#if knuckles were blue instead of sonic

[via01lactea]

Hey

I’ve seen this before

I don’t know where tho

[multifandom-pleasures]

A/N: sonic boys and babies ? sonic boys and babies. pregnancy down below as forewarning !! pregnancy announcements and such.

sonic

you sat patiently waiting on the couch of your home, waiting for sonic to return. he was out doing his hero work, and you had finished your job for the day as well; and now you were waiting to show him what you held in your hand. two very positive tests between your fingers.

you had felt somewhat sick the past few mornings, your usual favorite foods made you gag, and you’d become irritable. even sonic was growing concerned for you, and you waved him off. you were probably just tired. but after speaking with amy and rouge about how you’d been feeling they suggested you take the tests.

and here you were. pregnant. you knew sonic would react well to the news, no matter what was thrown his way he took it in stride. but you were still nervous. who wouldn’t be nervous? you instinctively hid the tests beneath your thigh as the door swung open, the blue hedgehog striding in with a bright smile.

“ (y/n)! “ he practically cheered, shutting the door and zipping over to you. he plopped into the spot beside you on the sofa, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pressing a kiss to your temple, “ you okay? you don’t even have the tv on. “ he looked over at the screen across the room, brows furrowed in slight concern at the dark screen.

“ yeah. “ you replied, lips instinctively into a smile, “ I was just thinking was all. how was work? “

“ ah y’know! same old. helped a few people, saved a few pets, beat up a few of egghead’s bots. “ he sighed, leaning back with his hands resting behind his head, “ you? “

you appreciated the talk, it eased your worries, tension leaving your shoulders and your smile growing.

“ good. “ you replied simply, fingers grazing the tests still hidden underneath your leg, “ I actually had some news for you; maybe it can be considered a gift. “

“ ooh, a gift? “ sonic perked up at that, sitting up properly and his smile stretching across his muzzle, “ what is it, babe? “ you took a breath.

“ well, you know I’ve been feeling sick. “

“ yup; I have been kneeling by you in the bathroom in the morning. “

“ and that I’ve been kinda.. mood swing-y. “ he winced and nodded.

“ yeah, definitely noticed that. “

“ and some foods kinda gross me out. “

“ even your favorite. “ he pouted slightly, “ did you go to the doctor? I’ve been worried you were getting sick. “ you laughed and nodded slowly.

“ sort of? not a doctor but, i did find the reasoning for it. “ he sat patiently, silently waiting for you to continue. you instead slid the tests from under you and took his hand, setting the two plastic sticks into his palm. his eyes drifted downwards and stared for a moment, and the silence drew a bit too long for comfort. you almost started to worry again; until he jumped up and practically dragged you off of the couch.

“ you’re pregnant? “ he exclaimed, a grin on his face, “ like; you’re absolutely, positively, a hundred percent sure? “ you squealed and clung onto sonic as he lifted you by your waist, a shy smile on your face.

“ yes! I took a few more tests to make sure. “ you replied, and sonic looked down at you with an expression of absolute adoration and joy, “ you really are happy about it? “

“ of course I am! I mean, I never had a set plan for kids, but, I’m not gonna say no to them either. “ he replied, setting you down onto your feet, “ so long as you want them too, of course.. I would treat you and them so well, I hope you know that. “

“ I never expected anything less. “ you replied softly, unable to keep the smile of your face as he pressed kisses over your knuckles and hands, “ I want them; I want to have them with you.. “

“ I can’t wait. “ he sighed, bringing your hands to his chest. his smile grew more mischievous as he added, “ I hope they can run just as fast as me! we’ll be the fastest hedgehogs around! “

“ sonic. “ you rolled your eyes fondly, snickering. they would be the death of you; and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

shadow

you’d never been more nervous in your life. you hadn’t planned for this sort of thing to happen; you had one lovely night with shadow, one thing led to another and now here you stood in the bathroom. three tests lined up on your counter, and each had two very solid, and very obvious lines. you could deny it all you wanted, but you were indeed pregnant.

how were you going to tell him? kids were never a thing you’d discussed, he was much too busy with G.U.N and still freshly healed from his traumatic past. this would be the very last thing he could want. you contemplated just keeping it to yourself, mull over your choices and then decide when you were ready.

that idea flew out the window as you heard said hedgehog coming home, his familiar routine of setting his motorbike keys onto the table, along with his weapon, and then making his way to the kitchenette to spy on what was made for dinner. you hadn’t made anything. you were too queasy to eat, which ultimately led to you meeting your wits end and deciding to finally take the test you had in your bathroom cabinet for a week.

shadow then made his way down the hall, and you threw the tests into the trash, haphazardly wasting some toilet paper in an attempt to hide the sticks. you left the bathroom just as shadow made it to the door, and as he looked down at you he hummed and dipped down to give you a kiss.

“ you weren’t hungry tonight? “

“ no. “ you replied quietly, “ I was feeling a bit sick. sorry, love - I know you love to try what I make. “ he gave a small shrug and smile.

“ it’s alright. “ he slid past you to look at himself in the mirror. he cleaned off a few smudges of dirt and whatever other muck he’d gotten in his fur during his mission, “ are you feeling better at least? “

“ still a bit sick. “ and you spoke honestly, your stomach was coiling with anxiety with how closely he stood beside the trash. you weren’t all to sure if he could see the tests or not. he sighed and looked over at you, eyes flitting over your form.

“ do you know what it is? “ you blinked and replied, voice croaking slightly as your hand instinctively settled on your stomach.

“ what? “ his brows furrowed and he tilted his head.

“ do you know what it is? “ he repeated, “ a stomach ache or are you coming down with something? “ you let out a breath and shook your head.

“ just a stomach ache. “ shadow was quiet for a moment, and when his eyes flitted to your stomach and back to your face, you nearly lurched towards him as he stepped back towards the trashcan.

he gingerly lifted the stressfully thrown strand of toilet paper and peered into it, then took the tests from the can.

“ you are a horrible liar. “ he sniffed, setting them onto the counter and observing the positive lines, “ and you are horrible at hiding evidence. you’re lucky you aren’t a criminal; I would have caught you immediately. “

you sighed and covered your face shamefully in your hands, almost expecting a negative reaction to it all. instead, your hands were pulled away from your face and you looked up to see shadow’s surprisingly gentle expression.

“ what is your plan? “

“ I don’t know. “ you replied quietly, fingers curling into your palms, “ I was.. I was thinking you wouldn’t want them. “

“ why wouldn’t I? “ he replied, almost sounding offended by the thought, “ I don’t know much about.. children. I can count how many I’ve known in my life with one hand; but, it is your choice more than mine. “

you were quiet for a moment, thinking. you shifted in place as you slid your hands into shadow’s, interlacing your fingers.

“ I would want to keep them.. “ he nodded, kissing your forehead.

“ then we will. I’ll learn. “ his lips curled into a small, faint smile, “ admittedly.. I’ve wondered what it would be like to have children. with you, at least. “ you blushed and ducked your head, “ I do worry I won’t be a good father.

“ you will. “ you replied as you wrapped your arms around him, hugging onto him. he returned the gesture with a sigh, “ I just know it. “

“ i can only hope.. “

knuckles

it was knuckles who had convinced you to take the tests. he can be awfully perceptive when he wanted to be; and when he noticed the mood swings you had, your changes in meals, and how often you’d been napping, he insisted. you were sure you weren’t, but he said he’d witnessed it a few times with the women in his tribe, and you relented.

you felt idiotic as the test showed you the two solid red lines, and you triple checked on the box that it meant positive. that damned echidna. the door swung open when the silence had stretched on a tad too long and he decided you were done taking the test. he looked down at you and almost looked smug at the result.

“ and I was right. “ he puffed up his chest, hands on his hips, “ as I knew I would be! rarely am I wrong. “

“ shut up. “ you groaned, throwing the test at him which easily bounced off his chest. he laughed and knelt down to pick it up.

“ careful; we must cherish this! the first sign of our kin! wouldn’t you wish to keep it for memories? that is what people do, is it not? “ you felt your face burn as you took the test back, his excitement for it all endearing and annoying all at once. how could he always be so positive?

“ you mean you do want them? “ you stood up and set the plastic strip back onto the counter. he looked at you as if you had three heads.

“ of course! I would want nothing more than to revive the echidnas with the one I adore most. do you not wish to have them? “

“ no. “ you replied, then quickly added, “ I mean; yes! I do, but, it’s just.. a lot all of a sudden. “ you sighed, resting your palm to your face as you looked down. sensing your worry, knuckles set his hands on your waist and pulled you closer towards him.

“ what are you worried for? “ he questioned, and you looked up at him. curse your hormones making you tear up so quickly. you sniffed and shrugged.

“ I just worry I won’t be enough for them.. “

“ of course you will be. “ knuckles replied without hesitation, brows furrowed and a frown on his face, “ you are resilient! and ever charming, and intelligent, and considerate, and patient, and.. “ you raised your hand to cover his mouth, knowing well if you let him talk he would continue on. you let out a small teary laugh.

“ you really think so? “ he nodded, eyes focused on you as if to assure you, since you did cover his mouth. you uncovered it and were immediately met with a kiss.

“ I know it. if there was only one thing I was sure of, it is that. I have faith in you. “ he murmured, “ you will be a wonderful parent to our kin. “ you sniffed and nodded.

“ we can do this.. “

“ that we can. “ he replied with a bright grin, and you returned the gesture.

“ and I will train them to be the best warriors this planet has ever seen! “

“ knucks. “

scourge

you paced the throne room anxiously, worrying to yourself on how you would tell scourge. the scourge, king of anti-mobius and previously known non-monogamous ladies man. until you, of course. he had never let a single thing tie him down before you, and because of that you always had the inkling in the back of your mind that for any little reason, he would leave you. even if he’d assured you many times before it wasn’t true.

you nearly threw up alone as you heard the doors open and the said hedgehog came waltzing in. he looked rather cheerful. he had his sharp-toothed grin, glasses resting on his head and his eyes were focused on you. you nearly melted as his arms wrapped around you and pulled you into a kiss, which you distractedly returned. he pulled away with a small huff.

“ what, don’t love me anymore? c’mon babe, what’s with that kinda kiss? “ he frowned, almost a pout, as he pressed a few more kisses against your jaw. you wiggled in his hold and gingerly pushed him back, and his frown only grew, “ you okay? what’s up? someone say somethin’ t’you ? y’know I’ll fuck ‘em up. just say the world, doll. “

you shook your head with a soft snort, trying to calm him down before he riled himself up at the thought of someone making you upset. he was cute was he was so protective.

“ no - no. I just.. have something to tell you. “ he was quiet and then led you to his throne, where he sat and pulled you into his lap. he looked awfully serious now with the tone you had given him.

“ what is it, then? “ you wrung your hands together, contemplating how to word it. it didn’t help with scourge eyeing you, tapping his fingers against the armrest of his throne.

“ I’m.. “ you trailed off, then took a breath before continuing, “ I’m pregnant. “ you looked over at scourge, who’s eyes were wide and all motion had stopped. you could feel how tense he was and as you set a hand on his chest, you could feel his heart pounding beneath your palm.

“ you’re sure? “ he said as he finally found his voice.

“ extremely. “ he nodded slowly, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“ you’re keeping it? “ you looked up at him with a small frown.

“ do you want it? “ you asked instead, and you could feel his heart racing further underneath your touch. his chest was heaving slightly, “ I don’t have to if you don’t want me to. “

“ ‘s not my choice, doll. “ he replied with a soft huff, a forced laugh, “ ‘m not the one with somethin’ growin’ in me. “

“ scourge. “ you said sternly, moving to rise from his lap, “ if you don’t want it I won’t have it. I won’t get stuck raising kids on my own. you don’t have to avoid the question. “

he pulled you back down, and you huffed as you looked up at him. his fingers twitched around your arms before he let you go, realizing the action was wrong of him to do. you still stayed seated.

“ I do want ‘em. that ain’t what ‘m worried about. “ he said after a moment of silence, mulling over his words in his mind. he had learned to think before he spoke for you. he didn’t way round unintentionally upset you, “ I.. don’t know what a good dad’s like. “

you softened, recalling scourge’s past. his father had put his kingdom before him, and after many attempts to try and garner his attention; he’d given up, and stuck to himself. it ultimately let him to the bad group he’d found himself in for the rest of his life.

“ that doesn’t mean you won’t be a good dad. “ you replied quietly, reaching up to cup his face. he twitched away for a moment before melting into your hold, “ and I’ll be here with you. it’s not like you’ll be doing it alone. “

“ I just don’t want ‘em to turn out like me.. I didn’t do a good job - growin’ up. “ he sighed, closing his eyes, “ only good thing I did was find ya. “ you brushed your thumb against his cheek, and he scrunched up his face, “ ‘m not gonna lie, doll, I.. “ he trailed off, unable to finish. you knew what he wished to say. he was afraid.

“ I know. “ you whispered, “ do you want it? “

he nodded slowly, and you smiled, “ then I’ll keep them, okay? and we’ll figure it out.. you just gotta treat them like you treat me okay? you’re always so sweet with me, and patient.. and protective. that’s all I want you to be with them. “ he huffed through his nose and finally opened his eyes to look down at you.

“ y’really think I can do it? “

“ course I do, baby. I know how good you can be. “ he nodded slowly, and leaned down to give you a kiss.

“ let’s keep ‘em then. I’ll do my best for ya; and I give ya permission to give me a good smack if I fuck up, yeah? “ you giggled and shook your head. you knew he’d do well; he had the ability to do it. especially for those he cared about.

“ I love ya, doll. “

“ I love you too, scourgey. “

[omega-e123]

Everything started to blur. Peoples voices were now pretty much muffled nonsense unless they were practically shouting in your ear or within three inches of you. Coordination? Thrown out the window. Hell, you would have fallen straight to the floor if it weren’t for the table keeping you upright.

In your drunken stupor, you nearly clocked Knuckles. Spinning around too fast to face him after he tapped your shoulder. Luckily the only casualty was a glass of water, now on the sad dirty floor of the bar.

It was easy to tell that you’ve had one too many with how aggressive and pouty you were getting. Off to the side, your partner was chatting with Rouge. Glass of wine for her and whiskey on the rocks for him. A lopsided smile plastered on his face. He couldn’t help but stare at your form as you argue with the nearly equally drunk echidna.

Sonic rushes to the conflict, half attempting to simmer it down. Naturally, neither you or Knuckles were going to listen to him. If anything, Sonic’s mild teasing made it worse, but now you two had a common enemy. Green eyes silently plead to two/thirds of Team Dark to wrangle their partners back.

Rouge shakes her head and begins to stand up but was forced to sit back down. A puzzled look appears on her face.

“Wait. I wish to spectate just a bit more,” Shadow simply answers.

Emerald eyes roll in disbelief as he slowly backs up and continues to talk. Sass after sass, you and Knuckles inch towards him. When Knuckles threw the first punch, Sonic stepped to the side, allowing his friend to stumble forward.

As you were about to also attempt to get the jump on the blue blur, a pair of strong arms envelops you.

The result: screaming and cursing. Now you were more agitated.

You flail your arms and try to turn around and face the perpetrator. Instead, you’re scooped up bridal style. “Get your fucking hands off me! If I don’t kill you, my boyfriend will!”

His chests rumbles in laughter as he carries you off without another word to his “non friends.”

After putting enough distance Shadow kisses the top of your forehead and replies, “I am your boyfriend.”

Violently you shake your head ‘no’ and lightly hit his chest. “No you’re not!”

“No?”

“He is ten— no a thousand times more handsomer than you!“

Amused by your claim, he asks,“Is that so?”

“I know so! Where are you taking me!? Put me down!”

Without noticing, you’ve already been chaos controlled to your shared bedroom. “As you wish, my love,” Shadow grants, plopping you ungracefully on top the mattress. It bounces and creaks under your weight.

The world feels like it’s spinning a thousand miles a minute. In order to stave off the nausea, your eyes focus on a single point on the ceiling.

Shadow, completely out of your field of vision, moves by your feet. One by one your shoes are taken off and put aside the foot of the bed. You don’t even fight it. Your brain is too focused in that speck of dirt above. Or is it a bug? Unsure, but somehow it’s completely captured your attention.

Creaking fills the silence as he joins you in bed. Warm blanket pulled over you and him. He reenters your sight momentarily to press a good night kiss atop your nose.

“Shadow!,” you squeal out in delight. As if you haven’t been in his arms two whole seconds ago. Turning to your side, you snuggle in close to his body. How you don’t suffocate in his chest fur is a mystery for the ages.

‘You’re absolutely ridiculous,’ he thinks to himself, ‘and I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Arctic Snow:

Arctic Fox Tails au where he gets his winter coat and his brothers are confused by his new look:

Winter was fast approaching green hills, it's residents had all noticed a bitter chill changing in the air, additionally ice had begun gathering on the pavements and paths meaning that the roads and paths would soon need to be gritted.

Snow had now began to fall and Sonic was especially eager because he could now show his new brothers the joys of playing in the snow. Plus they could all wrap themselves up in scarves hats and gloves Maddie had specially knitted for them.

"Sonic, look at my new winter things." Tails cheered his grey and white tails wagging in delight as he held them out.

Sonic took a look and saw a pair of silver grey and white mittens with light blue accents, his new scarf and hat (made specially to accommodate Tails' ears) were both the same colour.

"Looking good little bro, it goes with with your fur so well." Sonic said before suddenly ruffling Tails's bangs.

"Sonic, cmon stop." Tails giggled trying to swat Sonic's hand away and failing.

Sonic continued to ruffle his hair, the giggling only making him do it more.

When he did stop he was surprised to find a large clump of grey fluff come up in his hand and immediately panicked.

"OhmygodTailsI'msosorryIdidn'tmeanit..." He didn't mean it panicked at the thought of accidentally hurting his little brother.

"Sonic calm down, I'm just molting see." Tails said brushing his stomach and sonic noticed a few smaller bits of fluff fall off of Tails and onto the attic floor.

"Oh yeah, I think mom mentioned it, you're getting your winter coat." Sonic said.

Tails nodded.

"Yeah, though I'm probably gonna be leaving fur in a lot of places so sorry in advance." Tails said.

"Don't worry about it little bro, you can't help it, though we should probably warn mom and dad they're gonna be cleaning up more fur than just Ozzie's." Sonic said.

Over the next couple of days Tails' summer fur shed and his winter coat began to slowly come in.

Tom and Maddie took this in stride and everytime Tails got upset about his fur being in places they reassured him it wasn't his fault and it was just his body getting ready for the cold weather.

Sonic and Knuckles also helped out comforting their brother and in addition they made sure his bed was as cosy as it could be as it was a common fact that real foxes  tended to grow more malcohent and tired when shedding their fur and this fact seemed to apply to Tails too.

After about four days Sonic was in for a surprise.

He woke up that day and stretched rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up.

He climbed out of bed and went over to Tails' blue plane themed bed.

"Tails little bro, time to wake up, it's a brand new..." Sonic cut off when he saw something unusual with Tails.

The little fox was curled up in a ball on his bed, but his fur was different.

Instead of the grey and silver it had been the day before, it was snow a bright snow White, as a matter of fact the kit was now completely white like a giant snowball.

Just then Tails let out a squeaky yawn his sky blue eyes fluttering open and gazing at the cobalt blue hedgehog.

"Hmm, Sonic what is it?" Tails asked yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Tails, your fur." Sonic said surprised.

"What about it...oh right." Tails said as though suddenly realising something.

"What's going on bud?" Sonic asked confused.

"This, oh this is just my winter coat." Tails said.

"How come it's all white?" Sonic asked.

"To blend in with the snow, you know like earth arctic foxes." Tails said.

Just then Knuckles awoke.

"Good morning brothers, I hope you have rested well." The echnida said getting up and stretching.

"Knux, check this out." Sonic said indicating Tails' snow white fur.

"Fox, you look different." Knuckles said.

"It's my winter fur Knuckles, what do you think?" Tails asked.

"It is very well suited for this snowy weather fox, and a great camoflauge against any enemy that may attack." Knuckles said.

"Thanks Knuckles but I highly doubt that'll happen." Tails said.

"Maybe so but you never know...plus it is very soft." Knuckles said gently stroking the fur behind Tails' ears making the kit purr.

Sonic tried and indeed Tails' new coat was very soft, somehow even softer than earlier.

"He's right Tails, you look and feel like a fluffy cloud." Sonic said.

Tails giggled and blushed but his wagging tails betrayed the embarrassment he felt.

"Cmon let's go see what's for breakfast, I'm starving." Sonic said before racing out the attic.

Tails' felt his own stomach rumble loudly and giggled in embarrassment.

"It seems you are hungry too fox, come, let us dine on Mother's delicious breakfast feast before the hedgehog eats it all." Knuckles said lifting Tails onto his shoulder and carrying him out of the attic, the fox cheering in excitement.

Inspired by @0vergrowngraveyard's arctic fox Tails art

[misteria247]

Thinking about the thought earlier and how Sally would feel being in a place that's full of familiar faces and yet also full of complete strangers.

The constant reminders that the people that are her family are not them at all.

Sally going to tell Knuckles a joke only for him to give her a blank stare because he's not her Knuckles who shares that inside joke.

Sally going to ruffle Tails' head only for him to give her a confused and uncomfortable look. Addressing her as Sally or Miss. Sally instead of Aunt Sally.

Sally trying to communicate with Amy like she always does, briefly forgetting that this Amy isn't her Amy, and she'll be met with an awkward smile.

Or the worst one.

Sally going to reach for Sonic's hand, an unconscious thing because she's so used to doing it with her one true love back home. Only to feel him flinch away in surprise. Because Sally isn't his childhood friend or lover here, but instead of complete stranger.

Those moments that brutally remind her that she is very much alone in this sea of faces of people she loves. And the reality that her friends, the people she knew in her Mobius don't exist here.

There is no Nicole, no Bunnie or Antoine. There's no Rotor. They don't exist here. These people that she grew up with and who she, Sonic, Amy and Tails love more than anything are nothing in this reality. There is no Julie Su or any others of Knuckles kind. There is no her or her family in this place. The kingdom of Acorn isn't even a thing. Eggman doesn't have a nephew, nor does Sonic have his uncle Chuck. There's just nothing left of Knothole.

And the most painful part of it all.

Seeing Sonic and Amy interacting.

It's little details Sally notices. The way his emerald green eyes soften when they look at Amy. The comfortable way they tease and banter. The way Sonic leans into Amy's touch whenever she hugs him or holds his hand. The sense that they're in sync. It becomes crystal clear that the man she loves in her world is not the same as the one here. In this world her beloved hero, her heart, her soul, his heart belongs to Amy Rose. Her dearest friend in the world.

The pain Sally would feel, the heartbreak she'd experience seeing them together. The poor princess having to constantly tell herself that Sonic isn't Sonic. That the man in front of her isn't the one back home. In a way, she'd unknowingly be in her Amy's shoes. Pining for the blue blur and just wanting him to look her way with that soft, fond look. Happy for Amy but at the same time jealous and hurting at the entire situation. Added with her feelings of guilt for her crimes while under Eggman's control, Sally would start wondering.

Does she even deserve to go home?

She's hurt her family, nearly murdered Antoine, attacked Amy, Tails and Cream, and terrorized her kingdom that's protected by Nicole and Rotor. She's hurt Bunnie deeply. And....she tried to kill Sonic. The man she's loved since they were children. Would her loved ones even want her back? Could they ever forgive her for everything she's done?

[iglok]

Making my first post here hehe. I was inspired by a lot of artists who were making these arcane versions of Sonic so I thought I’d contribute to this underrated au as well, since Sonic is one of my biggest hyperfixations rn. I am already having more or less an idea of who should be who and I’d really like to hear other opinions too!

So, aside from that, I’d like to add a few adnotations to my drawings:

- I’ve watched a short with an explaination of how Powder/Jinx has different expressions and how her face and eyes look slightly different whether she’s Jinx or Powder so I wanted to do sth similar with Tails/Nine, since I really see him take up her role in this au. I wanted to make his eyes a little bit more round and blue when and he’s Tails (Powder) and a little bit more harsh-looking when he’s Nine (Jinx). Also the ends of his whisks and tails are blue-ish to give that Jinx vibes too

- I have the idea that chaos emeralds could be hexgems and the paradox prism could be shimmer (though idk how it would exactly work tbh)

- Rouge would be Sevika imo. I have the idea that instead of her arm, in the explosion when she saves Silco (Robotnik btw) she loses one of her wings so she replaces it with a robotic one, but that's just a concept

- full disclaimer that I don't mean to ship Knuckles and Tails/Nine in this au. It's meant to be more of a platonic relationship between close friends, plus sth in lines of Knuckles being a kind of mentor figure for Tails when they were little

- it hurts to say this but I planned to make Sticks and Amy as Mylo and Claggor and Big the cat as Vander respecitvely. Someone must get killed off unfortunately, I love them sm tho

- Aand Sonic is Vi and Shadow is Caitlyn. After watching Sonic Prime I cannot unsee the vision of Nine as Jinx, Sonic as Vi and Shadow as Caitlyn

- more to be added later. If you have any questions, go on and ask, I wanna ramble abt this

[nebula-chao-agere]

Regressuary 2025: Day 3

(This is specifically about the movie franchise, there will not be any shipping of any kind as they're basically children in the movies and I see them all more like siblings,,)

Like Brother

Shadow was walking nervously to Tom and Maddie's room, his baby blankie trailing behind him, the corner in his hand. The small blanket was a gift from Doctor Stone, being something he'd recovered from the lab after Gerald and Ivo's death. He didn't have a use for it, but it was in that room that Shadow had been a little too attached to while there. Surely the gift wouldn't hurt. Well, not only did it NOT HURT but it actively helped Shadow when he regressed, the little hedgehog and blankie being inseparable.

He toddled down the stairs and into their currently empty room. Maddie was with Tails and Knuckles in the kitchen working on a lunch of finger foods. Tom was in the bathroom with a fussing blue blur who was very insistent on not taking a bath. While everyone was distracted, Shadow found himself poking around in the shared closet of the parents of the house. He hesitantly flipped through Tom's shirts and jackets, a small pang of jealousy. Sonic, Tails, and even Knuckles had some clothes of their own. Shadow didn't really understand the concept of clothes, not anything other than gloves and shoes anyways. But when it came to bedtime or when one of his siblings were sick, "pajamas" seemed to bring alot of comfort to them. Even just t-shirts or the soft "pants" or "shorts" appeared to have some sort of comfort and gave the wearer some ability to relax.

Sonic had grown quite the collection of t-shirts now, mostly consisting of his favorite superheroes or cartoon characters, and even a few hand-me-downs from Tom. Shadow couldn't quite place why, but he wanted a shirt of his own. He was filled with almost 100% certainty that Sonic would share his, but it just wasn't the same to him. Shadow wanted his own. He wanted to feel... human? That's not the word he was looking for. Something that made him feel a bit more "down to Earth", in a literal sense; similar to how his blankie made him feel. He shook his head, holding his blankie closer to his chest before glancing behind him. Making sure the coast was clear; he hesitantly took a plain t-shirt off of one of the hangers. He'd made sure it wasn't one he saw Tom wear often, and made sure it wasn't one of the fancier ones that he saved for special occasions. And of course, he steered very clear of his work attire. They looked uncomfortable anyway.

The shirt he'd picked would probably be huge on him, but that didn't seem to be a problem for him in the slightest. It had some cartoon mascot on it that he didn't recognize, seeming to be a yellow bear in a red shirt of his own. Shadow hesitantly checked the doorway again before he slipped it over his own head after setting his blankie down, gently, on the bed. He struggled getting his quills through at first, but eventually popped his head through. Something didn't feel quite right though... He looked down at himself, arms tucked underneath the shirt, the little guy not quite understanding how the sleeves were supposed to work.

At that very moment, Sonic sped past the bathroom, somehow already dried off, Tom calling down the hall for him to slow down. "Sonic, you know we're not supposed to run in the house!" he playfully scolded, a small laugh escaping him as he now stood at his own bedroom door. Shadow froze, not even needing to turn around as he realized the predicament he was in. He was frozen in place, his flight or fight at a standstill as he instead froze. "...Shadow?" Tom asked hesitantly, gently, after a moment. Shadow flinched, standing there with flushed cheeks as he didn't know what to do, or how to explain what he was trying to do before he was walked in on.

Not saying another word, not wanting to scare the kid, he closed the door softly, making his way over to Shadow. He crouched down next to him, taking it slow and gently, not wanting to make him flinch or jump again. Tom couldn't help the smile that had now formed on his lips as he saw his shirt hanging down to Shadow's knees. "Let me help ya bud... Is it okay to touch?" He asked before even attempting to put a handout. Once given the slightest of nods after nearly ten seconds of silence, he took a hold of one of the short sleeves, trying to guide Shadow's hand. "You gotta put your arm through here, okay?"

Shadow hesitantly did as he was told but couldn't take his eyes off of Tom. How was he being so calm about this, acting like it was normal? It was a stark contrast from how he looked at him when they had first met, and it was surreal to Shadow. The gentle touch of a father's hand was foreign but not unwelcome. He found himself strangely not pulling away as Tom took his hand and guided it through the sleeve, then doing the same with his other hand. Tom knew it was better to leave all of his questions unanswered. One wrong step, and he wouldn't hear from Shadow for weeks, the prideful hedgehog taking even the smallest of questionings harshly. Either way, he already had a bit of a guess of what he was seeing.

"You like it?" He asked with a tender smile once he'd gotten the shirt straightened out and on correctly. Shadow hid his face in his blankie, feeling ashamed of how much he enjoyed something that seemed so small and simple to everyone else in the house.

Before Tom could coax an answer out of him, Maddie called for the kiddos, trying to round them up in the living room for lunch. Tom held his arms open, offering to carry Shadow. It was always hit or miss if Shadow would let anyone pick him up... bud today... he let himself walk into Tom's arms, nuzzling his face in the fabric of his blankie that he held onto, sat atop his father's shoulder. "Let's go get some food in your tummy, yeah?"

As Tom carried him into the living room, the other three kiddos weren't even really paying attention, Tails and Sonic competeing to see who can stack the tallest "cracker sandwich" while Knuckles was filling up on the grapes while they watched the movie Maddie had turned on. Maddie however, couldn't help but raise a brow at the hedgehog in Tom's arms, strangely docile and clingy. Not that it was a bad thing, just something she wasn't expecting. Tom sat Shadow down next to the other boys... or tried to. Shadow was oddly very attached to Tom all of a sudden, almost as if he'd regressed into an even smaller headspace than before. Not wanting to draw any extra attention by asking about it, Tom sat down instead, holding Shadow in his lap. Shadow made no move to take any of the food, but watched the other three, trying to gauge what he should do here.

Being the literal Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow didn't need to eat or drink, nor was he accustomed to doing so. But when Maddie offered him a sippy cup similar to the ones the other three had, Shadow accepted it with hesitance, but almost instantly began to sip from it when he saw Sonic take a sip from his. He laid his head against Tom's chest, watching the movie, blankie in one hand, sippy in the other.

This family life really wasn't so bad... Nobody judged or expected anything of him... Nothing hurt and he was... safe? Safe. Yeah, that's the word he was looking for.

[radiantrookie]

Breakfast Flavor Texts

Whether you're an early riser or your first meal of the day is more of a "brunch," it's important to start out energized! Some people like a hearty breakfast while others like to keep it light. We came together and settled on a few of our favorite ways to start the day!

Sonic's Eat 'N' Run Oats:

First thing in the morning I want to get up and go, but I need energy to reach those crazy-fast speeds. I whip up this bowl of oatmeal real quick so I feel good and energized before I start running! Whassat? It's very blue? So am I! And we're both great!

Knuckles's Roll with the Punches:

Knuckles: Living out in the brush of Angel Island, I need to gather up most of my food from the wild. I'm not really known for my delicate touch, so smashing up what I find into a delicious paste is just right for me. Then I use that as the filling for these rolls. A simple start to the morning is just how I like it. Omochao: Peanut butter is one of the most common allergens in the world! Try using almond butter or any other kind of nut butter instead!

Silver's Future-Proof Egg Tarts:

We compared notes, and it turns out this recipe is the same here as it is in my time! I like to make these egg tarts because they're simple, filling, and easy to share. It's easier to take on the future with a full stomach!

Vector's Perfect Note Waffles:

Some days you need to get an early start to crack the case. Some days you realize you're hungry and have been putting off a trip to the grocery store. Either way, these waffles of mine are the solution to the recurring case of "What Am I Gonna Eat?"

Charmy's Surprise Twist Sweet Treat:

Yeah! You thought you were getting breakfast, but-surprise!-it's a sweet dessert! Vector and Espio keep telling me it's a breakfast food, but I figured it out! Is it sweet? Check! Is it delicious? Check! Do I want more? Triple-check! It's gotta be a dessert! Woo!

Images by Codename Catfish

[tenebraevesper]

With Light In My Heart, Entry 2: The Mural

''Don't let this be your destined fate, you know I can't just sit and wait. That plentiful sigh, that beautiful lie, I won't deny how this broke you. I'll ask you once where this all ends, you won't���just simply make amends. Unjustly profound, brought up to break down, your reverence was torn apart. How far will I go in spite of my cries? I know that I'll see it through! I'll look right up to the timely skyline! We will push until we go beyond your wildest dreams! We go beyond the ever-unknowing! Beyond, not without you! We go beyond that very endless blue! Well I know, wherever I go, I won't be alone! I haven't lost my pull to you! When, not until the end, not without my friends, push on into the beyond!''

– Beyond by Victor McKnight and Callie Rae (Sonic Frontiers)

xXxXxXx

''There is nothing better than having a well-balanced breakfast,'' Sonic said, stretching his arms as he gazed at the food on the table.

''You're eating chili dogs. You can hardly call that junk food 'well-balanced','' Shadow responded in a dry tone, sitting across the table and holding a cup of black coffee, with a pastry and coffee beans on the side.

''Says the guy who eats coffee beans raw,'' Sonic pointed out in a snarky tone, albeit with a smile on his lips.

''Tch.'' Shadow took a sip of his coffee, not responding to Sonic's question. He knew that his own taste on food was weird in comparison to other people, but he didn't care. Sonic chuckled softly, grabbing a chili dog and stuffing it into his mouth, enjoying it's savory taste.

The two hedgehogs were currently sitting at a café inside the Restoration HQ, with Sonic having dragged Shadow there to get some proper breakfast before they leave for their journey. Shadow went along with it, having been a little curious about the Restoration HQ as he didn't recall ever visiting it, not even before it got destroyed by it's own battleship during the Clean Sweepstakes Incident. He had to admit, it was impressive how everyone put so much hard work to build it, and later on rebuild it, and keep it operating. They were also well coordinated, rebuilding any damage across the Earth left by Dr. Eggman and other threats, as well as protecting citizens and reconstruction efforts. Since G.U.N. had been out of commission since the Eggman War, they were the only organization who could do anything on such a level.

Shadow noted how Sonic had a relationship with the Restoration similar to the one he used to have with G.U.N – neither hedgehogs were members of their respective organization, even though Shadow had been several times mistaken for a G.U.N. agent by those who didn't know the truth about his status. Instead, Sonic would help the Restoration out whenever he could, preferring to do his own thing and having the freedom to act on his own rather than having to listen to someone else. Shadow's own situation was a bit more complex, as he didn't particularly care about G.U.N., but he wasn't above becoming allies with them if their goals aligned. Otherwise, he stayed out of their way and Commander Abraham Tower didn't bother him unless necessary, since their relationship was still a little tense and the last thing G.U.N. needed was to get on Shadow's bad side. Shadow also doubted that Commander Tower forgot about him, Rouge and Omega breaking into a G.U.N. base to steal one of their rockets to travel to the ARK when he sensed Black Doom's return.

Shadow broke out of his thoughts, ignoring the noise in the background as people passed by, talking, doing tasks or just following their daily routines. He put down the coffee cup, glancing at Sonic, who was still busy finishing his plate with the chili dogs. ''Have you thought about where you'd want to go on this adventure or do you plan to go into this blindly?''

Sonic paused for a moment, thinking about it. ''I actually wanted to do a detour to Angel Island. I had promised Knuckles to check on the Master Emerald from time to time.''

''I'm surprised that the echidna was willing to leave it unprotected,'' Shadow commented.

''Knuckles agreed that the Master Emerald isn't really in danger of being taken since Eggman seemed to have lost interest in it. In fact, the last time it was in danger, it was because Neo Metal Sonic took it to power himself up and become Master Overlord, and I doubt that Metal Sonic would try that again,'' Sonic replied, with Shadow vividly remembering that event. ''Since then, Rouge was the only one who had tried to steal the Master Emerald, but considering how Knuckles brought her along, there doesn't seem to be anyone he has to worry about.''

''Hmph, I can only imagine how their treasure hunt will go,'' Shadow commented as he took another sip of coffee. He knew well that Rouge loved to mess with Knuckles, having a great fondness for the echidna, but whether it was because she genuinely liked him or because he was in the possession of the largest jewel she had set her eyes on, he couldn't tell. He assumed it was a little bit of both, but he wasn't going to speculate about their relationship since it was none of his business.

''I think they'll be fine,'' Sonic said, being more optimistic than his rival. He knew that Knuckles and Rouge weren't the best of friends, but at the same time, they could get along well and he was sure that they had fun on their treasure hunt.

''I assume that there is also a reason for why you're not guarding the Master Emerald full time,'' Shadow said, with Sonic giving him a sheepish smile.

''Actually, during the first few days when Knuckles was gone, I had gone to Angel Island and tried to see whether I could pull it off,'' Sonic admitted.

''Let me guess – you didn't even last an hour before getting bored and leaving,'' Shadow said, giving Sonic a smug smile as he imagined his rival going stir-crazy while standing on the altar.

''For your information, I did last more than an hour,'' Sonic replied, furrowing a brow. ''In fact, I lasted several hours.''

Shadow rose an eyebrow, clearly not too impressed. ''I still have my doubts.''

Sonic tried to keep a straight expression, but it was obvious that there was no way of convincing Shadow as the dark hedgehog saw through it. Sonic sighed, coming clean, ''Okay, I guess the only reason I lasted so long was because I decided to take a nap.''

Shadow snorted in amusement. ''I knew it. You don't have the patience to just stand in front of the Master Emerald when there is nothing going on.''

''Pffft, don't tell me that you could do it better,'' Sonic responded in a challenging tone, with Shadow immediately responding without even thinking.

''Of course I could do it better than you, and you know that. In fact, it wouldn't even be a challenge for me,'' Shadow said confidently.

''Hey, Sonic! Woah, you're also here, Shadow?!''

Before Sonic could respond to Shadow's taunt, they were interrupted by two familiar faces, those being Tangle and Whisper. Sonic greeted them, while Shadow just nodded politely in response.

''I didn't expect either of you to see here. What's up?'' Tangle asked.

''Shadow and I have been talking about going to Angel Island. What about you two?'' Sonic asked.

''We were about to have a girl's day out, since nothing is going on,'' Tangle replied, flashing a bright smile to Whisper, who smiled back warmly.

''Tangle wanted to spend some quality time,'' Whisper added in her trademark whisper, being just loud enough for Sonic and Shadow to pick up what she wanted to say. Tangle, shooting Whisper a playful grin.

''I think we've earned it after all the hard work.'' She then turned to the two hedgehogs. ''You two also have fun!''

''Don't worry, we will!'' Sonic replied, smiling brightly, while Shadow remained silent and less optimistic. He still wasn't sure what to make of the whole journey he agreed to go on, but he doubted that he would have much fun since he was certain that Sonic would keep annoying him. Once Tangle and Whisper left, Shadow turned to Sonic.

''How do you plan to get to Angel Island?'' he asked the cobalt hedgehog.

''We'll use the Tornado…'' Sonic trailed off for a moment when he realized something. He then chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. ''Except, Tails took the Tornado when he left.''

''You don't have any alternative plan?'' Shadow asked, furrowing a brow, with Sonic's sheepish smile telling him everything. He sighed in exasperation. ''How did you even manage get on Angel Island previously?''

''Knuckles left before Tails did, so I could still use the Tornado to visit the island. I guess that's why my mind jumped straight to that,'' Sonic explained.

''That's just typical…'' Shadow muttered, taking another sip of coffee, placing the empty cup on the table and eating a coffee bean. ''I guess I'll have to look out for you, again.''

Sonic pouted. ''Oh, do you have a plan, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform?''

''I have a Chaos Emerald on me. Once we get close enough to the current location of Angel Island, I can use Chaos Control to get us there,'' Shadow replied, a smirk forming on his lips. Sonic quickly perked up, feeling a familiar rush of excitement.

''That's great! If you're done, we can leave as soon as possible,'' Sonic replied. Shadow nodded, placing another coffee bean in his mouth as he wondered how that visit would go.

xXx

There was a flash of cyan light when Sonic and Shadow suddenly appeared at the outer part of Angel Island, being surrounded by a jungle. Sonic had a rough idea of where they were, turning to Shadow with a curious look.

''If I remember this right, you know the way to the Master Emerald altar, but you haven't seen the rest of the island,'' Sonic said, with Shadow nodding. ''Lucky for you, I've been on Angel Island enough times to know what places to visit, even with Knuckles trying to kick me off the island most of those times.''

''I couldn't even imagine why he would do that,'' Shadow replied in a deadpan tone, his lips curving into a wry smile when Sonic gave him an exasperated look. He had figured that, if he was already going to tolerate Sonic teasing him, he would step up to the challenge with some teasing of his own. They were equals, after all.

''In any case, I was thinking that we could race to the altar,'' Sonic said, deciding to ignore Shadow's comment, not wanting to admit that he was well aware that he did give Knuckles a reason to kick him off the island a couple of times, but he was convinced that the other times the echidna got annoyed at him wasn't his fault. Besides, he and Knuckles were on much better terms now. He then flashed a cocky smile. ''Ready? GO!''

Sonic didn't even give Shadow the time to orient himself, vanishing in a flash of blue as he dashed towards the altar. Unfortunately for him, Shadow was already on his tail and catching up fast. Even with Sonic getting an early start, Shadow knew him well enough to be aware that the moment his rival mentioned a race, he'd have to be alert and match Sonic's energy. He could hear Sonic's laugh as they were head-to-head, dashing between the trees to find an optimal route to the altar, with the flora only serving as an obstacle course. Sonic actually wished that the race lasted a bit longer when they spotted the ruins and the bright green Master Emerald on top of it, with the two hedgehogs skidding to a halt right in front of the staircase that led to it.

''Ha! Sonic the Hedgehog once again proves that he is The Fastest Thing Alive!'' Sonic boasted, pumping his fists as he struck a victory pose.

''Tch, you call that fast? I was clearly ahead of you,'' Shadow told him, scoffing as he folded his arms across the chest.

''No way, dude! I totally won this one!'' Sonic replied, trying not to look at the skid marks left on the ground proving that their race was a tie. Frankly, he didn't really care about winning or losing the race, he just wanted to banter with Shadow and he was happy that his rival was responding in a positive way rather than keeping quiet. It made things between them much more interesting and he really enjoyed it, sincerely hoping that Shadow enjoyed their rivalry just as much.

Their banter died down soon, with both looking at the Master Emerald on top of the altar, keeping Angel Island safely afloat. There was something awe-inspiring about this powerful gem of unknown origins and the reason for many battles over it. Sonic was well aware of the origins of the Chaos Emeralds, thanks to his adventure on the Starfall Islands, but the Master Emerald remained a mystery.

''Looks like everything's fine with the Master Emerald,'' Sonic commented, with Shadow's ruby eyes shifting to the side as he glanced at the cobalt hedgehog, arms folded across his chest.

''I suppose the fact that the island wasn't stuck in the ocean was the first sign that the Master Emerald was still where it belongs,'' he remarked in a dry tone. Sonic just chuckled lightly at the remark, then took note of a couple of Chao playing nearby the altar.

''At least these guys are having fun,'' Sonic commented, then beckoned Shadow to follow him. ''Com'n! I did say I'd take you on a tour, didn't I? I hope you can keep up with me!''

''Don't underestimate me, Hedgehog!'' Shadow responded, quickly following Sonic.

xXx

''Welcome to Hidden Palace!'' Sonic said as he and Shadow reached the next area, having left just Lava Reef or, as Sonic described it, the ''more scenic route''. Shadow disagreed, having had to pull Sonic away from stream of lava that suddenly burst through a wall after Sonic got too close to it. The enthusiastic hedgehog was too busy telling Shadow everything about his own first time visiting Angel Island too notice the more hazardous spots, but, as usual, he didn't really care that much about the danger he found himself in, but he thanked Shadow for the save.

Shadow followed Sonic to Hidden Palace, taking note of how it was a massive subterranean cavern populated by plateau-like formations of crystalline rock that line the floor and ceiling for as far as the eye can see, followed by an architecture adorned with pillar walls and a multitude of bright neon colours. Having already seen several other Zones, like Marble Garden, Carnival Night (with Sonic briefly getting annoyed at a particular Spinning Wheel), Sandopolis, Azure Lake and so on, he had to admit that he didn't expect the island to have such a variety of places. In fact, he realized that he knew very little about Angel Island besides it being the location of the Master Emerald and Knuckles' ancestral home, noting how Rouge probably knew her way better around the island than him given all the times she came here to annoy Knuckles.

''If we go over there, we'll reach Sky Sanctuary, which Knuckles had told me was a sacred territory only he could visit. He still allowed me and Tails to go there because we were all chasing after Eggman to get back the Master Emerald,'' Sonic explained, pointing at the path ahead. Shadow rose an eyebrow.

''If it's a sacred place, are we even allowed to go there without the echidna's knowledge?'' Shadow asked, with Sonic pausing for a moment. He knew that Knuckles had trusted him with watching the Master Emerald in his absence, but the echidna never said anything about keeping an eye on the other Zones. ''Ehhh, I guess he wouldn't mind since he agreed to let me keep an eye on the Master Emerald. We'll just do a quick peek. Besides, if you enjoyed seeing the previous Zones, then you have to see this one! The sight is amazing!''

''You're the tour guide,'' Shadow stated in a matter-of-fact tone, shrugging. So far, Sonic's tour didn't disappoint and he found himself interested in listening to Sonic's tale about his past adventures. Admittedly, Sonic was far from ideal, since his own descriptions were based on either what he had experienced or what Knuckles had told him, but he managed to keep Shadow's attention.

The dark hedgehog suddenly stopped as they came across peculiar room, his jaw dropping slightly as he stared in stunned silence at what was depicted on the stitched mural on the wall. Sonic took note of Shadow not following him and turned around, following Shadow's gaze and grinning as he realized what distracted his rival.

''Right, I forgot this was here,'' Sonic said.

''Is that…?'' Shadow trailed off, glancing at Sonic, who just nodded in response. Their attention then turned back to the mural, which was an abstract depiction of Dr. Eggman being inside a large robot and holding the Master Emerald while confronted by Super Sonic.

''You know, I was also surprised when I saw this. I had actually asked Knuckles later about it, but he said that the mural was ancient and that he had no idea who made it. He even speculated that it may have been thousands of years old,'' Sonic explained.

''Whoever made it, they had to have some kind of insight into the future to depict you in your Super Form fighting against the Doctor,'' Shadow said, not really sure what to think about what he saw. Clearly, whoever created this mural deemed this battle important enough to be etched into the wall.

''I guess… Oh, wait!'' Sonic snapped his fingers. ''There is another mural I could show you, but it's at Mystic Ruins. There is a really exciting story tied to that one, and we could also crash for the night at Tails workshop.''

''I suppose I could Chaos Control both of us to Mystic Ruins,'' Shadow said, then followed Sonic as the cobalt hedgehog rushed forward to where Sky Sanctuary was, deciding they would go the first before their detour.

At Sky Sanctuary, Shadow had to admit that Sonic was correct in describing the Zone as ''amazing'', and he also understood why only Knuckles, as the Guardian, was allowed to go here. It felt as if he had entered a different world, the Zone being an ancient, aerial temple located high up in the sky above the clouds. There were many ancient ruins scattered across it, made up of white, mossy stone that floated in the sky; as well as of dark blue glass with a technological pattern. He noticed that it also appeared to serve as the home for Chao, with a few of them flying past them, and two Chao who have been playing where they were standing getting curious about the two hedgehogs.

''Angel Island really does have some interesting locations. I can see why Knuckles protects not only the Master Emerald, but the whole island,'' Shadow said. Sonic whistled.

''Wow, you should tell Knuckles that,'' he said, grinning. Shadow didn't respond, instead just gazing ahead, with Sonic knowing that his rival wasn't the type to just compliment people unless he had a really good reason for that. ''Should we go to Mystic Ruins? I know I didn't show you all of Angel Island, but you can always return here by yourself to explore it.''

''I'm fine with leaving,'' Shadow replied, reaching for the green Chaos Emerald in his quills and holding it up. ''Chaos Control!''

There was a bright flash of light, with the two hedgehogs suddenly vanishing, along with the Chao.

xXx

Sonic grinned when he found himself on the familiar grounds of Mystic Ruins, beckoning to Shadow to follow him to a shrine, neither of them noticing the Chao who had followed them. ''Over here!''

Shadow was genuinely curious about what Sonic wanted to show him, aware that the Mystic Ruins did hold a lot of significance, even if he was unware of their full story. They eventually reached the shrine, finding a mural that shocked Shadow even more than the one at Hidden Palace.

''The BioLizard?'' he muttered the first thing that came to his mind, his eyes wide, only to notice Sonic giving him a surprised look. He then shook his head, immediately realizing his mistake. ''I… Forget about what I said.''

''Well, it does kinda look similar to the BioLizard at first glance, but it's not the BioLizard,'' Sonic said in an understanding tone, glancing back at the mural of a blue, lizard-like being destroying a town. ''That's Perfect Chaos.''

Feeling a little relieved that Sonic didn't tease him for his mistake, Shadow turned his attention back to the mural, figuring that Sonic would soon launch into an explanation in regards to who Perfect Chaos was.

''This was during an adventure that happened before I met you. It's a bit of a long story, though,'' Sonic started.

''Go ahead. I've been listening to all of your previous stories, and I don't mind hearing more,'' Shadow replied in a rather matter-of-fact tone. He actually meant it, having noted that Sonic wasn't as obnoxious as he could be and he was curious about the story behind Perfect Chaos. Sonic grinned at the encouragement, having actually been a little worried that Shadow might lose interest. He turned to the mural, only for both of them to see the two Chao flying up to it, staring at the mural in curiosity, recognizing the being depicted on it, but unsure what to make of it.

''You guys know who that is,'' Sonic stated, with the Chao turning around and flying up to the two, with one Chao settling down on the top of Sonic's head, while the other preffered holding onto Shadow's shoulder, both eager to listen to Sonic's story.

''So, everything began when I ran into this water being at Station Square and battled him, only to learn from Eggman he was the God of Destruction, Chaos. Eggman and Chaos disappeared, but the next day, when Tails was testing a Chaos Emerald at his place, we got ambushed by Eggman who stole the Chaos Emerald, giving it to Chaos, who then transformed. As it turned out, Eggman wanted to gather all the Chaos Emeralds to make Chaos stronger, so Tails and I made the decision to stop him. That didn't really go well for us, because he had managed to steal the two Chaos Emeralds we recovered, and we ran later on into Knuckles, who thought that I stole some of the Master Emerald shards,'' Sonic explained.

''Why would he believe that?'' Shadow gave Sonic a questioning look.

''I dunno. I guess Knux had been getting tricked by Eggman, again,'' Sonic replied with a shrug. ''We did end up battling Chaos again after he absorbed another Chaos Emerald, but he and Eggman then retreated, and when we tried to pursue them, the Tornado got shot down, and I found myself at Station Square again in the aftermath. There, I ran into Amy, who wanted me to protect a Flicky, Birdie. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with her, but that didn't matter because she and Birdie ended up kidnapped by one of Eggman's robots, so I had to chase after them,'' Sonic added in a sheepish tone. While he certainly cared a lot about Amy, he didn't look back fondly on her clinginess and relentless pursuit. ''Luckily, Tails found me with the Tornado 2, and we got onto Eggman's ship, where we found Amy, Birdie, Eggman and one of Eggman's robots. I fought against the robot at first, but Amy got in-between us and said that he was her friend and that he had helped her.'' Sonic hummed in thought as he recalled the memory. ''I think his name was Gamma. He kinda looked like Omega, only taller.''

''If he looked like Omega, it is possible that he was part of the same E-100 Series robot line. Omega was the last one to be created,'' Shadow said, tilting his head. ''I suppose he'd be happy to hear that he wasn't the only one to rebel against Eggman.''

''Heh, yeah. Anyways, I told Tails and Amy to leave because the ship was losing altitude, while I went to pursue Eggman. I eventually found him with Chaos, who had absorbed six Chaos Emeralds, and Big,'' Sonic continued, with Shadow giving him a look of surprise. He still remembered his own meeting with the purple cat in the White Space, having been displaced from time and space, but nonetheless being good company. ''Turns out, Chaos absorbed Froggy, so we had to fish him out first before we could continue. Luckily, we defeated him, and when I went after Eggman again, only to find myself here, at Mystic Ruins. That's when I saw this orb of light, who guided me to this shrine and showed me the mural.''

''What was that light?'' Shadow asked.

''Her name was Tikal, and she was an echidna who lived thousands of years ago. She had shown me what happened in the past, with the full story being that the echidnas back then raided the altar where the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds were, hurting many Chao in the process. Tikal tried to stop them, but their destructive behavior only enraged Chaos, who was the protector of the Chao, causing him to turn into Perfect Chaos. Since Perfect Chaos had the power to destroy the world, Tikal had no other choice but to seal him and herself into the Master Emerald,'' Sonic explained.

''Cha-chao…''

Both hedgehogs turned to the Chao who were with them, taking note of their sadness. The story of what had happened was quite traumatizing, even if it was so long ago, showing just how destructive greed and rage could be.

''I know that it's not something you guys want to hear, but it was key information that we needed to understand Chaos,'' Sonic said in a sympathetic tone, with Shadow glancing at him curiously, his expression hiding what was on his mind. Sonic continued the story, not even noticing Shadow's gaze, ''In the end, we confronted Chaos once more at Station Square after he became Perfect Chaos by absorbing the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds and flooding the city. Tikal wanted to seal Perfect Chaos again into the Master Emerald, but I refused, since that wouldn't be right. Considering how Perfect Chaos' heart was filled with rage and anguish, it wouldn't have changed his feelings even if he got resealed. After all, if he got unleashed again, he would've gone on another rampage, and I wanted to stop that from happening for good.'' Sonic then shot Shadow a grin. ''So, I used the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and defeated him and calmed him down, with Tikal and Chaos then disappearing. However, that wasn't the last time I fought him.''

''Really?'' Shadow tilted his head, both him and the Chao being surprised to hear that.

''Yeah. Remember the Time Eater?'' Sonic asked, with Shadow nodding, having an idea where this was going. ''I was sent to a version of Station Square that had been attacked by Perfect Chaos, but this time I had managed to defeat him without the Chaos Emeralds. That's impressive, right?''

Shadow knew well that Sonic was just fishing for a compliment, so he decided to tease him a little. ''I suppose it shows your growth between the two events. Unfortunately, growth in strength doesn't indicate a growth in maturity.''

''Ouch,'' Sonic grumbled, noting the smirk on Shadow's lips. ''Are you even able to talk to people directly without making backhanded compliments?''

''I'm merely pointing out the obvious. For all the saving you did, you also made a lot of reckless decisions that endangered our world,'' Shadow responded in a matter-of-fact tone. Sonic rolled his eyes, placing his hands on his hips as he furrowed a brow, not backing away from this argument.

''Fine. Name one event where it was completely my fault that the world was in danger,'' Sonic said.

Shadow gave him a hard stare, responding, ''Two words – Paradox Prism.''

Sonic's eyes suddenly widened when he recalled that particular event. His ears drooped as he felt a sudden rush of anxiety, followed by the sound of shattering and the image of a void filled with gates to other places; remains of his own world. He suddenly turned around, a nervous look forming on his expression as the rubbed the back of his head and avoided Shadow's stare, with the Chao on his head giving him a worried look.

''I… I guess that was my fault,'' he muttered, only to give Shadow a questioning look. ''Hey, what did you even do with the Paradox Prism?''

''I made sure to hide it somewhere where neither the Doctor nor you can find it and shatter it again,'' Shadow told him in a sharp tone, with Sonic wincing.

''That sounds right…'' Sonic said, falling silent for a moment, then sighed. ''Not gonna lie, I actually thought that the event you'd mention would be the Metal Virus.''

Shadow's eyes widened, as he was genuinely stunned to hear Sonic bring that up. He lowered his gaze, recalling the frustration and anger he felt when he confronted Sonic, putting all the blame for Mr. Tinker becoming Dr. Eggman solely on his shoulders. He felt a sting of guilt, having had enough time to reflect on what happened to understand that he had been too harsh on Sonic. After all, Sonic wasn't the only one who saw that Mr. Tinker was different from Dr. Eggman, having lost all of his memories, as the Chaotix Detectives, Rouge and Shadow himself had also been there, all of them agreeing with the decision to leave him in that village. Not to mention his own reckless decision of refusing to back off from the fight against the Zombots, his pride and belief of having immunity to the virus as the Ultimate Lifeform getting to his head. In the end, he payed the ultimate price for his own arrogance and jerkass behavior.

''I… I regret what I said during the Metal Virus incident,'' Shadow muttered, turning on his heel as he left a stunned Sonic, walking away. ''We should bring the Chao back to Angel Island.''

''H-Hey, wait!'' Sonic joined the dark hedgehog, who did his best to ignore the cobalt hedgehog, as well as the uneasy look the Chao on his shoulder gave him. It didn't work, as he felt Sonic grabbing his arm. ''Shadow, wait.''

Shadow stopped, glancing at Sonic, who gave him a sympathetic smile. ''I don't think we really had an in-depth talk about all the stuff that had happened, but if you're okay with it, I would like to talk to you more openly.'' Sonic let go off his arm, lowering his gaze. ''I know that I'm not the best at talking about my feelings and that kind of stuff, and you aren't comfortable with it either, but I feel like some of those conversations are long overdue.''

There was silence, with Sonic wondering if he overdid it. Then, Shadow nodded.

''This is something I can agree on,'' he replied, his response filling Sonic with relief. He smiled, glad to see that Shadow would be staying instead of avoiding him. He had figured that it wasn't necessary to talk now, since they had time. Instead, he stepped in front of Shadow, with a challenging smirk.

''Then, I assume you would also agree on a race around Angel Island? And by that, I mean the whole island. You already saw the race track,'' Sonic said, noting how Shadow perked up. If there was anything they felt comfortable with, it was their rivalry, and they were going to take full advantage of that bond.

''Are you that desperate to lose?'' Shadow asked, taking out the green Chaos Emerald.

''Pffft, I will run loops around you,'' Sonic replied, him and Shadow glancing at the Chao, who cheered for them both. They couldn't help but smile at them, feeling a bit more at ease.

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[lightninghikaru]

Sonic’s quills raise slightly, a change in the wind warning him that something was off. He glances around realizing that this fog is becoming unnaturally thick. He grips the hilt of his cutlass giving Tails a knowing look before letting out a loud whistle at a high pitch that lowered. Waiting for a moment before hearing an identical sounding whistle in response recognizing it coming from Knuckles. Their way to alert his crew to go on high alert.

               “Get below deck.” Sonic said quietly as Tails nods slowly picking up his bag before heading down the stairs. Sonic draws his blade and starts walking around the forecastle deck.

 

               First he hears it, the sound of sharp steal cutting through the air from behind him. Faster than the assailant thought possible, Sonic spun around blocking the blade seeing a scrappy clothed wolf, wearing a black bandana on his head. The pirate lets out an annoyed growl that his surprise attack was foiled by this smaller Hedgehog.

 

               “All hands! We’re under attack!” Sonic called out breaking away from the Wolf who tries to take a swipe at him. He hears the clash of blades singing across the ship. Dashing down to the main deck to find his men.

 

               He curses under his breath; this must be how they always get away unseen. A fog that obscures everyone’s vision giving them the element of surprise. He had to think fast, make sure people were fighting in groups instead of alone. He hopes Tails made it below deck and Amy and Knuckles were together.

 

               Sonic finds one of his crewmen at the mercy of a shark holding him off the ground by the collar of his jacket. He approaches in a flash kicking the Shark’s arm forcing him to let the crewman go. Before they could retaliate from Sonic’s attack he’s kicked in the chest and knocked back. “Up you go, we need to find you a fighting partner.” He said grabbing his crewman’s arm and running off to find others in need of help.

 

               This tactic wasn’t ideal, but it assured that the crewmates could watch one another’s backs. He would run quickly until he found one of his crewmen fighting alone, help them out of their current fight and drag them to another person who needed help. He finally found Knuckles and Amy fighting back-to-back.

 

               “Anyone injured?” Sonic asked sliding next to them having their backs to them looking around.

 

               “Nothing serious. This fog is too damn thick to see anything.” Knuckles said,

 

               “I’ve been grouping people together to make sure no one is alone.” Sonic said,

 

               “What about Tails and those below deck?” Amy asked seeing another Pirate charging towards her as she swings her hammer hitting it’s mark. The powerful hit knocked the pirate back far enough where they lose their footing and fall over the rail. The sound of water splashing caused the blue hedgehog to jolt out of reflex.

 

               “I’ll run over and check to make sure they locked the door. Try to get with some of the others and help them out but stick together. We group up as much as possible so they can’t pick us off.” Sonic said as his two friends give a nod.

 

               “Be careful Captain.” Knuckles said,

 

               “What’s the fun in that?” Sonic chuckles before dashing off. If he could find their leader and subdue him they might have a chance.

 

               Sonic skids to a stop in front of the entrance to below deck seeing a hooded cobra and a tall brown bear blocking his path as he’s horrified to see the Bear had his massive claws wrapped around Tails’ neck. “Ah, there’sss the captain,” The serpent said pointing his blade at Tails. “You’re a hard one to pin down.”

 

               “Let him go!” Sonic demanded,

 

               “Tell your men to drop their sssordsss and the boy may live.” The serpent demanded.

 

               “Sonic! Don’t do… herk!” The bear tightens his grip around the young fox as Sonic tried to see a weak spot to exploit. But there were none, if he tried to take out one of them the other would hurt Tails before he could stop them. No, he wouldn’t risk his friends safety when he was the one who asked him to join this mission. He tosses his weapon away still glaring at the serpent, he knew he wasn’t their leader. But all the same he had to do as he said,

 

               “Everyone… Drop your weapons,” Sonic yelled out for all to hear,

 

               “Captain?” One of the crewman called out sounding confused,

 

               “That’s an order!” He demanded as the sound of metal clanged against the deck. He gritted his teeth hating to have to surrender to pirates.

 

               His arms are roughly pulled behind him and bound by the Wolf he encountered earlier. Almost on que the mist begins to fade for him to start seeing his crew and the other pirates gathering everyone up around the main mast. The bear tosses Tails over next to Knuckles who was snarling at the Pirates.

 

               The wolf kicks the back of Sonic’s knee forcing him to fall. His entire crew becomes riled making comments about the savages who had attacked them. “All of you quiet!” The wolf barked grabbing Sonic by the quills pulling his head back and pointing his blade at his neck, “Or you’ll need to pick a new captain.” They all go dead silent, even Knuckles stops growling looking worried for his friend.

 

               “I think that’s a record boys.” A different voice said walking out from the mist. An ebony hedgehog approaches wearing a higher quality attire. White frilled shirt with a black waist coat decorated in silver buttons with white trim, a red sash tied to their waist with a belt holding a golden hilted rapier and pistol. His curved-up spines all had a streak of red and his eyes matched the bloody crimson. Sonic knew immediately with how he held himself that this was the captain. “Your crew must truly value you to oblige so quickly.”

 

               He stood over the kneeling Hedgehog looking him over, he looked rather young to be captaining a royal naval ship. But that’s not what caught the Ebony Hedgehog’s attention. He reaches down gently tilting the collar of Sonic’s Frock showing the flame enamel pin there. “Well, well,” He lets out a chuckle letting go of his collar, “It looks like we’ve truly angered the Queen, she sent one of her elite after us.” He said as the other pirates laugh. Sonic glares at this stranger holding back a growl.

               “What do we do cap?” The Wolf asked,

 

               “If she’s upping her ante, so shall we.” The Hedgehog said, “Perhaps having to burry some of her people will make her think twice of crossing us?” He turns towards the crew taking a step towards them as Sonic begins to fight the Wolf’s hold not caring about the blade near his neck.

               “Do whatever you want with me! But don’t lay a hand on them.” The blade at his neck nicks him as he hisses not expecting the twinge of pain.

               The mysterious Captain turns back towards him almost a glow to his eyes. “Oh? Whatever I want Captain? Would you die for them?” He asked,

               “Without a second thought.” Sonic didn’t break eye contact with him full of resolve. The Ebony Hedgehog scowls at the younger who still didn’t flinch. These self-sacrificing types always annoyed him. Why should his life be worth destroying just to protect others. His ears twitch hearing the panicked stirring of this Captain’s crew behind him. It does seem that harming the Hedgehog would have the largest effect on the Queen seeing as he is one of her elite… But killing him outright wouldn’t be as fun.

 

               “Very well,” He said kneeling down in front of the azure hedgehog. The Wolf moves his blade away from Sonic’s neck.

 

               “Don’t!” Amy yelled,

               “Get away from him!?” Knuckles snaps,

 

               “Quiet!” Sonic yells taking them by surprise, “Ames,” He turns to her seeing the horrified looks of his friends and crew. “Get them all home safely.” She nods,

 

               "Take everything but leave just barely enough for them to get home so there’s no way they can come after us.” The ebony Hedgehog said as all of his men begin raiding the ship. Sonic lets out an accepting sigh of relief. This may be his end but at least he knew his friends would survive. He’s taken off guard for a moment as he’s pulled forward, the ebony Hedgehog gripping his lapel as he rips off his pin and tosses it towards his crew.

               His face was uncomfortably close to the pirate captains as he just grins at him showing off his sharp fangs. “Don’t look so relieved captain. You’ll be coming with us.”

               “W…what?” Sonic looked surprised and confused but before he could say more, the Wolf strikes him in the back of the head with the pommel of his cutlass knocking him out.

               “Sonic!” Tails cried out as the ebony Hedgehog stands back up.

               “We’re leaving. Omega, be sure to release them after we’re out of sight.” He said but none of the pirates around him acknowledge the order. The wolf grabs Sonic by the back of the collar and drags him away.

               “Damn it!” Knuckles fights his restraints as they all see the pirates disappear into the mist before it starts to slowly fade. As the mist breaks up just enough for the light to start shining through they all feel their ropes freeing them.

               Amy rushes up running to the rail looking out to the sea, not a ship in sight as far at the eye can see, just endless water. Tails comes up next to her holding the flame enamel pin in his hand out to her. She takes it then looks out to the sea unsure how to tell the Queen that one of her Elites was just spirited away by ghost pirates.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 37

Notes: Some suggestive content in this chapter mhm.

Summary: Sonic and Shadow consider for the first time what their alternates might really be up to.. Knuckles and Rouge- *ahem*.. "bond".

UC Masterpost!

Link to My AO3!

Start:

“So you really think you’ve about got it?” 

“Yup! With the help of that message the alternates sent—“

“‘Alternates’?? You people are the alternates,” Shadow huffs, arms crossed defiantly.

“No way! We’re totally the main world here,” Sonic protests with a little grin, munching on the last of his chili dog he had made earlier.

“This world is too bizarre to be a main world,” Shadow rolls his eyes.

“Nope! You’re the one stuck here, Cranky-hog. So this is the main world,” Sonic insists with a shrug as if it’s a fact that just can’t be helped.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Knuckles interrupts before they can continue their bickering, sighing and looking back to Tails to nod for him to continue.

“Thank you,” Tails sighs before turning his attention from the two hedgehogs back to his device, “As I was saying.. with the help of the message from our alternates—“

“Better,” Shadow mumbles.

“—modifying this device was a cinch! The other me is pretty handy it seems!”

“That’s awesome news!” Sonic beams, ruffling the hair of his furry little brother, “great job, buddy. Knew you could do it!”

“Looks like you’ll get to talk to your Sonic soon,” Knuckles smirks nudging Shadow with his elbow.

Shadow just shrugs, “Talking to the hedgehog would be a waste of energy. I’ll need to speak with the fox and Rouge if anyone. They’ll likely be the two with the more developed plan and sense of what we’ll need to establish it.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you worried at all about how your Sonic is doing with the other Shadow??” Knuckles chuckles, “I mean— if my alternate went to another world where he was actively pursuing my rival, I’d be a little curious and concerned.”

Sonic and Shadow both look at Knuckles with very worried expressions at that—

“You think he’s flirting with the hedgehog???”

“You think he’s pursuing the other me??”

Sonic and Shadow both blink and exchange looks, having spoken simultaneously without meaning to. The thought hadn’t even crossed Shadow’s mind, and if the look on Sonic’s face was anything to go off of, it hadn’t his either.

Knuckles just grins a little more smug, clearly amused he’s getting under the duo’s skin, “I dunno. I mean— you two haven’t slipped up yet.”

“This hedgehog assaulted me in the fox’s kitchen the second day I was awake,” Shadow very bluntly announces.

“I did— I did no such thing!” Sonic gasps, eyes wide and hands waving out in front of him as a clear sign of denial. Then he pauses. “Okay. I might have done that— but it was an accident, and a far cry from an assault!”

“You kissed my neck.”

“It— I was half asleep and thinking you were my Shadow! That’s very different!”

“Well,” Knuckles interrupts with a shrug, “All I know is it makes sense that you two wouldn’t crack and fall for each other since this Shadow is clearly not interested.”

“Clearly,” Shadow agrees with a nod, his arms crossing with a huff.

“But our Shadow??” Knuckles raises a brow at the two, “Well.. he’s a bit smitten by our beloved blue blur.”

Shadow frowns at this, “But the Sonic from my world doesn’t reciprocate. So it’s not a problem.”

“Or does he..,” Knuckles winks, Shadow narrowing his eyes at the echidna in response.

“He doesn’t. I think I’d know better than you on the matter.”

“It took our Shadow a while to realize Sonic here had feelings for him,” Knuckles teases, enjoying working the two up far too much, “Your Sonic could very much like you, and you’re just clueless.”

“We don’t even interact often enough for him to develop those sorts of feelings,” Shadow counters, trying to come off as unbothered but very much coming off as in denial instead.

“Ya’know what they say..,” Knuckles just chuckles, leaning against the nearby wall and shutting his eyes all smooth, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder..”

Shadow just rolls his eyes in response, not letting the echidna’s words appear to get to him. But when he looks back over to Sonic, Sonic looks mortified. Like he knows something Shadow doesn’t. Like he thinks the echidna might actually be right.

And while Shadow would never admit it, that does nothing to help his own anxiety over the matter.

“Are you guys done bickering on silly hypotheticals, or can I work in peace—“

“Hey, boys!” Rouge shows up, flying down into the garage from the opening the plane came in through and landing with a wide smirk, “Look what momma won at the casino.”

She opens her satchel as she approaches, showing off the glistening purple emerald inside.

“Looks like you hit the jackpot!” Tails grins, reaching inside to carefully remove it. Anyone else had done it, and Rouge would’ve smacked their hand away. But she just smiles at Tails, watching him take away the gem she worked hard to find.

“I guess I’m just good luck,” Rouge shrugs with a wink at the fox, stepping back to look back to the other three who are all seeming pleased with her return, “So what did I miss?”

“Sonic and Shadow got the yellow emerald from Eggman,” Tails responds, handing the purple emerald off to Knuckles for him to pray over before turning back to continue working on the device.

“And our Shadow is cheating with the alternate Sonic,” Knuckles adds, walking off with the emerald to go to try and tame its energy.

“He is not!” Sonic and Shadow both simultaneously voice.

“Is it still cheating if it’s with a different version of your partner??” Rouge ponders, obviously picking up on Knuckles’ little game and teasing the two hedgehogs.

“It’s still cheating,” Sonic immediately snaps, his arms crossing as a frown forms on his muzzle.

“Your Shadow isn’t involved with my Sonic,” Shadow adds with a huff. 

“Oh, so he’s your Sonic now?” Rouge grins all smug, leaning forward to poke Shadow firmly in the chest fur. Shadow rolls his eyes and swats her hand away, though there’s a slightly pink tint to his cheeks when he grumbles, “You know what I mean.”

“Mhm. We all do, sweetie,” the bat smirks, her hands resting on her hips as she turns to walk out the garage, “I’m gonna go keep Knuckles company.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll love that when he’s trying to balance out the chaos emerald’s energy,” Tails mutters sarcastically, Shadow quirking a brow at the fox with a slight hint of a smirk.

He’s kinda amusing when he wants to be.

The three left in the garage grow quiet outside of Tails working on the device, Shadow lingering over him to watch while Sonic sits on the end of the work table and watches as well. Though Sonic looks far more distracted by his mind than he is with his little brother’s tinkering.

Shadow wouldn’t cheat with a different Sonic, right?? And would Sonic hold it against him if he did??

Sonic’s gaze shifts from Tails’ handiwork to the alternate Shadow standing before him, eyeing him up and down in thought.

He knows he certainly would feel real guilty if he did anything with this Shadow— not that the guy would let him anyway. But even if he did, Sonic would feel hella bad about it. Disloyalty is disloyalty, whether they share bodies or not. This Shadow isn’t his Shadow. He’s different. In a ton of ways. And he hasn’t been through everything with Sonic like his own Shadow has.. 

His Shadow is special. He’s his. Sonic knew that from the very beginning when he met the guy all those years ago.

That connection, that bond. It was near instant. And when they went super together— well.. that just solidified it in Sonic’s mind and soul. They were made for each other. Cut from the same cloth. Two sides to the same coin.

And a coin don’t have three sides..

Well… it does if you count the very thin edge between the two sides, but he’s not gonna go there. This new Shadow isn’t his. And they other Sonic isn’t his Shadow’s. Plain and simple.

Sheesh, Sonic is getting a headache from how confusing all this sounds..

Shadow must’ve noticed his staring, his eyes snapping to Sonic’s only for Sonic to quickly blush and look away with a casual whistle. Shadow’s eyes roll, looking back at the fox as he works.

Outside, Knuckles is sitting in the grass again with the new chaos emerald, eyes shut with it resting only a foot in front of him. Rouge is sitting in a nearby limb, watching him curiously as her dangling her legs kick back and forth.

“You sure look cute when you’re bonding with your rocks,” she teases, head tilting down at him from her spot above. 

Knuckles sighs at this, his jaw clenching slightly as he looks up at her with narrowed eyes, “I’d look even cuter if I wasn’t being interrupted.”

“So you admit you’re cute?”

“I admit you’re a pain in my ass, bat.”

“Actually, we haven’t done that yet~,” she teases casually, Knuckles’ face turning red at her words.

“I—would you go away?! I’m trying to concentrate here!”

“Am I distracting you, Knuckie??” she coos, batting her lashes all innocent at him.

“You know what you’re doing,” he growls.

“That almost sounds suggestive,” she smirks, her brow quirking at him, “Does our big boy need someone to help him blow off some steam~?? All this has been stressful, hasn’t it..”

Knuckles’ blush deepens, growling as he pushes himself to stand to his feet and shake his fist up at her, “Oh, you can help me blow off some steam alright! Come down here and fight me, that’ll help me blow off some steam!”

“Calm down ya big oaf,” her eyes roll, her grin remaining as she floats herself down to the ground before him with a few flaps of her wings, “I’m just concerned for ya is all. Like you were for me back at GUN..”

She dips her head down, her hands interlocking behind her as she looks up at him through hooded eyes.

Knuckles swallows, eyes averting sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck.

“That?.. That was.. that wasn’t anything. I told you I was just concerned for the emerald—“

“Sure didn’t seem that way..,” she hums, approaching him to slowly walk a circle around him, “Seemed more like you were worried about little ole me.”

“You wish,” he snorts back, but his voice is a bit shaky as he turns to watch her circle him. Feeling like cornered prey in that moment.

“Hm..,” she sighs, walking her two fingers up his arm to then grab his bicep, squeezing it as she moves to press herself up against him. Chest to chest and noses inches apart. Knuckles’ eyes go huge, muzzle matching his quills at this point. He’s swallowed his voice, unable to do anything but stare at her all wide-eyed.

“I know~..”

She uses her free hand then to grab onto one of the thicker quills hanging over his shoulder and pull him right on in, her mouth smashing into his own and him making a quiet “eep” sound in response.

It doesn’t take long to fall into the same old pattern.

Rouge seduces him, Knuckles falls for it all too easily and happily. She pulls him further into the surrounding woods and out of sight, pressing him against a tree only to have him manhandle her and flip them around to press her into the tree instead. He grows bolder with every kiss they exchange. As if each of her affection and advances unlock a piece of him that’s exclusively put away just for her to drag out. She loves this about him. How quickly obsessed he becomes with her. How he worships her.

They end up messy haired and out of breath ten minutes later, Rouge adjusting her suit back over her chest properly— she may have allowed him some third base action— and clearing her throat as she runs her gloved fingers back through her fur to straighten it up.

“Well, that was fun,” she smirks, looking over to see Knuckles hiding those big, strong hands back under his large mits.

“Just be glad they didn’t come looking for us,” he mutters, but his lips are curled into a dopey little smile. She can’t help but give her own, her gaze falling downward to try and hide it as she adjusts one of her earrings.

“Would you have been ashamed??” she finds herself asking without really meaning to.

Knuckles look to her at that, blinking before offering a breathy chuckle, “To be caught in the act out in public?? Yeah. Probably.”

“No,” she smirks slightly, leaning back against the tree again as she looks towards him and tilts her head against it, “to be caught with me..”

Knuckles’ smile fades slightly at that, brows knitting a bit before he looks down with a small sigh.

“…You’re the one who said this was all just for fun.”

“Yeah, I did..,” she replies quietly, her eyes watching as he picks a few pieces of bark from his fur.

Knuckles is quiet a long moment, sighing eventually as he looks back to her, “Having second thoughts?”

She doesn’t speak, her aquamarine eyes lifting to find his amethyst ones staring right back..

“..No.”

“Alright then.”

He moves to walk back towards the house, Rouge keeping her eyes downward as he passes her. Once she doesn’t hear the crunch of his footsteps anymore, she sighs heavily and tilts her head back to thump it against the tree trunk she’s leaning against. A deep frown on her lips as she shuts her eyes and tries not to overthink. Tries not to let it all get to her.

She chose this life. 

She chose to work for GUN. To be a thief.

She’s not one of them..

She never will be.

(End Notes: It's real funny Alt. Sonic is suddenly so paranoid that Alt. Shadow might be rizzing up Main Sonic when Alt. Shadow hasn't even told Main Sonic that he's gay yet asdfghjkl)

[nineparlor69]

Oh, boy...

I made a Sonic creepypasta. Please, do not unfollow. I finally built the courage to do this, so bear with me for a bit. Okay? Okay.

Behold, Sonic Mortem.

Sonic Mortem, part one.

It was a pretty fucking boring night as usual. I was just browsing through some cheesy horror games on a site I was on, none of them really catching my eye. I don't know if it was how bad it looked, or if it was something else, but a certain .exe game managed to catch my eye. The title: Sonek EXE. I don't know what it was about this specific shit heap of a game, but it seemed more interesting than others. By the looks of the screenshots, it was probably another bloody jumpscare-fest. But what the hell. I was really bored and needed something to do. So, I decided to download it. After it finished installing, I opened the game and gave it a try. It of course had stolen sprites from the original Sonic.exe game, and the gameplay was no different. Well, until I got to the part where you were supposed to play as Knuckles. For some reason, I was still stuck with Tails. Maybe the dev was too lazy to put in the other characters. I brushed it off as simple slacking, and continued playing. As I kept trying to get Tails to run to the right, I realized that this had been going on for a while without even getting anywhere. He was just running, and running, and running. I took my finger off of the key, but Tails wasn't stopping. Maybe the key was stuck. I tried pressing it a few times to get it to work again, but it didn't fix anything. I watched as Tails ran before he finally came to the end of the level. Tails stopped moving entirely. All of a sudden, my disc drive opened. It had a disc in it, which was weird because I didn't put a disc in it. Maybe my little sister Abby was messing around in my room again? I thought that was the case until I got a good look at the disc. Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I didn't own that game. Not physically, at least. What the hell was a disc of it doing in my house? It was all scratched up, though, so it wasn't like I could play it. I decided to look back at my monitor to see if anything had changed, and I really regretted doing so. On my screen was Tails, face pressed up against the screen and breathing like he was running out of air in his lungs. He had this look in his eye… Like he was watching me, like he knew me. If it was a simple trick the developer of the game put in to scare a player like me, I would have just seen it as a petty scare and moved on. But I couldn't explain the disc it somehow put in my drive. I glanced at the disc of Sonic 2 in my hands, looking at the scratches. They looked like claw marks, similar to a wild animal. Like a fox… I looked back at the monitor after hearing a loud thud, and Tails was gone. Instead, I was greeted by the bloody blue bastard just leaning against one of the tree sprites. I decided to try pressing a few keys like the space bar or arrows, but they did nothing. All I heard were the in-game footsteps or jumping noise. Like there was something invisible. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I got the sinking feeling that someone, or something was watching me. I looked around my room, panicking as I felt like I couldn't recognize my surroundings. Vibrant colors and dim furniture blurred into one as I took in my familiar bedroom's layout for the last time. I looked back at the computer once more, seeing words in red on the screen. "I SEE YOU, ALEX. JOIN ME." And it all went to black. Now I wait. I wait for someone else to find me and set me free. Won't you come let me out, dear reader?

Sonic Mortem, Part two.

(Trigger Warning for gore!)

It was a pretty great day. Things were finally looking up for me. I got a sweet new house that had tons of room, and there was even a fully furnished gaming room.

I decided to unwind after all of the unpacking I did a few days prior by playing some video games from that old room, ready to play something really good. But, there wasn't much of anything. It was mostly some old retro games like Sonic or Metroid. Sure, they were good, but not quite what I was looking for.

I hopped on the old computer in the room, taking a look through all the old games on it. There were tons I really loved playing, and even a few others I've never played before.

I noticed a really odd game, a game called "Sonic Mortem". Probably an old STH2 ROM hack. I booted it up, met with a kick-ass title sequence. It didn't say who the devs were, though... The game started, and I realized that this was just another cheesy .exe game. But hey, maybe it wasn't going to be so bad.

Of course, I got through the classic Tails bit, getting that shithead fox killed and moving on to the real good stuff with Knuckles. But... Knuckles wasn't there. It was Tails. Again.

I kept playing, thinking that maybe the game would get better. I wasn't paying attention, and I soon realized that Tails was moving at break-neck speeds. I didn't see much from how fast Tails was going, but he seemed to have ran over and crushed something red. Oh, no. I went towards the right, shocked to see blood, bone, and brain splattered all across the floor. And there, laying in a big puddle of blood, was the headless corpse of Knuckles the Echidna. It looked so real, too...

A pop up appeared on screen, Tail's smirking mug plastered on it. I heard a voice. It wasn't demonic and low, though. It was synthetic and high. And what it said shook me.

"I'll be straightforward with you. I'm no god or spirit. I AM THE GAME. But I'm also the player. Do you know why, Tray? It's because I played YOU. And I'm going to keep toying with you for as long as you live. But of course you'd want to know why. Why I killed Knuckles. Why I'll never leave you be. Because it's FUN. And it was fun with that coward Alex, as well. I'll see you soon..."

the screen turned off, and the disc drive opened. Instead of a disc there, there was a newspaper. I picked it up, and immediately recognized it. It was the article about a boy about my age who went missing a while ago. Was this a threat?

I tried to go to bed, to forget what just happened, but it wouldn't let me sleep. It STILL won't let me sleep. I can hear something under the floorboards, scratching and scratching nonstop.

scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching

To be continued...

[tailschannel]

New zones, customization options, and Emerald Powers: a recap of the Sonic Superstars cover story

Issue 358 of the Gameinformer magazine was published this Tuesday, and its 12-page column on the upcoming Sonic Superstars revealed a new look into its development, and previewed a number of in-game features and zones.

Here's everything you need to know.

Major takeaways

New zone names: Sky Temple, Pinball Carnival, Lagoon City, Sand Sanctuary, Press Factory, and unannounced Golden Capital.

New Emerald Powers: Avatar, Bullet, Water, Ivy, Vision, Slow, Extra, Super.

Expect vast character customization options in the brand new Items shop.

Select stages in a Generations-style World Map.

New zones

Characters have the choice of going through a normal act or a character-specific act. For example, finishing Act 1 of Speed Jungle Zone as Sonic allows you to choose between either playing the second act of Speed Jungle or an "Act Sonic," an alternate act of Speed Jungle where you zoom as Sonic, running away from a terrorizing Fang the Sniper.

There is reportedly a World Map similar to Generations where you run in a 2D-plane to select a stage.

There is also an items shop where you can trade medals in for customizable parts. Apparent, you can customize your "head, body, arms, legs, accessories color, and something called prototype."

The third zone of the game is reportedly called Sky Temple Zone.

In the zone, there is a mini-game similar to the game "Breakout," where you turn into a ball and aim to break bricks.

The climax or the ending of the zone is a massive storm.

The fourth zone is called Pinball Carnival Zone.

As the name suggests, "a giant pinball arena and fast sequences with fireworks setting off."

The fifth zone is called Lagoon City, which is filled with submerged city ruins and water slides.

Act 1 is mostly above water whereas Act 2 has several underwater sequences.

Amy's character-specific act of Lagoon City is fruit-based, with several gimmicks like a fruit based robots and such.

Sand Sanctuary Zone is the sixth zone of Sonic Superstars and a seventh zone reportedly called Press Factory Zone.

Filenames in the newly released screenshots also disclosed the officially unannounced Golden Capital Zone.

Emerald Powers

Emerald Powers were inspired by the Wisps mechanic from Sonic Colors.

Every stage has a giant gold ring and a giant blue ring. Completing the giant gold rings rewards you a Chaos Emerald and the the blue ring rewards you a medal.

Both special stages have the same central gameplay mechanic: swing from floating bubbles toward the moving objective.

Emerald Powers can be used by using the right stick and operate on a cooldown, with each star post checkpoint replenishing your cooldown meter.

Avatar (Blue Emerald)

Allows you to create clones of yourself.

Useful for defeating any enemy that lies on you path.

Bullet (Red Emerald)

Allows you to direct and shoot your character at a specified direction.

"It's an extremely useful action; it's probably the most useful action for this kind of game," Iizuka said.

Water (Cyan Emerald)

Allows you to interact with any body of water, like swimming freely underwater or climbing up waterfalls.

Ivy (Green Emerald)

Allows you to grow upward vines.

Helpful in reaching higher areas.

Can also be utilized to help your teammates in co-op mode.

Vision (Purple Emerald)

Allows you to see hidden objects like platforms, rings, or items found in the level.

Slow (Yellow Emerald)

Allows the player to slow down everything on screen.

Helpful in tighter platforming sequences or boss encounters.

Extra (White Emerald)

Unlocks character-specific actions.

Sonic – Homing Attack: Unlocks the Homing Attack from the modern titles.

Tails – Tornado Spin: Unlocks a devastating tornado attack that can destroy enemies in front of you

Amy – Hammer Throw: Unlocks the ability for Amy to throw hammers instead of the usual Hammer Swing.

Knuckles – Punch: Unlocks the ability to punch for Knuckles.

Super Form (All 7 Emeralds)

Characters can turn into their Super form after collecting all 7 Chaos Emeralds.

Characters won't have any specific abilities outside of being invincible and becoming faster.

Emerald Powers can still be used in Super form.

Development

The concept of Superstars came from a Zoom call by Naoto Ohshima during the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Ohshima and Iizuka held producer roles for Sonic Superstars.

Despite hinting at a short development time than expected, Ohshima was impressed by Sonic Team and Iizuka.

"Though Arzest and Ohshima led development efforts on Sonic Superstars, Sonic Team collaborated frequently, with Iizuka and Ohshima constantly sharing ideas of and production duties."

There were talks between Iizuka and Whitehead's team following the release of Mania where concepts were considered, but the project fell through; however, Iizuka does states that he is "pleased that the next generation of Classic Sonic that we talked about with them has been achieved with Superstars."

Iizuka said that the programming for Superstars "is completely unique and done from scratch by Arzest."

(Story contributed by Spectre and Scarlett from the Tails' Channel Newsfeed)

[absurdcosmonaut]

Part two for the second request I submitted to @0vergrowngraveyard

Sonic was panicking, for some reason the emeralds decided that instead of being reasonable and staying put, they’d rather all circle around the fox kit. Sonic probably should have guessed something like this would happen, the emeralds were known for being notoriously unpredictable and Tails was a unique case being filled with chaos energy despite not being a user himself (even if he ignore the fact he was now a toddler)

However, Tails shouldn’t have been able to go super without Sonic… right? What changed?

The hedgehog stared in Shock at the spinning and giggling ball of fluff in mid air until the little fox grabbed his feet and flew up towards the high ceiling of the library. Sonic dashed in a streak of blue, jumping off a chair to try and reach the kid with his momentum. However, the fox was just out of reach and the hedgehog went careening into the red echidna beneath him, layering the guardian in thick quills.

“Watch where you’re jumping, hedgehog!,” he shouted grumpily. Ignoring knuckles’ comment, Sonic stood up and immediately ran back again, jumping off the wall this time to try and gain enough height on the fox.

He was within reaching distance once again before the fox took a look at him and gave a sly smirk, flying just high enough for him to miss and fall into a pile of books the fox had read over the past month or two. Sonic groaned and climbed out of the pile in a daze as he looked back up to the fox, whose nine tails swished back and forth in an almost taunting motion as he doubled over in the air laughing at his brother.

He looked back over at Amy and Cream for support only to find them snickering and video taping the whole thing. Sonic made an obscene gesture at them and Amy returned the favor. Some help they were…

Returning his gaze to the fox, he noticed he was closer now and a few feet away and above him, leaning towards him with his eyes closed and…

Was he…? HE WAS!! That little gremlin was sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry at him… oh it was on now. Sonic smirked, the fox wanted a challenge? Oh, he’d get one.

The blue speedster suddenly felt a hand come down on his shoulder, “while I don’t mind you chasing down the fox, could you maybe… take it outside so you don’t destroy the library?”, professor Pickle asked. Sonic was about to respond before there was a flash of light and Tails was gone. That… wasn’t good. Sonic hoped it was because he heard the professor and went outside to explore instead.

So, in a flash he was up the stairs and burst out onto the roof of the building over Spagoina. The fox kit stood at the edge of the building with a fire of blue energy surrounding his blue fur and nine tails. He looked up at Sonic, an innocent look in his eyes like he didn’t just taunt his elder brother.

This was his chance! He sped over to the kit, but just missed him when the fox once again floated above his reach. However, this time the hedgehog began plummeting nearly six stories down to the pavement on the street before he closed his eyes, bracing for impact when he noticed the landing never came.

He cracked an eye open, and noticed he was now super! How… did that happen? Usually it took a conscious effort with the emeralds for him to… wait, the emeralds! They gave him their power! But did that mean… he quickly looked back up at the fox only to see that he too was still in his super form… Oh… when he touched the kit for a brief second it must have been enough for the emeralds to give him his super form!

The kit shot away in a steak of white/blue down the streets, but this dance was already over. In a flash Sonic teleported the kit who crashed into his chest. Sonic gave a dramatic groan as the kit ran into him. “Well hey there you little twerp! You didn’t think you could outrun Sonic the hedgehog, did you?”, he said while ruffling the super-fox’s hair. Tails giggled at the motion.

Sonic frowned “are you… okay bud? Why did you run away like that?”, he asked. The kid got a guilty look and his face and rubbed his arm. Then, Sonic was stunned when he signed back “missed you, wanted to run again…” Sonic was so Shocked he was lost for words. “Oh bud… well, you can communicate now at least! Do you have your memories back too…?”, he asked in a hopeful manner. The blue kitsune out a finger to his chin before nodding repeatedly, “sure do! Though this body is… not very accommodating…”, he signed once more as he looked down frustratedly.

Sonic smiled, “Well bud, as fun as this is, I think it’s about time we head back down”, he said as he flew back towards the archive before landing. Tails pouted and crossed his arms, his nine tails wrapping him in a protective cocoon. “Ah, bud don’t be like that!”, Sonic begged. However, one tail moved away from the fox’s face revealing a tearful gaze of pleading. One look at that was all it took to defeat the hedgehog.

“Alright, fine… we’ll fly around the planet, but only a few times, deal?”, he asked. The fox jumped up off his brother with a gleeful squeal before hugging the hedgehog tight around the neck, purring softly. Sonic hugged back. He looked up, the kid in his arms, and they took off. The fox became lighter in his arms and eventually began flying beside the hedgehog, holding his hand as they flew around the planet’s different zones.

Okay… maybe brown could be his SECOND favorite color…

[milkytheholy1]

Sonic The Hedgehog Masterlist

Sonic The Hedgehog

Trapped - Sonic x GN Reader

"Hoohoohoooo! Try getting around that, you overgrown pineapple!" A small explosion erupted in the town square, shaking the small table and wobbling your burger. Looking back in fear you could make out a moustachioed man in the smoke, floating in some sort of device. His glare was aimed at a blue hedgehog, the smoke surrounded him; he appeared unharmed.

Part 2

Shadow The Hedgehog

Training - Shadow x Female Reader

You'd been at GUN for a few weeks now. Your missions were going well, you'd made plenty of new friends and enemies and you've learned countless new moves from your new partners. Currently, those new partners are beating your ass at a basic training session, but that is why they are the professionals.

Mission report - Shadow x GN Reader

"Mission report" you simply replied, Shadow stepped out of well the shadows his arms crossed over his broadened chest "For last weeks mission? Shouldn't you have finished that by now?". You slumped in your chair a sigh escaping your lips, team dark watching you intensely "It's just taking longer than expected". Rouge glanced at your desk observing all the junk food wrappers and books "Longer than expected huh?" she questioned raising her eyebrow; you refused to answer.

Protector - Shadow x GN Reader

"You have to keep moving, unless you want to get caught?" His snide comment sent shivers down your spine. With a growl, you picked up the pace, with the ebony hedgehog following closely behind you. This had all been an exercise, the grand training mission of training missions. 

The infection - Shadow x GN Reader

Just as you were snooping around the whole facility went dark, shutting off the computer with it. You growled, smashing a fist against the monitor "Damn you! Damn you to hell!" you cursed out. A wavering static flooded your hearing before a voice called out to you, "(Y/N), we're picking up some energy readings coming your way. Looks like you've been spotted, sweetheart." Rouge mused.

Warming up to you - Shadow x GN Reader

Okay, so I got a few responses saying to keep it as parts instead of one big thing, and surprise I've decided to turn this into a small, small series. So expect a few more chapters to come out soon. Hope you enjoy!

Part 2

Part 3

Gone - Shadow x Female Reader

Blood dribbled from your lips, you've probably swallowed a few teeth during this fight too. Your knuckles were grazed and bleeding, ankles sore and muscles aching. It wasn't meant to end like this and yet you knew deep down in your heart, that this was the only outcome.

Before you - Shadow x GN Reader

With what's going on in the world I just wanted to quickly write something to help make people feel less stressed out and scared, even if that feeling lasts for just a second. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I just wrote this very quickly.

Fitness Regime - Shadow x Female Reader

Reader who likes to flirt with him a lot? 

Name Calling - Shadow x Female Reader

I've been eating up all the Shadow content lately and it all came together into this fic.

Shadow Generations - Shadow x GN Reader

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[hugsandchaos]

Breakfast, Bitches

Summary: The story where Modern!Shadow makes Boom!Team Sonic breakfast after a sleepover. You can say it’s because he cares about them, but he says it’s because Meh Burger is very unhealthy and he’s not letting them eat it for breakfast. Because he cares about them.

Quick Notes: This is my first time writing Sonic Boom after over a year ago, which I think I’d like to leave in the past like something I can look back on and say “Oh I was still practicing back then, don’t take it seriously���. I think I did pretty good, but tell me if you think it needs more comedy or shenanigans, I just didn’t think many were necessary since it’s early morning. This is based off @zumbieve‘s Isekai’d Shadow AU, which I thought was really cool!

Word Count: 2,322

Something smelled good.

That was the first thing Sonic noticed when he woke up a few minutes ago. Something smelled good, really good. Good enough to pull him from sleep and motivate him to sit up. In doing so, he was confused not to feel the same familiar movement of his hammock. Instead he felt a soft blanket separating him from the floor. A quick look out the window and Sonic realized how early it was, and that he was in Tails’ living room.

The sun was still barely rising. The sky was a shade of blue with just enough light to barely make out the small fox sleeping nearby. Sonic smiled a little and yawned. For a moment, he considered going back to sleep. He could hear the others snoring quietly nearby. No, he had to investigate. As comfortable as the moment and makeshift bed was, he wanted to figure out what smelled so good. The blue hedgehog began standing up. He moved slowly as to not disturb anyone, and because he was still a little tired. Once he was up, he rubbed his eyes and looked at his feet. He stepped carefully over Tails, the maneuvered around Knuckles, who was asleep on the hanging couch with his legs hanging off? Sonic knew better now than to question, but… Why?

He turned to the direction the smell was coming from. It was coming from his kitchen, and as he paid more attention, he also heard the faint sound of sizzling and someone humming a tune. Sonic’s heart picked up and he was suddenly much more awake. He moved as silently as he could to feel for the light switch. Once he found it, he flipped it on to see who it was. The sudden glare of the light made him squint, but his eyes adapted pretty quickly.

“Shadow?!” Sonic exclaimed. Don’t worry, not the edge lord one. The short one.

Shadow briefly turned to him, a spatula in his hand while the other held the pan steady.”Good morning to you, too.” He said half sarcastically. He turned his attention back to the pan. Sonic, confused and curious, walked over to see what it was he was doing. Since this Shadow was shorter, he could look over his shoulder. Three pancakes were on the pan, placed far enough apart not to touch and have some space between them. Sonic realized that the smell that woke him up was Shadow cooking. He looked at the dark hedgehog with slight confusion.

Since meeting him, this different version of Shadow has been… an experience. He was distrusting of them at first, like they were of him, but both sides learned to trust each other. They even gave this Shadow a nickname incase of the awkward scenario in which the two Shadows meet; Shads. Original, right? Despite their original thoughts, this Shadow was actually a great addition to the group, and an excellent friend. In his own way, more often than not.

He’d been invited to the sleepover, and even though he didn’t talk much, his presence proved to make that evening a little more interesting. Sonic remembered that the best part was how he reacted when they found out how often they ate Meh Burger after ordering some last night. He looked disturbed and said that wasn’t healthy to eat that kind of food so often, and Knuckles joked that Meh Burger practically wasn’t food at all. Shadow didn’t understand it was a joke at first, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. Meh Burger really lived up to its name.

Shadow nudged the spatula under one of the pancakes and flipped it.”Check the plate over there.” He said, pointing to his left.”I made enough for almost everyone to have three,” Shadow swiftly turned around and glared at Sonic, “only three,” He turned back to the flip the second pancake, “and this last batch is almost done. Go ahead and get some, but keep the others in mind. They’re not awake yet.” He said. Sonic looked in the direction the dark hedgehog was pointing. As Shadow said, there was a plate of pancakes on the counter.

Sonic walked over to them and took a deep breath in through his nose.”Oh, that smells amazing.” He said. He couldn’t help but smile a little. He noticed the bowl of scrambled eggs and plate of bacon right of the pancakes.”You made eggs and bacon too?” Sonic asked, genuinely surprised. There seemed to be enough for everyone. When he turned around, Shadow had flipped the third pancake.

”Yes. It took me more time than I’d have liked since I had to leave to buy the ingredients, cook the bacon, pancakes, eggs, and then come back with them. I forgot to cook the last three pancakes, so I’m doing that now.” He said. He glanced outside, and so did Sonic. Streaks of pink broke through the light blue, a sign that the sun was finally close to rising above the horizon.”It was still dark when I started. Now that I’m almost done cooking, all there is to do is clean up.” Shadow added.

Sonic looked around the kitchen incase he missed anything when he first turned the light on, but he couldn’t find whatever mess Shadow was referring to.“I don’t see any mess.” He said.

“The dishes I used.” Shadow responded.

Sonic scanned the three options again. How long did it take for him to make it? And why?“Why, though?” Sonic asked as he turned around. Shadow was putting the three pancakes onto a plate and paused to give him a confused look. Immediately, Sonic raised both hands as if in surrender.“Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate it! But I don’t understand why.” He said.

Shadow came closer with the plate holding the last three pancakes. Sonic reached out to grab one, but Shadow gave him a stern look that made him laugh nervously and put both hands behind his back. Shadow stepped beside him and held the plate in his hands at an angle to let the pancakes slide perfectly onto the plate with the rest.“I used them, so I clean them.” Shadow replied. He turned around and grabbed the pan and spatula to start washing them in the sink, which looked cleaner than last Sonic remembered.

“No, I mean the food.” Sonic elaborated.

Shadow grabbed a nearby sponge and started with the plate.“I woke up pretty early and couldn’t fall back asleep. I got bored, so I looked at the time and decided it would be a good time to start breakfast. Also, because of habit.” He replied. He spent a moment scrubbing it, then grabbed a nearby washcloth to dry it. Sonic turned back to the pancakes. Surely one bite wouldn’t hurt. He picked one up and took a bite out of it.

For a second, he could practically feel a sparkle in his eyes. It tasted a little like heaven, with a bit of strawberry. He quickly ate the food in his mouth.”Oh my gosh, this is great!” He exclaimed, then proceeded to try to stuff the rest of it into his mouth. He made a few admittedly gross sounds that he knew made Shadow cringe. Sonic heard a small yawn and turned around to see Tails leaning against the counter for support, still sleepy.

“What’s great? And why are the lights on?” He asked tiredly. He rubbed his eyes as he began walking over to Sonic.

“Shadow made these pancakes.” Sonic replied. He took one from the plate and handed it to Tails.

He took a small bite and smiled.“These are pretty good!” He said, sounding a little less tired. He turned to look at Shadow, who was standing his toes to reach the higher cabinets Tails kept his plates in. Tails himself needed a stepping stool or to hover to reach them, but both brothers still found it funny that Shadow had to stretch a little. Both brothers tried to keep their laughter under control.”Thanks, Shadow!” Tails said. He was doing a better job at keeping his laughter down than Sonic.

Shadow turned around.“You’re welcome. Also, what’s so funny?” He asked.

Sonic waved a hand.“Nothing, nothing.” He said, trying and failing to get his laughter under control.”Just a small thing we remembered.” He said. Tails snickered at the joke. Shadow gave them a pretty disappointed look and turned back to start washing the pan and spatula.“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you have a short temper.” Sonic said.

“It’s morning, Sonic. Everyone has a short temper in the morning.” Shadow said.

Tails’ snickering was cut off with a yawn and he leaned against Sonic again. Sonic gave him a side hug and Tails continued eating his pancake with slow bites. It was a habit or something between them to have at least one hug in the mornings, and more often than not, Tails would almost fall back asleep leaning against his big brother.“I bet you especially?” Sonic teased.

Shadow chuckled softly at the joke.“Well, you’re not wrong.” He said. Sonic paused. Shadow chuckled. He just chuckled. Holy crap, that chuckle was somehow so nice to hear! Sonic wanted to hear it again, but it felt like his mind was running all over the place after hearing that. How was he this excited over hearing that laugh?”Anyways, I’m going to be heading out pretty soon.” Shadow said, interrupting Sonic’s thoughts.

“Wha — Already? But the others aren’t up yet! And you haven’t eaten breakfast!” Sonic said. He was suddenly determined to get Shadow to stay just a little longer.

Shadow put the pan and spatula away. He turned to them looking a little less grumpy and a little more confused.”I already ate breakfast, and I was under the assumption that you’d want me to leave after.” He said. Sonic sprinted to stand next to him, and Tails almost fell over, but caught himself against the counter. Sonic reached a high cabinet and opened it to grab a plate. He was definitely getting his second and third pancakes, and some bacon. And eggs, with ketchup, obviously.

“No way, man! Last night was cool, and today we’re going on a boring hike through the forest!” He said with an odd amount of enthusiasm. He grabbed a second plate and handed it to Tails when he walked back to the counter with the food.

Tails put his unfinished pancake on his plate and went to get some more food for himself.“Wanna come with us?” He asked hopefully. If Sonic wasn’t already smiling at the promise of actually good food, he’d be smiling at how Tails was acting.

Out of the whole group, Tails was the most nervous around Shadow. The first Shadow was a jerk to all of them, Tails especially for some reason. Hearing about that “fox hunting” comment made Sonic want to do things he’d probably end up arrested for. Plus, he’s still a kid, so it was no wonder he didn’t want to be near him at all in the beginning.

Last night changed that a bit, though. With some more time to talk, the group had learned a couple things about Short Shadow’s world. When Shadow explained what a motorcycle was, Tails wanted to hear more, and Shadow seemed almost happy to share information about them, including his own. Sonic had no clue what they were saying after five minutes and honestly found it a little boring, but Tails seemed so happy listening to Shadow talk about the different engines and whatnot, so who was he to interrupt?

Sonic probably wouldn’t say it out loud, maybe, but he was honestly proud of Tails seeing him start to trust this second Shadow.

Shadow hummed.“Well, I don’t have much else to do, so exploring the island a bit more might be interesting.” He said.

“Turn the light off!” Amy groaned. The three of them looked over to where she was sleeping on the couch. She was trying to cover her head with the blanket to block out the light. Sonic glanced outside. The sky was now a mixture of pink, blue, and some yellow.”Wait, what’s that smell? Did someone make breakfast?” Amy asked. She sat up and lifted a hand to cover her mouth when she yawned.

Sonic got his food and some silverware. He walked over to the couch and sat down to eat.“Yep, and get this; Shadow made it. You’ve gotta try it, it’s really good.” He said. He used his fork to pick up some scrambled eggs covered in ketchup and ate them. It could just be the pretty much daily Meh Burger after so long, but he thought this food was amazing.

“Shadow made breakfast?” Knuckles asked. Apparently, he was awake, too. Still hanging off the other couch a little, but awake. He fell to the floor with a thud when he tried to get up.

Amy rubbed her eyes and smiled. She turned around to look at Shadow.”That’s really nice of you, Shadow. It smells amazing. Thank you.” She said. She got up off the couch to get some breakfast herself. Sonic heard another yawn from the opposite side of him and looked over at the somehow still intact blanket fort Sticks made the night before. Soon, Sticks emerged, her fur looking a little like a small mane with it all out of the ropes she used to tie it.

Shadow gave a small scoff in the kitchen.”It’s normal breakfast food. If you consider this amazing, then you’re eating more unhealthy garbage than I thought.” He said.

Sticks pointed at him.”Hey, don’t insult garbage like that!” She said. Sonic could see the eye roll from Shadow, and he was focused on eating. Whatever was said next was lost from Sonic’s ears. Forget Meh Burger, this food was even better than their milkshakes! Could Shadow make better milkshakes? Or better chili dogs? That, Sonic had to find out. Maybe he’d ask during lunch!