#the fact that Shadow is sitting next to Sonic... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tenebraevesper · 4 months ago

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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 61: What I'm Here For

''I don't care what you're thinking as you turn to me. 'Cause what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free (set me free). I could fight the feeling to resist it over time. But when it's just too much to take, you sneak up from behind. Is it me, you say, you're looking for? Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for)!''

– What I'm Made Of (Shadow Remix) by Sonic Heroes (Zarkator Cover, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Theme of Neo Metal Sonic)

xXxXxXx

Sonic took a deep breath, smiling contently as he stretched on the tree branch he was lying on and feeling the warm rays of the sun warming his body in patches as the tree crown partially obscured the light. He was in Heizeru Park, him and his friends having returned home a couple of days ago, and he had to admit that, while their little adventure in the Surya Empire was quite exciting, he was genuinely happy to be back in Starpoint Area, and more importantly, on solid land. Despite the fatigue he felt due to the jet lag, he immediately ran off the moment they landed at the airport near Neos City, rushing into freedom. It appeared that none of his teammates minded it, as they were also tired and happy to be back home, and when Sonic crashed on the couch again, he woke up the next day in his bedroom, realizing Lucas carried him over when he was completely knocked out.

The next day, they met up with Omega, who bitterly recounted how nothing had happened in the past few days and got really annoyed when he talked about Metal Sonic rejecting a battle with him. Sonic had to admit that it was a bit strange to see the normally headstrong robot go through such a range of emotions, but considering how he was disappointed that he couldn't get to destroy any Eggman robots – even more when Silver innocently mentioned they came across robots during their adventure – it wasn't really surprising. At least Touka managed to comfort him by patting him on the back in a compassionate manner and promising they'll call him immediately if Eggman decided to attack them. Her promise did manage to cheer him up.

Nevertheless, it appeared that Eggman, or Metal Sonic and Ferra for that matter, have taken note of Team Neos' return, as no attack had happened, which was fine with the rest of the team. They just wanted to have a day off when they could relax. Sonic had the same mindset, except the time he needed to relax was much shorter, so he bounced back almost immediately and was ready for another adventure. However, it appeared that none of his friends could match his energy, let alone were ready to get back into action and preferred to just have a quiet day.

Well, save for one.

''I wonder why Metal Sonic was so insistent on fighting me,'' Sonic said, seemingly talking to no one.

''I could think of a few reasons, but considering how Metal Sonic views you, none of them are particularly flattering,'' Shadow responded in a calm and matter-of-fact, but slightly deadpan tone, causing Sonic to snort in amusement, well aware what he meant. He glanced below, taking note of Shadow sitting below the branch Sonic was lying on, and reading a novel he had downloaded on his AR Visor while Sonic was taking a nap. Sonic knew that, to anyone alse, Shadow sounded rather contemptous, if not outright rude, but to him, this was just another snarky remark typical for his rival.

After all, they were still navigating through their new dynamic, trying to figure out how to interact with each other. They actually had one of their usual battles just earlier, albeit with an added condition. It wasn't really a rule they had set up, but more of a silent agreement that happened naturally when during the battle, one of them would win by pinning the other down and then promptly kiss the loser. The first time it happened, both were caught a little off guard, as they were still feeling a strong surge of adrenaline, as well as affection for each other, but one glance was enough for them to agree that this was something they both wanted, as it made things even more exciting for both.

That, and Sonic loved seeing the normally guarded and careful Shadow acting more on impulse.

Sonic hummed for a moment, reminding himself that being openly affectionate, especially in a romantic sense, was still new to both of them, and they exploring the situation within a space they were comfortable with. He had to admit that it also felt a little ironic, maybe even comical, that even though they knew exactly how they felt about each other, they would at times act as if they had no clue why they had the sudden urge to just kiss. This would lead to them trying to suppress whatever they felt in the moment and act like nothing happened. It couldn't be helped, but that didn't prevent the loser of the battle from feeling annoyed, especially when he was in mood for some affection while his partner was flustered by the whole thing.

Rest assured, Sonic was already silently plotting his revenge on Shadow denying him that affection, especially after seeing his rival staring at him with a smug grin after pinning him down on the ground.

''Well, my assumption is that Metal just wants to have another go at proving himself to be the real Sonic,'' Sonic replied, crossing his arms behind his back and leaning against the tree. ''That won't work, because we all know there is only one Sonic in existence.''

''I agree. After all, one Faker is already enough for me to deal with,'' Shadow replied in a deadpan tone, but the corners of his lips curved slightly upwards. Sonic rose an eyebrow, Shadow's comment leaving him wondering. Then, he smirked.

''Right, which is why you chose me as your boyfriend,'' Sonic said in a snarky tone, leaping off the branch and leaning against the tree, his arms folded as he gave Shadow a smug look. ''After all, there is no one who could replicate my unique and irresistible charm and handsome looks.''

Shadow rolled his eyes, trying to morph the earlier smirk into a frown. He was well aware where this was going as he closed the holographic screen and stood up, facing Sonic. He had to admit that he was getting a little bored and Sonic was clearly up for another challenge, so he was fine with engaging in some pre-battle banter.

''Don't get too arrogant, Hedgehog, else-''

Before Shadow could even finish his sentence, he was caught off guard by Sonic as the cupped his muzzle and pulled him into a warm and longing kiss. He could feel fluttering in his chest, which turned into a flaring sensation when Shadow returned the kiss, even pulling him closer by wrapping his arm around Sonic's waist. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle softly when he saw Shadow's expression after they broke off the kiss. His tan muzzle was tinted red, and it was clear that he was flustered by this, but at the same time, he managed to keep this serious and unamused look on his expression, growing more and more irritated when Sonic laughed louder and louder.

''Are you serious?!'' Shadow suddenly shouted at him angrily, but that didn't stop Sonic's heartful laughter. The azure hedgehog was well aware that Shadow was just angry because he was caught off guard like this. Shadow then scoffed, folding his arms, trying to regain his composture. Sonic's laughter finally died down and he grinned.

''Not so smug now, are we?'' Sonic replied, with Shadow understanding why Sonic did this, and sighed in defeat.

''I suppose you're satisfied now,'' Shadow responded. Sonic gave him a simple and innocent smile.

''You know, I'm not the only charming and irresistible and handsome hedgehog here, so I just had to find a way to make that clear,'' Sonic told him in a sincere tone.

He could see Shadow's eyes widen slightly, and a tint of red spread across his tan muzzle once again, his expression softening and a shy smile forming on his lips. Sonic considered this to be a victory, feeling quite proud of himself to be one of the handful people capable of making Shadow smile sincerely. He also had to admit that he absolutely adored the way Shadow looked at him, well aware that those kinds of gazes were reserved only for him and he cherished them dearly.

''You are worth all of the trouble, regardless of how difficult things get,'' Shadow told him.

Sonic beamed at him, a sense of joy swelling in his chest and he leaned closer, the familiar scent of lavender filling the air as he intertwined his fingers with Shadow's… only for their ears to twitch when they heard people cry for help, causing both of them to snap out of their current state.

''I guess this is what you call 'impeccable timing','' Sonic said in a slightly dry tone, the sense of joy he felt earlier vanishing instantly. However, he quickly bounced back to his usual chipper mood, and winked at Shadow. ''Wanna bet that Eggman is causing trouble again?''

''That is the most logical answer in this situation,'' Shadow replied, with the two immediately rushing towards where they heard the cries for help.

They ended up on the other side of Heizeru Park, where they saw people running away from Egg Pawns. Sonic smirked, quickly rushing towards them and crushing an Egg Pawn with his spin attack, while Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at another. Sonic then followed his attack by a spin-dashing right into the Egg Pawn that sneaked up behind Shadow.

''Is it just me, or is trashing those Badniks getting a bit too easy?'' Sonic said, ignorant to the fact that an Egg Pawn was creeping up on him. However, Shadow did, spin-dashing into the Egg Pawn and ripping the cords out for good measure. Shadow frowned, staring back at Sonic.

''You were saying?'' Shadow asked in a deadpan tone. Sonic just gave him a sheepish look, with the two quickly finishing off the rest of the Egg Pawns. They then looked around, with this area of the park being mostly empty due to everyone running off the moment they saw the Badniks, leaving both of them with an eerie feeling.

''Say, isn't this Eggman's cue to appear and throw an even bigger robot at us?'' Sonic asked, staring at the remnants of the Egg Pawns.

''I agree. The Doctor would've done much more than this if he actually wanted to do some damage,'' Shadow replied. Sonic hummed in thought.

''Maybe this was supposed to be our 'Welcome Home Committe','' Sonic suggested, grinning, while Shadow rose an eyebrow as the azure hedgehog crossed his arms behind his head. ''From what we know about Omega's encounter with Metal Sonic and Ferra, the two probably told Eggman that we were gone, and now he's aware that we're back.''

''If that's the Doctor's idea of welcoming us back, then we should remain alert,'' Shadow replied, folding his arms across his chest, his expression now serious. Sonic shrugged.

''Well, it's Eggman. I don't think he'll do something without broadcasting it all over city, so we will be alerted one way or another.'' Sonic gave Shadow a carefree look.

''This wasn't what I… Never mind,'' Shadow sighed, shaking his head and realizing that he shouldn't argue with Sonic over this, as he knew better, and decided to act instead. ''Do you want to sweep the city for any Badnik activity?''

Sonic nodded confidently. ''Of course I want to. If we come across any, we'll keep score of who destroys more.''

With that said, both rushed off, not even noticing Ferra gazing at them from a distance.

xXx

''Thank you for helping us out,'' Vector said as he, Espio and Charmy entered the Taylor Workshop, with Vector carrying a bag.

''No problem,'' Tails replied, welcoming them inside the workshop. ''You know that you can always ask us for help.''

''Right, so what we can do for you? You told us that you have been investigating something,'' Warren said.

''Yeah,'' Vector replied, him and Espio sitting down on the couch, while Charmy decided to buzz around, looking at Tails' and Warren's inventions. ''We had to investigate several disappearances of ARNavs, which led us to some kind of underground fighting ring.''

''What?!'' Tails and Warren were stunned by this revelation.

''The kidnapped ARNavs have been put into a battle against robots which were built to look more like a chimera than anything we have seen,'' Espio added in clarification. Vector then patted the bag he had brought along.

''We managed to scrap the robots, and when we asked the guy where he even got the robots, he told us he was supplied by someone named Mr. Grip. We looked into him, but-'' Vector was suddenly cut off by Charmy who flew right between him and Tails and Warren.

''He doesn't exist! It's a fake name!'' Charmy said. ''That's why we brought all the robot parts to you!''

''I see. You want us to identify where those robot parts came from,'' Tails said.

''If you can. The trail on the supplier went cold, so this is all that we have,'' Vector replied, with Tails pointing to the nearby work table.

''Put it over there,'' he said, reaching for the bag after Vector put it on the table, him and Warren examining each piece carefully. Both of them furrowed a brow after placing all the parts on the table and sorting them out, with the detectives observing the two.

''Have you found something?'' Espio asked curiously.

''Well, we would need a bit more time, but these parts look really familiar,'' Warren replied, picking up a piece, then pointed at a CPU. ''This is actually a CPU used by Eggman for his Badniks. I've seen this type in the Egg Pawns.''

''So, Eggman is Mr. Grip?'' Charmy asked, completely shocked by this reveal.

''I have my doubts about this,'' Vector suddenly said. ''Why would Eggman supply some random criminal with his own technology? That doesn't sound like him.''

''I agree, especially when you consider that these parts belonged to the Buddy Bots the Tamago Corporation had created a while ago,'' Tails said, drawing everyone's attention. He then pointed at one pile. ''In fact, a lot of these parts seem to have damage that was fixed hastily.'' He frowned. ''It's pretty shoddy work.''

''In other words, those parts aren't new?'' Espio asked, with Tails shaking his head. Vector hummed in thought.

''In conclusion, Eggman isn't supplying any of his own tech to outsiders, but instead, someone is stealing scrapped Badnik parts and selling them to others. Not only that, but they also made the effort to steal Tamago Corporation tech as well,'' Vector said.

''Didn't the Tamago Corporation clean up and recalled all of the Buddy Bots?'' Espio asked.

''They did, but it is possible that they missed some of them. The Buddy Bots were scattered all over Neos City,'' Vector pointed out.

''Vector is right,'' Tails said, adding, ''And that's not even counting the Buddy Bots we personally destroyed. Anyone could've picked them up and taken them away.''

''I suppose we would go and ask at the Tamago Corporation to see whether they have any records of stolen Buddy Bots,'' Espio suggested.

''That sounds like a good plan!'' Charmy chimed in.

''There is something that bothers me,'' Vector suddenly said, surprising everyone. ''Why would they just steal robots from Eggman and the Tamago Corporation? I assume there are other companies who manufucture robots.''

''Maybe it's because it's easy to steal from Eggman, since he always leaves his Badniks lying around?'' Charmy suggested.

''I think there is another reason for why they would specifically steal those from Eggman and the Tamago Corporation,'' Warren said, drawing their attention. ''Both of them are known to produce robots of the highest quality. The Tamago Corporation has, in fact, a monopoly on this, both hardware and software that is being used by almost everyone. As for Eggman, we already know that, while we are more than able to trash his robots, if someone else confronted them, they would have a lot of difficulty.'' He then turned to the patched remains of the Badnik. ''Even if the repairs were shoddy, you can tell that the robot was made by someone who values good quality and in better hands, it would've been restored to its original form.'' Warren then noticed the moment of silence, realizing everyone as staring at him and gave the group a confused look. ''What's wrong?''

''You sounded like you're praising Eggman for his work,'' Vector pointed out. Warren gave them a sheepish look.

''Well, he may be our enemy, but that doesn't mean that I cannot appreciate his work in the robotics industry,'' Warren replied, scratching the back of his head. ''My grandfather had told me that he had rivals in his field of work, and while some didn't hide their own jealousy of his work, he still would praise them for their accomplishments.'' His expression then changed to a confident one, and he fist-pumped. ''After all, an engineer should take pride in their creations and learn from and appreciate the creations of others. The only reason society has advanced so far is because we built on the creations of our predecessors.''

He then paused, glancing around and noticing the stunned look everyone gave him, only to feel a little embarrassed, realizing he got carried away by his speech. Tails then gave him a wide smile.

''I agree,'' he said, with Warren just smiling in response.

xXx

Silver was sitting on a bench at the botanical garden, reading the message he had gotten from Blaze, feeling quite happy about it, his heart warm. They had agreed to remain in contact and message regularly about anything that happened in their lives, especially since both Blaze and Sana wanted to get more involved, even if they lived in a different country and had their own duties to attend to.

''Anything new?'' Makoto asked, approaching Silver.

''Blaze said that they found another AR Field and plan on investigating it. She believes it might be another Sol Emerald,'' Silver replied.

''Sounds to me like they're going to have another adventure,'' Makoto said, humming in thought. ''I wonder why the Sol Emeralds actually remained in comparison to the Chaos Emeralds.''

''I don't know, and neither does Blaze, but she told me that she feels as if she'd find the answer if she gathers all of them,'' Silver replied, closing the holographic screen and getting on his feet. He gave Makoto a confident look. ''While she is busy with the Sol Emeralds, I will keep my part of the promise and protect the future from any kind of danger.''

Makoto was about to respond, when suddenly, both of them heard people shouting. They quickly ran towards the source of the noise, only to spot Egg Pawns marching towards the main building. Upon seeing this, Silver gave Makoto an anxious look. ''I hope I didn't just jinx us.''

''Don't worry. At this point, we should just get used to Dr. Eggman attacking us for whatever reason,'' Makoto assured them. Silver nodded, with both rushing towards the Egg Pawns, which suddenly found themselves lifted and crushed by a wave of cyan energy. It was a small group, but Makoto did scan around for any stragglers, only to spot Ferra standing nearby, staring at them. He had no idea why, but he felt a sudden chill due to just how intense her gaze was. Despite being well aware that Metal Sonic was also probably nearby, he still decided to confront her.

''Ferra, why are you attacking us?'' Makoto asked, stepping towards her. Ferra seemingly ignored the question, as well as the trashed Egg Pawns, and walked up to them instead, with Makoto and Silver giving her a suspicious look.

''It was rude of you and your friends to leave without telling me anything,'' Ferra told him, folding her arms as she stood before the two. Makoto and Silver gave her confused looks.

''No offense, but why should we tell you anything about where we're going?'' Makoto asked. Ferra tilted her head.

''It would be a courtesy, but I suppose this is something I should've expected from Sonic,'' Ferra said, turning to Silver and suddenly grabbing his arm, leaving both Makoto and Silver stunned. She smirked. ''Nevertheless, I can still take what I want with no resistance.''

''Let go!'' Silver shouted, ripping his arm out of Ferra's grip. He felt chills flowing down his spine when he saw her ominous gaze. She looked as if she had just accomplished something. Ferra then turned on her heel and walked away.

''Hey, where are you going?'' Makoto shouted after her, but she ignored the two. Makoto turned to Silver, who placed his hand on his other arm, suddenly feeling cold. ''Silver, are you okay?''

''I-I don't know. This was really weird,'' Silver replied, his voice a mix of shock and confusion. He felt as if someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.

xXx

''This place definitely doesn't look like a water deity rampaged through it… Oh, hey, Big!'' Minami lifted her hand to wave at the purple cat and his frog companion, who was sitting on the bank of Cosmo River, fishing as usual. Big waved back at Minami and Amy, who were accompanied by Cream and Cheese, with Cream holding a small flower crown.

The four had decided to visit the area that had been destroyed by Perfect Chaos, as per Cream's request. She had talked about how it was unfair that Gamma was destroyed by Perfect Chaos and how she wanted to thank him properly for the sacrifice, so she made a flower crown and asked Amy and Minami to accompany her and Cheese to the area. The group noted how, while the streets have been cleaned from the debris, there were still many destroyed buildings and it would take a while before they could complete any repairs. The group then joined Big and Froggy at the riverbank, staring into the water.

''Even though I know that this wasn't where Mr. Gamma sacrificed himself, I still think it is the best place to do this,'' Cream said, with her friends nodding in acknowledgement. She then turned towards the river, closing her eyes. ''I know that you were a robot created by Dr. Eggman and that you were supposed to be very mean to us. However, you showed your kind side, and I will always be thankful for your help. I hope you'll rest easy.'' She then threw the flower crown into the water, then took a deep breath and turned to Cheese, Amy and Minami. ''I'm done now.''

''Chao, chao?'' Cheese flew up to Cream, giving the rabbit a worried look.

''Don't worry Cheese, I'm fine,'' Cream said, clapsing her hands. ''I actually feel a little better now.''

''You know, I'm sure that Gamma would've appreciated your speech and the flower crown,'' Amy told her. Cream smiled in response, only to sniffle and wipe her eyes, blinking away the signs of tears. She then felt Amy patting her head, comforting her.

''If you want, we could go and…'' Before Minami could even finish her sentence, they were met by a sudden blast of energy. Even Big got on his feet, brandishing the fishing pole as if it was some kind of weapon. Fortunately, the blast didn't hit anyone, but it drew their attention, with the group realizing that Egg Pawns were walking towards them. Minami groaned in annoyance. ''You've got to be kidding me!''

xXx

Sonic was standing on top of a street light pole, keeping himself balanced surprisingly easily and looking around for any sign of trouble. However, all he saw was the usual hustle and bustle of the streets in Sentoraru. Feeling slightly disappointed, he climbed down the pole and just shrugged when Shadow turned to him. ''I didn't see anything.''

''That still doesn't mean that the Doctor isn't up to something,'' Shadow told him in a matter-of-fact tone. ''It doesn't make sense for him to just send his Badniks after us without any given reason.''

''I know…'' Sonic muttered, only to snort in amusement. ''This kinda feels like we're trying to solve a puzzle.''

''I suppose you could call it that,'' Shadow replied. He then beckoned Sonic to follow him, as they still had a lot of searching to do. They had just gone through one part of Sentoraru, and Neos City was huge, so it would take some time until they came across anything.

That is also why he felt quite suspicious when they came across Ferra after taking a shortcut through a narrow side alley. Sonic, on the other hand, was more surprised than suspicious.

''Oh, hey, Ferra!'' he said in a chipper tone. Even though the teenage girl was technically an enemy, he didn't feel any hostility towards her and was fine with greeting her in a casual manner. Shadow, however, remained on guard, his quills bristling as he felt that there was something off, especially when he saw the look Ferra gave them… or rather, the look she gave Sonic. Even if it wasn't directed towards him, Shadow could feel a chill creeping up his spine and turned to Sonic, who seemed to also feel unsettled.

''I finally found you,'' Ferra muttered, only to suddenly charge towards the two, startling both Sonic and Shadow, and managing to grab their arms.

''What are you doing?!'' Shadow growled, ripping his arm out of Ferra's grip and pushing her away, with her letting go off both him and Sonic, stumbling back. Instead of answering, Ferra just gave them a smirk, with the two hedgehogs wondering what was wrong with her. Before they could do anything, their environment suddenly changed, but their attention was still on Ferra.

''It was just a matter of time until we met again, my loathsome copy,'' she said, and to Sonic and Shadow's horror, she started to melt into a silver liquid, morphing into another, quite familiar shape.

''Metal Sonic?!'' Sonic exclaimed, stunned by what had happened. Shadow, on the other hand, immediately took a battle stance. ''But, how?''

''You will learn soon enough,'' Metal Sonic replied, only for Sonic to suddenly interrupt him.

''Wait, since when can you speak?'' he asked, only for Metal Sonic to shoot him a glare.

''That is what you're focusing on?'' Metal Sonic was a little disappointed.

''Well, yeah… I mean, you never talk, so this came as a bit of a shock to me,'' Sonic said, not noticing Shadow rolling his eyes and clearly sharing Metal Sonic's sentiment of where Sonic's priorities were. Sonic then smirked. ''But, that means that we can finally throw in some proper banter during our fights.''

''It is quite baffling how you can be so oblivious to your situation,'' Metal Sonic told Sonic, then glanced at Shadow when the dark hedgehog gave a sharp nod, apparently agreeing with the robot hedgehog. Metal Sonic turned back to his counterpart. ''Fortunately, this is something you won't have to worry about anymore. We will have our battle soon enough and then, I will prove my superiority!''

To Sonic and Shadow's surprise, Metal Sonic suddenly vanished, leaving them within an AR Field that resembled a coastal archipelago filled with ancient temples. Shadow's eyes narrowed as he turned to Sonic.

''We need to escape this AR Field and go after Metal Sonic,'' he said.

''I know, but, how do we get out of here? There doesn't appear to be an exit,'' Sonic said. Both hedgehogs looked around the AR Field, noting its size.

''We'll either find it or make an exit of our own,'' Shadow said. ''Keep up with me.''

Sonic nodded, him and Shadow dashing along the coastline.

xXx

Lucas was on his hoverboard, speeding down Eas and going towards Sentoraru. Despite wanting to have a quiet day, he jumped into action right after he got messages from Makoto, Minami and Touka, who was at the Solar Stadium, telling him about the Badniks that suddenly appeared in the city. Lucas sent Sonic a message, but the cobalt hedgehog didn't respond at all. This caused Lucas to worry, as he sensed that this wasn't an ordinary attack. He stepped on the accelerator, the speed of the hoverboard increasing, with the wind whistling in his ears. He did get a messages from Warren, Tails and Team Chaotix, as well as Lily and Knuckles, that they would meat up en route. He also knew that Minami and Amy were at Cosmo River with Cream, Cheese, Big and Froggy, while Touka was in Sentoraru, having left Solar Stadium after she got help from Omega and Rouge.

From the information he got, the attacks were rather unfocused, but always close to where Team Neos or their allies were. He had figured that Dr. Eggman was probably targeting them, a sentiment his friends echoed, but there was something that was bothering him. He didn't understand why Sonic wasn't responding to his calls, and from what Touka had told him, she couldn't reach Shadow either. It as possible that the two were in trouble, but Lucas believed that they could handle themselves. Nevertheless, this didn't stop him from worrying.

I hope you're okay, Sonic.

xXx

Ferra was sitting on top of a small building, staring ahead at the streets below and waiting patiently for someone to appear. It didn't take this person long, revealing himself to be Metal Sonic. Ferra smiled knowingly.

''I thought you'd take the opportunity to destroy Sonic and Shadow,'' Ferra told him. Metal Sonic gazed at his hand.

''I have all of their data, but I don't know whether that will be sufficient enough,'' Metal Sonic told her. ''I might need more power.''

''I see…'' Ferra muttered, feeling a little concerned. ''But, would more power be enough?'' Metal Sonic gave her a surprised look, with Ferra's eyes narrowing. ''They don't know yet what you're capable of, but I'm certain that they'll figure it out soon. We have two options here – either go full out on them, or keep the stakes low and test your current abilities.''

Metal Sonic lowered his head, silent for a moment. He gave no answer.

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22 notes · View notes

skaruresonic · 5 months ago

Note

Being a Cream fan is suffering. The writers aren't hiding that they don't like her. Hello Advanced 2 anyone???

I can imagine.

She's milked for both humor and angst. In most cases, the fact that it's Cream specifically who is suffering/the butt of the joke is the intended takeaway behind the humor or angst.

People try to rationalize such moments as "she's just a child," forgetting that Cream is also her own person and has a personality beyond the expected behavior of children her age. Shunting her into the box of Child(tm) and leaving it at that is like reducing Amy to Girl(tm). Or Shadow to his Black Arms blood. You're not wrong to say those elements factor in, per se, but you are being overreductive by focusing only on those isolated elements of their characters when they're not overall terribly important.

Apologies for the self-indulgence here, but before we proceed to talk about IDW 66 and 67's B-side story, I'd like to bring up Cream's chapter in my visual novel as a counterexample:

youtube

In a nutshell: OaS is a slice-of-life where Sonic goes about a normal Sunday, visiting his friends and helping them through their problems, alongside some funny shenanigans. He spends about half the game spending time with Knuckles, Amy, and Cream, respectively.

Chapter three sees his relationship with Cream evolve from friends to Big Bro-Lil Sis(tm) as he endeavors to look out for her the best he can and listen to her little kid problems. Math is hard. :<

You'll notice in the conversation Sonic and Cream have after they sit down to eat their carnival food - about halfway through the video - that "lol Cream's just a dumb kid" is the exact attitude I was trying to avoid.

On the contrary: I wanted to respect her agency while also emphasizing that her status as a child is something worth respect on its own. Just because her problems may seem trivial from an adult perspective don't mean they aren't real to her, and I hope I've portrayed it so that Sonic gives her the respect she deserves.

The gist behind the chapter's more humorous moments isn't to point and laugh at Cream, but rather make light of the awkwardness of Sonic navigating being a big brother figure.

That's why stuff like Cream spouting waterfalls really rubs me the wrong way. Folks will argue "she's a child" while neglecting the important nuance that it's not typical of Cream to wail like a toddler in the games... As well as the other important nuance that if it had been Games!Cream in IDW!Cream's place, Rough and Tumble would be ground into paste before the roast finished.

The only punchline here is "Isn't it funny how Cream tried so hard to do right by her mother and some bully destroyed her work in an instant? LOL and then Vanilla went mama bear on them." When you drill down to the core of the underlying idea, you'll find it's just... meanspirited. The book is making fun of the fact that Cream is suffering what is, in her eyes, a humiliating failure.

It's not humor generated by Cream's personality, or the mood whiplash incurred by beating up bad guys one moment and tending to the roast the next, or inviting the bad guys to dinner after giving them a thorough ass-whooping, or anything like that.

How much better would it have been if, instead, following the food fight, we cut to Vanilla returning home to find an immaculate dinner table and two very twitchy skunk boys playing maid in fear of the goddess of destruction's wrath? Cream cheerily greets her mother while Rough and Tumble trip over themselves putting Vanilla's groceries away. Meanwhile Cheese and Chocola give them the evil eye. Vanilla is confused as G-merl pulls out her chair for her, but in no position to protest.

Imagine how amusing that could have been! Nope. The book has to point and laugh at Cream in a "ha ha bitch you thought" kind of way. Can't join in on the laugh track if we have any love for Cream ourselves.

To borrow the stans' logic, it's actually pretty fucked-up that you're meant to laugh at a child for crying in such a situation. At best, you're made to feel sorry for her, but given how the scene is framed to be absurd, it's probably a safer bet to say you're intended to laugh.

That's before we remember Cream doesn't sob buckets in the games. It took being kidnapped, taken to Eggman's creepy robot depot and watching Emerl gleefully tear Phi robots apart for her to sniffle quietly.

Sniffle. Not wail like a toddler. Because the games have this thing called "a sense of decorum," you see. xP

People contend that Cream's a pacifist based on her refusal to engage in Battle until Emerl gets hurt (and then they conveniently ignore how she stepped up and kicked some ass; rip), which overlooks the context that she was probably sick of fighting after having been forced to spar against Emerl and Amy to the point of exhaustion.

---

P.S. IDW!Vanilla wishes she was half as scary as OaS!Vanilla. Yeah, I said it xP

#asks #long post

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myymi · 2 years ago

Note

if im not too late with the drabbles;

tails has a really bad nightmare about westside (parent abandonment or another traumatic incident) and he goes to his big bro sonic for some emotional support and cuddles

feel free to ignore this if they arent open :)

word count-1369

ao3

--------------------

He’s tired of running.

He’s tired of being chased.

But he doesn’t want to get hurt, so he keeps running despite how out of breath he was.

That is, until a figure steps out in front of him, causing him to skid to a stop.

Their head was a blurry mess, which he assumes is because of the tears in his eyes.

Somewhere in his mind he knows the real reason, but he doesn’t get much chance to think on it when more blurry figures surround him.

The forest scenery he’d been running through started morphing into other things. The village, the beach, other clearings around the island, until everything went black.

Everything but those damn figures.

They approached him, causing him to shrink down. He couldn’t do anything. They were blocking any chance of running, and everyone knows he’s far too weak to fight back.

His breathing quickened even more as he curled into him, biting down sobs as he prayed to some God out there to protect him despite knowing nobody would do anything for him.

He was a deformed freak. Why would someone save him?

One of the figures grabbed him, and then everything disappeared.

He was trapped in an endless void as voices bounced around the air, insults worse than anything you could think of thrown at him from every angle.

He just had to take it.

Covering his ears did nothing to drown it out.

A few voices were more prominent than the others. He recognized them.

How could he not, when they were laughing about how much better their life was now that he was no longer a part of it?

The voices eventually merged into one, the sentence being repeated over and over.

It started as some random one he’d heard years ago, then morphed into those of his ex-family’s. His older brother, mother, hell even his father despite the fact he hadn’t heard his voice since he was one year old.

It didn’t stop changing.

It eventually morphed into his new family.

First, Shadow.

Next, Rouge.

Vector, Cream, Silver, Espio, Charmy.

Amy then Knuckles. Until, finally..

It was Sonic.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

–

Tails’ eyes shot open, breathing uneven and he felt his fur sticking to his skin in the most uncomfortable ways possible due to all the sweat.

His quick breaths slowed as he looked around, recognizing his bedroom.

He was fine.

No one was chasing him.

With a groan, the fox pushed himself into a sitting position. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes, pausing when he felt the trail of tears on his muzzle.

He swallowed dryly, suddenly feeling very dehydrated. He glanced at his digital clock as he pulled his blanket off to the side, not caring about neatening it. He had to wash it and his sheets anyway because of all the sweat.

3:37 AM.

Tails wiped away his tears as he exited his room, socked feet taking careful steps on instinct to avoid all the creaky planks.

He hated the noise they made. He really needed to fix it.

The kit used the wall for support as he descended down the stairs. He took a deep breath as he made his way to the kitchen.

He stopped in the living room.

Sonic was on his couch, sprawled out in a way that could not be comfortable in any way. Drool spilled from the corner of the hedgehog’s mouth, snores louder than most of the fox’s machinery filled the air.

Tails wanted to roll his eyes at the scene. It wasn’t unusual for Sonic to crash at his place unexpectedly–he did have a key–but did he always have to use the couch? He had a bedroom of his own for this specific reason.

But the fox’s breath felt caught in his throat at the sight of the older, his nightmare flooding his brain full force.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

His ears pressed against his head as new tears piled in the corner of his eyes. He swiped at them, but more immediately took their place.

His breathing started picking up pace and, before he knew it, he was in front of Sonic, his ungloved paw hovering above the hedgehog’s shoulder.

He forced his body to freeze, biting his inner cheek.

Tails is 8 years old now. He shouldn’t be running to his big brother because of a bad dream. He’s old enough to deal with these on his own.

But no matter how hard his mind begs his body to leave the teen be, it’s a losing battle.

His hand makes contact with the hedgehog’s shoulder, shaking it as softly as he can to tell the other he’s not a threat.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

With a grunt, Sonic’s eyes slowly opened as he looked up to see who woke him. Tails immediately regrets it, the teen looks exhausted.

That exhaustion seemed to disappear when Sonic saw the tears welled up in the younger’s eyes.

“You okay?” His voice was groggy, still catching up to the rest of his body being awake. The little fox shook his head as the teen sat up.

“C’mere, kid.” Sonic gave him a sympathetic smile as he opened his arms, inviting the kit to lay on him. Tears finally spilled over as Tails crawled into his hero’s arms.

Sonic shushed the younger, his left hand petting the kit’s head as his right held him close. The kid buried his head into the older’s neck, hiding his tears.

“D’ya have a bad dream, bud?” The teen asked quietly, his head leaning against the fox’s as he gently rocked them.Tails’ head bobbed ever so slightly, hands gripping the hedgehog with a strength you wouldn’t expect an eight year old to possess.

Sonic hummed, letting the kit know he heard him as he continued the slow rocks and gentle pets. He kept it up until the sobs quieted, the death grip on his back easing as the younger pulled away.

The hedgehog frowned at the sight of his brother’s face. It was obvious he had been crying even before waking the teen up, his eyes were too red and his fur was a complete mess.

“Wanna talk?” The older asked, using the hand that was petting the fox to wipe away his tears.

“I-It–” Tails shook his head and leaned into the touch, “It was just.. Bad memories. Westside.” The kit tried not to talk too much, his throat feeling scratchy. He needed some water, but he didn’t want to get up.

“Again?” Sonic frowned. The fox had been having a lot of nightmares about Westside recently.

“I-I know, I’m sorry.” The boy bit his lip, suddenly thinking that this was a terrible idea.

“No, don’t apologize, li’l bro. Not your fault.” The teen pulled the younger into another hug, feeling how much he was shaking.

“Still. I-It’s childish to run to you every time.” Tails grumbled, but he didn’t pull away from the hug. He cuddled into his hero, his namesakes providing them warmth as they curled around.

“Nothin’ wrong with being childish. Or needing help.” Sonic shook his head. He had to break the kit free from that thought process, but he just couldn’t figure out how to do it.

The fox didn’t respond, just closed his eyes as he worked on evening out his breath.

The teen hummed as he moved to lay back down, pulling the cover over the two of them without releasing his hold on his little brother.

“Get some sleep, buddy.” Sonic whispered as he scratched the spot behind Tails’ ears to help ease him. “We can deal with it in the morning.”

The fox nodded as he shifted slightly to be more comfortable, mumbling a quiet goodnight to the older.

The hug paired with the gentle petting made it easy for the kid to fall asleep. He was out within a few seconds.

Sonic sighed, pressing his forehead against the younger’s.

He just wishes there was something he could do to make the nightmares leave his little brother alone.

#happy wednesday #miles tails prower #sonic the hedgehog #tails the fox #sth #sonic #wholesome wednesday #wholesome sonic and tails wednesday #unbreakable bond #sonic and tails #dynamic duo #anon #anonymous #anon ask #myydrabs #sonic drabble #sth drabble #drabble

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drplantboss · 1 year ago

Text

On Shadow working for G.U.N. and “Never Turn Back”

I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing the fact that Shadow works for G.U.N. at the time of Sonic ‘06. Most people have the argument that “G.U.N. is the organization that killed Maria!” Their logic is that he shouldn’t be willing to work for the organization that killed his best friend. I have a few problems with that take.

The first is that it fundamentally isn’t the same organization. It’s been 50+ years since that happened, and the current head honcho of G.U.N. is someone who was also personally traumatized by Maria’s death. While the Commander and Shadow had their differences in Shadow the Hedgehog, that was mostly over a misunderstanding and those events aren’t even solidly canon. I personally perceive the first 10 endings of ShTH05 and the events that lead to them as all hypotheticals; only the final “true” ending actually happened. In that case, they may have never actually confronted each other initially.

The other reason is because of what the entire arc Shadow underwent in his titular game achieved. Shadow learns not to dwell on the past. He learns that he needs to keep moving forward, and never turn back. This is not a covert theme, either; the ending theme of ShTH05 is literally the track “Never Turn Back” by Crush 40. It happens to be my favorite Sonic vocal track because this song just fits Shadow’s ending so perfectly here (plus it’s a banger). I recommend you listen to it yourself, but I’ll mention the relevant lyrics here. Let’s go through the first verses.

It's been a long, rough road

And I'm finally here

I move an inch forward

Feels like a year

Everything I feel seems so unreal

Is it true?

I take one step forward

And two steps back

Got a hundred thousand pounds

Sitting on my back

Up, down, all around

Don't know quite what to do

To get through

Shadow is burdened not just by the title of “Ultimate Lifeform” but also by his promise to Maria. All of this, combined with the fact that he only just rediscovered who and what he is, and the sledgehammer to the head that would be finding out you are a biological weapon and a tool that has been used to nefarious ends on multiple occasions would certainly feel like a hundred thousand pounds sitting on your back. This section signifies Shadow struggling with that responsibility — but he’s taking it on. He will help people, he will keep his promise to Maria, he will be the Ultimate Lifeform.

I guess I'm moving all right and I'm on my way

Facing every moment day by day

Take a chance, slip on by, got no time to answer why

Head straight, head straight

What will I become if I don't look back

Give myself a reason for this and that

I can learn, no U-turns, I will stay right here where I'm at, where I'm at

Shadow is starting to overcome some of that pressure. There’s still doubts as he makes the decision to keep moving forward without looking back — he asks, “What will I become if I don’t look back; give myself a reason for this and that.” He very quickly reaffirms the commitment in the next line, but it does show some doubt. At the end of the day, his past still defines who he is. His promise to Maria, his responsibility as a forceful individual still drive him forward and compel him to do the right thing. But the other aspects of his past he is choosing to leave behind.

Well I'm on my way

On my way

Here I am,

Made it to the end of you

Never had a chance while I'm around

No! No!

No, no, no, no!

Well, now I'll never turn back,

I'll never turn that way

No matter how life tries to face me

I'll turn the other way

Now and then,

My head starts to spin,

But I'll never turn back again

No! No!

From this moment on,

I am moving on,

And I'll never turn back

Again

The chorus is Shadow’s promise: a promise to himself, to Maria, and to the world. He will never turn back to the weaponized hatred that Gerald programmed into him. He will never turn back to the alien domination of a doomed species. He will never return to thinking he could be an android subservient to Dr. Eggman. From this moment on, he’s moving on.

Shadow’s entire character in Sonic ‘06 is an affirmation of the development he underwent in his own game. Shadow has a static arc in ‘06; he doesn’t really change at all over the course of the game. However, in that iconic scene you’ve probably heard everyone and their mother talk about, he puts forward the exact attitude I’m talking about here.

“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have.” Keep moving forward, never turn back.

Shadow views G.U.N. as a viable method of carrying out his goals — helping people — at the time of ‘06.

I think this makes sense. If the organization has been reformed since the days of the raid on the ARK, then it’s probably one of the best resources for Shadow to use. Additionally, from within the organization he is far more aware of what they are doing, giving him advance warning if something nefarious is going on within such a powerful paramilitary establishment.

By letting go of his hatred, he can work for the organization that killed Maria. After all, he saved the whole world when he was originally intent on wiping out humanity. If he can do that, I think he can probably work with an organization that only recently changed its mind about him.

#sonic the hedgehog #sth #shadow the hedgehog #shth 2005 #sonic #i've got a lot more thoughts about this but i didn't want to write a book #please let me know what you think

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cattyanon · 1 year ago

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I don't think I've talked about this Sonic Prime AU I have so I'm going to talk about it rn since it's on my mind.

Okay, so you know how in season 2 episode 1 Shadow steals Sonic's tech to try and go into a different Shatterspace but Sonic remembers what he said about the Prism Energy he had and chases him down? And how there was shown to be a time difference in New Yoke where Sonic had only been in Boscage for a day but when he went back he learnt it's been much longer?

Well what if Sonic didn't remember? And what if the time difference inside the yellow Shatterspace/Ghost Hill was a big one? >:)

What happens is that Shadow just barely manages to save himself from falling into the Void, takes a small break, thinks about what to do next, and eventually relents that he'll need Sonic's help in order to restore the Paradox Prism. So he goes back and looks for Sonic and finds him sitting down with his back facing Shadow surrounded by their ghostly friends with glowing stripes that look like the ones his gloves and shoes had when he had with the limiters.

When Shadow calls his name he looks back at him with shock and says "Shadow...? I-Is that really you?" in such real sounding disbelief it confuses him. Then Sonic starts acting erratically while talking to Shadow and saying things that don't make any sense from his perspective. Couple that with his odd appearance and the fact he could somehow change the pitch of his voice, Shadow thinks he's some kind of entity that replaced Sonic for a little while.

A small fight ensues and eventually concludes with Shadow believing it's the real Sonic and Sonic processing the fact that for Shadow it really had been minutes and scared of what everybody would think of him in his current state.

And as a side note, the reason for his weird new powers (like being able to change the pitch of his voice) and appearance is due to all the time he spent in the Shatterspace without the limiters to help properly rein in all his Prism Energy. Basically without the limiters and no knowledge on how to control the Prism Energy it eventually builds up to the point it starts leaking out and adapts to the Shatterspace he's in- which is also why he doesn't die of starvation or dehydration.

Edit: Fic for this is out!!

#Sonic #Sonic Prime #Sonic Prime AU #Sonic AU #Avoid the void #Angst #Wireframe Sonic Prime AU #Wireframe Sonic AU

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livewireprojects · 5 months ago

Text

Old Sonic sketches(Plus extras)

Found some old sketches I had on DA & wanted to show them. Some sketches have the date I scanned them in the corner of the image because the date changes if I edit them & I had to edit them cause they're all bmp files along with needing editing to be darkened. It's there to show how old they are & cause I found it interesting, if the image doesn't have the date I'll list mention a date that's mentioned in the DA post or something related. Not all the images are in order of date.

The image on the left was posted November 8, 2012 while the one on the right is from August 27, 2013

These were some wedding sketches I drew with the one on the right being a pic I made for a teacher I had in high school.(Graduated 2014) The pic on the left was a Sonadow & Silvaze wedding with Tails catching Sonic's bouquet while Cosmo(who was revived at some point) giggles.(tfw When you might end up marrying next thanks to a moment at your older brother's wedding & your girlfriend knows too)

Shadow & Sonic's rings(on the wrist) was inspired by a comic by Segamew on DA were Shadow used one of his inhibitor rings to propose to Sonic.(Fun fact at the time I didn't know what his rings did past the fact Shadow wore them, I only learned about the reason recently) I use a different idea for mobian wedding items now.

I find it semi funny(semi cause it looks cringy) that when I posted this to DA I was like "I'm using Shadonic instead of Sonadow so fuck you" to be honest this came from past Naruto shipping were ship names go by who is tops. I've gotten over it by now but if I'm not using ship names I still put the top first.

This was drawn in 2015

The top images are Monoko from Yume Nikki & Sonic as nightmarens from the NiGHTS series. I might redraw/redesign these one day but dunno. The little mini doodles between them are an old design for my self-insert Sonicsona & Monoko next to me. I don't know the context for them.

At the bottom is Reala(nightmaren this time instead of my OC Reala the hedgehog), Jackle & my nightmaren OC Halldis dressed up. Next to them is Pinkie Pie semi Rayman style.(By that I mean floaty limbs)

The one on the left is cropped cause you don't really need to see my old Raymesis/Dark Rayman(Who is turned over a new leaf, also thought they were the same person back then) x Rayman stuff. Funny enough two images were edited into this from the cropped side cause they're semi related.

Left image:(Added in mini pics at the bottom of list)

Left to right, top of page to bottom of page

Rayman Sonic that I didn't put much effort in past hair & outfit

Rayman as a seedrian, this was made before learning that male seedrian look very different from the girls. He's a plum plant from the Rayman series.

Normal Rayman waving

Rayman!Sonic sitting down

An attempt to draw mini Rayman & Rayman!Sonic flying using their hair. Rayman obviously with helicoptor bangs, Sonic flapping like he's a bat/bird.

Right image:

Left to right, top page then middle page then bottom page

Older Rayman with kids

Rayman!Shadow & Rayman!Sonic, these are their old designs with Shadow's being inspired by Kanda from D.Grayman's hair & mitarashiarts's past design for gijinka Shadow. I guess I gave him Raymesis style eyes given how I drew them.

Rayman!Sonic in a Rayman version of Sonic after being blinded by Eggman(context my version of Sonic at some point in the future was blinded by Eggman)

Rayman!Sonic wandering around & hiding that he's Sonic & injured

A scene of old design Shadow finding Sonic after he was heavily injured & almost drowned in Rayman style

Random doodle of Sonic in a random art style

An old prototype design idea for revived Cosmo, two versions of her as a plant based deer. I ended up going with a plant based chipmunk in the end.(With help from a friend when I mentioned some suggestions)

I don't fully remember the context behind the pic on the left I just know it was a scrapped idea. I think the idea was Silver visiting the past as a kid & helping Sonic after the reboot or after the reboot in Sonic 06 he was born in the past & made friends with Sonic.(The middle pic is meant to be them before the re-boot) I'm guessing this was before the paper towel comic I made.

The right image is meant to be Sonic walking with his siblings as they unknowingly pass by the spirit of Tikal with a bunch of Chao(plus Sonadow chao) & Chip. Sonic notices him & Chip waves to his future friend. From what I understand the idea is Chip some how got a chance to see Sonic in the past after the events of Sonic Unleashed.(Likely way on DA I named this "Meeting again before I knew you") No idea how Sonic can see them without his glasses on since Underground Sonic is blind without them. According to DA this image didn't need much fixing up.

Here's a pic I drew on one of my folders for school(2011 was my first year of high school)

I had to grayscale this because the folder is yellow & it'd look stupid

Left to right

-Sonic as a young child with his adopted dad after they decided to go frog hunting for the first time

-The idea behind this was Sonic returning to where he grew up before going to live with Uncle Chuck after helping his siblings & mom rebuild the kingdom after defeating Robotnik. I think the idea was that Sonic still met/took in Tails at some point cause there was an idea of Tails bringing Amy, Shadow & the others to meet his older brother.

Version 1 was meant to be Sonic having become more like he use to be before the trauma of losing his adopted parents & losing his confidence thanks to bullying(for being different) & the stress of the war. He's happily being Sonic in the woods he was raised in. Version 2 is just Sonic as I depicted him at the end of Sonic Underground were he has gained confidence but is still slightly timid & very sweet.(No idea why it says "Southern bell-ish" I'm guessing this was the only description I could think of)

-Sonic dressed in his adopted mom's outfit

-Sonic before losing his adopted parents & being taken in by his uncle. Sonic was a happy & energetic, he loves exploring the woods & learning to play music. He's a kid that hasn't fully learned that the world is full of things to fear despite knowing the dangers of going too close to areas everyone knows is Robotnik's territory.(I guess think of Robin from the game The Path were she didn't realize it's dangerous to fall out of a shopping cart nor jump on a werewolf)

The poor kid is in for many horrors when he made the poor choice of hunting for frogs near one of Robotnik's bases.

Posted to DA May 28, 2014

Classic Rayman as a puffball, Sonic as a puffball & anime Kirby as whatever Rayman is

Posted to DA June 24, 2019

Why I can't draw Sonic's eyes like they're meant to look

Adding another pic last minute, this is an old sketch dump of Sonic & his siblings from my old Sonic stuff that went on to lead to my Lost Prince AU

Left to right

Top:

The sight Uncle Chuck saw when he got home. Thanks to having enough of the bullying while struggling to deal with losing his adopted parents Sonic chopped his hair/quills off to look more normal.

Sonia fixing Sonic's hair while Manic finds it funny she used a bowl to cut Sonic's hair

Sonic meeting his siblings for the first time as they hide somewhere after managing to run into each other. Moments later they're told what they're meant to be doing.

Middle:

Sonic amazed, I think this was inspired by Ojamajo Doremi/Magical Doremi some how

Old design modern Sonic holding plushies I use to give him when he was a kid, lion & lamb plushies, I don't remember the context I think this was when he was living with his dad

Sonic laying on the ground with the plush dolls

Another old design modern Sonic

Bottom:

The triplets managing to sleep in a proper bed after some traveling

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south-sea · 2 years ago

Text

Sentimentality

Shadow's found it in himself to confront old memories head-on. For better or for worse, Metal as a result finds he's beginning to understand this weird thing called sentiment that organic beings tend to have.

~1,767 words

From the moment he walks in, Metal Sonic knows that Shadow, although not immediately seen, should be home.

Visible from inside the front door is the kitchen area, which is empty. The ajar restroom, which Shadow biologically does not need. And the den, their usual haunt, which is also empty.

Shadow is not due for, or has not attended to, any sort of impromptu mission. On the kitchen table, there are no handwritten notes. In Metal's communication log, there are no text messages. Shadow has been, and put him through, too much to know better than to leave the premises when expecting company, even for just a walk, without a trace.

The pair of shoes left beneath the step leading up into the main house area are, in themselves, evidence enough that Shadow is still present and unharmed. There are no signs of a scuffle, no scratches in the floor, no broken panels, not even the empty table and chair in the kitchen are out of place.

Metal's calm gaze lifts farther inward. That leaves the space behind the partition leading upstairs, if not somewhere upstairs itself.

In the nearly two years Metal has lived with him, Shadow's tendency to disappear somewhere upstairs has been in decline, and by now, has altogether evaporated. Unless, in the exceedingly rare case that Shadow prefers an actual bed to sleep in, or his own shower to wash off in, or brief periods in which he is collecting an outfit, he stays downstairs.

Metal considers, as he begins his trek toward the way up, how there sits a writing desk in an office upstairs. A space that Shadow used to frequent, preferring to tend to his scrapbook and other research materials or records there. These days, Shadow does not bother, instead comfortable enough and in fact preferring Metal's company when writing or preparing photos or generally anything else. If he were busy with any of those things, he would no doubt be downstairs.

Odd. But then organic beings are, themselves, inherently odd. There exists in them a tendency to be so painfully sentimental over items and memories that they adamantly hold onto them for years, or look back on them and cry.

Metal has seen it. He is not sure he understands. Downstairs, he has a collection of his own things, but he cannot ascribe to them the same level of nostalgia or fondness or attachment. He keeps them because they are his, because they have been given to him, and beyond weapons or tools or rockets shortly demolished by his loathsome copy, even two years later, the idea of truly owning something just to own it without an obvious purpose is still novel.

When Metal arrives to the second story, Shadow is still nowhere to be seen. The office room is dark and empty, the bedroom is tidy and neat, but clearly lacking any trace of sleeping not-hedgehogs. The bathroom up here, too, is unoccupied and unneeded, but the doorway next to it, usually closed and with no light leaking out from underneath it, is open.

Faint sounds of general movement can be heard from its direction. That room was previously empty of anything, Metal notes, as he turns a course toward it. Empty of even furniture, much less any reason for his housemate to be doing anything inside of it. Barely the size of a closet, it serves no purpose than to remain empty, its use overwritten by a simple dresser closet stationed elsewhere in the main bedroom.

As Metal approaches as carefully as he is able without startling him, Shadow's head turns to see him in the doorway. His gloves are off, the fur of his cheeks is tousled as if recently damp. That is, for obvious reasons, never a good sign.

At first, Metal suspects pain. Perhaps he was moving things into storage, overexerted himself, and has only recently found the strength in him again to stand. That is, from Metal's perspective, illogical. If that had been the case, why would Shadow have not sent a distress signal? Why would he have not requested help?

And then he looks up.

The room is no longer purposeless in any sense of the word. Metal's gaze passes over countless new things: a bookshelf, already home to brittle and yellowed books and notebooks and sketch pads. A cushion and handful of stuffed animals—two different seal pups, notably—and an old polaroid camera with its strap neatly arranged around it so that it may avoid wayward quills catching and knocking it out of place. A tiny green threadbare blanket folded atop a somehow more pristine white hospital blanket, a locket, a box of crayons. And photos—countless photos he cannot even begin to individually identify, all of a smaller, rounder, fuzzier Shadow and his blonde-haired companion, pinned up and carefully sorted.

All things recovered from the ARK. All things he has, technically, seen before, save for the photos, but never so up close, never seen arranged in their own place with such deliberate care.

The look in Shadow's eyes when Metal's lowers to meet them expectantly is one of apology and only minor embarrassment. "I finally found it in myself to set this up," he says in barely above a whisper. "I thought she needed her own room."

Metal did not understand it the night these items were brought to him, and he does not understand it now. He does not understand why items or memories would make someone weep so openly as they had made Shadow that night, or why they would need to be arranged in such a way, or why arranging them at all would seemingly make someone cry again. If they are painful, why would he want to keep or have them back? If they are painful, why would he want to see them at all?

He thinks back to a time, to a mission of faded importance by now, where Shadow had gone missing—one of a few times. One where Shadow had been separated from the main party, where they had been forced to find only traces of him and hold onto only vague hopes he had still been out there somewhere, alive. He thinks back on the broken quills he had collected from bloody ice, and how he had kept them. Just in case. Just in case they had been the only thing ever left of his charge, his everything.

Maybe he does understand.

There are tears in Shadow's eyes again. He tries to smile at him, but the sniffle makes his expression waver. Metal knows that look. His charge, his everything, is less than two seconds from losing those tears down his already still-damp cheeks, and three or four seconds away from trying to say something to brush it off.

He holds a hand up to stop him before he can even try.

Shadow, placated, forgoes the need to apologize or excuse himself or generally speak at all. Instead he turns and closes the gap between them, takes the sides of Metal's hand in both his own paws, and brings his forehead down to rest in his palm. In the few moments he stays like this, he collects himself. Two seconds pass without Metal detecting more tears. Four seconds pass without Shadow attempting to shakily pretend he's fine or admit the exact opposite.

Ten seconds, and Shadow finally stands back up, withdrawing one of his paws to brush back his cheek fur. "I think she would have liked you," he tells him.

Metal knows the name Maria Robotnik, and he knows her connection to his own creator more than to Shadow. He knows, on a basic level, what their connection had been, but he has never asked, and Shadow rarely ever speaks about her for more than a few seconds. All too often Shadow shuts the topic down even if he is the one who had originally brought it up, avoids it, evades the point of no return where the threat of tears would otherwise be a guarantee.

In this room, this tiny memorial tucked away in the most private corner of the house, it is inescapable. It is deliberate, raw, surrounding them from all sides.

Metal tries not to wonder if, in some other time, it would have been only a handful of broken quills to occupy this room. Would he regret not having physical photos to pin up in the same way? Would he rely on Shadow's own scrapbook? Would he play the hours and hours and hours of recordings of their time together on endless repeat? Would he back that data up once, three times, stash it away in a desperate attempt to protect it from corruption or degradation or being lost?

His attention snaps back to Shadow when he hears him speak again, feels him pull away to point toward one of the many photos displayed on the wall or in pristine new frames or still held in the heavy album not yet fully sorted through.

Added to Metal's hours upon hours of recordings are new ones attributed to Shadow's profile. As Shadow tells him for minutes, and then even more minutes, of their time together as children, Metal forms a profile labelled Maria. He learns of her in more words than Shadow has ever given about her previously, about her aspirations, her demeanor, her love of the unusual and the fantastical, her stories, their stories.

He listens, and he understands. Shadow is his own charge. Maria had been Shadow's. They had been, like the two of them are now, inseparable. A pair of a different dynamic than the two of them share now, but bonded to an equal degree.

The more that Shadow speaks, the more strength seems to return to him. Gone are the watery eyes and wavering voice, replaced instead with a shine and an almost childlike enthusiasm for days visitable only in memory and faded photos.

He hopes he never has to find out what a memorial room of his own might look like. Hopes he never has to find out what it might feel like to go between incapacitated with grief and empowered by the love that feeds it. Hopes, for the first time, that Shadow is never forced to make a second room like this, filled with metal plating and scrapped joints and bare circuitry.

He listens, and understands, that love is more than just a desire to protect his charge's physical comfort and existence. It does, or should, extend to maintaining his own safety, to protect his charge from the grief of losing him, too.

#shadow the hedgehog #metal sonic #second chance au #metadow #qpr metadow #fics by sea #casually leaving crumbs of au-canon details everywhere like it's no big deal #jeez what a mess someone get a broom

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alterchaos · 5 months ago

Text

IN THE SHADOW OF DOUBT

After an entire month of searching, the girl with the golden hair remains missing. Sonic seeks answers from a source he can trust...

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

NEXT CHAPTER: ESCAPE: PRISON ISLAND

The billboard television buzzed on, revealing a woman in a newsroom.

“Good evening, Station Square. This is Scarlet Garcia reporting live from station SWA-08 regarding the disappearance of young Evelyn Thorndyke a little over a month ago.” Her picture appeared next to the reporter, “Joining me is her father, the famous Nelson Thorndyke, son of the well-loved philanthropist Charles ‘Chuck’ Thorndyke, whose corporation generously donated billions in the repair of our beloved city after the devastating flood just a couple months prior.” The camera panned to show a middle-aged man, worn and disheveled from countless nights without sleep, “How are you today, Mr. Thorndyke?”

“My daughter is still missing, Ms. Garcia…How well can a father in my position be?”

The reporter startled, having not expected such a blunt response, “R-Right…I can only imagine how frustrating the situation may seem given your tireless efforts to find her…”

No comment.

She decided to change the subject, “Mr. Thorndyke, we invited you onto our show today to address the growing concern among the public surrounding your…rather vocal decry of the Hero of Station Square. Do you really believe he was the one to kidnap your daughter and, if so, what would be his reason?”

Nelson’s eyes narrowed, “The facts of the attack are clear. She was harmed and taken by a ‘super-speed hedgehog’ who ran from the law when confronted. Does any of that sound innocent to you?”

“N-No but-”

The businessman began to rise, “Then allow me to say this.” He looked into the camera with vengeance, “Sonic the Hedgehog…I know you’re watching. I will not rest. I will not give up until you return my daughter and are brought to justice for your crimes. I will spare no expense until I see this through. You have my word on that.”

“Sir, what about the rumors surrounding your company’s involvement with-”

The hedgehog in question tuned out the rest of the broadcast, perched safely within the cover of a park tree. He couldn’t handle it, the weight of the various accusations alongside his own failure as a hero. That day in the school yard played in his mind yet again, his heart dropping with guilt.

Had he only arrived just a few minutes sooner…

He put a hand to his head, brushing his disheveled bangs back out of his tired eyes as he contemplated what to do next. This wasn’t the time for regrets, not when she could still be in serious danger.

He needed a plan.

He needed help.

Thankfully, he knew exactly where he could turn…

He hoped.

—----------------------------------------------------------

Sonic landed on a branch near a window, hidden from all by the foliage surrounding him thankfully, in part, due to the darkness of the night that had fallen. He peered inside, taking note of the trio of friends discussing something with much distress, the earlier interview pulled up on a monitor. Eventually, the fox broke away and made his way to a nearby computer, furiously searching for some kind of answer while the pink hedgehog and human boy continued talking. Sonic smiled tiredly, having missed his friends in the month he was away.

Hopefully, they would believe him.

If not…

Sonic took a deep and shaky breath, inching his way towards the window pane. He gently knocked on it with his knuckles.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tails continued running his data search on the attic’s computer, though his ear twitched slightly at the noise. Amy, on the other hand, turned fully towards the window where Sonic was now waving sheepishly, offering a small yet nervous smile in tandem. She gasped, saying something muffled by the pane before the other two friends turned their heads to look, equally surprised. Tails nearly knocked the chair he’d been sitting in over as he scrambled to the window, opening it and staring at his brother.

“Tails…I…I-I didn’t-”

Tails threw his arms around his brother before he had a chance to finish.

“Like I would believe any of that! I’m just happy you’re okay, Sonic!”

Sonic watched with wide, watery eyes as his other two friends approached.

“Me neither! You didn’t do anything wrong! Chris told us what really happened.”

“I keep trying to tell my father but he won’t listen. Nobody will, given the facts of the case.”

“Tanaka believes us though. The only reason we weren’t arrested after questioning is because he swore to keep surveillance on us, which basically means we’re just stuck in the mansion until things blow over.”

“H-How are you holding up? Wh-Where did you even go? Why-!?”

The fox froze as the hedgehog slumped into his arms, a few tears rolling down his cheeks with each shaky breath as the weight of his anxiety and suffering hit him.

His friends…

They believed him…

They really believed him…

“Woah! Hey! I’ve got you…”

“Bring him inside!”

“He’s really warm…”

“I’ll get him some water and a snack!”

“Get him a blanket too!”

Chris nodded, disappearing down the stairs.

“I-I…I don’t know what to sa-”

“You don’t need to say anything! Just sit down and take a moment to rest. You look like you need it. Then we can talk.”

Sonic nodded, plopping down onto a nearby beanbag, quickly being overrun by his fatigue on the soft, pillowy surface.

Maybe…if he shut his eyes for just a moment…

Only…

a…

moment…

…

—----------------------------------------------------

It was still dark when the hedgehog stirred from his nap, now wrapped with care in the folds of a soft blanket. He slowly opened his eyes, focusing his vision on the trio chatting amongst themselves enthusiastically. Tails had seemingly found what he’d been searching for earlier, showing off a series of documents as well as charts to the other two. He paused, looking at his older brother with a smile as he noticed his awakened state.

“Hey sleepyhead. Feel better?”

“Y-Yeah…” Sonic sat up, holding his head slightly, “How long was I out?”

“A few hours.”

“Here.” Chris handed the groggy hedgehog a juice box and some crackers, “You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

“...I haven’t.”

Everyone watched with concern as their despondent friend took the food. Clearly he’d been pushing himself too hard these past few weeks, no doubt to try and save their missing friend plastered over every news station.

Tails sat down next to his brother, offering a shoulder for him to lean on, “Where did you go this past month?”

Sonic tried to remain strong on his own but eventually gave in, leaning against his brother for support as he ate, “...Everywhere.”

“Everywhere?”

“I searched the entire planet for her…every inch…three times over…”

Amy gasped, “Three times over?”

Tails pushed further, “And?”

Sonic dropped his head in defeat, “Nothing. There was no sign of her.” He clenched the juice box in his hands, causing it to crinkle slightly beneath his frustrated grip.

“...Just as I suspected.”

“Huh?”

Sonic looked at his now-standing brother with wide eyes.

“A government satellite reentered orbit after being out of commission for the past 50 years.”

“Okaaay…How exactly does that help us?”

“Because it did so the exact day of Eve’s kidnapping.”

“-!!?!”

Sonic jolted onto his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he scrambled to the computer where his little brother had pulled up multiple news articles.

“Check this out! ‘Space Colony Ark reenters orbit after abandonment by G.U.N. 50 years prior.’ The station was said to be home to a deadly experiment known as ‘Project Shadow’ that killed everyone on board, the scientists as well as their families.”

“So?”

“I’m getting to that.” Tails shook his head playfully at his brother’s signature impatience, “The project was headed by G.U.N scientist, Gerald Robotnik, who is quoted to have taken up the position ‘in order to heal my beloved granddaughter of her incurable illness’.”

“That’s great and all, Tails, but what does this have to do with Eve?”

“Take a look at this…” Tails pulled up a picture on his screen of a blonde girl in a blue gown. Sonic’s eyes went wide.

She…

She looked exactly like…

“Eve!?”

“No, though I thought so at first too. This is Gerald Robotnik’s granddaughter. Her name was Maria…”

Chris stepped forward, arms crossed, “Which is exactly what that hedgehog kept calling my little sister as he…” He trailed off, unable to finish that statement.

“It’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m willing to bet that dark hedgehog Chris encountered is related to this ‘Project Shadow’. My guess is that he kidnapped Eve believing her to be this ‘Maria Robotnik’ girl from the colony.”

“And that’s exactly where we’ll find her then!” Sonic smiled.

Amy stepped forward, “But according to the published articles, everyone died right? So then…”

“Right. That leaves one question…” Tails’s expression fell gravely serious.

“...Who’s running this project now and why?”

Sonic raced towards the window, “Does that matter? We have our destination so let’s g-”

“I wouldn’t move if I were you.”

Sonic froze, an armored figure from outside aiming their gun at him. A large “G” decorated the front of their vest. Similarly dressed agents emerged from the attic door, surrounding the quartet of friends, all with guns pointed directly at them. A couple lunged forward, detaining Chris on the floor and out of the line of fire.

“HEY!! LET ME GO!!!”

“Stay down Chris.”

The disheveled S-Squad leader emerged into the attic alongside the agents, his older brother emerging alongside him.

“Dad!?”

The businessman ignored his son, approaching the cornered hedgehog with fury. With a snap of his finger, the hedgehog was restrained. He struggled against the agents in his tired state, ready for a fight until…

clack

Everyone paused as one of the agents held the barrel of his gun to the young boy’s head.

Chris’s eyes went wide.

“Hey! Wh-What are you-!!” The agents stepped in the way of the erratic racecar driver.

Nelson froze.

“Stand down, hedgehog. Your choice.”

Without hesitation, Sonic raised his arms, surrendering to the agents. He was cuffed and taken away without another word, his friends similarly taken into custody for intense questioning.

Nelson grabbed the commander’s arm as he began to leave.

“What was that?”

“We neutralized the threat, Mr. Thorndyke. That was why you hired us, is it not.”

“It is but-”

“Then you will do well to not interfere in the affairs of the government, Mr. Thorndyke.” He pulled his arm away, stopping one last time before the attic door, “Be sure to teach that lesson to your son if you know what’s good for him.”

And then he was gone.

“Well that got out of hand…”

The businessman clenched his fist.

“You really still believe he’s guilty?”

Nelson jolted slightly, not daring to look at his younger brother behind him, “...Don’t tell me you don’t. The facts of the case are clear, Sam.”

The racecar driver pointed an accusational finger at his older brother, “Whose facts!? Sure, she was kidnapped by a super-speed hedgehog, but who’s to say there isn’t another! Stranger things have happened since Sonic and his friends arrived on our world. Who’s to say this isn’t some kind of conspir-”

“You sound like my son.”

“Maybe your son has a point! Have you even bothered to listen to his side of the story!?”

“...He experienced a great deal of trauma that day. The doctors were clear in their assessment. He’ll do anything to justify his friend’s innocence even if it means living in some hysterical delusion.”

“Is he the one being hysterical for believing in someone who’s gone out of his way time and time again to save us, or is it the man who’s hired some wack-job government agency to prove his delusions true at any cost!?”

“...”

“Listen, Nelson…I followed along at first because I, too, was fueled by my anger and shock. Even so, I still just wanted to get to the bottom of things. I thought that if my team could capture Sonic, we could either get the truth out of him or work with him to find her quickly. It’s no secret that he cares about this family. Even you can’t deny that after what you saw here today.”

“You’re only saying that because you finally found a rival worth racing.”

Sam frowned, offering a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he tried one last time to break through to him, “Nelson…I know you’re desperate to bring her home, but maybe it’s time to accept that you don’t have all the answers and put your faith in those around you. We all want what’s best here.”

“...”

“Think about it.”

Sam headed for the attic door.

“Wait…where are you going?”

“With luck…” Sam turned his head, “...off to set things right.”

Nelson stared at his younger brother, frozen in place as he flashed a cocky grin.

“The question is…are you with me?”

The businessman hesitated.

“I-I…”

CHAPTER END

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one-way-dream · 2 years ago

Text

The King's Shadow - Ch. 2

Rating: General

Words: 3000+ (4600+ Total)

Media: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Black Knight

Pairing: Sonic/Lancelot (Sonic/Shadow)

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Developing Feelings, Pining, Alternate Universe - Medieval (Check AO3 for any tag changes!)

Warnings: Canon-typical violence

Chapter: 2/3

Link to the original work

AO3 Summary/Excerpt:

The other’s embarrassment slowly melted away into a resigned sigh, before turning into a smile; mischievous in appearance, but nothing short of putting the sun’s radiance to shame. And then Lancelot truly felt the carefree and trusting weight, the sheer warmth of the newly crowned king’s hand in his own.

And he knew more than ever that his life now belonged to him.

Author's Notes: WOW sorry this took so long! nearly two years..... truth be told it's just been sorta sitting there but i finished up the chapter tonight (ya boy got medicated finally) and i hope to get the next one eventually too! hoping to get it out within the next 5 years /j

thanks for reading and for all the support!! ❤❤❤

Previous/Next

Lancelot came to learn that King Sonic was not fond of excessive armour.

Surely, it was made clear enough by the fact that he only sported a gauntlet most of the time during his time as a self-proclaimed knight. Though despite being crowned as king, he still insisted on minimalism.

“It’s just a little too much, y’know?” Lancelot barely picked up on words that still sounded slurred to his untrained ears, “It’s easier to run with less of that metal stuff on me.”

Said “metal stuff” lay in a carefully discarded heap in the grass by the entrance to the moat, which would undoubtedly be picked up by one of the castle’s workers after the king would accidentally forget about it. Despite being polished daily and in pristine condition, there wasn’t a soul alive in the kingdom to actually wear that armour for more than two hours a day.

“Alright, patrol time is finally over! Ready to move out, pal?” Sonic glanced back at the knight keeping a respectful distance between them, who gave a silent nod in agreement. Lancelot’s visor generally hid his face during daytime patrols – the sunlight had been stronger and brighter than usual, bouncing off dirt paths and stone walls all the same. It was a bit too harsh for the knight, who preferred the cool whispers of the evening air dancing through his black and red quills. It was quiet. It was safe.

The king technically wasn’t obligated to wear armour if he didn’t please, but Lancelot noticed that Sonic at least attempted to wear it once a week, even if it was just for show until they were out of sight from the prying eyes of townspeople. The knight assumed it was a way of balancing his lifestyle of freedom with the customs that a life as king expected from him. In a sense, Lancelot found it to be rather noble.

He could only imagine the turmoil he faced leaving his people – it became clearer each day that there was a major cost, a sacrifice, to staying in a different world as their king.

As they made their way into the open meadows, Lancelot watched the other hedgehog stretch to the best of his ability, locked hands reaching above his head suddenly swooping down to the flower-adorned grassy field under them, fingertips grazing the white straps of his well-loved ruby sneakers.

“Y’know,” He starts, posture reverting back to a casual stance as he turns towards Lancelot, “I didn’t really expect to have to wear all this bulk.”

The knight felt his frown deepen without him meaning to.

“That ‘bulk’ is a royal heirloom, passed down from monarch to monarch, your majesty.” But as soon as he processed the sound of his own voice, Lancelot regretted his tone. “…I— I beg you to forgive me for my insolence, sire.”

Sonic could only shrug, as if Lancelot hadn’t just spoken abrasively to him like he was some low-ranking squire. As if their relationship weren’t that of a legendary king and one of his many knights. As if their relationship didn’t have complexities woven into it through the gaps between each fibrous cross of thread. Impenetrable, so to speak, – not only to outsiders, but also to them.

“I mean, you’re not the same as him, but I’ve definitely heard far worse.” He smiled back at Lancelot even brighter somehow, like he didn’t have a care in the world, “Don’t sweat it, Lance.”

The knight’s expression grew even more perplexed.

“What?” Sonic stopped, expression mirroring Lancelot’s own, or at least whatever he could make out through his visor, “Surely that painfully abrasive tone meant that you’re a little more comfortable around me right?” He said with a sarcastic grin, motioning with a nod of his head for them to keep moving and conversing.

“That’s a good thing then! You can let your quills down and be as casual as you want, and in return I can give you a nickname. That sound like a fair trade?” Sonic laughed breezily, grazing the back of his hand against Lancelot’s arm in a half-hearted but friendly nudge.

Warmth stirred in Lancelot’s chest at his words, at his touch; like a sweet nectar that trickled down his parched throat and made him feel alive.

“You know, back home I have a friend who goes by a nickname. He’s like a brother to me, so nicknames came pretty naturally after I met him.” He spoke fondly, not catching the way he had Lancelot’s attention rapt thoroughly and genuinely, “His full name is Miles Prower, but we all call him Tails. Actually, he looks a heck of a lot like the blacksmith we have back in town! A kind and brilliant kid… just like him.”

Lancelot tried to crumple the odd feeling he got at the mention of “brother”. The conversation had more or less settled into its usual back and forth of the day as they continued strolling through the field of sweet violets; admittedly, one of Lancelot’s favourite parts of each day.

Usually these hours were somewhat one-sided conversations, but only in the sense that the king loved to talk, and Lancelot was more than content to listen and affirm. Though, he kept silent mostly out of respect and necessity – he had a responsibility to focus and protect the king, after all.

But today, when the winds are quiet and gentle and the skies bloom with iridescent clouds above them, somehow everything shifted on its axis again; for once, Lancelot was willing to finally hold up his end of the conversation. His heart throbbed loudly in his throat, in his ears, as he took a few short breaths and practiced his next few words in his head.

“I… have a sister.”

There. He said it.

He breathed her back into existence, and never again could she be kept buried deep inside of his soul.

The king slowed his pace, glancing to the side at Lancelot who still kept his eyes hidden under a visor. “Yeah? That’s really nice to hear!” Sonic immediately perks up, livelier than ever at the fact that his favourite knight companion was finally, finally opening up to him, “What’s she like? How old is she?”

Lancelot’s hand slowly reached up to his visor, hovering by the edge as he contemplated, before lowering his arm again and letting it settle by his side, not catching the way the king’s ears drooped slightly at his actions. He let a smile play on his lips instead, reminiscing about sky blue and moonlit gold.

“She’s… a good person, and she’s a little older than me. Full of love; always eager to share it with those around her, even if that means giving up parts of herself.” Lancelot spoke wistfully, affectionately, and in the back of his mind he realized that this was the most he’d ever divulged to anyone about her, “Whenever she’d scold me, there was never any harshness to it – even that was always out of love. She wasn’t perfect of course, but to me she was the closest anyone could ever be. More than anything, I… I think I miss her stories and her mischief the most.”

“Oh… what happened to h—” Sonic’s eyes widened in realization as bit his own tongue into silence, shaking his head and hastily covering up his tracks, “I’m so sorry— please disregard that, you really don’t have to answer anything you’re not—”

“…It was illness, your grace.” He solemnly answered.

“And it’s alright, please do not apologize. We live in difficult times, after all.” He gave the king a small smile, though he didn’t doubt that he could see right through his mournful expression, “I do miss her dearly, but… now that I have shared a piece of her – proof of her existence and a piece of my soul with someone like you, I do not think she will be forgotten so easily.”

The king comes to a standstill and turns to face the other, and it’s only then that Lancelot’s mind catches up with the gravity of what exactly he’s said. He hadn’t said enough to betray how he truly feels, surely, but he can’t help but feel his joints lock up anyway. The first emotion that rushes to him is dread, but then he remembers who Sonic is in the first place, takes in his charming smile in a single brave glance, and relief cleanses every bit of dread out of his system.

“Still…” The king steps closer, reaching out and letting his hand gently hold onto the other’s arm. It takes every bit of self-control Lancelot had been taught in training to not have a visceral reaction at the contact, “I really am sorry for your loss.”

But Lancelot had not been prepared for the faraway look in Sonic’s eyes as soon as he chanced a glimpse at his face. There was something… unreadable. Almost sorrowful in its nature; although something told him that King Sonic wasn’t just mourning the loss of his sister.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to listen to his gut feeling.

As quickly as his expression had come, it was gone like the wind, replaced with another casual smile. A rare glimpse of his walls unguarded. Lancelot thinks carefully – but even if Sonic was going to pretend that nothing happened, he couldn’t let it go so easily. The knight wills his heart to settle before taking the dive.

“Do you miss it?” He finally says it, quiet enough that the other could disregard him if he so pleased. “Do you miss your home world, sire?”

“I…” Sonic opens his mouth, then shuts it with a shake of his head, as if to shake an unwanted thought out of his mind, “Nah, I’ll go anywhere an adventure takes me.”

But somewhere in his heart, Lancelot felt that he wouldn’t.

He would tire of this adventure.

He would tire of his duties.

He would tire of this world.

Would a free soul like King Sonic be able to bear the crushing weight of a kingdom in pain? His kindness had seemingly no end in sight, but for how long until he runs on empty? How long until he may have to realize that there were more mouths to feed than plates to give? Or worse: more sick people than there were beds in monasteries? Would Sonic give out pieces of himself at that point, or would he have the courage and humility to step down?

Rather, would Lancelot be able to bear the sight of seeing the king’s spirit broken until it was a mere ghost of what it used to be?

“You’re thinking way too hard about this,” Sonic spoke somberly, as if reading the other’s mind. “I’ve got no plans to leave just yet.” Lancelot felt his heart leap out of his chest from being caught off guard. “Did… you hear what I just said?” he paused, “Sire, did you perhaps use witchcraft to listen in?”

Sonic stopped in his tracks, turning on his heel with an incredulous look on his face only to find that Lancelot was completely genuine. He laughed, bright and lively.

“No, of course not. I just have decent intuition… erm, sometimes.”

They continued in silence for some time, taking in the scenery around them and Sonic carefully stepping around the flowers the best he could. Things continued as normal, walking side by side for once instead of Lancelot acting as King Sonic’s tail. They watched the sun slowly dip closer to the horizon – but there were still many hours left of the day, and many more hours to spend with each other. The thought alone made his heart squeeze for a moment, and he selfishly let his mind wander with thoughts about the other world, wondering if he could ever be a part of it, even if only in his dreams.

And then, against all odds, Lancelot made a request for the first time.

“Your majesty, if you don’t mind… could you tell me more about your world?”

-x-

Another month had passed peacefully.

The king and Lancelot had gone on their patrols together as usual, Lancelot never needing to prod Sonic for answers about his world, as the latter happily indulged him with hours upon hours of grand adventures and small tidbits about his dear group of friends, and occasionally, rivals. It was the one time in the day, besides the mere minutes he spends in his chambers before inevitably crashing from exhaustion, where he felt like he could truly let his guard down and be free.

Lancelot smiled to himself. Even under the rule of a king, he felt free for the first time in years.

In the present day, King Sonic had an audience with the duke of a neighboring kingdom, accompanied by Merlina. Though one of the knights generally accompanied the king, he insisted that he could manage the meeting this time, especially with Merlina’s assistance. Lancelot casually shrugged – another unique quirk that he adapted from Sonic through his behaviour and his stories alone, although he made sure to only ever do it when the two of them were alone. It makes him both nervous and happy that he’s able to learn so much from him, that he’s able to grow even closer to him as his right-hand – his most trusted knight.

Both Sir Gawain and Sir Percival had invited Lancelot to a sparring match between the three of them, as a means of refining their skill over the course of the meeting, as well as during Sir Lamorak and Sir Galahad’s absence. If he had recalled correctly, the two of them had been sent on a great expedition.

Percival and Gawain clashed viciously, sparks flying as they both met their match. Sir Percival knew all the right points to hit; she had a keen eye for weakness and vulnerability, which meant that letting one’s guard down could be fatal within seconds of realizing it. The latter had to be the most powerful of the knights – sheer, raw, energy channelled directly into Galatine as he threw himself head on towards Percival. Lancelot personally preferred a more strategic method of fighting, but even he couldn’t deny that his strength had the potential to overwhelm him.

He stares up at the overcast sky, already missing how blue it was that day he had a heart-to-heart with his king. As the other two finish their match, with Percival as the victor, his gaze eventually settles on the dirt floor before him. Now that he really thinks about it, before he met Sonic, he’d… never really noticed these things about the others.

“…Do you know if the rumors about the king are true or not, Sir Percival?” Sir Gawain was the first to speak, chest heaving from their intensive sparring match.

Lancelot’s head shot up from the ground, any fluttering thoughts screeching to a halt as he stood from his place on the bench.

“Sir Gawain, I do not wish to partake in the spread of—”

“Rumors…?” Lancelot interrupted, taking the other two knights by surprise. It was rare enough for the black hedgehog to speak, let alone intrude on a conversation. Gawain cleared his throat, looking hesitantly between Lancelot and Percival, before he continued, “Yes, I thought… you might have already known, given that you are closest to King Arth— I mean, King Sonic.”

Lancelot continued to look onto Gawain in questioning silence, his breath caught in his throat.

“King Sonic is said to depart back to his world in a week’s time.”

Everything slowed down to a crawl for Lancelot, and he couldn’t fathom why. It was a simple sentence, but one that had the power to shatter his entire world.

A week’s time? He couldn’t be serious. It just didn’t make sense to him how or why everything was happening so suddenly.

But more than anything, even if it wasn’t true, why couldn’t Lancelot simply be happy for the king returning to his beloved home? Nausea brewed inside him, twisting and thrashing around in his stomach – anger only adding acid to the mix as he stormed up to the other knights, eyes locked onto the red echidna.

“Sir Gawain.” Lancelot says coldly, looking straight at Gawain’s confused expression and feeling relief in the back of his mind that he left Arondight propped against the bench. He didn’t know what he would do if he brought it with him. What had King Sonic even done to him to make him feel this way? “If these allegations prove to be false, and lest I find that you show yourself to be the perpetrator of these lies… there will be consequences.”

“What… do you mean by ‘consequences’?” Gawain’s look of confusion sharply morphed into one of intimidation, shoulders tense and letting out a low rumbling growl under his breath as if to challenge the other knight, “Tell me, do you doubt me, as your fellow knight? Do you doubt the loyalty I have for our king?”

Something ached inside Lancelot’s very core. Whether it was burning him up inside or settling him with a pit of grief, he couldn’t begin to differ.

“That is quite enough.”

Percival speaks up next, deep and commanding – enough to make them less tense, but not enough to break their unwavering eye contact, ruby upon amethyst in a deep scowl.

“If you are not guilty of any such crimes, then you shouldn’t feel the need to bare your teeth back at me.”

But Lancelot was the first to quickly mellow, the guilt setting inside him and taking the anger’s place as he realized that he was being impossibly defensive, far enough to threaten a fellow knight. It gnaws at him, because he knows well enough that he’ll regret this action in the coming hours – especially if the king hears about it.

He steps back, giving up and tearing his gaze away from Gawain in defeat as he clenches his jaw, heartbeat in his ears loud enough to make them twitch.

“All I was… —all I am ever after, is protecting our king’s honour.” Lancelot watches Gawain lower his guard as well, rage fading from his features as he also takes a step back, seemingly willing to listen. “I will not let his image falter.”

“That is all there is to it.” He lied.

#sth #sonic the hedgehog #satbk #lansoni #satbk lancelot #sonadow #shadow the hedgehog #sonic and the black knight #satbk king arthur #sir percival #sir gawain #my work #my fics #fanfiction #I THINK THATS IT OK #party rockers in the house tonigh

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writingtraumaforever · 1 month ago

Text

Juno: Chapter 1

Notes: Warning: I have literally never been to a concert in my life, so i'm bullshitting all of this. This was inspired by the Sonic Twitter Takeover where Shadow revealed his next concert he and Amy would be attending was Sabrina Carpenter- which are notoriously sexual in nature. My curious ass just loved the idea of exploring how Shadow may act at such an event, and here we are. Absolute crack with fluff.. and a bit of.. ahem. sex.

Summary: Sonic attends a Sabrina Carpenter concert with friends on Amy's birthday.. and a few surprise guests.

Rating: Explicit (suggestive and sexual content)

Chapter Select:

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sabrina Carpenter was definitely not on Sonic’s Spotify Wrapped Playlist. The only songs he’s really heard of hers are the ones that have inevitably gone viral on all those social media platforms. Feather. Please Please Please. Nonsense. Espresso– okay, Nonsense might be on his playlist. But that one is just catchy, okay!? Couldn’t be helped.

It’s not that he doesn’t like the singer. He has nothing against her! She’s just.. Feminine. Like. Hyper feminine. And while Sonic likes to say he’s in touch with his feminine side, saying he’s comfortable blasting Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift in public is a bit of a stretch. He has an image to uphold after all! If Eggman sees him all over the news bopping to You Belong With Me then how would he ever be intimidated by Sonic ever again???

All this to say.. He was attending one of her concerts. Not by choice! It was Amy’s birthday. And while he wasn’t keen on going to a concert of some short blonde human strutting around singing about coffee and birds, he cared about Amy. She was one of his closest friends! And if the one thing she asked for for her birthday was for everyone to attend a concert she was extremely excited about with her then so be it! Sonic could suck it up for a night and be there for his best girl.

Amy honestly hadn’t seemed to have expected Sonic to say yes, so when he did, she jumped into action and bought the necessities. She had arrived early to his house along with Knuckles to “prepare them for the night”. Preparation apparently meant fluffing Sonic’s chest fur into the shape of a heart rather than it being trimmed and combed down as usual, decorating a pink cowboy hat for Knuckles to wear. When Sonic asked why Cream and Tails weren’t coming along, Amy answered with a simple, “Not age appropriate,” and nothing more.

How explicit could coffee and feathers get??

Sonic didn’t question it. In fact, he’d rather go into this knowing as little as possible.

After Amy added some sequins around their eyes for extra glam and did her own makeup, they left for the concert! Amy was dressed in a hot pink dress of some sort that had kiss marks bedazzled all over it and a heart cut out over her chest in a peek-a-boo sort of style. Her bangs were curled in a very specific way, and her quills looked more voluminous than usual. She was stunning! And both Sonic and Knuckles told her so. While this was definitely neither of them’s cup of tea, they’d do anything for the heart of their group with no complaints. And that was absolutely Amy Rose. She’s done more than enough for all of them.

They were perfect gentlemen, opening the door to the front of Sonic’s car, the Speed Star, for her to climb into, Knuckles sitting in the back. They didn’t wanna ruin their stylish looks with walking or running to the place, opting for the rare but convenient choice of driving somewhere for once.

Once they arrived, they paid for parking and climbed out. Sonic kept his head down for the most part as to not be seen– not for the sake of embarrassment, but for the sake of not drawing too much attention. It was Amy’s night, after all.

As Sonic looked around and took in the overwhelming crowd of girls at this venue, though, he couldn’t help but honestly feel bad Amy didn’t have more girl friends her age. He supposes her position in Team Sonic has taken up most of her social life, spending her time in their close-knit group rather than branching out more. Which is a damn shame, honestly, because she was a great gal! Super sweet, easy to talk to, unconditionally loyal, and so, so caring. Most girls would kill for a friend like that! But Amy never quite fit in with most girls, it seemed. Always intimidating a lot of them with how confident she was or how outspoken she could be.

That along with the company she kept, Sonic supposes it just drove most people away.

All that to be said, Sonic and Knuckles did have a surprise guest coming to meet up with them for Amy..

He kept his pink counterpart close in the wave of Sabrina Carpenter fans, quickly taking note it would be easy to lose her in the crowd with how much pink there was. She should’ve worn a different color, damnit. Her arm stayed looped around his, bouncing up and down giddy with excitement as they inched closer to the front of the line to get in.

“Oh, this is so exciting! I have been watching videos of this concert for weeks! Thank you guys so much again for getting the tickets!” She beams, grabbing Knuckles now as well and yanking him in for a tight, group hug. Both the boys groan at the squeeze, chuckling with wide grins. “No problem, Ames,” Sonic shrugs off as he’s let go, “Your excitement is more than enough to make it worth it.” “Yeah, and plus it’s your birthday!” Knuckles adds, playfully punching the pink hedgehog in the shoulder, “Can’t let our girl down on her birthday!”

Amy just smiles wide at this, stars in her eyes and blissful with anticipation.

“You guys are just the best,” she beams, both boys bashfully blushing at this. Sonic rubbing under his nose with a little smirk and Knuckles rubbing the back of his neck with a wink.

They eventually get inside the venue, finding their seats and taking in the place. It was massive. Sonic seriously underestimated how big a deal this chick was. That being said, there were three spots left open near them, so maybe it didn’t sell out??

One was for their surprise guest, though. Whom which was now walking up.

“Hey guys!”

All their heads turned to the familiar voice, finding none other than Sticks the Badger making her way over wearing a her typical tube top but paring it with a taupe-pink skirt instead. Sonic silently appreciates the tom-boy’s effort.

Amy absolutely loses her mind, doing one of those squeals only possible for a female to perform. It was nearly at a pitch only dogs could hear, he swears–

“Sticks! Oh my Chaos, what are you doing here?!” She jumps up, wrapping her arms around her friend once she’s close enough and having the gesture returned. Sonic and Knuckles fist bump behind them proudly.

“Couldn’t miss my best friend’s birthday! Even if it is at a concert that will most likely end in us all being hypnotized by subliminal messages in the music..”

Classic Sticks.

“Oh my gosh–you came so far all for me???” Amy giggles excitedly, pulling back to look at her friend better. “Yeah! Of course, I had the help of our boys,” the badger winks, gesturing to the two who are still sitting in their seats looking up at the reunion.

“Hey Sticks.” “Long time, no see.” “Hey fellas.”

Amy’s lip wobbles and crimps up, little sniffles coming from her as she fans herself with a tearful, “You guuuuuyyyss…”

Sonic chuckles and shakes his head at her, “Don’t cry!” “Your makeup!” Knuckles adds with a little laugh. “I know! I know,” she takes a deep breath then huffs it out, “Gotta pull it together. For the glam.” “For the glam,” Sonic and Knuckles unanimously agree.

Sticks joins the three, and they all chat amongst themselves over what’s been going on in their lives since last they saw one another. Amy and Sticks have a lot of long overdue girl talk as well, leaving Knuckles and Sonic to talk about not girly things.

Like girls.

“So how’s it been, Knucks?? Still too committed to a rock to get a girl one?” Sonic teases with a little smirk.

“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Knuckles grunts with a roll of his eyes, “You can’t exactly be preaching to me about commitment either, Sonic.”

“Me?? I’m committed to the wind in my quills and the ground pounding beneath my feet, buddy. That’s the best commitment there is!”

Knuckles huffs in an amused sort of way, “Sure. Until you’re precious feet are old and wrinkled and alone.”

“I’ve got plenty of friends to keep me company,” Sonic shrugs, brushing it off with a wave, “Anyway, enough about me. We were talking about you. How’re things going with—“

“Don’t even mention her,” Knuckles groans immediately, “She’s confusing and infuriating. And batty.”

“Well. That is her species,” Sonic remarks with a smirk.

“Whatever, man. I’m just glad to have a night away from her pestering me. Kinda shocked Amy didn’t invite her—“

“Hey boys, the fun has arrived!”

Knuckles’ eyes widen, a mortified look developing on his face as he stares at Sonic, “Don’t tell me..”

“Uhh. Yup,” Sonic grins with invisible devil horns growing from his quills.

Knuckles turns and Sonic leans over to see properly as well. And sure as hell, there’s Rouge the bat looking fine as ever.

She on theme as well, dressed in a red mini-skirt that sparkles like every other girl’s there along with a matching crop top that has a heart cut out over her cleavage— an ongoing trend Sonic is noticing at this concert. Must be a Sabrina Carpenter thing. She has red sparkling high heel boots to match, the tips of her wings covered in bedazzled kiss prints and her makeup done up all spiffy as well.

Behind her, though, is the real surprise.

Shadow the Hedgehog.

Amy is immediately squealing again, moving to hug Rouge all excited and bouncy— the girl has so much energy. And that’s coming from Sonic.

“You finally made it!” she giggles, now prompting both Sonic and Knuckles to realize the two empty seats were ones for Amy’s own invited guests. Two they didn’t at all expect.

“Of course, we made it! You think we’re gonna leave the birthday girl hangin’???” Rouge grins, pressing a kiss to Amy’s cheek and leaving a bright red kiss mark there. No one bothers to point it out. It looks pretty on theme for the concert thus far anyway.

Speaking of theme, Shadow is… not on it. He’s wearing his typical leather jacket with some baggy dark denim jeans and his typical air shoes. Clothes, Sonic notes. Dude must get gussied up when he gets out. Under his jacket is a shirt that reads ‘Jesus was a Carpenter’. Which just adds to Sonic’s confusion, honestly.

But he does sport red glitter where the red cat-eye like stripes over his eyes are. Which makes his eyes look like they sparkle.. not that Sonic noticed.

He’s carrying a bunch of drinks and snacks in his arms— which is honestly a really smart idea, Sonic notes. He’s feeling snacky. Shadow is taking in the venue, looking around with a content sort of look on his face which honestly surprises Sonic. He isn’t typically one for crowded places, always seems antsy and ready to leave. Here he seems.. chill.

His eyes only move back to the group when it’s his turn to greet Amy, further surprising the blue hero with how he immediately opens his arms for her to hug him and hugs her right back with a-..

Is that a smile???

“Happy birthday, Rose,” the hybrid mumbles against Amy’s head, placing an affectionate kiss on the top of it and sending Sonic for a damn loop.

What was going on????

“Uh.. have I crossed over into another dimension or something??” he leans over, muttering to Knuckles who is also staring with obvious shock at the entire interaction.

“I wish you’d take me with you if you have, because it’s gettin’ real weird over here..,” the echidna mutters back.

Rouge’s eyes move around Amy as her and Shadow catch up, spotting Knuckles on the other side of the birthday girl and Sticks. She immediately smirks and offers him a teasing wave with a wink.

Knuckles goes rigid, blushing as he slowly offers a tiny wave in return with an awkward and messy looking grin on his muzzle.

Sonic raises an eyebrow at this, “Thought you couldn’t stand her??”

“I’m sitting, aren’t I??”

Rouge scoots past Sticks and Amy, Sonic watching as Shadow and Amy keep talking— why are they still talking??

Sonic’s eyes shift to the bat, though, as she bends down directly in front of Sonic- the poor blue lad getting a face full of bat boob through her peek-a-boo hole. His eyes very purposely do not look down there, staying locked on her own turquoise eyes as she offers him a flirtatious little grin and points at his seat, “Mind if I steal your spot?”

“Uhhh..,” his eyes glance to Knuckles in the corner of his eyes, seeing the red echidna very subtly shaking his head. So there’s really only one answer Sonic can give.

“Sure.”

Sonic can hear the quiet growl Knuckles gives as Sonic stands from his seat, allowing Rouge to maneuver around him to sit down instead. Her attention is immediately set on the echidna, and thus, their typically bickering flirtatious banter is engaged.

Sonic just chuckles to himself as he looks at the others of whom which are now all sitting..

The order is Knuckles, Sonic—who is now replaced by Rouge, Sticks, Amy, Shadow… and Rouge.. which is where Sonic will now be sitting.

By Shadow.

Huh.

Didn’t think that through.

Mentally facepalming his big oof, the hero considers asking everyone to simply scoot down one so he can sit between Sticks and Rouge, but then he’d have to ask Shadow to move and that’s just awkward considering he’s only doing it to get out of sitting next to the guy.

“Whatcha doin’, Sonic??” Amy asks, looking at the blue blur with a cute little head tilt. He rubs the back of his neck, feeling Shadow and Sticks’ gaze also fall on him now.

“I uh-.. Rouge took my spot. So I sorta gotta..”

“Oh! Here,” Amy responds, moving her crossed legs to the side so Sonic can step through easier. Sticks and Shadow promptly do the same, Sticks hugging her feet up on the seat with herself while Shadow swivels his hips to move his legs as Amy did.

Sonic just nods appreciatively and sidesteps through them, careful not to drag his tail across anyone sitting in the row in front of them. Once at the end of his friends, he promptly takes his seat next to Shadow.

This.. was weird.

He hasn’t seen the guy in… honestly, he doesn’t know how long it’s been. Perhaps it was Rouge’s birthday six months ago?? It was her 25th, and she had it at her club. Shadow had been there. He and Sonic hadn’t talked, though. He had mostly stayed talking it up with other GUN agents he and Rouge worked with, and Amy a few times. Then he left early to take Cream home while everyone else of drinking age stayed to party properly.

Sonic hadn’t even realized he and Cream were that close. Let alone that Ms. Vanilla trusted him that must with her precious girl. He was honestly lowkey offended she hadn’t asked Sonic to escort her home. But then again, Sonic had wanted to stay and party, so.. worked out, he supposed.

Either way, the point stands that he didn’t really see Shadow a lot anymore. Somewhere along the years, he and Shadow stopped their petty rivalry and grew apart. Their need to constantly outdo one another didn’t quite hit anymore. Races came to an end. Sparring slowed to nothing.

Sonic often wondered if this was simply because Shadow felt he had nothing to prove anymore. He had grown as his own person, no longer comparing himself to Sonic..

He can’t even remember the last time he heard Shadow refer to himself as ‘the Ultimate Lifeform’.

He didn’t even know where Shadow was living these days.. last he heard, he had been relocated after Eggman took over years ago with the help of Infinite. Once the Resistance took their freedom back, Shadow was moved elsewhere to help rebuild their world. He never really came back permanently. Just showed up here and there..

He looked good. He looked.. different but yet the same. Taller. Definitely taller. And his chest fur was a bit more gold-tinted than the pure white it use to be from what he can see of it peeking out from his shirt. He’s guessing that just comes with age. Most white hedgehogs do yellow with maturity. Just as Sonic’s own quills are slowly turning a slightly lighter shade of blue. More cerulean and cobalt.

The corner creases of Shadow’s eyes looked sharper, but his gaze felt softer. Calmer. Not as brooding or defensive. Sonic couldn’t see his muscles with all those icky clothes on, but he imagines the guy is probably more toned now too—

He’s busted from his train of thought when he finally realizes a bright pair of crimson orbs are staring at him expectedly.

Did… did he say something to Sonic??

“Huh??” Sonic very intelligently says.

Shadow gives an ever so slight hint of a smirk, quirking a brow as he repeats himself, “I said it’s been a while.”

“Oh- yeah! It has. When��s the last time we saw each other, Rouge’s birthday??” Sonic offers his own little smirk now, adopting his cocky persona again to try and play off his very uncool initial response.

“I believe so, though we didn’t exactly get to catch up,” the hybrid replies casually, seeming far more comfortable socializing than the last time Sonic held a conversation with him.

“That we didn’t,” Sonic nods, offering a little chuckled, “Though, I didn’t exactly realize we were on catching up terms.”

“Why would you think that??” Shadow’s brows furrow, head tilting curiously at the blue hedgehog.

“Well, you never asked to catch up before,” Sonic points out, shrugging his shoulders.

“I suppose that’s true,” he mutters after a moment of pause, seeming to ponder this as he looks back towards the stage..

Sonic doesn’t like the weird tension that suddenly just formed between them, so he swiftly changes the subject.

“Didn’t expect to see you at a Sabrina Carpenter concert,” he lightheartedly teases.

“I come to concert often with Rose,” Shadow shrugs nonchalantly, “Plus, Sabrina is extremely talented.”

Sonic hums at this, leaning closer and then nudging Shadow’s arm with his elbow, “You and Ames see each other or somethin’??”

Sonic tries really hard to not make that sound like he was prying. Or jealous.

That obviously doesn’t work.

Shadow merely snorts, seeming amused by Sonic’s question, “Why?? You jealous, Faker??”

Faker. Hasn’t been called that in a while.

Sonic huffs, rolling his eyes and quickly looking away, “I love Amy, but not like that..”

He doesn’t mention Shadow.

Shadow eyes him a moment before answering, “No. We aren’t courting one another.”

“‘Courting’,” Sonic snorts at Shadow’s fancy terminology.

“We just attend a lot of concerts together. We have a lot of the same tastes.”

Sonic can’t help but chuckle at that, “Sorry— it’s just funny imagining the Ultimate Lifeform jamming to Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.”

“I’m not the Ultimate Lifeform. You are,” Shadow corrects, and that gets Sonic’s attention. Emerald eyes dart over to crimson with a perplexed look at what he just said.

Shadow.. admitted to not being the Ultimate Lifeform?? That’s.. new.

“And either way, they make good songs,” Shadow continues before it can be dwelled on, “Their lyrics are profound and clever.”

Sonic just offers a small smirk and shrugs, “Can’t say I’ve ever really listened enough to properly process the words.”

“Then you’re in for a treat,” Shadow chuckles huskily, a chill going up Sonic’s spine. “Sabrina’s can definitely be.. interesting.”

Sonic decides not to ask what he means, looking forward to just seeing for himself.

He’s noticed a lot of children here, though, despite Amy saying the concert wasn’t age appropriate for Cream- who is now 13, and Tails who is 15. He wonders if these parents realize this and are just stupid, or if Amy is simply mistaken—

The lights dim and a large screen flashes on in the stadium, screaming erupting from all around as the show begins.

The bit is that Sabrina is running late, and when she comes rushing out with a towel wrapped around her only to slowly open it in a flashing style and reveal the shimmering bodysuit underneath, Sonic very quickly decides that yeah.

The parents are just stupid.

Amy is screaming and jumping up and down, Sticks seeming to be looking all around as though this would be the perfect time for some sort of attack.

Rouge is cheering and clapping too, Knuckles standing beside her watching with the same amount of confused intrigue Sonic is feeling.

Shadow is just smiling, standing and clapping at her entrance.

A mic is slowly lowered to her small frame, her height being shorter than most humans, Sonic notes—

Ohhh… ‘Short & Sweet’ Concert. Makes sense now.

Sonic watches as the entire crowd listens with baited breaths as the blonde holds the mic to her lips and sings,

“Oh I leave quite an impression..”

•••

The first song was alright. Typical song about a girl warning her ex’s new girl and shit. Amy is yelling the lyrics along with Rouge, the pink hedgehog bouncing while the bat sways to the beat. Knuckles seems to greatly be enjoying that more than the actual show. Sticks is still looking all around, but she’s moving to the beat as well, at least. Shadow is next to Sonic simply ever so lightly swaying to the music and nodding his head now and then. Sonic swears he detects humming from the guy at one point, but the crowd singing makes it hard to tell.

The song flows right into the second one, that one feeling far more energetic and upbeat to the point Sonic finds himself bouncing as well and letting loose a bit. If Shadow the Hedgehog can attend the concert with no remorse, so can Sonic.

These lyrics definitely are more explicit, dropping the f-bomb frequently. And much to Sonic’s astonishment and amusement, Shadow actually chants along to this one.

“I won’t give a fuck about you~—“ Sabrina will sing, turning the mic to the crowd for them to sing it back to her, which Shadow very passionately does.

“I WON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU!”

“I won’t give a fuck about you~—“

Sonic watches with a laugh as Shadow leans down to Amy next to him, her standing on her toes in her heels to get in his face as well as they both aggressively and playfully yell “I WON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU!”

It’s a rare day that Amy Rose curses, but it’s definitely a fun one.

Sonic even joins in on the chanting at the end, catching on pretty easily. Rouge is chanting it all sassy in Knuckles direction to which he just smirks and rolls his eyes at her while biting back his grin.

Sticks very much enjoys yelling explicits unabashedly as well.

The song ends and Sabrina properly addresses the crowd, welcoming them to her concert. The vibe is crazy in the place, girls screaming everywhere. Even Shadow cups his hands around his mouth and woops for her.

The next song is unexpectedly more southern styled than Sonic expects, a more acoustic-country sort of sound than the pop songs that came before. Like she’s saying welcome home to everyone.

Amy sings to this one rather than yelling, and Shadow sings now and then, too, singing some lyrics louder than others like ‘A boy who’s nice that breathes I swear he’s nowhere to be seen’ or ’Since the Lord forgot my gay awakenin’ Then I’ll just be here in the kitchen servin’ up some moanin’ and bitchin’.’

Sonic honest to Chaos can’t help but notice how passionate that ‘gay awakening’ line was from the hybrid.

Honestly, she’s really good. Her voice is strong and clear despite the choreography she’s performing, and the beat is catchy. He can see why she has a pretty damn good following. Hell. He may even start listening to her some more after this, who knows??

He definitely notices she’s a bit more.. how does he put this.. bold than other artists tend to be. She’s very comfortable with her sexuality if her movements and lyrics are anything to go off of. And with how much of a passionate and loving person Amy tends to be, it does shock Sonic one bit that she’s a fan of this girl. It’s right up her alley.

However, it does shock him Shadow is a fan. Shadow whom which Sonic swears will die a virgin. At least in his head.

But Shadow doesn’t seem at all put off by any lyrics or dancing. He seems almost to relate to them. And that throws Sonic off even more.

Or perhaps he’s simply reading too much into this. That’s probably it. He needs to relax and cut loose to have some fun and stop over analyzing his long term rival.

And as if reading his damn mind—

“You guys want a drink??” Rouge announces, slouching forward and wiggling the flask in her hand that she managed to sneak in somehow. Sonic does not want to know how.

Amy gasps and laughs with wide eyes, “Rouge, you’re so naughty!”

“It’s a Sabrina Carpenter Concert! Naughty is part of the experience~” she grins, already handing out little plastic shot glasses to the group. Filling them up one by one, they all wait until they each have one before counting to three.

Then they tip them back, downing them all in a single motion. Amy immediately wobbles a little as it hits her. Sonic himself bounces up and down and wiggles with a “Woo! That stuff’s strong!”

Shadow’s nose crinkles at the overwhelming burning in his throat, clearing his throat as Sticks coughs at the unexpected taste. Knuckles even has to cough a bit at the kick the shit has.

Rouge always has the craziest drinks, man.

Now nice and warm and tipsy, the next song begins and Amy squeals excitedly and shakes Shadow’s arm as she realizes which one it is. He just chuckles and grins as well, and Sonic feels like he’s definitely missing an inside joke or something but it’s fine. They’re having fun.

“He didn’t hold me in his arms. We didn’t stumble over the pages of our relationship arc. Ignoring tornado warnings..” Shadow is singing again. And Chaos— Sonic doesn’t try to overthink the lyrics, but Shadow sounds so earnest while he’s singing. Like he means it.

Amy’s head is resting on Shadow’s shoulder, singing along too.

“Don’t understand how quickly we get right back in our rhythm without missing a step. And logically the last thing I should have on my mind But I want you there sometimes..”

Sonic sways slowly to the song, but he keeps his ears perked at the words Shadow sings. His brow furrowed in thought as each lyric hits a little differently.

“I guess maybe that’s why I’m lying to my therapist. I keep saying things like, ‘I never saw him and we never kissed’.”

It’s just a song.

“Now I think somehow in my mind, if I could convince him, if he doesn’t see it, then maybe it doesn’t exist.”

It doesn’t mean anything.

“I think he’s onto me every time I say I’m over that son of a bitch. I’m lying to my therapist.”

The song ends and the crowd cheers, Shadow clapping as well as Amy lets out another scream. Rouge is cheering as well, her head rested on Knuckle’s shoulder and his arm is around her waist.

’So much for not being able to stand her,’ Sonic thinks to himself with a little snort.

The stage lights change to that of a sunset, Sonic only just then realizing this entire concert is simulating a sleepover. They started during the day, now it’s sunset. His guess is night is next. Then morning. And that’s probably when she’ll sing about coffee!

Shadow likes coffee..

Why is he thinking that right now???

The next song is slower as well, Sabrina playing a guitar the first half. This one seems to hit Amy extra hard. And Sonic tries really hard not to overthink that as well. He knows he’s broken the girl’s heart in the past by denying her advances. But he does love her. She’s very important to him..

But like a little sister. Or a best friend.

And while she’s over him now and has accepted that, that doesn’t mean she’s not gonna still mourn that loss of a relationship she had made up in her head for so long. And rightfully so. Let her have her experience, he won’t shame her for it.

That being said, when she screams out “The girl outside the strip club getting her tarot cards read, we love to read the cold, hard facts, and swear they’re incorrect!” he can’t help but feel a little bit like a piece of shit for being unable to requite the love she deserves.

“You don’t have to lie to girls! If they like you, they’ll just lie to themselves!”

“And girls will lose their goddamn minds for you, they’ll cry and girls will lie and do it ‘till the day they die!”

Yeah. Piece of shit.

The song ends and Amy looks like she might have a few tears rolling down her cheeks from what Sonic can see of her. So with a guilty little smile, he taps Shadow’s shoulder with a sheepish, “Can I have her a minute?” to which Shadow looks Sonic skeptically up and down before hesitantly stepping back to allow Sonic to switch places with him. Sonic wraps his tan arms tight around his favorite girl, squeezing her in a big hug as she giggles and sniffles against his chest.

“I’m alright, Sonic,” she assures with a roll of her eyes, leaning into his hug nonetheless, “Just a bit emotional.”

“Love you, Ames,” Sonic responds simply and honestly, nuzzling the top of her head to which she just giggles some more and nuzzles back with a “Love you too, Sonic..”

Sonic glances up to see Shadow smiling at them, the blue hedgehog clearing his throat and letting her go as the next song starts to instead keep one arm swing around her shoulders and sway with her leaning into his side.

And just like that, Shadow is back to singing with his whole chest and being very distracting for Sonic dear Gaia—

“You’re good at falling, not the staying there. You’re good at the giving too much then getting scared.”

Amy holds onto Sonic’s side a bit tighter as Shadow sings this one along with their entertainer for the night, Sonic keeping his eyes on the singer rather than looking around lest he gaze at Shadow.

“But now I wonder why I let your confusion keep me up at night. I’m so tired. Re-read every single undertone and I overanalyzed it, front, back and beside it. Where else can we go? There’s nothing left to decode. Done lookin’ for signs in the gaps and the silence. It’s just getting old.”

Damn. These lyrics are heavy. Shadow was right, she’s definitely got skill as a writer. The words speak to people. And it’s obvious with how Shadow’s eyes are shut and he’s singing along so shamelessly. Like he’s pouring his heart out. Amy is singing as well, but not like Shadow..

This one hits Shadow hard.

And Sonic really wants to know why..

The song ends and sure as hell, the stage goes from sunset to near night with a red curtain and lighting. Sonic’s just feels more validated in his theory.

The next song feels more upbeat, and Sonic feels a bit of relief wash over him. He was starting to feel a bit bummed with all the lyrics being thrown around. Though he’s not sure why. It’s not like he’s the reason Shadow is singing with such sweet sorrow.

Still, the place needs something more upbeat, and Sabrina is certainly providing.

And boy is she providing.

She’s sprawled out on a bed, moving around very seductively.

The song is raunchy. Exclusively about hooking up with someone, Sonic is certain.

But it’s also incredibly amusing because Shadow actually turns on some sass.

Amy is looking at Rouge and pointing at Shadow as she sings with her,

“Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent, like?”

Shadow just poses with his jacket, whipping his quills dramatically as Amy and Rouge sing, “Maybe it’s all in my head.”

Sonic laughs at this, Shadow chuckling as well, and everyone seems way more loose and silly again. Much more Sonic’s vibe.

What Sonic doesn’t expect is when the next verse starts, Shadow turns to him and starts singing along as if serenading Sonic. And the lyrics—

Oooo boy.

“Come ride on me— I mean camaraderie.” Shadow acts along, shaking his head as if correcting himself and continuing, “Said you’re not in my time zone but you wanna be.”

Sonic blinks wide at him as Shadow takes Sonic’s hand in his and dramatically clutches it to his chest as though making some sort of poetic love confession, “Where art thou, why not uponeth me?” Sonic shivers. Shadow points to his head, “See it in my mind, let’s fulfill the prophecy.”

And just like that, Shadow drops Sonic’s hand and turns right back to looking at the stage as he sings along to the chorus. Sonic is left very confused and very shook. His cheeks and ears are burning and his throat feels dry.

A lot of images are now in his head that he never expected to be there..

The rest of the song is the same vibe. Lustful and flirty and everyone seems to be vibing along with it. Rouge is practically serenading Knuckles whose muzzle is about as red as the rest of him at this point. He’s got his pink cowgirl hat tipped down as if to hide behind it all sheepish, his eyes only able to be seen by her.

Sonic is willing to bet they’re bedroom eyes.

Speaking of! The song ends with a canopy closing around a bed on the stage and the silhouette of Sabrina and some random guy getting it on to which everyone screams at. Sonic even snaps out of his stupor to wolf whistle at the scene.

Everyone is laughing as the next song starts, though Sonic is still eyeing Shadow out of the corner of his eyes.

He’s never seen him like this, so it’s just so hard to look away. He’s so… free compared to the last he saw him. Unafraid to show emotion or feeling. It’s a good look on him.

But above all, he’s still thinking about Shadow taking his hand and quite literally asking why Sonic wasn’t ‘uponeth’ him.

That was.. interesting.

There’s a mini-show on the screen between songs and then a small dance number. Then it’s the bird song! Sonic doesn’t know the whole thing, but he knows the chorus thanks to it going viral so he can finally somewhat sing along to something!

The chorus hits and the entire group sings in unison.

“I feel so much lighter like a feather with you off my mind! Aahaahaahha!”

They’re all laughing into one another, dancing and bumping hips. Knuckles takes his hat off at one point and swings it around above his head all cowboy style to which Rouge grinds on his front in the process. Sonic laughs and hypes them up along with the others, Shadow rolling his eyes at them with an amused grin.

The bridge hits and they all do the little dance that’s been all over the Internet.

“I—“ they whip their heads and jut out their hips with all the sass they can muster, “slam the door, I—“ they flick their wrists, “hit ignore, I—“ they all slowly sink to the floor, Sonic swaying his hips as he goes, “say no, no, no, no more I—“

They all stand back up, Sonic facing Shadow now and pointing at him, “got you blocked, excited to never talk, I..”

Shadow chuckles out, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

They all laugh as they sing the chorus, jumping up and down and pumping their fists. Getting into it and having fun like the kids they are.

The next two songs are the same. Sonic particularly likes the song ‘Fast Times’, which is pretty on brand for him. Sabrina definitely is feeling herself on stage, as is his friend group. They’re all feeling a bit more wild and even take a few more shots here and there. Buzzing with energy and alcohol.

Amy definitely is enjoying her birthday.

Some more of the songs Sonic enjoys are ‘All Because I Liked A Boy’ and her surprise rendition of ‘Mamma Mia’.

But when Nonsense comes on, he can’t stop himself from yelling in excitement right along with Amy.

He knows this one! Finally!!!

He’s gotta do more research before joining Amy at the next concert.

It’s like they’re damn rehearsed with how in sync their group is. The song reaches its bridge and they all mindlessly pair up. Knuckles and Rouge, Sticks and Amy, and Sonic and Shadow all face each other and do the silly TikTok dance that’s been everywhere—

“I’m talkin’ all around the clock, I’m talkin’ hope nobody knocks, I’m talkin’ opposite of soft, I’m talkin’—“

Without a single though and with all the drunken courage and hype in the world, Sonic spins around to grind his ass up against Shadow’s front as he sings “Wild, wild thoughts~”

Shadow’s eyes are huge when this happens, hands freezing up like he’s surrendering and immediately stopping singing along.

Sonic just bites his lip and spins back around to face him, putting one hand around his shoulder while moving the other as if to beckon Shadow to a challenge, “You gotta keep up with me, I got some young energy,” he’s dancing still, tail swaying back and forth seductively as he winks at Shadow, “I caught that L-O-V-E. How do you do this to me??”

And then he’s letting go of him, Shadow’s dark eyes still staring him up and down, but Sonic pretends not to notice as he keeps singing along with the song.

“But I can’t help myself when you get close to me. Baby my tongue goes numb,” Amy leans over to Sonic, their backs pressing together as they laugh and sing, “Sounds like blehblehblee~” Moving their hands in a talking motion and giggling at each other. It’s fun. Energies are high and so is something else now.. Sonic can feel it. It’s been building for a bit now, and he’s been denying it out of shock but with how Shadow’s crimson eyes stay locked on him while he moves??…

There’s a sexual charge in the air now. Heavy and thick between them. Sonic keeps it playful, but there’s nothing silly about the way Shadow’s hand lightly brushes his hip while it moves or how his fingers graze his swishing tail.

And while all this is building, the song ends and Sabrina starts another one. Now changed into a longer skirt that’s more elegant and singing a slowly song.

Shadow doesn’t sing this time.

But when the lyrics “You’re so sad, there’s no communication, but baby, you put us in this situation.”

Sonic glances over to Shadow to find him looking right back at him.

“You’re running so fast from the hearts that you’re breakin’..”

Sonic swallows hard, looking at him a long moment before quickly turning his gaze back to Sabrina on the stage. He likes the playful sexual tension a lot better than this feeling.. this one scares him.

Rouge has Knuckles arms wrapped around her from behind, holding her in a hug as they both sway side to side slowly and she sings along. Knuckles’ chin is resting on her head, a small smile on his face and his bedazzled cowboy hat all crooked on his head. Amy and Sticks have their phone flashlights turned on, raised above them and slowly swaying side to side as they sing along too. Shadow takes out his lighter— because of course the edgelord just has one on hand— and holds its flame up to sway side to side as well, gaze finally averting from Sonic and at last allowing the blue hedgehog to breathe. The song eventually ends, and the crowd cheers.

Another song doesn’t immediately begin. Rather Sabrina starts talking.

“Hey Central City.”

Everyone screams.

“It’s so stunning here. Every time I walk the streets here, I’m like— damn. What do they put in this water. Like. It’s obviously a lot better here on the East Coast than West, but it’s also really helped your genetics.”

Sonic laughs at this along with most of the audience. She’s actively flirting with her crowd and it’s comical.

“Something I’ve been so lucky to encounter on my show so far is just some gorgeous faces.. and some crazy handmade outfits that are just— wow.”

Amy screams, proud of her own outfit as she bounces up and down.

“And I want to thank you all for taking the time out of your lives to put forth so much effort and just for being here. I can’t thank you enough.”

More cheering..

Then Sabrina is cupping her hand over her eyes and looking through the crowd. Sonic notices how Shadow huffs in an amused way, smirking as he watches. Amy looks like she’s waiting on bated breath. Something must be happening that Sonic’s missing..?

“Just let me take a look at yall..,” the singer hums, the crowd cheering as her gaze skims over each section..

Then it lands on theirs.

“Woah.”

Sonic’s eyes widen. Is she looking at them???

“Holy shit— damn, I think I just found my future last name here on the fifth row, oh my god- girls come here come here come here!”

Two backup dancers join her on stage, Sonic looking over to Amy to see her reaction to this and Amy’s own eyes look wide and hopeful. Like she’s about to lose her mind.

Sabrina returns near the part of the stage closest to them, pointing directly at them, “Heyyy fellas~”

The spotlight, sure as hell, shines right over them.

“I don’t have to ask for your names..”

The crowd screams as their entire group pops up on the screen of the concert, police sirens and lights suddenly flashing and blaring through the stadium. Sonic’s ears flatten at the loud noise, a small amount of panic setting in momentarily out of pure reaction. But Shadow doesn’t seem worried. He’s laughing and grinning and Amy is screaming and jumping hysterically, so-.. he assumes it’s fine and part of the show.

Sonic gives a small grin and little wave, everyone’s screams becoming louder in the venue.

“Didn’t expect to be graced with the presence of our world’s greatest heroes tonight,” the singer compliments, the crowd cheering as she runs her fingers through her hair all flirty and cute, “You guys enjoying the show??”

They all scream in response, Sonic cupping his hands over his mouth with a “Woooo!!” and Knuckles offering a wolf whistle and wink.

Shadow just claps with a smirk.

“I’m overwhelmed— I knew your group was beautiful, but I didn’t realize you were all so gorgeous, goddamn~”

Sonic just grins all confident, chuckling and giving his trademark smirk and wink to the camera which just makes the crowd scream harder.

No way they’re getting out of here walking. They’ll have to chaos control out to avoid this crowd.

“Something is happening to me- what are you guys doing to me,” she practically moans, “I’m getting so hot and—“ her skirt drops to reveal a miniskirt underneath, “and all my clothes are falling off!”

Everyone screams, Sonic’s eyes widening in surprise and then a laugh escaping him as Shadow chuckles and rolls his eyes at the hero’s astonished reaction.

Amy is still losing her mind, screaming things like “I LOVE YOU QUEEN” and “ARREST ME ARREST ME”.

And sure as hell, Sabrina pulls out some pink, fuzzy handcuffs that have Sonic’s emerald eyes following them. He shoves his hands at his sides and nods his head subtly towards Amy beside him, now realizing what’s happening. One of them is quite literally getting arrested. And if anyone should get the honor, it should be the birthday girl.

Sabrina seems to take this hint, walking towards the edge of the stage with them and crouching down to reach as far as she can before flawlessly tossing them right to Amy,

“I must handcuff you, they match you and everything.. Amy Rose~”

The crowd roars, Amy screaming as well as she slides them right on and lifts her handcuffed hands above her head and jumps up and down victoriously. The whole group laughs, their faces finally leaving the screens as Sabrina starts her next song.

“This one’s for you, babygirl..~”

Sonic has a feeling this one is gonna be spicy.

Sure as hell, the lyrics are full of talks of hot ass, good genetics, handcuffs, and hormones. Not to mention the entire song is alluding to her want to just be impregnated by some guy— in this case, Amy funnily enough.

The beat is intoxicating, though, and Sonic’s fuzzy brain is enjoying just bouncing and bopping his head along. Him and Amy once again bumping hips as she sings, chuckling and feeling Shadow’s gaze watching them which only leads to Sonic meeting it and then moving his hips to bounce over and bump Shadow’s.

Shadow blinks at him at first before he gives a small smirk and ever so slightly begins bumping his hips to Sonic’s as well. Sonic just laughs and bounces between them, Amy giggling as well and still dawning her new pink fuzzy handcuffs.

“Wanna try out some freaky positions?”

Sonic watches as Sabrina runs up to the front of the stage, sinking to her knees and spreading her legs as she pulls her hair back with one hand and moves the mic in a very suggestive blow-job motion in front of her mouth, “Have you ever tried this one??”

The crowd has once again lost it, Sonic’s eyes widening and his tongue going dry at the sight.

Yup. Not age appropriate. He definitely gets it now.

What really throws Sonic off is how Amy leans forward and across Sonic to playfully swat Shadow with a, “You have!!” laughing all half drunk and giddy. Shadow’s eyes widen, chuckling as he holds a finger to his lips and hushes, “Shhhh, Rose!”

But he can’t be offended on Amy’s birthday. Especially when she’s having so much fun.

Sonic on the other hand, looks absolutely scandalized. His gaze slowly turning to Shadow with his brows raised high above his head.

Shadow is still swaying to the beat, eyes watching Sonic now as they share a silent moment of communication.

Shadow just smirks and shrugs, turning back to the stage as if it’s no big deal.

Um— it’s a big deal!

Sabrina announces now that she wants the crowd to get on their knees with her now, everyone who is able. Amy is immediately on the ground, no second thoughts. Sticks looks skeptical, but she slowly moves down as well. Rouge does so slowly, her ass purposely grinding down Knuckles as she goes. Knuckles swallows and slowly follows behind her.

Sonic looks to Shadow to see if he’s doing it and what he finds is..

Oh sweet Chaos..

“Adore me..,” Shadow is singing, his eyes watching Sonic’s as he moves down to his knees painfully slowly. Sonic’s eyes are wide as he watches Shadow bow before me, “Hold me and explore me..” It’s like there’s no one else in the room for a moment, pupils blown and interlocked. Sonic’s lips are parted and his heart is pounding as he watches Shadow mouth, “Mark your territory.. tell me I’m the only only only only one..”

Sonic feels a pressure on the back of his leg, Shadow’s gloved palm slowly sliding around his calf and sliding up to the back of his knee..

“Adore me.. hold me and explore me..”

Sonic might be drooling. He’s not sure.

“I’m so fuckin’ horny..~”

Sonic moans. Absolutely involuntary and unexpected, a hand quickly covering his mouth when he realizes. His eyes are huge okay?? Shadow’s hand is up to the back of his upper thigh at this point, and Sonic thinks he’s gonna have to dismiss himself if Shadow keeps this up..

“Tell me I’m the only only only only one..”

Shadow is leaning dangerously close to Sonic’s crotch.. teasing.. crimson eyes half-lidded and looking up at the cobalt hero.

He knows what he’s doing..

“Now everyone, let’s get up and dance!!!” Sabrina shouts out, and the entire crowd jolts up with a scream, nearly breaking the hypnosis Sonic was under.

Nearly.

Everyone is dancing like it’s the last thing they’ll ever do in their lives, but Sonic’s eyes are still watching Shadow as the hybrid slowly rises back to his feet and stares right back..

Sonic’s breath is shaky, Shadow is staring at him like it’s a damn challenge. No-… an invitation.

Sonic snaps out of it, clearing his throat and quickly turning to the group, “I’ll be back— gotta go take a bathroom break.”

They all nod, waving him off and not taking their eyes off the performance.

Shadow scoots back so Sonic can quickly brush through him towards the aisle and then the exit.

The line for the women’s bathroom is insane. But the men’s is near empty. Thank Chaos.

Sonic rushes inside, finding only a few urinals being used and most the actual stalls open. He clammers into one and locks it shut with a heavy sigh. Rubbing his hands back through his quills, Sonic closes his eyes and breathes. Tries to get that look out of his head. Those fuck-me eyes Shadow had been giving him..

Listening to the muffled concert outside, he hears the door open now and then as men come and go. For a moment, it’s silent in the bathroom outside his own breathing. He leans against the stall wall..

What is he doing?? It’s Shadow! Not someone who matters.

Why is he getting under his skin like this?? Well- He’s always gotten under his skin, but-.. this is different.

The door opens and he hears footsteps walk in, staying quiet so whoever it is can do their business then leave.

“Sonic??”

Well shit.

Sonic holds his breath, hearing Shadow walk slowly towards the only closed stall.

Breathing out, he replies as casually as he can, “Give me a second to do my business, dude.”

Shadow huffs at this, Sonic can practically see his eyes rolling.

“Are you alright??”

“Uh..,” Sonic tries to play it off, “Yeah?? That’s a weird thing to ask when a guy is takin’ a—“

“I can see your feet, idiot,” Shadow grumbles, “I know you’re not actually using the bathroom.”

Sonic looks down at his feet that are very much sideways in the stall due to him leaning against the wall, groaning at his own stupidity before flushing the toilet he never used and unlocking the stall to come out. Shadow is standing there, sure as hell. Arms crossed with a furrow in his brow, but there’s a sympathetic sort of look in his eyes..

It makes Sonic uneasy.

“I was just finishing,” Sonic remarks, unwilling to admit to being caught.

Shadow huffs at this, “Right..”

Sonic walks past him, “All yours, pal. But it’s a little weird you wanted to specifically use the one my ass sat on—“

“Why’d you never talk to me at Rouge’s party??”

Sonic halts, turning to look at Shadow with confused eyes.

“.. you wanna do this now??” Sonic asks with a little smirk, not letting his cool mask fall.

“Before the night ends and we go back to never speaking to each other,” Shadow answers, taking a few steps towards Sonic with his arms crossed.

“…You didn’t care.”

“What??” Shadow’s brows furrow now, looking confused as Sonic does.

“When I was dead.. for 6 months. Trapped on the Death Egg, being tortured.. you didn’t care,” Sonic explains with a sigh, shrugging his shoulders and averting his gaze. He keeps a casual smile, though, trying his best to seem unbothered by the heavy subject, “You never came and talked to me or checked on me. Just fought by me until the job was done.. and then you left.”

Shadow’s lips part at this, looking shocked by Sonic’s recollection of everything.

“Of course I cared, you idiot, I-..,” Shadow pauses, seeing how Sonic just smirks a bit sadly at him and quirks a brow. The hybrid sighs at this, trying again, “I didn’t-.. I didn’t mean to make you feel as though I didn’t care, I-… I blamed myself..”

Sonic frowns now, looking at Shadow as he crosses his own arms, “What do you mean??”

“It was me who motivated Infinite into becoming the villain he was.. my bitterness and need to make everyone feel inferior to me is what led him to Eggman. And thus-.. your downfall..,” Shadow explains quietly, eyes looking at Sonic’s with shame. And oh.. that hurts Sonic somewhere in his chest.

It makes sense now.. why Shadow is so different. If he genuinely blamed himself for Sonic’s supposed death, it may have been enough for him to start trying to make some changes to himself and his life.. not be so condescending and isolated and instead be more open and accepting.

Sonic takes a small step towards Shadow, a hand reaching out as if to touch him only to stop himself and take it back with a frown, “…It wasn’t your fault, Shads.”

“I couldn’t face you,” Shadow continues regardless, “After what I had caused— my own copy had been one of the ones to take you down.. It was my doing. All of it. I had killed our greatest hero, and when you came back?? I couldn’t bear the thought of being the cause of something like that again..”

Oh Shadow..

“I was a liability. A threat- a danger to you and everyone else. My physical and genetic perfections were outweighed by something I had overlooked.. personality flaws,” he says simply, looking down now with an angered look. Not at Sonic, but at himself.

Sonic stays quiet, unsure what to say..

He knows Shadow. Arguing with him on it won’t change his mind.

“I never didn’t care,” Shadow eventually says, his eyes shutting a moment before returning to Sonic’s, “On the contrary, Hedgehog… I cared far more than you realized.. enough to walk away from all of it.”

Sonic’s brows knit at this, looking at him a long moment.

They stay like that. Staring at one another with heavy-burdened gazes and deep sentiment..

Sonic’s feet are moving before his brain is, reaching out to Shadow and cupping his cheeks in his hands to yank him right in.

Their mouths collide, rough and sudden and teeth clattering and lips bruised and—

It’s only a flash of a moment and then Sonic’s brain is catching up, immediately releasing Shadow and backing away with wide eyes and, “I’m sorry, I—“

Shadow isn’t having it, a hand grabbing Sonic’s waist and the other cupping around to the back of the hedgehog’s head to jerk him right back in.

This time the kiss is long. Hot and heavy and desperate, needy and rough..

Unspoken words in a mess of a kiss.

Sonic’s own hands move to slide up Shadow’s front over his shirt, one gripping at the fabric and the other sliding up to clutch Shadow’s chin as their heads tilt to maneuver the kiss deeper.

Eventually, air is a thing and Sonic has to pull away with a gasp only for Shadow to immediately shove Sonic back.

Sonic stumbles a bit, feeling worry creep in that Shadow was regretting this already—

Only to see Shadow digging in his quills for a red chaos emerald, pulling it out and shoving it into Sonic’s hands. They’re both panting. Both sloppy and shaky and way too pent up.

Sonic fumbles the emerald in his hand and looks at Shadow confused for a second only for Shadow to dive right into his neck and start licking and biting and kissing.

Sonic’s knees feel weak, his eyes rolling back with a shaky moan leaving his lips.

Shadow just growls in response, “Get us out of here.”

“Where??” Sonic very stupidly asks— his brain go brrr okay??

Shadow snorts against his neck, Sonic’s own lips curling up at the sound, “Your place, idiot.”

“Oh-,” Sonic’s eyes shoot open again, realization dawning on him as he nearly drops the emerald all over again once it does, “OH.”

He’s gonna get the Ultimate Lay.

Raising the emerald high above his head, he breathes out a very quick and anxious, “Chaos control-“

The two disappear in a flash.

29 notes · View notes

heroictoonz · 10 hours ago

Text

How Sweet That Taste of Remembrance

Ships: Past Lancelot/Sonic, Past Sally/Sonic (mentioned, not focused), Sonadow

Warnings: N/A

AO3 L!nk in the Comments!

Sonic had written the letter more times than he could count. Practicing his words over and over as he tried to find what to say and how to say it. How was he supposed to even write something like this?

How did he tell his husband in the past that he was suddenly shot forward into a future where he and everyone they knew were long gone? How did he explain his eventual decision to stay…

It was a lot. A lot of emotions and nowhere near enough words. Too many words and none of them were what he needed.

It took him months to write the letter. That part didn’t really stress him out. If his plan worked, he could leave it for Lance the very morning the knight would have woken up to an empty bed.

An empty bed… Sonic’s bed had also been empty.

Sonic was never one for serious relationships. He could count on his hand how many he’d had and with those same fingers how long they’d lasted. In a lot of cases it was a mutual understanding when they ended. Sonic was just too much for a lot of people.

Sally had always kept up with him in a way few could. She was a lot like Lance, if he was honest. They both grounded him, kept him from floating off into the clouds, never to be seen again. He saw the same spark in their eyes when Sonic would banter with them, doing or saying something just to get a rise. Even when it worked, both of them were eager to snap back with something just as strong. Worthy opponents in both wit and strength.

Neither of them took it to heart when Sonic ran off for days on end. Neither of them questioned when he came back, needing help brushing the leaves and flowers and twigs from his spines. Both of them set him free knowing he would come back to them. Just as well as both of them would stake his feet to the ground when they knew he needed it.

He always knew he had a type but this was starting to get ridiculous. Especially when he started to recognize his most recent target of affections. Of course, there were a few key points that made him a bit more uncomfortable about it all.

Shadow was also a lot like Lance.

Not just in personality as Sally was but in physicality as well. Of course they weren’t the exact same.

Shadow’s fur was a darker, almost night black where Lance was closer to a smokey grey. Shadow like the dark of his name sake, Lance like the metal of his. Their stripes were similar, both a nice red, though Lance’s were thinner. Their eyes were also both red but Shadow’s were bright and alien while Lance’s were a deep burgundy. And Shadow was alien. Very alien. Not in any way Sonic disliked. There was this otherworldly beauty to the details of Shadow’s features that made him stick out in their own way. His eyes shined brighter than normal. His claws and fingers just a bit longer.

They were similar but not exact. Sometimes Sonic wondered if there was a chance the hedgehog DNA used was from Lance’s bloodline. If that would somehow explain the similarities.

However, even in these thoughts, Sonic concluded that his mourning was still ongoing and any relationship he might want to pursue with Shadow would need to be at a later date. Instead, he kept rewriting his letter.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have the words to say, in fact quite the opposite, he had plenty of words to say. Years worth of words to say. But this letter was too important, his emotions too strong. What was put in there would be the last not just Lance but anyone from that time would probably ever hear of him. It was why he was sitting and giving much longer pause to what was going into it.

He decided even if he wasn’t done with the letter, he would go ahead and get its delivery set up. After all, he didn’t see Silver all that often.

Sonic made sure that the next time Silver was in their neck of the woods that he pull the other to the side and officially ask him for help.

“You said you needed to ask me something?” Silver questioned with a light tilt of his head.

Sonic was leaning against the wall with a nonchalance that was pretty common for him. He gave a nod and a hum. “I, uh, well I need a favor,” he started with.

“A favor?” Silver questioned in return. “What kinda favor?”

Sonic chewed on the inside of his lip in thought. He hadn’t really thought about how he would go about asking without having to explain way more than he wanted to.

“There’s this… letter I need sent out.”

Silver frowned and crossed his arms. “I’m not a post office, Sonic,” he bit.

Sonic groaned and let his head fall against the wall behind him. “It’s a time travel thing, Silver.”

“Oh,” Silver muttered, dropping his arms back to his side. “Wait, you need to time travel mail a letter?”

The speedster sighed and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Somethin’ like that,” he mumbled. “Listen, I really can’t explain it all but… I need you to go into the past and put down a letter for someone. Could you do that for me?”

Silver’s frown kept as he looked at Sonic before looking down at his own feet. His hands found his hips as he gave a soft sound of frustrated consideration. “I dunno… Sending a letter back in time like that could cause major disruptions to the timeline.”

“What if—” Sonic hesitated with his next words. He needed to convince Silver to do this without telling him the whole story. But the first thought he had to do just that he really didn’t like. “What if I let you read the letter before you take it? You can decide if it’s gonna cause a problem or not.”

Silver looked back up at him with a questioning brow. “Why is this so important to you?”

“It… it just is,” Sonic mumbled. “Listen, Silv, I really can’t get into the details you kinda just gotta trust me with this one, okay?”

Silver’s frown didn’t really let up but his shoulders dropped just a hair and his eyes turned back towards the ground. When he finally did look back up at Sonic, it was with a drawn-out sigh. “I can read it first?”

Sonic nodded.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

***

Sonic had forgotten about the letter.

‘Forgotten’ was a strong word. More like put it on the back burner. Every word he wrote felt like not enough and every paragraph was too much. He wasn’t really sure what to do. He decided that continuously stressing over it wasn’t gonna help either way. Silver had already agreed to take the letter when it was done and it could be dropped off the very morning Sonic disappeared so there wasn’t really that much of a time crunch. It just had to happen… eventually.

Eventually didn’t come as life continued to pass by. It was actually a while before Sonic even looked at the letter again. By then he had actually started dating Shadow.

They’d finally stopped dancing around each other and actually talked about their feelings. Since then things had been great. There wasn’t much of a honeymoon phase for them; they just weren’t that kinda people. They were happy to just keep being as they always were just with some added romance in the mix.

However, it was only a little under a year into their relationship before their first real hitch. Shadow learned about Lance.

Sonic had gotten sick right after the new year and was very lucky to have a loving and attentive boyfriend during the time. However, the fever that had plagued him caused his mind to cloud and any thought almost completely lost to static.

When Shadow had come up to him during one of these moments, in his lack of clarity, Sonic had for some reason confused him for Lance. Even to the point of calling him the wrong name.

He’d tried to wave it off as being delusional from his fever, but even he could tell that his lie was only making Shadow more anxious. The anxiety had clearly hit its peak when Shadow cornered him, trying to force him into telling the truth of the mysterious ‘Lance’.

But Sonic couldn’t say. He couldn’t find the words or even the heart to try and tell the story again. The fear of not being believed returned to him. The feelings he had let lie in the past coming back to haunt him. It was all just too much.

Sonic snapped at Shadow before running off.

That was when he picked the letter back up. He remembered having left it in his junk of a house and dug it out. He made his way off with it to Solaria. Somewhere far off that hopefully Shadow or anyone else wouldn’t think to look for him.

He sat with the letter under a tree that had just begun to start budding again in the early year. He read over what he had last written with a sigh. He remembered why he’d stopped writing it for a bit. The words had just stopped working properly. The letter was like alphabet soup to his addled mind. He doubted he would actually be able to work on it in such a state.

Sonic put it to the side and laid back against the grass. He thought about Lance and the kingdom. About all his friends he’d made and then had to leave behind. He wondered how their lives ended up. He knew the fate of the Grand Kingdom, lost to war and to time after the peak of his rule. There was nothing left but ruins.

The very ruins that when Sonic found himself back in his own time he ran to and dug through. He hardly even knew what he was looking for at the time. Maybe Caliburn? Some evidence of the knights? Maybe even something to prove that it hadn’t all been some wild dream the whole time…

He knew it couldn’t have been a dream. No matter how long he was left questioning it, there was just no way it could have been a dream. There was no way that whole part of his life he’d lived was just a figment of his imagination.

He picked the note up again and looked over it.

Maybe it was time to tell someone.

He thought about if Shadow would even believe him or not, but in all truth, he wasn’t sure it mattered anymore. If anyone would understand the emotional impact of losing a home and a family so suddenly, it was Shadow. Maybe he wouldn’t believe him, but Sonic trusted Shadow to not make fun of him or try to call him a liar.

There was no doubt in Sonic’s mind that if he told Shadow the truth that the other would listen. Maybe that was all that really mattered. Not someone to believe him, but for someone to genuinely listen to him.

So Sonic found Shadow.

He wasn’t expecting to find him at that old trailer. Shadow must have been looking for him anywhere he could think, even though Sonic himself hadn’t been to his and Tails’ old childhood squat in many years.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter as he ran up to face Shadow.

The conversation had gone well. Sonic didn’t explain nearly as much as he was planning to, the words just kept getting stuck somewhere inside him, but he explained enough to ease Shadow’s fears and to feel more at ease in himself as well.

And Shadow had believed him. Honestly and truly believed him. It was better than he had hoped by far. When they went home Sonic found a comfortable spot snuggled up against Shadow on his couch to calm down from the rush of emotions. He also thought about the letter.

After he’d left Shadow’s house Sonic pulled out the letter once more. He reread what he had and then grabbed a fresh paper and started again. Finally, he finished the letter. With a clear mind and a fresh heart he wrote down what would be the last words he would give to that part of his life.

***

When Sonic handed Silver the letter the other gave a raised eye ridge. “What’s this?” he asked.

“That letter I need you to deliver, remember?”

Recognition flashed on Silver’s face. “That was so long ago,” he sighed. “I’d forgotten…” He looked down at the letter and back at Sonic. There was clear hesitation in his expression.

Sonic waved a hand at him. “Go on,” he sighed. “Read it. Make sure it’s up to your time traveler standards.”

The look of hesitation didn’t leave but Silver flipped open the letter. His face changed the second his eyes landed on the page. He looked back up at Sonic but the blue hedgehog was keeping his own eyes to the side. Silver didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued to read.

After a moment he closed it again and sighed. “There’s nothing about the future in this, at least nothing that could cause a problem,” he finally said.

Sonic looked up at him. “So you’ll send it?”

Silver frowned but gave a nod. “I’ll need the exact date and place but… yeah. I can send it. It’s just… what is this all about, Sonic?”

Sonic met his eyes. He saw so many emotions he wasn’t even sure what to make of half of them. He ran a hand over the back of his neck before giving Silver a tired smile. “I’ll tell ya over a chili dog someday. Just not today, okay?”

That gave Silver pause but he nodded all the same.

***

Lancelot woke up to the lack of soft blue fur under his arm. It wasn’t that uncommon that Sonic would rise before him. Probably out with Gawain or Percival for a morning spar. Or even with the blacksmith just “hanging out” as he’d described it.

He raised from their bed and stretched out his arms, throwing a hand through his quills with a sigh. He’d gotten up to reach for his armor and start his day, but was quick to notice a folded paper with his name scrawled on it resting just atop the desk.

He walked to it and flipped it open to read.

My dearest Lancelot,

I know this letter will find you more confused than anything else, and I’m sorry for that. I guess even Merlina’s spells have a time limit on them. I found a way to get this letter to you as soon as possible. I wanted you to know that I’m safe and alive, but that I am gone.

I found myself waking up back in my own time, the life I held before I found myself in your hands. I do not believe there is any real way for me to come back to you without knowing the sort of magic Merlina practiced. And even if there was, it is with a heavy heart that I admit I have decided it’s best I stay here. It hurts to leave you, but The Grand Kingdom was not my time or my home. It needed me and I took care of it in those moments, but my home needs me too. The people and planet I left behind have always leaned on me and I can’t abandon them.

Leaving the kingdom without a king will have repercussions, I know. But I also know that it’s nothing you and the others can’t handle. I trust you all to find the right person to lead you and take the kingdom into prosperity. The history books tell of many great years for the kingdom to come and I know you will all prosper without me.

Tell the others of this letter. Tell them that I am safe and that their memories will be with me forever. Tell them that I wish them all the best and that the years our lives crossed paths were just as beautiful and important to me as any other.

The same goes to you.

Lancelot, my knight, you will stay close to my heart for the rest of my days. I don’t know what comes after in this life, but if you see me, know that you will always be a part of me. No matter who I meet and who I lay with in the future, I will always love you now as I did then. And please, do the same. Remember me, but do not let my loss end you. Keep moving forward, my love. Continue to live and to learn and thrive in your life and your time.

With Love,

Sonic

Lancelot held the letter to his chest and fell to his knees in tears.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic and the black knight #sir lancelot #lansoni #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #silver the hedgehog #fan fiction #fan fic #toonz writing #idk what else to tag this lol

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tenebraevesper · 5 months ago

Text

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 58: The Rush Adventure

''Life starts with a sunny day, let's feel our ocean breath! We are cruisin' open seas, can't wait for a new venture!''

– A New Venture by Sonic Rush Adventure

xXxXxXx

Lucas had to admit that he was glad that the familiar prickling of anxiety had gradually disappeared and was replaced with complete confidence whenever he had to fulfill his duty as the Leader of Team Neos, especially when he had some exciting news for his friends. Speaking of which, said team was gathered at the Taylor Workshop, which has pretty much become the main gathering spot for them, eagerly awaiting the news.

''I got a message from Sana last night, and she and Blaze have invited us to visit them at the Surya Empire,'' he told everyone. The reaction was, as expected, filled with excitement and chatter about seeing their old friends. Despite living in a completely different country, Team Neos, mainly Lucas and Minami, decided to take charge of keeping in contact with Sana and Blaze, telling them about their adventures in Neos City and even giving them a detailed description of how to utilize Chaos Surge when Sana expressed the desire to learn how to use it.

''I can't wait to see Blaze and Sana again,'' Silver said, with Amy, who was sitting next to him, nodding in agreement. ''It feels like it has been so long since we met them.''

''I know that you're all excited to see them, but there is something we need to discuss first,'' Lucas said, drawing everyone's attention. ''How are we going to make the trip from Neos City, Starpoint Area, to Karuna, Surya Empire, considering how that country is located overseas?'' There was a moment of silence, with everyone staring at him, causing Lucas to continue, ''Before anyone says the obvious, I have checked the prices for flight tickets, which aren't the cheapest for a bunch of teenagers, as well as how long it would take us to get there, which would be around 11 hours. Sana and Blaze will be accomodating us once we get there, so we don't have to worry about where we'll stay. Still, this would be a trip we'd need to prepare for properly, not just leave whenever we want.''

''About the flight, maybe I could arrange something so we wouldn't have to worry about the cost of the trip,'' Lily said, with everyone giving her a curious look. ''My parents have access to a private plane which they use for business trips, since Rising Quest has branches in multiple countries and my parents aren't fans of commerical flights. I could ask them whether it would be fine to use it for our trip.''

''Okay, but what if they refuse? From what I'm understanding, the plane is supposed to be used for business purposes only,'' Makoto pointed out.

''True, but I have a way of convincing them to borrow it for this trip,'' Lily replied, a sly smirk forming on her lips.

''If that's so, then we still have to agree on a date. We're still several weeks away from summer holidays, but I don't think school shouldn't be much of an obstacle given our system. I had also called my parents about this, and they were fine with letting me go on this trip, so long as I'm with Sonic,'' Lucas explained, with the azure hedgehog giving him a cheeky grin.

''Dude, saying that they were 'fine with the trip' is an understatement. They were actually really excited to hear that you want to visit another country,'' Sonic pointed out. ''Besides, I think it would be best if we leave as soon as possible.''

''I think it won't be hard to get our parents' consent for this trip,'' Minami said, with the rest of the team agreeing with her. Considering the circumstances and the fact that the one who invited them for the visit was the imperial princess, it would be rude to decline the invitation.

''There is one more thing to consider, though,'' Shadow suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. ''Have you forgotten that we would be leaving Neos City at the mercy of the Doctor?''

This caused everyone to suddenly fall silent, as they realized they sort of forgot about Dr. Eggman and the fact that he could easily attack the city in their absence. However, Sonic waved it off.

''Knowing Eggman, I don't think he'd be interested in launching an attack on the city if I'm not here. After all, that wouldn't be how the game works, and Eggman is dedicated to form,'' Sonic pointed out, confidently, with Shadow giving him a doubtful look.

''I wouldn't be as confident as you are,'' Shadow told him, arms folded across his chest.

''Oh, com'n, Shads, have a little faith.'' Sonic attempted to persuade the dark hedgehog, not at all intimidated by his steely gaze. ''Point is, this is all a game to him, and if I'm not around to provide a challenge, he won't be interested in attacking the city.''

''While that is true, I really hope that this won't be him deciding to just take over Neos City while we're away,'' Tails said, giving Sonic a look of concern.

''We could ask Rouge and Omega to keep an eye out for him. After all, Omega had been itching to annihilate Dr. Eggman,'' Touka suggested.

''I suppose we could do that,'' Shadow muttered, glancing at Sonic, who just gave him an assuring smile. He then sighed, but nodded in agreement.

''Okay, then we should go and prepare. Lily and Knuckles, you give me a call if you manage to secure the transport,'' Lucas said, with Lily and Knuckles nodding in acknowledgement.

xXx

''You want to go where?!''

''You want do do what?!''

Lily's parents were completely baffled when they heard their daughter's demand. Ever since she had brought Knuckles back home to act as her Guardian, her parents were making compromise after compromise in regards to where she was allowed to go. Only recently, they had found out what she was really up and were immediately intimidated into complying with her demands after she punched a hole through the wall of the mansion. Realizing that there was really nothing they could do to keep their daughter confined at home, they finally relented and let her do whatever she wanted as long as she was safe. They had figured that this would keep her calm and at peace, only to get hit by a sudden demand that left them stunned.

''As I had told you, me and my friends want to go to the Surya Empire and I wondered if it would be fine to take the plane you use for the business,'' Lily repeated her request.

''No, absolutely not! How can you even think of travelling into another country?'' Lily's father. Knuckles gave Lily a curious look, wondering if he should intervene, but Lily's expression told him that she had everything under control.

''Didn't you use it for vacation several months ago?'' Lily asked in a deadpan tone, leaving her parents a little flustered, only to immediately follow up with, ''But, I guess that's okay. I will have to tell the imperial princess that I'd have to reject her invitation.''

''W-Wait a moment!'' Lily's mother interrupted her. ''Did you just say the imperial princess?''

''Yeah, we were invited by the Imperial Princess of the Surya Empire, Sana Jai, personally,'' Lily clarified, a smirk forming on her lips when she saw her parents' shocked expressions. ''We actually met her a while ago when she was visiting Neos City.''

''Well, if it's the imperial princess, it would be plain rude to refuse an invitation,'' Lily's mother suddenly spoke up. Knuckles rose an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude.

''I agree. It would be a bad idea to just reject the offer,'' Lily's father added. ''I hope you and your friends know how to behave before the princess.''

''Of course we do,'' Lily replied.

''Well, I guess that's settled. You are free to go, and please, make sure you put in a good word for our company. We could branch out into the Surya Empire,'' Lily's mother said, giving Lily a forced smile.

''Thanks. I'll go prepare for the flight,'' Lily told the two, turning on her heel and walking away alongside Knuckles, grinning smugly. ''I told you I could convince them.''

''Let me guess, they only agreed because you were invited by Sana and they want to take advantage of that,'' Knuckles said.

''You're absolutely correct,'' Lily replied. ''My parents had been telling me about the importance of connections, so I'm simply doing what they had told me.''

''They certainly taught you well,'' Knuckles commented, a grinning at her.

xXx

Lucas sighed, busy reading a book and trying to relax. Team Neos was on a plane well on their way towards the Surya Empire, and while they had managed to get everything in order, he still had that nagging feeling that something bad might happen. However, it was also possible that he was just a little nervous because he and his friends were literally travelling into a different country for the first time in their lives.

He looked up, noting how the rest of the team were either excited or just trying to keep themselves entertained during the flight. Warren and Makoto were playing a video game on the portable console Warren brought along; Touka, Lily, Minami, Amy and Silver were excitedly talking about seeing Sana and Blaze again, with Touka mostly listening to their conversation while looking out of the window, watching the landscape below; Knuckles and Tails were having a heated game of UNO; and Shadow was reading a book while trying to ignore Sonic who was pacing around the aisle the moment they were told that they could unbuckle. Despite the fact that Sonic had assured him that he was fine being on an 11-hour flight, it was obvious that the hedgehog would've preferred to run across the ocean rather than sit still for so long. He did join Tails and Knuckles for a few rounds of UNO, but then left after Knuckles won one too many of those rounds and started teasing Sonic about his loss, with the hedgehog becoming restless once again.

''Hmmm…''

Shadow's ears twitched as he heard Sonic humming, his rival having plopped himself down in the seat right next to him and tilting his head in such way that he could also read the book Shadow was reading. Shadow decided to ignore this and flipped the page, only to hear a disappointed sigh coming from his side, figuring that Sonic probably didn't read the page to the end. It didn't really make sense to Shadow that Sonic would just start reading the book while he was 1/3rd into it, but he decided to continue as if nothing happened. Another swift flip of the page, and he caught Sonic pouting, but not saying anything. Realizing that he wasn't getting his moment of peace, Shadow placed the book on the armrest between the two seats. Sonic gave Shadow a happy look, smiling at him.

''You know, if you really wanted to read the book, you could've just asked me,'' Shadow told Sonic in a deadpan tone, holding the right side of the book.

''I didn't want to bother you, Shads. I had figured I could read it in a stealthy way,'' Sonic replied, holding the left side of the book.

''Stealth isn't your forte, Sonic,'' Shadow told him in a matter-of-fact tone, with Sonic giving him a sheepish look.

''Heh…'' He then turned to the book, reading the page. Shadow decided to no longer pursue the issue, focusing on the novel he had been reading. It was only a minute or so later that Shadow then felt Sonic leaning against his shoulder, making himself quite comfortable in his seat and still sporting that goofy smile on his expression. Shadow couldn't help but smile a little, realizing that Sonic had finally calmed down.

Lucas also smiled when he saw this, turning back to his own book, but he kept thinking back to his conversation with Sana and Blaze, having called them to confirm that they would be coming. Sana had told him that she and Blaze were investigating another pirate raid and asked him whether Team Neos would join the two during their investigation, something Lucas agreed to, as he doubted any of his teammates would just ignore any opportunity for an adventure. Since they would be arriving in Karuna at evening, they would be leaving to investigate the pirate raid the next day, mainly because Blaze didn't want to waste more time as she feared that the pirates would be moving onto another target.

Lucas snorted in amusement. I guess our next adventure is basically going to be Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. I wonder where that will go.

xXx

Fortunately, their flight to Karuna went without any issues and once they arrived at the airport, Sonic immediately wanted to leave for a run, only to get stopped when two cars that Sana and Blaze had sent drove up to them, with the drivers telling them that they would be driven to the Sun Palace, much to Sonic's dismay. He did relent after he was reminded that he doesn't know the way to the Sun Palace and sat together with Lucas, Tails, Makoto and Silver in one car, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow sat in the other car. The drive itself was filled with people trying to get a good view of Karuna, as it turned out that they wouldn't be driving through the city due to the Sun Palace being built on a hill next to the ocean rather than being within the city. Once they had arrived, they were greeted by Sana and Blaze right at the gate.

''Hey, Sana, Blaze! It's nice too see you again!'' Lucas greeted the two, followed by the rest of the group.

''It's nice to see you all as well,'' Sana said, her and Blaze exchanging their greetings with the group, then motioning to them to follow the two inside the palace. ''I hope you aren't too tired from the flight. You can also leave your luggage in the lobby, I'll ask someone to bring it to your rooms.''

''We're fine, thanks,'' Minami said, no one in the group noticing Sonic's annoyed look as he itched to just leave and go for a run.

''You had told us that you've been having trouble with pirate raids. How bad is it?'' Silver asked.

''The situation is manageable, but we've gotten reports of robotic pirates raiding ships. Sana and I had realized that we might ask you for aid, since you would be very experienced in destroying robots,'' Blaze answered, with the group chuckling. Blaze gave the group a serious look. ''I mean it. These pirates have managed to destroy several of our patrol ships, so they shouldn't be underestimated.''

''However, I think we can talk about that later on. I'm sure that you're all hungry,'' Sana interrupted. ''My parents have actually requested to have dinner with you, because they were curious about your adventures.''

''You have told your parents about our adventures?'' Lily asked.

''Well, I kinda had to when I told them I'd be inviting you over, as well as me learning how to use Chaos Surge,'' Sana replied. ''Fortunately, they are more interested in hearing in detail how you have defeated Chaos rather than getting upset about it. They actually got the impression of you having a similar status to Blaze, being the protectors of Neos City.''

''Well, they wouldn't be wrong about that, but different than Blaze, we don't exactly have the approval of the government,'' Amy said.

''We decided to not bring up that particular issue,'' Blaze said. ''I'm glad that ARMS isn't giving you any trouble anymore.''

''You're not the only one who is relieved about that,'' Touka said. On their way to the dining room, they came across two people who were waiting for them, the group immediately realizing that they were the Emperor and the Empress, Sana's parents. Lucas was the first to bow his head in respect.

''Greetings, your Majesty,'' he said, with the rest following suit with the formal greeting.

''We're glad to finally meet Sana's friends. I hope you had a safe trip,'' Anisa Jai, Sana's mother said.

''Don't worry about formalities. Clearly, you're treating Sana and Blaze as your equals,'' Rahul Jai, Sana's father added.

''Uh, okay,'' Lucas replied, feeling a sense of relief.

''This is just to avoid any awkwardness,'' Blaze whispered to the rest of the group as they walked into the dining room. ''There were some changes after Sana and I had returned from our trip in Neos City.''

The group got seated, with the imperial family being obviously at the head of the table, still feeling a little awkward, but the atmosphere soon relaxed as they had started dinner and conversations had started.

''I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Sana and Blaze had managed to find a whole group of friends after such a short time spent in Neos City,'' Anisa said, addressing the group. ''You're calling yourselves Team Neos, right?''

''Yeah, we are,'' Lucas answered.

''I assume you're the leader or…'' Anisa trailed off, quickly adding, ''I have noticed that you're the one speaking for the whole group.''

''He is, and you can bet that he's a great leader,'' Sonic, who was sitting next to Lucas, suddenly said. Lucas was slightly flustered by the high praise, but simply smiled in response.

''Well, a group that protects Neos City has to have a great leader. Perhaps you could tell us more about your adventures,'' Rahul said. ''Sana and Blaze had told us about an attack from a water monster that left Neos City flooded.''

''That's Chaos,'' Lily suddenly said. ''Honestly, it's a bit of a long story.''

As Lily launched into describing the battle, she was joined by Knuckles, Minami and Amy, while Anisa continued to question Lucas, Warren and Tails about their family and school life.

''That is an interesting system,'' Anisa said as Warren finished describing the school system in Starpoint Area. ''We don't use AR Fields like this here. But, that's to be expected, as Starpoint Area is the center of AR technology.''

Meanwhile, Sana and Blaze were discussing their plans for tomorrow with Makoto, Silver, Touka, Shadow and Sonic. Blaze sat upright in her chair. ''We would have to get up early to meet up with Marine at the private dock. It is about 15 minutes away by foot though, but fortunately, all of the preparations were done.''

''You had told us that you wanted to leave earlier, but decided to wait for us to arrive,'' Silver said. Blaze nodded.

''As for the trip itself, we might end up being out there for a couple of days,'' Blaze continued. ''Despite the sightings, it won't be easy to track down the pirate ships.''

''Do you have anything in mind in regards to where exactly we'll be going?'' Makoto asked. Sana tapped on her AR Visor and after looking through the holographic screen, she switched it to a map and placed it on the free space on the table for everyone to see.

''The sightings were here, here and here,'' she pointed at several parts on the map, leaving red dots on the blue screen surrounded by green shapes representing the islands. She then encircled the area with a red line. ''Basically, this is a hotspot for pirates due to many trade ships passing through, delivering food, water and other necessities to the various islands. Our plan is to act as a bait to lure them out into a direct confrontation. Blaze and I had already tried this before, but during our last trip, our ship got damaged during the battle.''

''This time you'll have a lot more firepower, though,'' Sonic said, fist-pumping. Sana nodded.

''I really hope none of you will get seasick,'' she said. Suddenly, the table went silent, with everyone on Team Neos giving Sonic a pointed look, while Sana and Blaze remained surprised by the reaction.

''Why are you all looking at me? I don't get seasick,'' Sonic said, feeling rather confused.

''Perhaps, but you don't exactly have the best relationship with areas of water that are deeper than your ankles,'' Shadow pointed out. Sonic just waved him off casually.

''Nah, I'll be fine. We'll be on the ship, won't we? There's nothing I have to fear,'' Sonic replied in a confident tone.

''I guess we'll see,'' Lucas said, joining in on the conversation while slightly amused, with Sonic pouting in response.

''In any case, that is the plan for tomorrow,'' Sana concluded, clasping her hands together. ''We might be able to catch them this time. If we do, we would remove one of the greatest threats we currently have.''

''That is really nice dear, but could you please not turn the dining room into a war room?'' Anisa suddenly said, startling her daughter.

''Ah, I'm sorry… I just thought that it would be easier to explain everything now while we're all here,'' Sana explained, a sheepish smile forming on her lips.

''I suppose we could go into the specifics once we're on the ship,'' Blaze said, glancing at Sana. Anisa exhaled sharply, turning to the rest of the group.

''This is how Sana had been behaving since her arrival. She became way more interested in participating in the defense of our empire,'' Anisa explained.

''Well, I am Blaze's partner and the imperial princess. So, it is my duty to defend my homeland,'' Sana said in a determined tone. Blaze glanced at the rest of Team Neos, her expression indicating that this was what she was talking about earlier. Clearly, Sana became quite inspired by her little adventure.

The conversation then continued until Anisa and Rahul decided to retire for the evening, with Sana and Blaze offering to show Team Neos their rooms. Lucas, Sonic, Warren, Tails, Makoto and Silver were sharing one room, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow shared the other room. After making sure everyone knew their way around and agreeing when they'll be up, the two then left as they still had some last-minute work to do. As for Team Neos, they finally felt the jet lag and general tiredness from their journey catching up to them, immediately agreeing to go to bed, especially since they were supposed to get up early.

Well, everyone except one.

''Sonic, where are you going?'' Tails asked, looking at the hedgehog who was doing some stretches.

''I've been waiting the whole day to go for a run, so I'll do a couple of laps on the palace grounds,'' Sonic explained.

''I don't think it would be a smart idea, especially since we're getting up early,'' Silver pointed out.

''Don't worry, I'll be back in a blink. You can go to sleep,'' Sonic replied.

''Okay, but don't get lost,'' Lucas said, with Sonic just giving him a confident look and leaving for the entrance.

However, on his way there, Sonic ran past a lit room, with the door being slightly ajar. Curious, he glanced inside, only to find Blaze in what appeared to be an office room, reading some papers.

''Hey, Blaze, why are you still up?'' Sonic said, walking inside.

''I could ask you the same question,'' Blaze replied, pointing at the papers. ''I've been reading the reports that arrived today.''

''I thought you'd be fast asleep by now. It's getting late,'' Sonic replied, with Blaze sighing.

''You're sounding like Sana,'' she muttered. ''She was insisting that she would help me out, but when I told her to go to sleep, she told me that I should also go to sleep. Fortunately, I'm almost done with my work.''

''Honestly, I don't envy you nor Sana. You're not only protecting a whole empire, but also have to deal with the paperwork, which sounds really boring,'' Sonic said, tilting his head as he looked at the reports. Blaze smiled tiredly.

''This is all part of my duty. Someone who isn't used to this would obviously find it boring.'' Blaze then got up, gathering the papers. ''Although, I agree that the bureaucratic work is more exhausting than hunting down pirates. Not to mention, this is only a small cog in the wheel in regards to how the empire works. Sana's parents are the ones taking care of the matters inside and outside the empire.''

''I'm glad that I'm not an emperor, or even king. I think I'd go crazy at the mere mention of dealing with political stuff,'' Sonic said, with Blaze placing her hand over her mouth and snorting in amusement.

''I suppose it is for the better,'' Blaze said, tilting her head. ''What about you? Why are you still awake?''

''I actually wanted to go for a run, simply to stretch my legs and get some fresh air,'' Sonic replied, glancing out of the open window. ''Speaking of being right on cue…''

Blaze followed his gaze, taking note of a dark figure standing in the courtyard right below the window. Despite the darkness, her eyes were sharp enough to recognize Shadow standing there and clearly waiting for Sonic. She was surprised when Sonic suddenly leaned over the windowsill, a sense of fear gripping her.

''H-Hey, what are you doing? You'll fall off,'' she said, trembling as she tried to ignore the fact that the office was quite high up and she wasn't exactly comfortable with that fact. However, Sonic ignored her.

''Don't worry, there is a ledge I can walk on,'' Sonic said, leaping over and standing on the ledge while holding onto the windowsill. ''See ya tomorrow, Blaze!''

Blaze felt her heart beating fast as she watched Sonic leaping from the ledge onto another, skillfully navigating his path downwards and meeting up with Shadow. The two then sped off into the darkness, with Blaze stepping away from the window and quickly closing it, trying to calm down her beating heart.

Despite being the Blazing Guardian, able to wield and control fire easily and terrorizing any pirate she came across – she still couldn't get over the fact that she had acrophobia, or an intense fear of heights. Even just watching Sonic leap down from this height made her feel terrified, nervous and uncomfortable. Forcing her jelly-like legs to move, she noted to herself that she probably needed some sleep.

I wonder what Shadow was doing outside, though, she thought, only to come to the obvious conclusion. I suppose when Sonic mentioned that he would go for a run, he actually meant a race. That makes sense for him.

xXx

It was about 06:30AM in the following morning when everyone had gathered for breakfast, some still half asleep. Sana laughed, while Blaze tried to hold back her laugh, when Lily mentioned how Minami and Touka were quite hard to wake up, as both were the type of person who liked to sleep in. Shadow decided to turn this into a lesson for Amy of how to wake them up by ripping the blanket away from Touka, causing her to wake up with a start and fall on the floor. Amy decided to do the same with Minami, who luckily caught herself before she could fall off.

''Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna have a bruise from this that will last for days,'' Touka grumbled at breakfast, gaining some looks of sympathy.

''It's your own damn fault for going back to sleep after I woke you up,'' Shadow replied in an irked tone, sipping his coffee.

''You'll get a chance to take a nap while we're on the ship,'' Sana joined in a teasing tone. ''It will take us a while to get to our location.''

''No, thanks. I'm fully awake now,'' Touka replied half-heartedly.

After breakfast, they made their way to the dock, where they had already found people and ARNavs working on the ships that were there. Sana and Blaze led them to a particular one, which Team Neos, or at least Lucas, Warren, Lily, Minami and Makoto in particular, recognized.

''Woah, isn't that the Ocean Tornado?'' Minami turned to Sana and Blaze, who felt quite proud when they saw their friends in awe.

''Yeah! Honestly, it's kind of a-''

''Ahoy, everyone!''

Before Sana could explain anything, they were met by an Irregular ARNav running up towards them and waving at them. The ARNav in question was an anthropomorphic raccoon with orange fur, a white muzzle, a small black nose, and sky blue eyes with one long eyelash on each one. She had brown triangular ears with cream canals on top of her head, brown rings around her rounded tail, and brown and cream-stripe markings around her eyes. On her head, she had two upturned pigtails with brown tips that were held together by yellow scrunchies. For attire, she wore a lime green tube top with a white trim, black capri leggings, tan gloves, white socks, and lime green and orange shoes with gray soles.

''I guess you're the crew Blaze and Sana were talking about. I'm Marine the Raccoon, and I'm the captain of this ship,'' Marine greeted them all. ''I hope you're all excited for the adventure of your lifetime, because there is no one who knows these waters better than myself!''

''I suppose we can talk more when we're on the ship,'' Blaze said. ''Are we ready to set sail?''

''We're all ready! I hope that we'll find those scallywags who dared to damage my ship,'' Marine said, an irked look appearing on her expression. ''Even if they damage got repaired, I still want them to pay for what they have done. I almost had them last time, but unfortunately, we couldn't follow them.'' Marine then beckoned everyone to follow her. ''Com'n everyone! We have some pirates to hunt down!''

After everyone got on the ship, starting their adventure on the high seas.

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