Chapter Text
My name is Sheriff Thomas Wachowski. And this is my town.
I stomp a thick black boot into the hot sand, thumbs tucked into my belt, adjusting the black shades and brimmed hat that protect my face from the sun.
I take a look around at the cluster of wooden shacks. Some people may laugh when you tell them this is a town.
But it is. And I... am its protector.
I begin to stride through the centre of town, noting when the citizens greet me as I pass.
"Hey there, sheriff!"
Knuckles, the muscular echidna. Good boy. Simple, but good.
"Hi sheriff Wachowski! I made you donuts, just the way you like them!"
Amy, the sweet kid next door. Good baker.
"Hi sheriff! I don't hate you any more and in fact accept you as one of our own and I am definitely not hiding military-grade weapons in my basement!!"
Sticks, the badger girl. A little unhinged, but-wait, what?
No matter. My attention is drawn to a familiar pair - the black and red hedgehog and his floozy, the purple bat.
I make my way to the notorious couple and stand before them, asserting my authority here.
"I hope you two young 'uns are keeping outta trouble," I say to the leather clad pair.
"I'd never do nothing to cross you, sheriff!" Replies the hedgehog - Shadow, no good nephew of mine. "especially after you saved me from those bandits! I am turning my life of villainy and crime around and in fact want to become a police officer just like you, uncle Tom!"
"Say sheriff..." Says the bat, straddled over the rear of their chrome motorcycle. "I never thanked you for saving my... friend here..." She strokes the black hedgehog's spines and leans toward me, displaying generous cleavage. "Perhaps we can meet later and I can display my... gratitude..."
A lesser hedgehog might give in to the temptress. I am not that hedgehog.
"I don't know what you're suggesting, miss..." I say, displaying the ring on my finger. "But I'm a married man."
I tip my hat and continue on my way, pointing to the pair before I leave. "Stay out of trouble, now."
"Yes sir, sheriff!!"
"See you soon, handsome..."
Cheers follow me as I approach a familiar yellow figure in filthy denim overalls, waiting for me beside a sleek black machine... my youngest son, Miles. He grins as I draw near.
"Miles," I say, looking over the machine he presents to me. "This the new pursuit special?"
The fox adjusts his goggles and smiles confidently. "Sure is, dad! Fancy taking it for a spin?"
I look the machine over. It's sleek and black, like a bird of prey, with a huge chrome engine produding from the hood. I look to my engineer son.
"V8?"
"Only the best for you, dad!"
I clap my son on the shoulder and crank open the drivers side door.
"Then let's see what this girl can do...'
I settle myself into the leather seat and wrap my gloves around the wheel. It feels strong, seductive. A pure speed machine.
My radio blares, and a voice I recognise crackles through.
"Blue Streak to Brown Defender, repeat Blue Streak to Brown Defender! Come in, over!"
I retrieve my radio, the frantic tone of my eldest son's voice sending spears through my heart.
"This is Brown Defender, Blue Streak." I say, not daring to let my emotions show. " What's the skinny? Over. "
"Dad, we have a situation here! Some toked-up crazy's headed toward town at high speed and we are unable to maintain pursuit! Can you assist, over?"
I hear my wife's voice in my head, telling me to be careful today. Sorry babe, duty calls.
"Copy that, Blue Streak. I'm on my way." I glance to my youngest through the open window. "Might wanna step back, son."
My fox-son grins as he slaps the hood and skips back from the vehicle, and the crowd of townsfolk cheer as I fire up the engine. The beast roars, as I stamp my boot into the accelerator. The interceptor howls as we leave a trail of dust behind us, heading into the unknown. Watch out scumbags, sheriff Wachowski's on the hunt, so you'd better pray-
"TOM!!"
...............................................
Sheriff Thomas Wachowski snapped back into reality as a spatchelor flicked the end of his nose. His ears perked and he looked around in bewilderment, surprise pasted over his face and puzzlement in his blue eyes.
Maddie couldn't help but laugh. Her husband looked just like a confused puppy.
"You're daydreaming again," she said, wafting a plate of freshly cooked sausages under his nose. "Come on, time for breakfast!"
Tom grunted and grabbed his plate, leaving the open kitchen and heading for the main living space of the shack. The shack had no real dining table, so the Wachowskis instead made do with the sofas and chairs before the tv.
"At least we didn't have to use the broom of doom this time, dad!" chuckled Sonic, tucking into his own breakfast as his adoptive father flopped down beside him.
"Is there something about being a hedgehog that makes you really tired," replied the senior Wachowski as he hiked his feet up onto a stool, "or is it just me?"
"Nah, that's just you." Sonic flashed his father a cheeky grin. "I guess you're becoming an old man, old man!"
"Hey!" Came another voice, both males' ears flickering at the sound, "If your dad's an old man..." Maddie exited the kitchen, carrying two more plates of food. "...then what does that make me?"
Sonic leaned back and gave her a gracious smile as she passed. "You don't count, mother..." He said, egg coating his teeth. "You shall be forever youthful!"
"Yeah yeah..." Maddie rolled her eyes and grinned, an apparent spring in her step. "don't think that flattery's gonna get you anywhere, young man..."
Maddie Wachowski leaned over a chair occupied by a particular yellow fox and deposited a plate of breakfast on the table before him.
"Miles, put that thing away and get your breakfast while it's warm, please..."
The fox jerked at his name and looked up from his device in bewilderment, ears perked and wearing much the same expression as his adoptive father had a few moments before.
Maddie Wachowski grinned as she sat down with her own food. Her boys didn't realise just how cute they could be.
...............................................
Tom gestured toward the tv set with a greasy fork. "What's on?"
Sonic shrugged, mouth full of sausage. "Comedy Chimp's Hilarity Hour reruns."
"Ugh, I can't stand that guy..."
"Funny, I thought you liked terrible jokes..."
The family sat in silence for a while, the only sound the chewing of food, the slurping of coffee, and the low volume of the tv. It was nice, and peaceful, and felt very much like being back home in Green Hills.
After the events of the last few weeks, they'd take whatever normality they could get.
"So, uh..." Began Sonic, setting his plate down and clapping his hands , "I know it's been a while, but... Do you guys feel like a trip out? Go see more of the island?"
Tom laughed, wiping egg from his muzzle. "Yeah, great idea kid. You remember what happened last time we went on a little nature outing?" The brown hedgehog gestured between himself and Maddie, who rolled her eyes.
"Dad, come on..." Sonic whined and slouched back in his seat, looking every bit the thirteen year old child they had taken in back on Earth so many years ago. "There's so much of the island I wanted to show you! I was kinda hoping we could go explore it... together?"
Tom looked to his wife, eyebrow raised.
"Well I think it's a wonderful idea!" The denim-clad black-furred hedgehog leaned forward, eyes bright with excitement. Maddie was unusually... energetic these last couple of weeks. "I'm sick of being stuck around here, let's get out and have a freaking adventure!!"
"Heck yeah!!" Sonic cheered and leaned in for a fist-bump with his mother, which was quickly accepted. Tom wore an incredulous expression at the display.
"Okay..." the brown hedgehog sighed resignedly, leaning back in his seat. "I'm tired of sitting around here anyway myself. Probably do us some good to get out. Miles?" Tom gestured toward his yellow fox-son, who jerked up in surprise at his name again. "You up for a ride out?"
The teenager shook his head, absently stirring his fork in an egg yolk. "sorry dad, I... Have things I need to take care of today..."
Tom shot a questioning look to Sonic and Maddie, who shared a glance and then mouthed the same word; 'Zoey'.
Tom nodded in understanding. Apparently Miles and his... 'special friend' weren't getting along too well right now. At least that explained why the eighteen year old had been a little... out of things lately.
"Okay then..." Tom heaved himself out of his chair and gathered the empty plates, balancing them in his arms as he made his way to the kitchen. "But if I come back as a tentacle-monster or a salamander or something, I'm never so much as going to an unfamiliar bathroom on this island ever again..."
............................................
"Keeping up there, Donut Lord?"
Tom glanced to his left as a spiky blue head bobbed beside the driver side window. Sonic, arms folded and running backwards, flashed his dad a cheeky grin as he ran beside the family truck.
"Cute," nodded Tom, putting on his most unimpressed voicr, "real cute trick you got there."
Sonic spread his arms and smiled broadly. "What, do we have a jealous old hedgehog on our hands or something?"
Tom grunted, adjusting his shades. He wasn't exactly accustomed to being referred to as 'hedgehog '. He likely never would be.
"Just look where you're going, Sonic... " the sheriff called over the noise of the truck, "unless you actually want to smash your skull open?"
Sonic laughed, turned, and flashed on up the canyon ahead. Dust billowed up from his feet, momentarily obstructing Tom's view of the 'road' ahead. He eased off the accelerator and readied his boot to hit the brakes, just in case there were obstacles ahead he hadn't seen.
After years of pestering, Tom had finally relented and allowed his engineer fox-son to fiddle with his beloved truck. It had been born of necessity. a new energy recycling system, modelled on that of Tails' bi-plane (Tom still had no idea where his sons had got that from), now helped power the truck, meaning they weren't reliant on fuel from Earth. It also produced no harmful waste, which was better for the island paradise the family had made their temporary home.
The most important - and humiliating, in Tom's opinion - had been the modifications built to accommodate their new stature. Extended pedals, a raised stick-shift... and a booster seat for the driver.
Tom grimaced. Years of teasing his adopted son's shorter builds had finally come back to bite him in the ass. Or... boost his ass?
Tom winced. That sounded wrong. He wondered how much further their destination was. This island was big.
"Oh man! Isn't this exciting? How long d'you think it'll take us to get there? Is it me or is the air really tingly? Hey look at those birds!!"
Tom glanced to his right as performed a double take as he realised his wife was kneeled in her seat and leaning out of the window, ears and quills flapping wildly in the passing wind.
"Maddie?!!" He leaned over and grabbed the back of her denim jacket, yanking her back into the truck. "What the hell is wrong with you? You trying to get yourself killed???"
His wife just grinned at him, pointed canines glinting and excitement twinkling in her brown eyes.
"This is just so exciting don't you think?!" She spoke too quickly , as though she were speeding out of her skull. "Where do you think we're going? What time is it? do you think we're there yet? Look at that tree!!"
Tom just shook his head, bemused, and shifted in his booster seat. How was his family becoming even crazier?
................................................
Tom had to admit. This place was beautiful. strange, but beautiful.
They walked between tall palm trees and over grassy meadows brimming with yellow flowers, and scattered with light and dark checkered brown rocks. Bizarre flowers, shaped like springs, nestled at the base of tall ridges, and Sonic confidently led his parents over ancient wooden bridges that looked as though they'd crumble any minute. Beyond lay an enormous twinkling blue lake, that stretched toward giant mountains in the distance.
Tom smiled as Sonic happily zipped around, showing his parents all the plant life and talking excitedly about the animals that lived in this region. It took the sheriff back years and years, to when he and his wife had first taken Sonic in. They would go for walks through the forests of Green Hills, and talk of all the things they could do now that the little blue alien didn't have to hide any more.
Tom chuckled to himself as he remembered Ozzy, the family's old long-gone golden retriever that would accompany them on their walks, sometimes even letting Sonic ride his back like a cowboy. Tom missed the old pup. He wondered what Ozzy would think of his old masters now.
Or maybe he wouldn't have to wonder so hard. His wife was doing a pretty good impression of an excited pup right now.
"Have you seen these flowers? The trees are so tall! Ohmygod look at those bunnies!!"
Maddie was excitedly scampering about, looking at everything with fascination, talking a hundred miles an hour and asking a million questions. She was reminding Tom of a particular thirteen year old hyperactive blue hedgehog.
"Uh, Mads? You okay over there?" Tom called after his hyperactive wife, thumbs tucked into the belt he'd taken to wearing around his hips in lieu of pants pockets.
"Huh? Yes I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! why wouldn't I be fine? Doesnt the air feel thin around here? am I talking too fast? I think im talking too fast TomdoyouthinkI'mtalkingtoofast-"
"Hey, hey!" Tom stepped forward as his wife began swivelling her eyes over the ground and fiddling desperately with her fingers. He took one of her fidgeting hands in his and cupped her chin in his other. "Breathe with me, Wachowski..." He locked his eyes with hers and began the breathing exercises she'd taught him. "Breathe..."
Maddie closed her eyes and followed the breathing exercises she had learned from years of yoga practice. In and out... In and out... In and out...
After a few moments, her eyes slowly reopened and she gave her husband a weak smile.
Tom took her cheek in his hand "You still with me?"
"Yeah... " she shook her head, ponytail quills swaying. Her ears drooped as she look back to him with uncertain brown eyes. "I think it's just... it's just like things used to be... remember? Just me, you, and the munchkin..." She took a deep breath, and her face relaxed into a blissful smile. "I think it's just getting to me, you know?"
Tom chuckled, thinking back to those forests in Montana. "I know, just... try not to get too wired, okay?"
She grinned back at him, and for a few moments they gazed into one anothers eyes. The couple felt their hearts flutter. Maybe there was something in the air here... It took them back years, back when they were young and in love and -
Nope. They both looked away awkwardly. Things were too... different now for much more affectionate contact.
They probably would be forever.
"Hey!!"
The two hedgehogs snapped back into reality, following the swivel of their ears as a blue figure called to them from a nearby ridge.
"Come on guys!" Sonic called, one hand cupped around his mouth and the other pointing behind him, "I wanna show you something!"
.............................................
The planet Mobius had some strange terrain, but Tom had never seen this before.
The trio stood at the crest of a hill, looking down the emerald plain at several hoop-shaped structures seemingly growing from the ground. The hoops were surrounded by spring-flowers, and half-pipe shaped ridges stretched up into sheer cliffs.
"Natural loop-de-loops!" Sonic grinned, hands set proudly on hips. "One of the coolest features of planet Mobius!"
"Wow! " exclaimed Maddie, marvelling at the view before them. "That is so awesome!"
"Yeah," Tom stood beside his wife, brow furrowed at the alien terrain. "You sure don't get those in Earth. How do they even form?"
Sonic turned and shot a sly grin to his parents. "Watch this!"
Tom looked to the blue hedgehog shrewdly, setting his hands on his hips, unthinkingly adopting the same posture as his son. "Watch wha-"
Before Tom could finish his query, Sonic was sprinting toward the nearest loop-de-loop, not at his top speed but fast enough that he effortlessly ran the circumference. Tom looked on with a mixture of terror and awe as Sonic flashed through several loops, ran around a curved ridge, launched himself from a grassy ramp onto a spring-flower and spun through the air like a perfectly pitched baseball before landing perfectly on his feet in front of his parents.
The blue hedgehog grinned. "And that," he said, cockily raising an index finger, "is why this is my favourite stomping ground! "
Tom stared, mouth agape at the demonstration of acrobatic skill, while Maddie squealed and rushed to embrace her son in an excited hug.
"Oh sweetie, that was so cool!" She hopped up and down, squealing like a teenager. Sonic just wore a lopsided grin and rubbed the back of his quills.
"Oh, y'know..." The blue speedster said sheepishly , "You spend enough time running around a single place you learn all the tricks..."
Tom huffed. "Well if you think I'm trying that, you got another thing coming."
"What's the matter, old man? " Sonic teased, folding his arms and cocking his head, "don't think you can cut it?"
Tom folded his own arms, mirroring his blue son almost uncannily. "I believe in a little thing called 'gravity', Sonic."
Sonic spread his arms wide and flashed a cheeky grin. "Come on! what kind of hedgehog won't even run through a loop-de-loop?!"
"The kind who wants to keep his spine in the right place, " grumbled Tom, bristling at the 'h' word again. "Y'know Mads, I think our kid might be a little-"
"Hold my jacket."
Tom was cut off as a blue denim jacket was deposited into his hands, and he looked to see a black-furred hedgehog lining up with the nearest loop and kneeling into a starting position.
Oh crap. He recognised this Maddie. This was the Maddie from the high-school girls' soccer team, who had to get the most goals. Had to be the most competitive. Had to be the best.
Had to be the fastest.
"Mads?" Tom called nervously , while Sonic looked on in ecstatic disbelief. "You better not be doing what I think you're doing..."
The black-furred hedgehog just grinned back at him with wild brown eyes, spine and tail arching as she squatted in her starting position. "Why not? "
"Maddie no-"
Too late. His speeding wife had launched herself from her starting pose and was sprinting toward the loop accelerating... and accelerating... and accelerating... until Tom was sure her feet were melding together in a blur. Then she was climbing the inner surface of the loop, struggling to maintain her pace... until, momentum gone, her feet left the surface and she began tumbling toward the ground.
"MADDIE!!!"
In a flash, Tom's plummeting wife had vanished from the air and was resting in the arms of a blue hedgehog beside him.
"Way to go, mom!!" Sonic yelled, setting his mother on her feet. Maddie appeared slightly ruffled, but was otherwise beaming like a Cheshire Cat. "That was awesome!! I've never seen you run that fast before!"
"Yeah," the breathless hedgehog replied, "neither have I..."
"Are you insane?!" Said Tom, arms spread wide with shock. "What's come over you, Mads?"
His wife shrugged furry shoulders. "I don't know, Tom..." she looked over the valley before her, a distant look in her eyes. "I just... had to run... "
"Well, mom!" Sonic clapped his mother on the back then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "That was some impressive speed! I reckon next time you'll make it all the way through!"
Tom was about to object to the notion I there ever being a 'next time ', but faltered when he saw the look on his wife's face. even though she had been remoulded into the shape of a Mobian hedgehog, he knew her well enough to feel the determination bleeding from her as she stared back at the loop. He detected a slight nod of the head and tug of a smile, and a small whisper escaped her lips.
"Next time."
................................................
"What's gotten into you, Maddie? " Tom hissed at his wife on the walk back to the truck, waiting until Sonic had zipped on ahead before taking her aside. "I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one! But I guess you just 'had to run'?!"
She shrugged miserably, unused to being the scolded half of the couple. "It just felt right," she muttered in reply.
Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "Maddie," he said evenly, feeling his ears involuntarily droop, "I'm worried about you. You've been acting... not yourself, lately... are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I should know?"
The flash of brown eyes over the ground and the droop of black ears told him something wasn't right.
"I don't know, Tom..." Brown eyes flashed back to his, filled with conflict. "Maybe I'm not myself... I feel..." she paused , searching down the words. "I feel... like I belong here... on this world, with our kids... like..." she looked down to her hands and turned them around , allowing the claws to slide out. "Like this..." she blinked hard and looked back to him, eyes watering. "Is that... do you think I'm crazy?"
Tom looked into his wife's eyes, seeing heartbreaking emotional conflict. He thought he understood. They had become people of two worlds, both from Earth, and born again of Mobius. He couldn't help but feel some kind of connection to this planet... after all, this was both his sons' home world.
But Thomas Wachowski knew where his real home was. Green Hills, Montana state. Born and raised.
"I think," the sheriff said calmly, taking both his wife's hands in his. "Its time we go home."
Maddie cocked her head slightly, ears perked. "Do you mean 'home' home? "
He nodded. "Yes. I say we go back to Green Hills. See if we can put our lives back together. Somehow."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he gently hushed her.
"It doesn't have to be today, and it doesn't have to be forever, but... We have to go back sometime Mads. Get it over with. We have family back on Earth, who have no idea what's happened to us... it's not right to just vanish without giving them any kind of explanation..."
Maddie smiled and rubbed his cheek. "It'll be crazy though, right? " she !laughed, "just waltzing on home like this?"
Tom shrugged. I just can't wait to see the look on your sister's face when we show up... "
Maddie snorted and punched his arm. "At least it'll be good to see Jojo again..." she trailed off, then her ears perked up and her face split into an evil grin. " Y'know... that bear we bought her for Christmas? When she was little? You kinda remind me of him... "
"Don't..." Tom raised a finger, wearing an appalled expression. "... go getting any ideas! We're not even back yet and you're already thinking of ways to torture me... "
Maddie wrapped her arms around her husband and leaned her head on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat through thick chest fur.
"Will we be okay?" she quietly asked him, for the first time in this whole crazy adventure looking to him for reassurance.
"Yeah honey..." Tom stroked a thumb over his wife's brow, "we'll be okay..."
And then the ground exploded beside them.