her continued support of him throughout his struggles

### Classic Sonic

Sonic was bewildered upon meeting his younger self, but despite their first meeting being on either side of a 'mirror', Classic was not phased to see himself as a monster. His unbreakable optimism and carefree nature became a refreshing contrast to the struggles that his older self had been dealing with, hardly missing a beat when a mishap with Chaos Control caused him to 'contract' the Werehog transformation. Though they spent little time together, Sonic felt immense guilt for unwillingly shoving his burden onto a child version of himself only to be set at ease by Classic's readiness to accept the Werehog form. Classic Sonic feels no ill will towards Modern, working together with him to stop Alf' Wamaritan

## Trivia

* Sonic the Werehog is the first What If? protagonist.
* He has the most transformations of any What If? character, if one counts the Werehog mutations of existing forms such as Super and Darkspine Sonic as unique transformations.
* In Part 2, Caliburn remarks that Sonic's Werehog form grants him the appearance of an 'altered beast', referencing the SEGA arcade game later ported to Mega Drive. The first monster transformation assumed by the protagonist of Altered Beast is a werewolf.
* Two unused Werehog Color Powers were revealed on The Sega Scourge's Patreon as bonus content after the airing of Part 3 - these were the Yellow Drill and Purple Frenzy. In Part 3, Sonic expressed a desire to not absorb the power of the Nega-Wisps such as Purple Frenzy and Violet Void, but early incarnations of the script may have had this occur.The unused Yellow Drill Werehog, drawn by SegaSteven.The unused Purple Frenzy Werehog, drawn by SegaSteven.
* Sonic has several narrative parallels to his timeline's Time Eater:
	+ Both were modified by Eggman, Sonic into a Werehog and the Time Eater into a cyborg.
	+ Both were transformed into vessels for entities empowered by the World Rings, Sonic into Darkspine Werehog and Time Eater into Alf Wamaritan.
	+ Their transformed bodies were then puppeteered by said entities, Dark Gaia and Alf Layla wa-Layla respectively.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *"After Sonic gets the cool little gauntlet-thingy from the wizardess, the two of them set out for the Misty Lake to draw out the Sacred Sword: Caliburn." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 2*
2. ↑ *"Little does he know, Dark Gaia's essence is preventing him from neutralizing Mother Wisp's negativity. And while Super Sonic's positive energy should allow this, Super Werehog utilizes both positive and negative energies of the Chaos Emeralds, further disrupting the endeavour." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 3*
3. ↑ *"This grotesque behemoth represents the physical embodiment of Dark Gaia's energy and Sonic's fear of losing control." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 3*
4. ↑ *"The Wisp appears gloomy and somewhat disoriented, Tails notes that it must have something to do with Sonic's Werehog form stimulating the merge, creating an extremely powerful mixture - meaning that the resulting Color Power is far more destructive than it would've been normally. And, rather than take the form of a big Wisp face like he normally would, the Werehog form only takes on slight physical traits of the Wisp as Dark Gaia's energy is the dominating factor in the unification." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 3*
5. ↑ *"The blueish-green gemstone usually garnishing Chip's bracelet is dangling from a chain, fastened to one of the Werehog's ring cuffs. You might be wondering how it's intact, since the bracelet broke off in Dark Beast Werehog's form back in Part 2; Well you see this time, Chip's bracelet transformed along with Sonic, this could either be due to the unique properties of the World Rings, or it's signifying Chip's refusal to let go of Sonic." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 5*
6. ↑ *"[...]Darkspine Werehog is unhinged, and with Sonic's mind now completely absent, anything this beast sees it's going to go for at the throat." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 5*
7. ↑ *"Fortunately, the giant, floating, six-armed monster-machine overhead is quite eye-catching! And exuding negative energy. Thus, Darkspine rockets off towards Alf Wamaritan with homicidal intent." ~ What If Sonic Never Lost The Werehog Form? Part 5*