#but if thats not your cup of tea you can totally just take this snippet of everyone finding out sonics dead

[crows-home]

Agh, I feel bad that the next chapter of You are at your lowest, I am rising higher is taking me longer than I want, so here’s a 2k sneak peak of when everyone first gets word of Sonic’s death :’))

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There’s an analogue clock on Amy’s wall.

It’s hung just above her fireplace, in her living room, black hands displaying the time- 10:35 P.M. At least, Silver thinks it’s somewhere around 10:35? Reading those things are difficult and he has little practice with them.

It’s old, Silver thinks, even for this time period. It’s a clock he’s only ever seen in ancient books and torn pictures unearthed in rubble. It’s shaped like a box, but crafted to look… fancy. A fancy box. Red paint peeling and chipping away to reveal the brown wood underneath.

It’s nice. Silver can admire the details and the fancy swooshes at the corners and the bronze swinging thing in the middle behind a glass barrier. Blaze would have better words to describe it; she’s always been the more knowledgeable about these types of things. Too bad she’s handling responsibilities in her own world right now.

Tick tick tick.

When he walks through the threshold, it’s the first thing his eyes go to. A nice clock, really, Silver isn’t one to criticize his friends’ furniture and home- but he could do without the subtle noise that it makes every second. Each second, the thin red hand moves, ticking and ticking in a way that gets under his skin after too long.

Silver cringes as he sits down on Amy’s couch, next to Knuckles. The scrapes on his elbows hurt and the back of his hands burn like they always do whenever he overexerts his powers.

[Amy’s called a meeting with everyone at her home at the edge of town. Knuckles, The Chaotix, Silver, even Sticks.

Well, almost everyone. Rouge and Omega have already been contacted, and Tails and Sonic are nowhere to be found. It’s deathly quiet when she sits them all down in her living room and passes out the first aid supplies. She hangs her head low, and Knuckles thinks the battle must have shaken her up more than usual.

She looks like she’s been crying.]

Silver hisses while applying an ice pack to his bruised leg.

“Have all the evacuees made it out of town?” Espio asks. Silver turns to look at him. He’s to the right, sitting down in front of the pink loveseat where Charmy and Vector are. Right in front of the fireplace, right below the clock.

Amy nods, putting the first aid kit on the coffee table in the middle of the room. She takes a seat in front of them, in a peach chair that looks like it needs serious upholstering.

“Good, we should focus on our next move,” Espio dabs antiseptic onto a scrape on Charmy’s knee. The bee whines. “Eggman’s not wasting any time.”

“Yeah,” Vector gripes. Silver sees him flinch when he presses an ice pack to a bump on his head. His headphones and gold chain have been tossed to the side. “And he’s got a real bad team with him this time. I mean, did you guys see that masked guy?”

They did. It was fast. Silver couldn’t get a hit in no matter how hard he tried, couldn’t even keep him still with his telekinesis. He’s still sour about that. He glares at the floor like Amy’s cream carpet will give him forgiveness.

Tick tick tick

Besides Silver, Knuckles removes his gloves roughly. Silver wisely chooses to tilt away from Knuckles before he elbows him without thinking. “Chaos was there,” Knuckles says while applying a heart patterned band-aid on his palm. He frowns ruefully at them. “But I don’t get how or why. He’s supposed to be on Angel Island.”

“What the heck was Zavok doing here, too?” Sticks calls from the floor somewhere to Silver’s left. “I thought Sonic took care of him and his goons months ago!”

Zavok isn’t someone Silver has any real personal experience with, but he was a formidable opponent.

“Metal Sonic was mean…” Charmy whines.

The ice pack he’s pressing on his knee doubles as a balm to his aching hand. It’s white and nothing much, but Silver frowns at it all the same.

Metal Sonic was his usual fast and unflinching robotic self. Was that other guy, the one with the mask, a robot too? They shared similar traits…

“…We saw Shadow as well,” Espio mumbles.

There’s a pause in the air- a tense silence that hangs and goes on for too long- almost overpowering.

Tick tick tick tick

Silver chances a glance around the room and sees that everyone else is looking at the floor, at the walls, at their own hands, like that will give them any sort of answer. No one really knows what to say about their friend who turned enemy again.

[Knuckles knows what he would say, but he’s been told he can’t say those words around Charmy.]

When Shadow had first teleported beside him in the middle of battle, Silver had expected assistance. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of Shadow being a threat! That’s why he was completely caught off guard when Shadow grabbed him by the quills and flung him meters away.

This isn’t his time period, he’s so out of his element again, he doesn’t know. It’s frustrating that he doesn’t. Frustrating that he hesitated before engaging in battle against a former ally. He would fist his hands in anger if they weren’t aching so much.

Silver flinches when Knuckles balls his fists and growls. The hearts on his palm bunch up and wrinkle.

“Forget this!” Knuckles says. “We don’t have time to wonder why Shadow’s bad again or why so many of our enemies are back. Whatever’s going on, it’s nothing some good old-fashioned force and teamwork can’t fix. I mean, how strong can they be? We’ve beaten them once already!”

[That has them lifting their heads a little bit. Knuckles sees Vector smile, and Silver sit up just a bit straighter. Good.]

Silver feels himself smile, despite everything. Right. They just need some time to reorganize, is all. Even after that rough battle and loss, Knuckles still looks tough; ready for the next fight. He’s a good person, Silver thinks. He’s grateful he has these people now. Grateful he has someone like Knuckles to rely on.

Tick tick tick.

[Amy still seems down though. Hm.]

Probably feeling bold, Knuckles smirks and raises a fist. “So they got the upper hand today. Big deal! Just some luck on their part that we’re a little rusty. I, for one, can’t wait to head back out there and show them that no matter how much muscle they bring, we’ll always be stronger.”

Sticks sits up. “Knuckles is right-”

[Heh, as always.]

“-for once-”

[Wait what?]

Sticks [rudely] ignores Knuckles’ indignant growls, and Silver has to hide his laugh behind a cough. Charmy doesn’t hide his at all. “-But we’re gonna hafta decide on a plan fast, because with Shadow on his team, there’s no telling how much time we’ve got! That guy will cover so much ground like nobody’s business!”

Speaking of fast…

Switching the ice pack from one hand to another, Silver looks at Amy, who’s sitting on her armchair and staring resolutely at her hands folded in her lap. “Were you able to track down Sonic and Tails?”

Amy’s muzzle moves with a thick swallow.

“I-” she begins, and then glances to one corner of the room. “I- found Tails. He’s, um- he’s in my room right now. Resting.”

Tick tick tick tick

Had Tails been a part of the battle without them realizing? Silver feels a pang of worry go through him thinking about young Tails, going into battle against such powerful foes, completely unprepared. At least Amy’s taken care of him now.

[She keeps blinking. She’s trying to keep her eyes from watering. Knuckles stops paying attention to everyone else in the room, focusses solely on her. His own heartbeat is loud in his ears.]

“What about Sonic?” Charmy’s high voice pipes up.

They need Sonic. Silver frowns and thinks. Where was Sonic during the battle? Taking care of Tails? He’s always been pretty protective of him.

Once they get Sonic and the rest of the team here, they can figure something out. Like Knuckles said. Nothing they haven’t done before. Silver lets himself feel a little bit of hope, lets the ball of anxiety in his chest turn into anticipation.

Keep a cool, level head. Just like Knuckles, who’s not saying anything and is looking at Amy. Looking for the next step.

[Knuckles doesn’t think anyone else is watching Amy as intently as he is, he feels like he’s the only one who sees how unnaturally stiff she’s become. Sees how she fiddles with the tassels of her throw pillow.]

“We didn’t see him anywhere!”

[Knuckles is suddenly struck with a familiar sensation. A stomach-dropping, time stopping one. He’s been here before.

Why? Why does he feel like this? Amy hasn’t even said anything, but he already feels like- like she’s told them-]

“He’s… Sonic is-”

Is what? Is he hurt? Silver blinks and tilts his head forward. Amy cares a lot about Sonic’s well-being. That must be what’s gotten her so bad.

Tick tick tick tick

[Amy takes in short, quivering breaths. Like she’s trying to keep herself together- like she’s seconds from falling apart.

Knuckles knows immediately where she’s going.]

Everyone’s looking at Amy now. No doubt wondering what’s got her pausing and why she looks so tense. Amy takes a deep breath brings her gaze up- not looking at anyone specifically, Silver thinks. She’s looking but- she’s not? How is that even possible?

[It’s familiar. It reminds Knuckles of the day he realized his tribe wasn’t coming back.

…Is that what it is? Maybe it’s something else entirely.]

What’s this déjà vu? Silver is struck by an image- fuzzy and almost a memory- that flashes in front of him. For a second, he thinks he sees Sonic. On the ground and surrounded by- by- something. Someone? A purple and black sky overhead, twisting and distorting, as he and his friends surround- something-

It’s gone. The memory- memory?- is gone a moment later, barely a whisper of a thought left when Silver tries to prod at it.

Amy sniffs, and Silver zeroes in again.

“Sonic is no longer with us.”

Tick.

What?

“…What?” He hears someone- Vector- ask.

Amy closes her eyes, and now Silver can see her clearly. Her jaw is stiff, her hands are shaking, and her back is so straight he thinks she must be in pain.

“What do you mean?”

Is it just him, or is everyone’s eyes too dry all of a sudden?

A ringing in his ear, sharp and growing, almost drowns out everyone’s words. Except for Amy’s. Amy’s words as she explains that- that Sonic was there. He was there before everyone else, along with Tails.

“…Tails saw it happen… -one with the mask- ended his life right in front of him-” Amy is saying, but Silver’s not really hearing. “Early this morning-”

Tick tick tick

He can’t hear because- because of the ringing in his ear. Subtle, but still there. And- and the clock. And- Has the light always been that bright? Have his lips always been this chapped? The room was warm before. A nice place to be during a cold night. Now it’s suffocating. His fur is uncomfortable. And blinking- it’s such a weird motion, isn’t it. He’s never thought about that before.

Amy’s still talking. “…found Tails in his room- scared- … neck was snapped-”

Breathing- breathing is weird too. He’s never noticed. He’s hyper aware of every breath and the way it fills his lungs because it will never fill Sonic’s ever again.

Tick tick tick

Has the clock always been that loud?

[There’s a strange air in the room. Like all of this is not quite real, but Knuckles is hyper-aware of every one of his senses. The bruises on his arms and legs and the way the bandages hug his injuries. The way his heart is thumping in his chest.

He’s aware of the way Silver’s become deathly still beside him. How Charmy’s cries sound and the shuffling noise Vector makes when he goes to hug the kid.

He doesn’t turn to look at any of them, but he can feel.]

[otp-bumbleby]

I present: one smol snippet from the infant-stage of an AU where it's RWBY but it's like college and not combat school and Blake's forming a book club because she's a dork and Yang is, as usual, a bigger dork

“Ilia, apparently tea and coffee are luxury items now. I'll have to bring my own from home unless I want to go broke.” The new voice floated into the room, sadness clear underneath the irritation.

Yang turned to who she assumed was the person she was waiting on, hearing her make a noise of surprise. Which was followed by a more than normal stretch of silence as she appraised Yang.

Normally, she'd have felt no shame at this, but suddenly Yang felt awkward. She raised her hand and waved stupidly, saying hello. And had to hold in any reaction when she finally saw two pointed ears poking out of black hair, twitching at the metallic jingling the zippers on her sleeves made.

“Oh,” she finally said, setting the takeaway cups down. “Can I help you?”

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. “I’m here to sign up my little sister. To your club.”

“Oh,” she sounded mildly surprised this time. “Would you like a form?” Before she could offer one herself, Ilia grabbed one; almost toppling the whole pile, and thrust it towards Yang.

“If you have any questions, I'm sure Blake would be happy to answer them for you,” Ilia added, fumbling to also hand over a pen.

Yang took both with a thank-you. Ilia seemed less intimated and more...enthralled. She didn't want to be cliché, but her gaydar was rarely wrong - and it takes one to know one. Unfortunately, she wasn't here to find girls, even if they liked her biker-aesthetic that she had spent countless hours perfecting.

She turned her attention back to the quieter of the pair. “So, Blake, right? I'm Yang. Long story short, my little sister Ruby just got skipped ahead two years and she's kind of freaking out about socialising. She loves reading but was too afraid to join your club without me, sooo...can I have two forms?”

Another piece of paper appeared, Ilia piping up. “You definitely can.”

Blake, however, paused for a moment. Yang knew she probably looked like the last person that'd be in a book club, but that was just stereotyping. She was more worried that she'd somehow offended someone she just met, sensing some kind of apprehension from Blake that clearly didn't exist for Ilia.

Still, her face was neutral. “You’re signing up too?”

Yang counted it as a win that she wasn't frowning. She wanted to see her smile, so she turned to a joke. “Yup, it's like a two-for-one thing.”

No dice. Blake just asked her another question. “If you don't mind me asking, you're only going to come to make your sister feel more comfortable?”

“Yeah, I just want to help her make friends. She's nervous about being the only fifteen year old around,” Yang replied, twiddling the pen between her fingers, hoping to make them sympathetic towards her kid sister.

“That’s understandable. I've never heard of a fifteen year old getting into Beacon.” If Blake was shocked, she hid it very well.

Yang considered herself a people person; getting a read on people wasn't usually difficult, but this girl had her interest piqued.

She quickly started jotting down her and Ruby's details, starting to remember that she had somewhere to be. Her brain went into autopilot, making conversation. She'd have to hang out with them anyway, so trying to make friends was a good step. “Professor Ozpin wanted to move her up, so she couldn't refuse. If you could not make a big deal out of it, I think she would feel better, I'd owe you guys one.”

“Duly noted,” Blake said, eyeing her frantic scribbling, “I have to say, I wouldn't have taken you as the reading type.”

Pausing, Yang couldn't help but faux gasp, silently thanking Blake for the opportunity to have some fun - even if she had stereotyped her - maybe this time Blake might react and not stare at her like she had her literal foot in her mouth.

“Oh, no, my secret! I can't read!” It was a little dramatic, not overly; she'd had plenty of practice nailing the balance to entertain her sister over the years.

And Yang cracked one eye open to find Blake fighting a smirk. Whether she thought Yang was an idiot or genuinely found her funny, it didn't matter. It was probably dangerous that she was going to such lengths for a stranger she had just met. In fact, it was definitely dangerous; Yang wanted that smile - the one that wanted to break free, that only gave her the slightest satisfaction of knowing she hadn't really done anything to deserve it but it existed anyway - all for herself. And that was bad, because Yang was pretty fucking gay.

So, it was totally reasonable in her brain that she proceeded to flirt with this stranger at the next immediately available second.

“Maybe you could teach me, though?”

Her gaydar wasn't reacting to Blake, but it was safe to say her subconscious was. Maybe she should learn to read signals instead. She promised herself a long talking to- oh, wait-

tbc

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